Professor Noel Claffey

It is with great sadness that we report on the sad passing of Professor Noel Claffey. 

A tribute to Professor Claffey has kindly been written by Professor Gerry Linden:

Tribute to Prof Noel Claffey

It is sad to report that Noel Claffey died on 22 August 2024.

Noel was Professor Emeritus of Trinity College Dublin and Loma Linda University in California. He was internationally recognised for his contribution to periodontal research and education.

He qualified BDS from University College Dublin and developed an interest in Periodontology. This led to him leaving Ireland to join the group that had been set up by Jan Egelberg at Loma Linda University in California. The group completed a series of incremental studies in the 1980s on the repair of periodontal tissues following surgical intervention, with a focus on root conditioning. His early work at Loma Linda complemented the development of regenerative therapies.

In parallel, Noel was centrally involved in clinical research into factors affecting the response to periodontal treatment that added substantially to the evidence base. Following his integration into the group at Loma Linda it seemed that the opportunities offered for fundamental research meant he would remain in the United States. Tragically, his wife developed a life-limiting illness and he returned to Dublin in the 1990s, so that his children could be educated in Ireland with the support of his wider family.

He was promoted to a Chair at Trinity College and eventually became the Dean of Dental Studies at Dublin Dental School in the early 2000s. He continued to be influential in periodontal thinking through his involvement with the European workshops.

Noel was an entertaining, thoughtful and stimulating lecturer, who continually challenged his audience with questions. Noel loved to talk and laugh, and he was well able to do both. He loved shooting the breeze and peppered his conversations with “why…, how… and what…” working from the premise that we while we know a few things there are many unanswered questions. Once met never forgotten, Noel was a true polymath and a real innovator. A scholar and a gentleman who will be sadly missed.