Society launches fellowship to honour outstaning contribution of Peter Barry

[caption id="attachment_5416" align="alignnone" width="750"] Peter Barry addressing delegates at the XXX Congress of the ESCRS in Milan, Italy[/caption] The ESCRS has announced the creation of an annual travel fellowship in recognition of the immense contribution of Peter Barry FRCS to European and global ophthalmology. Dr Barry, who served as ESCRS President from 2012 to 2013, died after a short illness in May this year. Announcing the Peter Barry ESCRS Travel Fellowship at the Opening Ceremony of the XXXIV Congress, ESCRS President David J Spalton said that the fellowship of €50,000 would enable a trainee ophthalmologist from Europe to train at a centre of excellence anywhere in the world. “The ESCRS Board decided that it would be a fitting memorial to Peter to commemorate him with an annual travel fellowship. We hope to make the first award of the fellowship at the congress next year in Lisbon, and I think this is going to train the future leaders of our society,” he said. Prof Spalton said that Peter Barry had been a tireless advocate for European ophthalmology, helping to found the European Intraocular Implantlens Council, which later evolved into the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons. “Peter had been a member of the ESCRS since its inception. He served as a Board member, Treasurer and President, and more recently as a Director. He was always a firm guiding hand in all that we did,” said Prof Spalton. As well as being the instigator behind the European Registry of Quality Outcomes for Cataract and Refractive Surgery (EUREQUO) database, Dr Barry was also the inspiration behind the landmark study that proved the efficacy of intracameral cefuroxime in reducing the risk of post-cataract endophthalmitis. “This is perhaps his greatest legacy because it is something which has changed the course of cataract surgery and has made it a safer operation for all of our patients. It is a tremendous achievement and something that few of us will ever be able to equal. Without his drive and fortitude to see it through, the study probably never would have happened,” said Prof Spalton. More recently, Dr Barry presented results from the ESCRS FLACS Study, showing that femtosecond-laser cataract surgery is as good as routine phacoemulsification but does not currently outperform it. Educated at Gonzaga College in Dublin, Ireland, Dr Barry graduated from University College Dublin in 1974 where he won the Medical Society Gold Medal and also the Gibson Cup, the Irish Medical Schools Debating Cup. He was a resident at Moorfields Eye Hospital from 1976 to 1979, followed by a retina fellowship at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. After this he returned to a consultant appointment at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital and St Vincent’s Hospital, in Dublin. He served as a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the Irish College of Ophthalmology, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, and the United Kingdom and Ireland Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons. His stature in the international ophthalmic community was reflected in the numerous tributes which followed news of his passing. His obituary in The Irish Times newspaper called him “one of the foremost eye surgeons of his generation and an international ambassador for Irish ophthalmology”, while noting that patient empathy was his main driving force and that he used his surgical skill, persuasiveness and humility to achieve the best possible clinical outcomes.