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In 2013, Professor Dornan published his book, An Everyday Miracle: Delivering Babies, Caring for, Women a Lifetime’s Work. The book candidly documented his experiences working in the maternity unit and anecdotes which provided “an insight into women’s lives and experiences as well as a sense of some of the ongoing debates within obstetrics and gynaecology”.
He also hoped the book gave men a “greater understanding of the challenges that women face and how they cope with them”.
In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph in 2013, he told of an experience he’d had as a young medical student, when he was given the opportunity to watch a woman undergo an emergency Caesarean section for fetal distress.
The arrival of sexual health charity Brook in Northern Ireland in the early 1990s was controversial to say the least. The proposal to open up a Brook clinic in Belfast city centre was even debated in Parliament, with a range of Northern Ireland MPs expressing concern that it would lead to young people engaging in sex outside of marriage.
But while the politicians were discussing the proposed clinic at Westminster, the response in Northern Ireland became increasingly hostile.
The idea to invite Brook to Northern Ireland came from Professor Gabriel Scally, who, at the time, was Director of Public Health at the now-defunct Eastern Health and Social Services Board.