Owen Conor Ward

Owen Conor Ward (1923 – ) an Irish paediatrician and cardiologist.

Eponymously affiliated with Romano-Ward Syndrome which he described in 1964, independent of Cesarino Romano (described 1963)

As one of the first Paediatric cardiologist in Ireland he fronted the development of cardiac services for children. Well known as a worldwide educator and a dedicated advocate for sick children and their families.

Biography

Born 1923 Monaghan, Ireland
1946 – Graduated in Medicine from University College Dublin (UCD)
1951 – Doctorate in Paediatric cardiology, University of Liverpool
1956 – Paediatrician at Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, Dublin
1970 – Professor Paediatrics UCD
1979 – Vice-president Royal College Physicians, Ireland
1990 – Post retirement served in various roles for Royal College Surgeons (Ireland), European Association of Paediatric Cardiologists, Irish Paediatric Association, Irish Cardiac Society, Irish Heart Foundation, Association for the Welfare of Children in Hospital, Down’s Syndrome Association.
2000 – PhD in medical history (UCD) for his work on Langdon Down & Down’s Syndrome
2008 – Aged 85 years retired from Undergraduate teaching at St George’s Medical School, London.
2016 – Received an Honorary degree, Doctor of Science honoris causa from UCD. He received this award on the same day as his Grandson, Dr Cian Ward, graduated in medicine.

Medical Eponyms

Ward-Romano Syndrome (1964)

Controversies

‘Not always a bed of roses’ – Ward speaking on his time working in Ireland where he was involved in several conflicts with Catholic Leaders.
This was mainly during his work supporting Irish Women’s access to termination of pregnancy in cases of life-threatening malformation
His UCD Professorship became under threat when Archbishop Ryan discovered that Ward had been looking into the possibility of amniocentesis for a pregnant mother whose previous child had been born with gargoylism.

Major Publications

Ward OC. New familial cardiac syndrome in children. J Ir Med Assoc. 1964 Apr;54:103-6. [PMID 14136838]
Ward OC. Blood sugar studies on premature babies. Arch Dis Child. 1953 Jun;28(139):194-7. [PMC1988668]
Ward OC. The electrocardiographic abnormality in familial cardiac arrhythmia. Ir J Med Sci 1966;41:553–557
Ward OC. The inheritance of paroxysmal tachycardia. G Ital Cardiol. 1972;2(1):154. [PMID 5011995]
Ward OC. Children in hospital: the past and the future. J Ir Coll Physicians Surg. 1991 Oct;20(4):266-9. [PMID 11622995]
Ward OC. John Langdon Down: the man and the message. Downs Syndr Res Pract. 1999 Aug;6(1):19-24. [PMID 10890244]
Ward OC. Prader-Willi syndrome. Lancet. 2000 Nov 25;356(9244):1856. [PMID 11117944]
Ward OC. The Irish contribution to the eradication of rheumatic fever. Ir Med J. 2010 Feb;103(2):59. [PMID 20666061]
Ward OC. Rheumatic fever in Ireland: the role of Dr Monica Lea Wilson (1889-1971). J Med Biogr. 2013 Feb;21(1):12-8. [PMID 23610223]