(Based on an obituary in the Hong Kong Medical Journal 5 Oct. 2006)
After qualifying in Dublin she served as an intern in Boston, USA and in the Brompton Hospital London before going to Ruttonjee Hospital, Hong Kong where she worked until her retirement in 1988. She and two other Sisters of the Order of St Columban made a formidable team which gained an international reputation in the field of tuberculosis.
She had more than 100 papers published on adult and childhood tuberculosis and, long before it was widely used, championed Directly Observed Treatment Short Courses (DOTS). Other foci of her interest were spinal and meningeal tuberculosis leading to her being made the first Honorary Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine.
She was renowned for her charismatic teaching – always patient focused, often amusing and always inspiring. Past students also remember the post-lecture discussions over tea and biscuits ! Her compassion was legendary. Even on her last evening in Hong Kong she was to be found distributing food to street sleepers on a cold winter’s evening.
Her final years were spent with other Columban Sisters working in Bradbury Hospice, Hong Kong and, through the Society for the Promotion of Hospice Care there, helping to develop the world class palliative care services to be found in Hong Kong today.
Her final legacy is her book A Time of Transition which documents the many contributions of the Columban Sisters in Hong Kong.