Tributes paid to Professor Noel Claffey
It was with great sadness we heard that Professor Noel Claffey, BDS, MDentSci, FRCPS, had passed away
Professor Claffey held several positions, including senior lecturer and consultant in the Department of Periodontology at the Dental School, Trinity College Dublin, associate professor of research at the Dental School, Loma Linda University, California, professor of periodontics research, Loma Linda, and consultant head of periodontics and head of graduate programmes at Trinity College. He was also made Professor Emeritus at both Trinity College and Loma Linda.
Tributes poured in on his passing. “To paraphrase C.S. Lewis: ‘His absence is like the sky, spread over everything’,” said Dr Richard Lee Kin, president of the Irish Society of Periodontology. “The loss of such a titan of our profession is impossible to fully comprehend or convey – it is truly immeasurable.
“I was fortunate to have met Professor Claffey as an undergraduate at the Dublin Dental Hospital and, over the years, his influence and reach extended far beyond the borders of Ireland. He had a visionary approach, recognising that our society was part of a much wider community, both in Europe and internationally. Without his dedication, inspiration and tireless efforts, our society would not enjoy the prestige and recognition it does today.
“As a teacher, scholar, and mentor, Professor Claffey instilled in many a passion – not only to become world-class dentists but to further their training in the specialised field of periodontology. His academic prowess was widely respected and internationally recognised, but beyond that, he was a gifted storyteller, a man of immense wit and a genuinely wonderful human being.”
Read more tributes to Professor Claffey.
