Eileen O'Connor: For the Poor and the Poor Only

Eileen O'Connor was a remarkable Australian Woman. Born in Melbourne in 1892, she grew up mainly in Sydney. Crippled early in life, she lived in constant pain and great cheerfulness. In the days before Medical Benefits, her care impoverished her family. She learned the hopelessness of the poor faced with illness. Although she lived to be only twenty-eight, she founded, with the co-operation of Father Edward McGrath MSC, the Brown Sisters, Our Lady's Nurses for the Poor, to care for the sick and poor in their homes. Her work is part of the social history of Australia. She lived life close to Christ and Mary. This resulted in a spirituality so strong and radiant that the possibility of her beatification is being investigated. T.P. Boland is a priest of the Archdiocese of Brisbane. Since 1960 he has lectured in History at Pius XII Seminary, Banyo. He has served in a similar capacity in the University of Queensland. Among his publications are Quiet Women, a study of the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, founded by Rev Julian Tenison Woods, and James Duhig, a biography of the well-known Archbishop of Brisbane.

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