Woods, Sir Robert Henry (1865–1938), surgeon and MP, was born 27 April 1865 in Tullamore, Co. Offaly, the youngest son of Christopher Woods, shopkeeper, and his wife, Dorothea (née Lowe). Educated in Dublin at Wesley College and then TCD, he obtained the first ever moderatorship in experimental science (1887), achieving first-class honours and a gold medal. He graduated MB, BAO, B.Ch. in 1889 and the following year received a surgical travelling prize which enabled him to visit Austria. Following in the footsteps of Sir William Wilde (qv), he studied ear, nose, and throat surgery in Vienna. Though he is known principally for his work in ENT surgery, he made fundamental contributions to the understanding of the biophysics of cardiac function.
After returning to Dublin, Woods took up a position as laryngologist in the Richmond (1891–1905), Whitworth, and Hardwicke hospitals, specialising in ENT surgery, and he proved himself a skilful and adventurous operator. He was elected fellow of the RCSI (1893) and opened a private practice at 39 Merrion Square. Though business was initially slow, he became well known and highly regarded throughout Europe, patients travelling from England to attend his clinics. One of his pupils, Oliver St John Gogarty (qv), recalled that Woods was a ‘dextrous’ and ‘masterly’ surgeon to watch (Lyons, An assembly of Irish surgeons). His work was characterised by skill and thoroughness, and he was famous for his operations to remove an entire larynx affected by malignant disease as well as for his aftercare, training patients to produce intelligible voice. He resigned from the Richmond Hospital when he was appointed the first laryngologist at Sir Patrick Dun's Hospital, where he remained until his death.
In 1913 Woods received a knighthood and was awarded an honorary M.Ch. by TCD. He held many prestigious positions, as president of the Royal College of Surgeons (1910–12) and member of council in the surgical section (1896–8, 1901–4, 1912–13); president of the Leinster branch and vice-president of the laryngology section of the British Medical Association (1901, 1902); and president of the Irish Medical Association, the British Laryngological Association (before 1910), the DU Biological Association, and the Royal Zoological Society of Ireland. He was also a governor of the National Gallery. He was honorary professor of laryngology and otology, TCD (1915–38), and in 1921, after he and William Taylor (qv) had made a trip to the United States in that year to confer honorary fellowships on eight American surgeons, was made an honorary fellow of the American College of Surgeons. The Kirkpatrick archive contains a bibliography of twenty-five papers by Woods, covering the period 1895–1934, on various subjects relating to treatments and techniques for cancer surgery, as well as a retrospective of developments in laryngology and otology. Though his publications were not numerous, they were characterised by original thought and content. He published mostly in the Journal of the Royal Academy of Medicine, the British Medical Journal, and the Irish Journal of Medical Science.
Although Woods was a unionist by instinct and upbringing, his open-minded attitude on all Irish questions was marked. He stood in a by-election as an independent candidate for TCD in 1917, but was defeated by Arthur Samuels (qv). In the general election the following year he was elected when Edward Carson (qv) stood down, and he remained MP for TCD until 1922. Though his contributions to parliamentary proceedings were not numerous, when he did speak in the house of commons he was progressive and fair-minded. His maiden speech was on 24 March 1919 in support of the Local Government Bill (Ireland), when he commented on the introduction of proportional representation in Ireland but not in England as the strongest reason for supporting it. He made further contributions on gratuities for naval medical officers, equal opportunity for education grants for Irish ex-servicemen, adequate representation for Ireland on the nurses’ board, and public health issues. When the dáil convened in the Mansion House in January 1919, he was the only unionist who formally declined the offer to attend the assembly. However, in July 1921 he took part in the Mansion House conference which was instrumental in bringing about a truce in hostilities between republican and British forces.
Woods was immensely popular with his professional colleagues. With his strong physique, piercing eyes, and powerful intellect, he was a well-known figure around Dublin. In his manner he was direct but was equally charming and generous, and had a keen sense of humour. Colleagues regarded him as fair-minded and tolerant of all points of view. He was an excellent host, though he preferred to listen and enjoy the company of his guests rather than join in himself. He was a cabinet-maker and modeller of some skill, spending much of his time in his studio after he scaled down his commitments to his practice. Interested in collecting paintings and antique furniture, he also enjoyed music and was a member of the Catch Club and The Strollers singing club. A practical man, he invented a number of mechanical devices for use in surgery and, to reduce glare during operations, replaced the standard white surgical dress with green. As president of the Royal Dublin Zoological Society, in 1925 he presented a number of animals to the zoo following a visit to the Far East to see one of his sons, who was a barrister in Malaysia.
In 1894 Woods married Margaret Shaw, the eldest daughter of James J. Shaw, KC, recorder of Belfast. They had five children – three sons and two daughters. His eldest son, Thornley, was killed in action in October 1916 in Flanders; friends attributed Woods's effort to enter politics the following year as an attempt to busy himself and overcome his enormous grief. Another son, Robert Rowan Woods (d. 1971), succeeded his father as laryngologist at Sir Patrick Dun's hospital. Woods was suffering from a severe illness, but died suddenly 8 September 1938, aged seventy-three, at his residence, Marino, Killiney, Co. Dublin. In his will he made provision for his family, but also included his staff, specifically his driver and gardeners.