Bina Kelly, Kilconnell, Co. Galway
Bina was born Sabina Kelly on the 22nd January 1902 to parents Thomas Kelly & Margaret McDonagh. Bina’s mother was also a midwife and between them they had over 70 years midwifery experience from 1890 to the 1970s. Bina never married, was dedicated to her work and was loved deeply by her community from the very young to the very old. The most famous part of her was her midwifery bag known as “Bina’s Bag”. Everything was in there from penny pops to babies and it even went missing at one stage with a Garda search to find it.
That story and others can be heard on her interview she did with Jim Fahy’s R.T.É programme “Looking West” in 1983 where Bina chats about her time as a midwife in rural Ireland during the early part of 20th century. With thanks to Bina’s niece Kate Noonan for giving permission to use this interview in the project.
Click on the image to listen to Bina’s interview with Jim Fahy,
No Comments
Add a comment about this page