Tributes are being paid to Prof. Barry Kelly, an important figure in Irish radiology who played a central role in designing and implementing the ESR’s audit scheme and the European Diploma of Radiology. He died on 22 June.
Kelly grew up a Catholic in Belfast. According to his biography on the University of Ulster website, Kelly qualified in medicine at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) in 1984. He initially trained as a surgeon in Glasgow, where he met his wife, Susan, who was a nurse. He moved into radiology and he was appointed consultant radiologist at Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital in 1995, when there were very few Catholic consultants in the hospital.
He was dean of the Faculty of Radiologists and Radiation Oncologists at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) from 2012 to 2014, past president of the Ulster Radiological Society, and editor of the Ulster Medical Journal from 2011 to 2015. He was also the first FRCR Anatomy Examiner from 2009 to 2012, and he was an external FFR 2b examiner at the RCSI from 2019 to 2024. He was visiting professor of radiology at the University of Ulster and an honorary reader in radiology at QUB. In 2019, Kelly became only the third radiologist to give the Annual Oration in the Royal Victoria Hospital. This tradition dates back to 1827 and involves a senior clinician addressing staff and new clinical students before they begin their clinical attachments.
Prof. Barry Kelly (captured here in full attire) delivered the Annual Oration in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, on 6 September 2019, about “The Rime of the Ancient Imager: Plato's Cave and Other Shadows." Photo courtesy of ESR.
Kelly was also a major player on the European stage. He was chair of the ESR Audit and Standards Subcommittee from 2016 to 2018, during which time the first edition of Esperanto and the ESR Audit handbook were published. Along with Prof. Jane Adam and Prof. Adrian Brady, he was also co-author of a groundbreaking 2018 poster about the ESR Audit Scheme – A Pilot Project.
“As a resolute advocate for professional examinations in establishing the highest medical standards, he has been radiological examiner for the Royal Colleges both in Ireland and the U.K. Furthermore, in Europe he helped design, implement, and examine in the European Diploma of Radiology, the Pan European metric for professional excellence,” the University of Ulster biography stated.
His radiological interests included imaging in acute medicine, surgery, and trauma and intensive care. His other professional interests included burnout, resilience, and the increasing problem of “the Doctor in Difficulty.” Beyond medicine, he was passionate about dialogue within the public and civic arenas about matters medical, scientific, and philosophical, it added.
Prof. Barry Kelly was known for his kindness, warmth, and generosity. Photo courtesy of Dr. Paul McCoubrie.
Radiology's Stephen Fry
“A star in the radiological universe has gone out,” AuntMinnieEurope.com columnist Dr. Paul McCoubrie noted on X on the evening of 23 June. “Northern Ireland has lost a favoured son. A man whose generosity, kindness and humour touched all that he met. A father to Rosie and Katie, husband to Susan and very good friend to many. Raise a glass to his memory.”
