Sr Hilary Lyons received an Honorary Fellowship of the Faculty of Public Health from the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland in 2016 in recognition of her work as a physician, paediatrician, surgeon and obstetrician in Sierra Leone for 42 years.

A special liturgical reception was hosted at St Mary’s Pro Cathedral in Dublin to formally welcome 60-year-old Nigerian, Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo, the first African priest to hold the Church’s most senior diplomatic role in the State.

The award was made to Sr Hilary, a member of the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary, for her contribution to health services in Sierra Leone over 42 years.

Monumental achievement for a country that reported the highest number of deaths in the largest, longest and most complex outbreak of Ebola since it first emerged in 1976.

Fundraising campaign aims to cover cost of new retirement home for returned Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary.