WHILE our photographer is giving Dr Negin Reyhani direction — where to stand, how to position herself — I am watching on curiously as I try to place her soothing accent.
When he finally takes his leave and Dr Negin makes a joke about the missed opportunities of a modelling career, I spot my chance to quiz her on that jaunty inflection.
“I’m here 22 years, so I guess when you travel and are exposed to different cultures, nationalities and sense of humour, you pick up a little bit of everywhere.”
The cheerful Limerick-based GP and board member of Limerick immigrant support organisation, Doras, was born in Iran (Persia) but her parents left for Germany when she was only seven-months-old, due to the persecution they faced as members of the Bahá’í community. From here, when she was just three, they packed their bags once more for the exotic climes of South America.
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“My parents always had the desire to go somewhere else, and they also had the desire to be more involved in the community as the Bahá’í faith is very much ingrained in their lives,” she explained.
It was Paraguay they made home, and from there, Negin eventually flew the coop to Brazil where she graduated as a medical doctor. After getting married, she moved to Ireland with her husband, settling in Limerick where Negin completed her specialist medical training in General Practice with an interest in women’s health and minor surgery. She holds a Diploma in Paediatrics and has extensive experience working with various HSE agencies providing medical care to the whole community of Limerick and beyond.
Growing up in Paraguay, she insists, before I get lost in romantic notions of sun, football and waterfalls, was quite similar to Ireland.
“Not the weather, of course, but the people are very welcoming. Obviously there’s that Latin strand to it, in terms of the overall way people live, but I had a very happy childhood and very fond memories, but I’m now in Ireland much longer than I have ever been in any other country in my life. This is home for me, and the weather isn’t an issue for me anymore. My children were born here, we have family roots,” she says.
Negin is mother to two teenagers (13 and 16) — both of whom, she happily tells me, love Limerick.
Academic and sociable from a young age, Negin expresses great gratitude for the path she chose, her career, and family. She established her own practice on William Street in 2022, and finds her work very rewarding.
“I’m very grateful it worked out the way it did, and that’s why I was joking about my modelling career earlier. When I decided to open my own practice three years ago, it was a little scary at the beginning because you don’t know if it will work or not. But I am very grateful as I had great support and it all worked out.
“It does help in being able to offer a different service, in the sense that the doctor can speak Spanish, Portuguese, Persian and English,” she adds.
When I ask if she speaks any other languages, she quickly replies, “I can also speak by telephone. Ah, but seriously, I understand a little bit of German, but I wouldn’t be able to hold a medical conversation. I didn’t set out to learn different languages, it just happened and one thing led to another.”
A very witty and empathetic human being, I put it to her that perhaps, she also missed her calling as a standup comedian?
“If we take ourselves too seriously then life is just day to day. Yes, sometimes things don’t go our way and that’s that’s normal but I like to believe that my cup is always half full. It’s important to have a positive outlook otherwise you will just feel depressed all the time. If I feel everything is going bad, even if something bad has happened, I think, ‘okay, it will pass’.
“We know how stress affects the body and can even cause physical symptoms such as stomach problems like reflux. Some may get bowel issues, while others can get muscle aches or the dentist tells you that you’re grinding your teeth because of stress. So I think it is important to talk to friends and family, people that we trust, people that we can pour our hearts out to. A problem shared is a problem halved.”
Laughter, it is said, is the best medicine, and Dr Negin, believes that exercise and emotional support, are often, just what the doctor ordered.
“I’m a doctor and I believe medication can be necessary, but sometimes offloading a few things by going for a walk or a jog can clear the head. I’m not trying to diminish the use of medication but I also feel we need to try to de-medicalise some of the natural disappointments in life. Not every disappointment needs to be fixed with a tablet. Sometimes we need medication, it is important, but we also need to look at ourselves. I think there’s a lot of happiness we can get from helping other people, from looking outwardly, to try and move from our inner ego. If I do something for somebody else, suddenly I feel uplifted. I try to focus on that. I think the saddest times in my own life were when I was looking at myself.”
As a member of the Bahá’í community, Dr Negin Reyhani has been a local voice for defending human rights. Her faith is extremely important to her and helping others is at the core of everything she does. An active board member with Doras, she has a beautiful outlook on life and how she approaches each day.
“The sooner we realise that the world is one country and mankind its citizens, the better. And the sooner we realise that the frontiers, borders and barriers are man-made, we see that they are not natural. We created them.
“I wake up in the mornings and I say to myself, ‘today will be a good day’. It’s a good way to start the day. I don’t wake up thinking it’s going to be a disaster, and then it becomes a disaster. I have the hope and faith that things will come right again. I like to think that most people around us are working and living their lives in good faith, they are doing their best,” she concludes.
