The Dr Sarah Fitzgibbon Lecture took place in the Albert Theatre, RCSI, on September 19th 2025.

Prof Suzanne Crowe delivered this year’s lecture, entitled “Failure: Cat o’ Nine Tails or Cat o’ Pult”, in which she humbly described how some of the setbacks in her own career turned out to be key turning points in bringing her to where she is now. She spoke about how Plan B can sometimes actually work out much better than Plan A. She also explored how what drives us can determine our commitment to our careers, and made the point that intrinsic motivation puts a fire in your belly that is much harder to put out than any external motivation can ever create.