Morgan McMonagle is a trauma surgeon, currently working on building the new trauma service at the Mater Hospital, Dublin. He also works in Imperial College London, and visits Ukraine with the humanitarian International Medical Corps. Originally from Cavan, he lives in Waterford and has four children. Interview by Sarah Caden…
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PARENTS?
My mum was a teacher, so there was very much a mantra of getting up and going to school and being on time and not skipping school unless you were dying. My dad showed more leadership in the area of when it was time for us to stay out late, or get in trouble or fly the nest. He was the one who taught us to push the limits a little bit.
HOW DO YOU SEE THEIR INFLUENCE IN YOUR LATER LIFE?
From my mum I got the drive to stick with things; from my dad, an Ulster pigheadedness.
DID YOUR SCHOOL MAKE A BIG IMPACT ON YOUR LIFE?
I went to a vocational school, which was kind of unusual. In Cavan town, you went to St Pat’s if you wanted to become a doctor or a lawyer, but I chose to go to the vocational school, which was called “the tech” then – it’s now St Breffni’s School. I wanted to go there to do woodwork and metalwork. I wanted to try them – even though I knew I wanted to be a doctor from age ten – and I found them a relief from the academic stuff and study.
DID YOU LIKE SCHOOL?
Yes. Going to that school gave me a different perspective in life, I suppose. There’s nothing worse than a homogenous society.
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST PROFESSIONAL STRENGTH?
I’ve always had a very strong work ethic. I find it very hard to understand when someone else doesn’t share the same work ethic.
DO YOU LIKE YOUR JOB?
If I could do any job in the world, I’d be a rock guitarist, but in the real world, I love my job. I like critical decision making. I like when patients come in injured or very unwell and seeing them turn around. I like dealing with major bleeding. It’s one of the reasons I chose trauma surgery. There’s a huge satisfaction in it.
I’D LIKE PEOPLE TO REGARD ME AS … The guy to have around when you really need something done. I’m quite an introvert, so I can come off as aloof and tend to work better alone and in silence, which is probably why I like big operations, but I’d like to think I’m the person you’d want if something went wrong.
WERE YOU A SPORTY KID? Growing up in Cavan, if you didn’t do GAA or soccer or rugby, you were considered an outsider. That never bothered me, so I took up judo and it was a rock to me. I was under-21 All-Ireland judo champion, until I tore my cruciate ligament. Again, an individual sport, one person rather than a team, which probably suited my personality.
“I have 16 guitars. That’s my religion. It’s a solitary activity in which I can get immersed, a meditation. I tell all my juniors to take up an instrument.”
MY EXERCISE ROUTINE NOW INCLUDES … Swimming three or four times a week. I use the gym to keep healthy.
MY FRIENDSHIPS ARE FOR THE MOST PART … Special. I’m the sort of person who has a few meaningful friends, rather than lots of superficial ones.
HOW CAN MENS’ MENTAL HEALTH BE BETTER SUPPORTED?
The culture of men being told they are the stronger of the genders, the head of the house, with the better job and ownership of all the property, is a barrier to men admitting they suffer the same mental health issues as women. The culture has stopped us from being able to talk about it without being looked down on. There is a great deal of shame in admitting it, but as long as we feel that, we’re never going to properly address men’s mental health.
WHAT ARE THE THINGS YOU DO THAT KEEP YOU SANE?
I have 16 guitars. That’s my religion. It’s a solitary activity in which I can get immersed, a meditation. I tell all my juniors to take up an instrument. That and a love of live music. I’ve seen Bruce Springsteen 143 times.
MY MOST PHYSICALLY ATTRACTIVE FEATURE, IN MY OPINION …
I’ve been told, my shoulders and my arms.
MY STYLE SIGNIFIER IS …
I tend to dress down. I wear scrubs in hospital and then I’m a jeans and T-shirt kind of guy. But I have nice suits. My advice is, never buy a suit off the shelf, get it fitted.
MY FAVOURITE SHOES ARE …
A pair of Australian RM Williams men’s boots. I visited my brother in Australia a few years ago for his daughter’s christening, and as a thank you, he bought me a pair of RM Williams boots.
DO YOU USE SKINCARE PRODUCTS?
I use face cream and hand cream – Nivea for Men from Tesco. I get contact dermatitis and I need a hand cream or my hands feel like leather.
DO YOU LIKE TO HAVE A TAN?
I was a summer lifeguard in New Jersey when I was 19. I had long hair and an Irish accent on Jersey Shore, so it was a good summer, even though I was very shy. I had a great tan then, but once I qualified as a doctor, I recognised the skin cancer risk. I put on the factor 30 now.
I MOST RECENTLY READ …
Crazy From the Heat by David Lee Roth, lead singer of Van Halen. Before that it was the collected writings of AA Gill. He’s my favourite writer, so sharp.
CAN YOU SPEAK A FOREIGN LANGUAGE?
I did French for the Leaving Cert and took it up again two years ago. I have a tutor twice a week. I don’t do my homework enough but I recently did exams in the Alliance Francaise.
I DEAL WITH A SETBACK BY …
Throwing myself into work. I don’t wallow. I’m not saying I don’t feel self-pity, but my antidote is to work, sometimes to my detriment. A setback feels almost like a personal affront, and then I come back with a vengeance.
A HOLIDAY I’D LIKE TO REPEAT …
On a trip to Australia, we ended up in Kakadu National Park, just south of Darwin, and camped under the stars. I remember feeling nothing mattered in that moment other than being part of nature, and realising you’re nothing, in the grand scheme of things. It was an overwhelming feeling I’d like to repeat.
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE OF GRIEF WAS …
When my paternal grandmother died when I was ten. But when my uncle Michael, my mother’s brother, died six years ago, that was very significant. Michael had Down Syndrome and he was always in my life, someone I could always rely on. I visited him a lot and I brought my kids to see him – he was a constant in all our lives. When he died, it was the first time I felt older. The grief of going through my marriage separation was also similar to a death.
THE PERFECT WEEKEND WOULD INCLUDE …
A live music show at the Royal Albert Hall in London, followed by tapas with friends in Tapas Brindisa in South Kensington, and a good Rioja.