John Dillon is the resident chiropodist in the Primary Health Care Centre on Irishtown Road. He was born and grew up in Ballymena, County Antrim.
John trained for three years and logged over 1,000 hours of practical experience to earn his honours Batchelor of Science degree in Podiatry and Chiropody.

After a stint in Clerys, he went on to work for the NHS in London and Belfast.

I asked John what made him choose this line of work and he told me that when he was deciding on a career, he had some problems with his own feet and visited a chiropodist.

He liked what he saw and liked the idea of working with people on a one-to-one setting.

Then down to business. I had John examine my own feet as I had not been to a chiropodist in nearly 10 years. He removed a very painful corn I had been suffering with for a long time, and also removed any hard skin from around my feet.

He is very gentle and I didn’t feel much pain while he was working. When he was finished, I felt like I was walking on air, I had’t realised how important it is to look after your feet. I won’t leave it so long again.

So John can get rid of corns and calluses in jig time. He also does ingrowing toenail surgery. If you suffer from leg or knee pain or have fallen arches, he can examine your feet and prescribe a tailor-made insert for your shoes, which should give relief.

The service is free to Medical Card holders over 65. Clients may also pay directly at consultation which costs €45. John is here in the centre every Friday from 9 to 5 and in Pearse Street Health Centre on Mark’s Lane every Thursday. Call 4100300 to make an appointment.