Personal life[edit]

Holohan was born in Dublin and raised in Limerick. His primary education was at Monaleen N.S.; his secondary education took place at the CBS Sexton Street.^[40] He graduated from medical school at University College Dublin in 1991.^[2] After training in general practice, he also trained in public health medicine, graduating with a Masters in Public Health (MPH) in 1996. Holohan holds a diploma in healthcare management from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He is a member of the Irish College of General Practitioners (MICGP) and is a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (FFPHMI).^[41]


In 2015, Holohan was awarded the UCD Alumni Award in Public Health.^[42]


He met his wife Emer Feely while in medical school,^[43] who later became a specialist in public health medicine. The couple have two children, a son and a daughter.^[44] His wife died in February 2021 following a long battle with multiple myeloma.^[45][46]


On 21 September 2023, Holohan launched the publication of his memoir, We Need To Talk, written with Emily Hourican, at an event in Dublin.^[47] The book covers his early life, his time studying medicine, where he met his future wife. He recounts in detail her diagnosis of the blood cancer, multiple myeloma, and subsequent treatment, and its impact on her life and family, over a period of nine years until her death in 2021. Holohan also writes about his time as Chief Medical Officer, covering various public events, including Swine Flu, Cervical Check Audit, and the COVID-19 pandemic.


Reviewing the book for the Irish Independent, Danielle Barron wrote: "this is a book about grief as much as it is a book about being one of the most polarising characters in public health. To err is human. But doctors, as we so often forget, are human, and Dr Holohan has humanised himself with this searingly honest and personal book." ^[48]


Holohan appeared on The Late Late Show on 22 September 2023 and spoke about the "difficult" day of his wife's funeral and opened up about the "impactful" moments on the day in an emotional interview with new host Patrick Kielty.^[49]