Dr Michael Loftus interviewed

At the Croke Park Conference, Dr Michael Loftus was interviewed by Andrew Varley. Dr Loftus is the founder of Dothian, an organisation set up to tackle alcohol abuse in the Republic of Ireland. As Ireland's Eurocare representative, it was Dr Loftus who was mainly responsible for organising the Croke Park Conference. He is a well known figure in Ireland and was President of the Gaelic Athletic Association, whose HQ is Croke Park.

AV: All doctors, of course, have some involvement with alcohol problems, but you have brought them to the centre of your professional life and become a recognised expert. How did this come about?
ML: I had a pretty good view of the problem from an early age. My mother died when I was seven years old. My father was a policeman. From that age I was brought up by my aunt who ran a bar. I had plenty of opportunity to observe, you might say.

Then, of course, I was a medical student. I qualified in 1955 and have practised in County Mayo ever since. In 1972 I became Coroner for North Mayo, a position I still hold. It didn't take long, either as a country GP or as someone presiding at inquests, to see how much damage was done by alcohol - accidents, suicides, violence, drownings - especially to young people. I began to speak out at inquests when alcohol was involved and this, in turn, made me look at what was happening in my own practice. It was easy to see that so often we were treating symptoms: that alcohol was playing a huge part not only in the patient's illnesses but in family problems - such things as abuse and financial difficulties. It became clear to me that out of a local population of 3,000 there were at least one hundred people you could describe as alcoholics.

Of course, it was easy to see that the problem went far beyond dependent drinkers. Just look at what is happening in Ireland today. Weekend drinking, especially in these affluent times, brings a crop of fatalities - four or five reported in the press every Monday.

AV: With another hat on, you have had a close association with sport in Ireland. What is happening there?
ML: Well, I was the President of the Gaelic Athletic Association and so had a pretty good view of the influence the alcohol industry wields over sport as a whole. Not only through the boozey image of some games but through sponsorship, alcohol is a major feature. What sort of message does this give to young people?

It simply isn't fair to them. Even fashion shows are today sponsored by the industry. The message is coming at young people from all angles. Government figures bear this out. 70 per cent of sixteen year olds in Ireland drink regularly.

AV: Michael, you always wear the Pioneers pin in your lapel. Has that organisation been a major influence in your life?
ML: I joined as a boy, partly because I was a keen sportsman and I could see the effect alcohol could have on some of my friends. My father was a Pioneer: he drank as a young man but never after my mother died. The pioneers still have 250,000 members in this country.

AV: It has always struck me that there were two crucial elements in your approach to alcohol problems: the man of science and the man of faith. Do practising as a doctor and being a faithful Catholic weigh equally with you?
ML: Yes, I think that's true. I founded Dothain in 1995 in response to concern for the problems I saw in my professional life but it was clear that these problems went far beyond the medical. As in everything, quiet prayer is a great help.

AV: At the conference in Croke Park - a place full of sporting memories for you - Dr Ann Hope said that the idea that this is a nation of drunkards, the Irish Myth, as she put it, was in danger of becoming a reality. What do you see happening?
ML: The encouraging thing is that the Health Minister appears to be ready to tackle the problem, though we should not minimise the political difficulties.

We need to challenge the link between sport and alcohol and the effect that has on youth. The whole area of promotion - advertising, marketing, opening hours - is something which has a huge effect on the scale of the problem.

AV: What do you hope will come out of the conference?
ML: The best practical result would be a really effective NGO which could lobby the Government and speak with authority. The country is ready because the problem is all too obvious. We need to speak up and get things done.