Eilish Cleary (October 22, 1963 – March 22, 2024) was an Irish-born Canadian physician, health officer, and public health advocate who served as the Chief Medical Officer of Health in

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

from 2007 until her termination in 2015, following a controversial decision by the provincial government. Shortly before her dismissal, she was studying

glyphosate Glyphosate (IUPAC name: ''N''-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) is a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide and crop desiccant. It is an organophosphorus compound, specifically a phosphonate, which acts by EPSP inhibitor, inhibiting the plant enzyme 5-en ...

, a herbicide that is used in the province and has been characterized as potentially being

carcinogen A carcinogen () is any agent that promotes the development of cancer. Carcinogens can include synthetic chemicals, naturally occurring substances, physical agents such as ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and biologic agents such as viruse ...

ic to humans. Born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Cleary became the country's youngest doctor upon graduating from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

. She later moved to Canada where she served as a public health official in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

before moving to New Brunswick to work there. After her termination, Cleary continued working as a public health official for other provinces until her death in 2024 from

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different ...

. She received multiple awards and honours throughout her career, including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee and

Platinum Jubilee A platinum jubilee is a celebration held to mark an anniversary. Among Monarchy, monarchies, it usually refers to a 70th anniversary. The most recent monarch to celebrate a platinum jubilee is Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and the ...

medals as well as appointments to various institutions such as the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

and the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English language, English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universiti ...

Early life and career

Eilish Cleary was born on October 22, 1963, in

, Ireland. She was one of five children born to John and Mary Cleary. At the age of 22, she graduated from

, becoming Ireland's youngest doctor at the time. Cleary and her family moved to Canada in 1998. She initially lived and worked in

, where she served as the public health officer for the North Eastman Regional Health Authority.

Public health in New Brunswick

Cleary later moved to

, where she began serving as the Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Health for the province on August 30, 2007, under then-chief Wayne MacDonald. By August 2008, she was the acting chief and, by January 2009, was the Chief Medical Officer of Health. Under this role, Cleary played an important role in the province's fight against the

2009 swine flu pandemic The 2009 swine flu pandemic, caused by the H1N1/swine flu/influenza virus and declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) from June 2009 to August 2010, was the third recent flu pandemic involving the H1N1 virus (the first being the 1918� ...

. Cleary, along with fellow health official Paul Van Buynder, frequently encouraged the public to get vaccinated against, resulting in New Brunswick having one of the highest vaccination rates against the flu. In 2012, following growing public advocacy against the

shale gas Shale gas is an unconventional natural gas that is found trapped within shale formations. Since the 1990s, a combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has made large volumes of shale gas more economical to produce, and ...

industry in the province, Cleary issued the 82-page ''Chief Medical Officer of Health's Recommendations Concerning Shale Gas Development in New Brunswick'', a report about the negative impacts of

fracking Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, fracing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of formations in bedrock by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure inje ...

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

, and

water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of Body of water, water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and ...

. In May 2013, Cleary, under the request of then-

health minister A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

Ted Flemming, began studying the

adverse effect An adverse effect is an undesired harmful effect resulting from a medication or other intervention, such as surgery. An adverse effect may be termed a "side effect", when judged to be secondary to a main or therapeutic effect. The term compli ...

s of

energy drink An energy drink is a type of non-alcoholic psychoactive functional beverage containing stimulant compounds, usually caffeine (at a higher concentration than ordinary soda pop) and taurine, which is marketed as reducing tiredness and improving pe ...

s on children. Between 2014 and 2015, Cleary made two trips to Africa to help local health officials deal with

Ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after in ...

2015 termination

In December 2015, it was revealed that Cleary was abruptly placed on leave and later terminated from her position by the provincial government, then-controlled by the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

led by Premier

Brian Gallant Brian Alexander Gallant (born April 27, 1982) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 33rd premier of New Brunswick from October 7, 2014, until November 9, 2018. Of Acadian and Dutch descent, Gallant practised as a lawyer before winn ...

. Shortly before her termination, the herbicide

had been labelled as "probably

ic to humans" by the

International Agency for Research on Cancer The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC; ) is an intergovernmental agency forming part of the World Health Organization of the United Nations. Its role is to conduct and coordinate research into the causes of cancer. It also cance ...

