This year’s Irish Society of Gastroenterology (ISG) Winter Meeting saw a record number of abstract submissions and registered delegates.
Speaking to the Medical Independent, ISG President Prof Orla Crosbie said approximately 270 delegates had registered for the meeting, which was held on 21-22 November in Killiney, Co Dublin. “As well as the excellent line up, I think this was partly down to Prof John Hegarty who received the Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the gala dinner. He attracted huge interest, with former colleagues from the US and all over the country coming to pay tribute to him.”
Prof Crosbie presented Prof Hegarty – who she worked with earlier in her career – with his award. Speeches about his stellar career were given by Mr Gerard McEntee, Consultant Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgeon at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin; and Prof Suzanne Norris, Consultant Hepatologist/Gastroenterologist at St James’s Hospital, Dublin.
Prof Hegarty was the first and only hepatologist in the country for a long time. He was appointed to St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, in the mid-1980s and was instrumental in establishing and leading the national liver centre and transplant unit and advancing hepatology training, research, and patient care in Ireland, Prof Crosbie noted.
Meanwhile, Prof Crosbie praised the high number and quality of research projects at the meeting, which she said made it very difficult to pick the winners. This Winter Meeting had a record 84 abstract submissions.
“I was very impressed by the high standard of all the abstracts submitted and I’m very glad to see that the rapid pace of evolution of novel techniques and new technologies is being matched by close scrutiny of our performances. I also note from the research submitted that we are examining our work more frequently across hospital sites and involving more disciplines, which should help towards improving co-operation and shared knowledge and enhanced patient care going forward at all sites.”
A new feature at the meeting was presentations from the four 2023 winners of the Society’s latest educational initiative. This sees bursaries awarded to members to pursue specialist training observation opportunities abroad and bring back and use the gained knowledge in the Irish health system. The initiative has proven very successful and four more bursaries have been awarded this year, said the ISG President.
Prof Crosbie thanked all the speakers, research judges, and session chairs for their contributions. She also extended her thanks to Mr Michael Dineen, Ms Cora Gannon, and the rest of the ISG team, for their hard work in ensuring an excellent meeting.
“I would also like to congratulate our inflammatory bowel disease nurses who will celebrate a decade together this year and our hepatology nurses who attended,” she added.
The ISG Summer Meeting will be held on 22-23 May 2025 in Kilkenny. For full details see www.isge.ie
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