Ray McMahon: good humoured pathologist who taught hundreds of students and trainees
Ray McMahon often lived up to the stereotype of the affable Irishman: he was a friendly, relaxed man who enjoyed a party and might knock out a song at the end of a convivial evening. But underneath that good humoured exterior lay a sharp intellect and a fierce work ethic, which saw him juggle clinical, research, and administrative responsibilities. McMahon was a histopathologist who combined lecturer and consultant roles at Manchester University and the Manchester Royal Infirmary. He specialised in gastrointestinal pathology and had research interests in cancer and liver disease, authoring more than 80 papers and ending up as professor. When he first became a pathologist he thought he would try the specialty for six months to find out if he liked it. After overcoming what he described as the “predictable initial difficulties with the autopsy room and an apparent inability to focus with both eyes at the same time at microscopy,” he began to enjoy the scientific element of the specialty