. Around this time, Cleary was studying the herbicide, which was used in the province by those working in

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, and

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

industries, along with major New Brunswick corporations such as

NB Power New Brunswick Power Corporation (), operating as NB Power (), is the primary electric utility in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. NB Power is a Vertical integration, vertically-integrated Crown corpor ...

and J. D. Irving (JDI), the latter of whom had voiced opposition against the proposal to ban it. According to John Chilibeck of the ''

Telegraph-Journal The ''Telegraph-Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, owned by Postmedia Network. It serves as both a provincial daily and as a local newspaper for Saint John. The ''Telegraph-Journal'' is the only New ...

'', Cleary "had told people her office was embarking on a study of the health effects of industrial herbicide spraying". On December 2, 2015, while Cleary was still on leave, Jacques Poitras of

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

published an article about the incident in which he briefly mentioned that glyphosate—the herbicide which Cleary had been studying before her termination—was used by JDI and NB Power. Many individuals in the article's comments section insinuated that Irving had been involved with the dismissal. Two days later, JDI spokeswoman Mary Keith issued a "sharply worded" statement in response, calling the article a "sensational story" and accusing CBC of presenting "an unsubstantiated

conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

as fact," further claiming that the news outlet "falsely implied that DIis or was involved in some sort of conspiracy against Dr. Cleary because JDI uses glyphosate". The statement also called for CBC to "immediately remove the story from their website, publish a full retraction, and apologize for their appalling behavior". Poitras responded back on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

with a tweet stating, "We stand by our story." Cleary's termination faced strong opposition and criticism from officials and public health advocates across Canada, and multiple individuals within the health sector called for her reinstatement. Officials who publicly expressed support for Cleary included

David Butler-Jones David Butler-Jones is a Canadian physician and public servant who served as the first chief public health officer of Canada from the position's formation in October 2004 until stepping down in June 2013. Biography & career Butler-Jones was ...

, Robert Strang, and her successor, Jennifer Russell. The decision was also condemned by the

Green Party of New Brunswick The Green Party of New Brunswick (PVNBGP; ), commonly known as the Greens, is a green politics, green provincial political party in New Brunswick, Canada. Formed in 2008, the party has been under the leadership of David Coon since 2012. The party ...

, with party leader

David Coon David Charles Coon (born October 28, 1956) is a Canadian Conservation movement, conservationist and politician who has served as leader of the Green Party of New Brunswick since 2012 and as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick ...

calling it "outrageous" in a statement. Coon, a friend of Cleary, further challenged the provincial government to "clear the air about what's going on". Questions were raised by critics regarding Cleary's termination, but the provincial government refused to elaborate on the matter. According to then-health minister Victor Boudreau, Cleary's termination was a "personnel matter, and not politically motivated", although the circumstances of her termination remained unclear. In January 2016, Cleary reached a confidential settlement with the province. Cleary was later described by Chilibeck as being "mostly silent about her termination," referring to it only as "a troubling experience". Around the time, her termination was labeled as "without cause" by herself, as well as by ''

The Daily Gleaner ''The Daily Gleaner'' is a morning daily newspaper serving the city of Fredericton, New Brunswick, and the upper Saint John River Valley. The paper was printed Monday through Saturday, until dropping to Tuesday through Saturday in 2022 and anno ...

'', and ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

''. In a joint statement between Cleary and New Brunswick's deputy health minister announcing the settlement, it was described as being "legally consistent with other instances of dismissal without cause". Jula Hughes, an associate professor at the

University of New Brunswick Faculty of Law The University of New Brunswick Faculty of Law is the second oldest university-based common law Faculty in the Commonwealth.a likely no reason that would hold up in court for firing Cleary". Following the settlement, the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

's Radio-Canada took the province to court for failing to present information they had requested under the ''

Access to Information Act The ''Access to Information Act'' (R.S., 1985, c. A-1) () or ''Information Act'' is a Canadian Act providing the right of access to information under the control of a federal government institution. As of 2020, the Act allowed "people who pay ...

''. The Court of Queen's Bench ruled in favor of Radio-Canada, with Justice Zoël Dionne ordering that the settlement amount was

public information Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

. It was revealed that Cleary had received in severance by the provincial government and that her termination had been notified on December 7, 2015, after she had been placed on leave on November 2. Critics such as

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Mount Allison was the first university in the British Empire to award a baccal ...

political science professor Mario Levesque speculated that the settlement was "

hush money Hush money is an arrangement in which one person or party offers another money or other enticement, in exchange for remaining silent about some illegal, stigmatized, or shameful behavior, action, or other fact about the person or party who has m ...

