It is with great sadness that the European public health community learned of the death of Anthony Staines, Professor of Health Systems at Dublin City University, on 27 August 2026.
An epidemiologist, health-systems scholar and lifelong social activist, Anthony leaves behind a body of work that shaped public health in Ireland and across Europe. But those who worked with him remember something simpler first: his kindness, generosity, and endless dedication.
Anthony’s contribution to our community was profound. He chaired two European Public Health Conferences: the 14th, moved online in 2021 under the strain of COVID-19, which he nonetheless turned into a moment of solidarity and exchange; and the 16th, held in Dublin in 2023 on food, environment and planetary health, where he led the Dublin statement connecting immediate health concerns to the structural challenges facing our societies.
When EUPHA faced a financial crisis with the cut of the EU grants, Anthony showed up week after week, always prepared, always searching for solutions, always mindful of the team and of the communities public health exists to serve.
His career, from Trinity College Dublin to Leeds, Imperial College London and DCU, spanned child health, disability, cancer epidemiology and health systems, always in service of fairer, safer and more responsive care. He co-founded Ireland’s Independent Scientific Advocacy Group during the pandemic, chaired the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, and supported causes from marriage equality to services for people with intellectual disabilities.
Anthony described himself simply as “a doctor, an academic, and a social activist,” guided by one conviction: “I believe that social solidarity matters, and that we need a more equal, and more just society.”
EUPHA extends its deepest condolences to his wife Úna, his children Lorna and Jonathan, and his family, colleagues, students and friends across Europe. We will carry forward what he taught us: that evidence must serve people, and that public health leadership means never forgetting who it is for.
