Christoph Theopold studied medicine in Oxford and University College London (1999). Following a research fellowship at Harvard University Medical School he trained as a plastic surgeon in the UK and Ireland. He undertook further specialist cleft training at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, and Head & Neck reconstructive surgery in Australia.
He undertakes the primary surgical management of children referred to the Temple Street Children’s Hospital cleft team, as well as secondary surgery for speech or appearance. He is involved in your child’s care from birth until adulthood.
Claire Brennan
Cleft Services Manager
Claire joined the cleft team in 2019. Prior to joining the cleft team, Claire held the position of Clinical Nurse Manager 2 on St Gabriel’s Ward, Temple Street. She is responsible for coordinating and managing a team approach to each patient's care and is one of the first points of contact for new referrals. In coordinating patient care Claire liaises with all members of the multidisciplinary team, community based services and is a support to parents during their child’s care pathway.
Jane Gunn
Cleft Nurse Specialist
The Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) provides on-going specialist advice and support to families regarding the management of a baby’s cleft lip and/or palate. She is usually the first member of the cleft team to meet you and will offer support from the initial diagnosis to the teenage years. She has expert knowledge in feeding and other aspects of cleft care and will liaise with staff in the maternity and community settings so that you can get the best support and monitoring of your child in your own locality.
Noirin Carroll
Clinical Specialist Speech and Language Therapist (SALT)
The specialist speech and language therapists (SLTs) work with children and adults who have communication and/or feeding difficulties related to cleft lip and palate. They also assess, diagnose and treat patients with nasal sounding speech that is not associated with cleft palate. SLTs work as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide a comprehensive programme of care to each individual.
Celine Lenihan
Senior Speech and Language Therapist (SALT)
The specialist speech and language therapists (SLTs) work with children and adults who have communication and/or feeding difficulties related to cleft lip and palate. They also assess, diagnose and treat patients with nasal sounding speech that is not associated with cleft palate. SLTs work as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide a comprehensive programme of care to each individual.
Eleanor McGovern
Paediatric Dentist
Eleanor trained in the UK and Ireland and works as a consultant paediatric dental surgeon in CHI at Temple Street on a part-time basis. She looks after the dental needs of children born with cleft lip / palate from birth to 16 years of age. Eleanor works very closely with the community dental surgeons around the country. The aim is to share care as much as possible, with children attending their local dental surgeon on a regular basis and then attending the dental clinic in Temple Street when attending the joint multidisciplinary cleft clinics, or where extensive dental treatment is required.
Eleanor is very keen to ensure that all children with cleft lip and palate have healthy teeth.
Stephen Kieran
ENT Surgeon
Mr. Kieran is a graduate of University College Dublin. He trained in Ear, Nose and Throat surgery in Ireland prior to undertaking fellowships in Boston Children's Hospital (Paediatric ENT) and The Medical University of South Carolina (Ear surgery). Since returning to Ireland in 2013 he has provided a service for Cleft Palate patients with hearing loss or complex ear infections.
Katerina Papadopoulou
Senior Counselling Psychologist
Katerina is a Senior Counselling Psychologist with the Cleft and Craniofacial team in CHI@Temple Street and Crumlin. She qualified from Trinity College Dublin in 2018 and worked in adult and adolescent mental health services in both community and hospital settings in Ireland before she joined the cleft team in 2022.
She enjoys being able to meet and work with families and young people born with a facial difference, to promote wellbeing, and to support people in clinics and through any treatment, by addressing a range of psychological challenges that may come up. She works closely with other members of the cleft team to ensure that patients get the psychological support they need, when they need it.