" and part of the government's attempts to silence Cleary.

Post-termination career

In February 2016, shortly after the settlement announcement, Cleary registered the Dr. Eilish Cleary Professional Corporation. Her occupation was listed as "physician" by Service New Brunswick documents at the time. Later that month, the

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

hired Cleary as a federal public health adviser. Cleary spent time working in the public health sectors of other provinces and as a physician. In May 2018, she called for the government to better handle flooding after a large flood that occurred along the Saint John River and stated that "the need for strong environmental impact assessments and watershed protection is important because looking at contamination of river water after the fact is a heartbreaking situation for people, with a lot of damage done". In July 2018, Following the legalization of recreational cannabis, Cleary wrote a commentary piece for ''The Daily Gleaner'' in which she expressed her concerns about the potential health risks regarding the marketing and advertising of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

. In October 2021, she criticized the province's handling of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

due to the amount of restrictions removed, having argued that "vaccination rates remained too low among health care and long-term care workers, teachers and school staff". In 2022, she was hired as the acting Chief Public Health Officer on

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

Awards and honours

Cleary's 2012 shale gas report earned her the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors' Environmental Health Review Award in 2013. That same year, the

Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick The lieutenant governor of New Brunswick (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the representative in New Brunswick of the monarch, who operates distinctly within ...

awarded Cleary with the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal () or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. There are four versions of the medal: one iss ...

. She was also awarded with the New Brunswick Medical Society's Dr. Donald Morgan Service Award, and has been appointed to multiple positions including a Manitoba Centre for Health Policy associate, a

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

, and as a Faculty of Medicine

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

at the

. In October 2015, Cleary received the

Paul Harris Fellowship Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and p ...

from one of Fredericton's three Rotary Clubs. In 2023, she further received the

Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal () or the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal created in 2022 to mark the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal was awarded in the United Kingdom ...

. Not long after her termination, Cleary received the President's Award from the Public Health Physicians of Canada, who recognized her for "outstanding contribution to public health and preventive medicine".

Personal life and death

Cleary married

Gerard Beirne Gerard Beirne is an Irish author and literary editor. He is a fiction editor for '' The Fiddlehead'' and curates the online magazine ''The Irish Literary Times''. In 2008, Beirne served as Writer in Residence at the University of New Brunswic ...

in 1989 and later divorced in 2015; they had four children, including writer Luke Francis Beirne. She later lived in Penniac with her partner, Paul Meyer. On March 22, 2024, Cleary died from

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River, ...

, New Brunswick, at the age of 60. Her funeral took place in Fredericton; she was

cremated Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

and her ashes were sent back to Ireland. Brunswick News stated that Cleary left "a sterling legacy in Canada, the province and the global public health community." Diane Peters of ''

'' described Cleary a "fearless defender of public health". Her

obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...

in ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' labelled her a "champion of public health and fearless

environmental health Environmental health is the branch of public health concerned with all aspects of the natural environment, natural and built environment affecting human health. To effectively control factors that may affect health, the requirements for a hea ...

advocate". Coon described Cleary as having been "a woman of intense courage and a moral compass that was unshakable". Irish poet Paula Meehan wrote an elegy in memory of Cleary, titled ''An Eagle Feather'', which was set to music and performed at Dublin's

National Concert Hall The National Concert Hall (NCH) (An Ceoláras Náisiúnta) is a national cultural institution, sometimes described as "the home of music in Ireland". It comprises the actual concert hall operation, which in various chambers hosts over 1,000 ...

in April 2025 by the Evlana Ensemble—a group founded by composer and sister to Cleary,

Siobhán Siobhán is a female name of Irish origin. The most common anglicisations are Siobhan (identical to the Irish spelling but omitting the acute accent over the 'a'), Shavawn, Shebahn, Shevaun and Shivaun. A now uncommon spelling variant is Siubh ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleary, Eilish 1963 births 2024 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Deaths from ovarian cancer in Canada Irish emigrants to Canada Physicians from New Brunswick 20th-century Irish women medical doctors 21st-century Irish women medical doctors 20th-century Canadian women physicians 21st-century Canadian women physicians Medical doctors from Dublin (city) Canadian health officials Canadian women public health doctors Canadian public health doctors