Sr Philomena is honoured in Cork
A COLUMBAN sister living in Co Wicklow since 2009 has been named the June Cork Person fo the Month in recognition of her life’s work as a nursing missionary in Korea.
North Cork-native Sr Philomena O’Sullivan’s trained as a nurse at Mercy University Hospital in Cork and left for Korea in June 1955 with Sr Mary David Mannion and they were only the second group of sisters to arrive in Korea. Sr Philomena spent six months in Mokpo before moving to the northern part of the country where she and her colleagues established a clinic foundation.
‘Following our arrival in Korea, we set out by train for Mokpo, a southerly seaside town,’ said Sr Philomena. ‘Back then, it was a 12-hour journey; these days it’s merely a short two hour trip! The Columban sisters had recently opened a clinic in Mokpo and people flocked there, often queuing up from late at night to receive medical treatment.
‘We were able to source medicines from the US, samples from doctors’ offices and some of the pharmaceutical companies. We also received help from the US army which enabled us to treat the local people at our clinic,’ said Sr. Philomena.
Not long after the end of the Korean War, it was an extremely turbulent time in the country. After 17 years working in postwar conditions, Sr Philomena was transferred to Mokpo in the south of the country to continue her work with the poor and the sick. At that stage, she was elevated to the position of Regional Superior of all the Sister Communities in Korea.
Having come back to Ireland to study midwifery, Sr Philomena returned to Korea in 1974 and established a clinic on the island of Cheju. She returned to Ireland in 1977 following a stroke but headed back to Mokpo in 1979 where, along with two doctors and four sisters, she opened a hospital where she worked in paediatrics and out-patient clinics. During this time, she also cared for patients in a leper colony on Sorokdo Island.
Sr Philomena continued to work in Mokpo until 2009, when she returned to Ireland.
Having spent more than 50 years working in Korea, she celebrated her Diamond Jubilee with her fellow Columban Sisters in Co Wicklow’s Maghermore – where she continues to live – on August 24, 2009.
Sr Philomena O’Sullivan will now go forward for possible selection as Cork Person of the Year at the awards in January.