The vitreoretinal and cataract surgeon with Veonet Ireland chats to Mary McCarthy about her formative experiences in Senegal and moving here to build a future
Dr Mireia Roca Cabau was surprised to find such long waiting lists in Ireland to get cataracts done
In conversation with Mary McCarthy
Today at 06:30
I grew up in Lleida, a small city near Barcelona, which is where I studied medicine. My dad is an ophthalmologist, so I saw it at home. When I was 16 a friend of his had a charity project in Senegal – Fundacio Ferreruela-Sanfeliu – carrying out cataract surgery and I went out there to work as a scrub nurse and loved it.
In 2010 I went to study medicine at the Universitat de Lleida and it was easy for me when it came to choosing my speciality. I had always liked ophthalmology, and my time at the clinic in Senegal made me want to do this.