From orbiting the Earth to plumbing its greatest oceanic depths

IT’S ALL IN A SINGLE CAREER FOR THIS REMARKABLE DAUGHTER OF KERRY!

TALK about female pioneering! She was the first woman to ever walk in space and now, in an adventure every bit as awe-inspiring in later life Lauragh descendant Kathryn Sullivan has reached the deepest known location of the Earth’s oceans - Challenger Deep.

Kathryn, has made history in both sea and space with her latest venture when on June 6 the oceanographer and former NASA astronaut became the first woman to reach Challenger Deep, the deepest known location in the ocean. The 35,810-foot dive, which was undertaken on the DSV Limiting Factor and co-piloted by Victor Vescovo, now makes Kathryn the first person to both walk in space and descend to the deepest point in the ocean.

Kathyrn was born in New Jersey in 1951 and spent her childhood in California but has strong Kerry connections with her grandfather, Denis O’Sullivan Leah, hailing from Lauragh. Kathryn still has family living in Lauragh, Nora and Margaret O’Sullivan, who live in the very house that Kathryn’s grandfather came from. Their mother was first cousins with Kathryn’s father, Donald, and both Donald and Kathyrn have visited Kerry. A most recent visit by Kathryn to Lauragh took place in 2016 where she dined in Josie’s restaurant. She visited Lauragh National School on one of her visits.

“She is so fabulous and down to earth for a person who has achieved so much,” Nora told The Kerryman last week.

Nora also lived in the US for many years and spent time with Kathryn and her family there.

“We think she is marvellous and we are very proud of her,” said Nora..

“To think she went 11k down into the ocean and was the first American woman in space. She has accomplished so much.”

And never were such true words spoken given her distinguished career.

She has been recognised as one of the 46 distinguished First Women by Time Magazine (2017), the 15 Women Changing the World by the World Economic Forum (2015) and Time’s 100 Most Influential People (2014). She has also received numerous accolades including the Explorers Club medal and the Rachel Carson Award. And top of all that she is an author.

Photo by Valerie O’Sullivan ABOVE: Dr Kathryn Sullivan, the first American Female Astronaut to walk in space, visiting her relations, Nora, left and Margaret O’Sullivan, at their home in Lauragh on the Beara Peninsula back in 2016.

Photos by Enrique Alvarez LEFT and BELOW: In her new guise as a submariner extraordinaire, Kathy O’Sullivan sets off on the deepest dive possible - over 35,800 ft down to Challenger Deep on the Mariana Trench off the Phillipines.