Cavan GP leaves fitness to practise inquiry to round of applause

A retired general practitioner from Cavan, Michael McConville, left a fitness to practise inquiry to applause after making a lengthy submission defending his conduct. The inquiry focused on allegations that McConville posted tweets during the Covid-19 pandemic critical of public health policies, including the use of PCR testing, vaccinations, face masks, and promotion of ivermectin as a treatment. The Medical Council’s chief executive, Dr Maria O’Kane, alleged that McConville’s 19 tweets and one retweet undermined public health guidelines and breached professional conduct rules, particularly those concerning social media use. McConville, who retired in 2024 after 42 years of practice, represented himself and asserted his right to freedom of expression, challenging the validity of the charges. He argued that no offence exists for undermining public health policy and questioned why he was summoned, noting there were no patient complaints against him in either the Republic of Ireland or the United Kingdom. After delivering his statement, McConville left the inquiry, receiving applause from supporters present, including three other doctors who have faced similar inquiries. The three doctors supporting McConville—Marcus de Brun, William Ralph, and Gerard Waters—have also been subject to fitness to practise investigations related to their pandemic-era social media activity. De Brun’s inquiry concerns tweets critical of the National Public Health Emergency Team and the vaccination programme for children, while Ralph’s case involves allegations of inappropriate tweets undermining public health guidelines. Waters was suspended by the High Court in 2021 pending disciplinary proceedings and faced a private inquiry in 2023. These cases highlight ongoing tensions between medical professionals’ freedom of expression and adherence to public health directives during the pandemic. The outcomes of these inquiries may set important precedents regarding the limits of professional conduct and social media use by healthcare practitioners in Ireland.