Bridget Mary Lohan

Early Life

Bridget Mary Lohan’s life began in Twenty Acres, Barnaderg, Tuam, Co. Galway.

Nursing career

Bridget’s nursing career began in Scotland on 26th November, 1948 when she is registered Reg No. C26287 at Crichton Royal Hospital, Dumfries, Scotland.

Subsequently, she registered as a Mental Health Nurse in London on November 4th 1949 when she appears on the register for the General Nursing Council in Scotland. According to her sister Chrissie who now lives in Skehana, she continued her career in Scotland for a few years before emigrating to New Jersey in America where she later married. She ended her career working as a Matron in a hospital there for many years.

Retirement

After a long career, nursing, in America, she eventually returned to Ireland on her retirement and made a home for herself in Bishop Street, Tuam, until she passed away.

As well as her sister Chrissie, she had a brother James (known as Jimmy) who remained a bachelor and lived out his life farming and living on the site where the original family house would have been located. Indeed, Jimmy was a long-time friend of this Heritage Society, loaning us his tractor for a long number of years enabling us to participate in our local St. Patrick’s Day parades.

Her mother Delia

Bridget may have inherited her caring nature from her mother, also christened Bridget but known as Delia. Delia was well known in the area, as although she had no qualifications, she delivered many, many, babies around the neighbourhood. This was common practice at the time. Matters pertaining to births etc. were not openly spoken about in the home, particularly on front of children, but Chrissie recalls at one time, her mother returning home and telling her Dad, that the lady she was called out to attend,  had a miscarriage. As she was young at the time, Chrissie had no understanding of what that meant.

(This is an ongoing project and as we gather more information, we will upload it to the website. We welcome any stories or memories people may have of  Bridget or Bridie as she became known).