Mary Bernadette Synnott

bmj;392/jan06_1/s6/FAF1faMary Bernadette Synnott was born in 1951 in County Limerick in Ireland and attended secondary school at the Presentation Convent in Limerick city. Mary’s undergraduate years were at University College Dublin and during her postgraduate training she moved to the UK, where she undertook training in microbiology and public health in the West Midlands.Her grounding in these disciplines enabled her to bring both clinical acumen and her knowledge of microbiology to her role as a senior clinical medical officer, initially covering the maternity leave of the consultant in communicable disease control at the North Staffordshire Health Authority.Mary’s responsibilities evolved to include maternal and child health, national screening programmes, medical applications for housing, and immunisations campaigns, as well as communicable disease control. She championed action on inequalities and on population health.Mary was a proud Irish woman who enjoyed regular trips home to see family and friends. She was well travelled and…