Linda Kearns.

I have written a couple of Blogs now, and in each one, I have mentioned my mother, Linda Kearns. It was hardly likely that she would be the sole person bearing that name. I found many entries under that name, but only 2 refer to her, of whom I am very proud.

She was a nurse, a rebel, and a soldier. Of the former, there is one great irony. She was awarded the Florence Nightingale medal, by the Red Cross headquarters in Geneva, in 1951. It was then awarded internationally to five nurses every two years, so it was then an enormous honour to receive it 'for behavour beyond the call of duty'.

Now for the irony. My mother thought that Florence Nightingale had spoiled what she considered a very good job, (You must remember that in those days, nursing was thought little of, ill-paid, only for girls who were not suitable for higher education.) All Linda's life had been devoted to the betterment and the treatment of young nurses.

Years previously, for example, she had realised that nurses in training would work continuously for 4 to 6 weeks , according to the timetable set by the hospital for their probationers. Then they would get two days off. Now, if you come from the rural parts of Donegal, for example, it is going to take almost all of one day to get home, and the same to get back to your hospital.
So what is needed is somewhere to stay for two days, at a very reasonable cost. Or if one has had flu, or appendix, it is impossible to stay in bed in one's hospital flat, and rely on being able to recuperate.

By begging, pleading, explaining, Linda managed to get wealthy friends, big shopkeepers, even solicitors together to form a management group together, who were willling to help.In time, they succeeded in buying a suitable house, furnishing it - some rooms were even called "The
Clery Room", because it had been furnished by one of the biggest stores in Dublin. In time, Linda's dream came true, and The Nurses' Holiday and Convalescent Home in Howth, Co. Dublin was opened.