Sr Bridie McGowan, RSM

Track 1: Growing up in the 1940s and 50s in Cloonty, Co. Leitrim. Joining the Sisters of Mercy and profession in 1962. Going on to do nursing training in Belfast and midwifery in Liverpool. Track 2: In 1967 her first appointment to Kenya and assignment to Mutomo. Her work in the hospital and the staff she worked with. Track 3: Starting a midwifery school in 1970 and her medical work in rural areas. From 1976 to 1990 she was matron of the hospital and describes the structure of the system. Track 4: The 1976 famine. She speaks about distribution work in two clinics each day. Setting up a vaccination programme around the countryside. In 1992 she set up the HIV/AIDS programme for the Diocese of Kitui. Track 5: In 1995 assignment to a tertiary hospital in Nairobi. The extremely stressful time in her post there. Her return to Ireland in 2001.