Patricia Casey facts for kids

Patricia Rosarie Casey is an Irish psychiatrist, a university professor, and a journalist. She often shares her conservative views on social topics. She is a Professor of Psychiatry at University College Dublin and also works as a consultant psychiatrist at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin. Many people know her from her regular column in the Irish Independent newspaper.

About Patricia Casey

Patricia Casey grew up in a place called Ballynoe in County Cork, Ireland. Her father was a council worker and farmer, and her mother was a public health nurse. She has one younger sister, Terry. Patricia was very good at school. She went on to study medicine at University College Cork and finished her studies in 1976. She is married to a lawyer named John McGuiggan. Patricia Casey is a Roman Catholic and practices her faith.

Her Medical Career

After medical school, Patricia Casey trained to become a specialist in psychiatry in Britain. From 1977 to 1985, she worked in hospitals in Nottingham and Edinburgh. She held different roles, including senior house officer and research fellow.

From 1985 to 1991, she taught and worked as a consultant psychiatrist at Cork University Hospital. Since 1991, she has been a Professor of Psychiatry at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin. She has written or helped write several books. She also edits The Psychiatrist, a magazine for the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Her work focuses on helping people with depression, understanding personality disorders, and preventing suicide.

Professional Groups and Awards

Patricia Casey is part of several important professional groups:

• She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
• She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.
• She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine.
• She is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.
• She is a Member of the Medico-Legal Society of Ireland.

Her Views on Social Topics

Patricia Casey is a co-founder of the Iona Institute. This group shares a Catholic point of view on many issues. She is known for her opinions on social matters. For example, she advised the Irish government against allowing divorce in 1995. She believes that children feel a greater sense of loss when their parents separate than when a parent dies. However, she does agree with divorce if a spouse is violent or abusive. She also supports adoption by heterosexual couples.

She writes a regular opinion column for the Irish Independent newspaper. In the past, she has also written for the Sunday Business Post and the Irish Times. You might also have seen her on national television and radio shows.

Understanding Research Findings

Patricia Casey has sometimes used research studies to support her views. However, the scientists who did the research have sometimes disagreed with her interpretation.

For example, Swedish scientists from Uppsala University said that Casey did not correctly use their research. She had said their study showed that "children...do best when raised by their married biological parents." The university and the study authors said her conclusion was "not valid." They explained that their study did not compare different types of families, so it could not say that children do better with married heterosexual parents.

Similarly, Melanie Verwoerd, who was in charge of UNICEF Ireland at the time, said Casey's claim about a UNICEF report was wrong. Casey had said a UNICEF report supported her views on same-sex parenting. But Verwoerd stated that "Unicef does not make any judgments on the well being of children growing up with same-sex parents."

See also

• Anthony Clare
• Breda O'Brien
• David Quinn (columnist)