Sister Dr. Mona Tyndall (14 April 1921 – 7 June 2000) was a medical doctor and
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
missionary in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
and
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
. She was one of the six children of businessman
David P. Tyndall
David P. Tyndall (17 May 1890 — 6 January 1970) was an Irish people, Irish businessman in the 20th century, and played a major role in helping modernise the wholesale and retail grocery trade, consolidate it, and enable the family Grocery store, ...
and his wife, Sarah Gaynor Tyndall.
Raised in
County Dublin
"Action to match our speech"
, image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg
, map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...
, she became a member of the
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
religious congregation
A religious congregation is a type of religious institute in the Catholic Church. They are legally distinguished from religious orders – the other major type of religious institute – in that members take simple vows, whereas members of religio ...
of the
Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary (MSHR). A missionary in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
and
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
, she was an active development worker in the early fight against
HIV/AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...
through her leadership of Mother & Child Clinics which were supported by the Irish Government's overseas aid programme in Zambia.
Religious profession & medical qualifications
She joined the Holy Rosary Sisters in Killeshandra,
County Cavan
County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...
, in 1940, and after religious profession on 28 August 1942, she later qualified as a medical doctor at
University College Dublin
University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...
. She then went to England and qualified as an
obstetrician
Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...
and
gynaecologist
Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with ...
.
Missionary life
Nigeria and the Biafran War
She began her missionary life in Africa starting in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
in 1949 where she ministered to the sick and particularly to young mothers. She was very active along with her fellow religious, in caring for the wounded and displaced during the
Biafran War
The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...
which broke out in Nigeria in 1967. Mission hospitals and feeding centers were overwhelmed by the plight of the sick and wounded civilians and soldiers, and she labored to save lives and console homeless orphans. She and others cared for the starving and the dying. Federal Nigerian troops overcame the Biafran secessionist resistance, and took possession of all the Mission stations.
Sister Mona and her fellow sisters and priests remained at their posts as long as they could until they were arrested and imprisoned, along with their Bishop, Dr. J. Whelan, C.S.Sp. They were reportedly released only through the personal intercession of
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...
and then deported from Nigeria.
Zambia
The remainder of her missionary life was spent in Zambia, where she worked firstly in Monze Mission Hospital, and later in
Lusaka
Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...
University Teaching Hospital (UTH), after a brief year in the Westminster Pastoral Institute in London. As Consultant Obstetrician/Gynaecologist at Lusaka UTH, she became a national tutor in the sympto-thermal method of family planning. Concerned with hospital overcrowding and high post-natal mortality, she strove to reduce maternal mortality by half in the 1990s, in accordance with the "Health for All"
Alma Ata Declaration Declaration of Alma-Ata was adopted at the International Conference on Primary Health Care (PHC), Almaty (formerly Alma-Ata), Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (present day Kazakhstan), Soviet Union 6–12 September 1978.WHODeclaration from the websi ...
(1978). In this, she was strongly supported by the Government of Zambia, and attracted funding from Ireland's then-emerging
Official Development Assistance
Official development assistance (ODA) is a category used by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to measure aid, foreign aid. The DAC first adopted the concept in ...
.
With official encouragement and Irish aid, she helped establish the first ten maternal health clinics, and the country's first related ambulance service. Overcrowding at UTH was substantially reduced, and the project was expanded throughout the country. She was credited with a major role in setting up a network of rural clinics with trained local personnel, which dispensed natural family planning methods, and eventually raise″d awareness about the dangers of HIV/AIDS. The maternal clinics network was the result of her initiative.
Exemplary influence
She retired from active missionary service and returned to
Cavan
Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bally ...
in 1995, where she became involved with the Cavan Bereavement Group, for which she trained as a counselor and supervisor. She was an acknowledged contributor to Ireland's first
White Paper
A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...
on
foreign policy
A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...
, and is credited with having had an important role in influencing some elements of Ireland's then-emerging overseas
development aid
Development aid is a type of aid, foreign/international/overseas aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political International development, development of developing countries. Closely-rel ...
policy. She was one of 17 contributors from the public whose written submissions were acknowledged in the policy paper, and lodged in the
National Archives of Ireland
The National Archives of Ireland ( ga, Cartlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the official repository for the state records of Ireland. Established by the National Archives Act 1986, taking over the functions of the State Paper Office (founded 17 ...
.
References
*''Medical Mission Work of the Holy Rosary Sisters'', an article by Sister Mary McCartan Morris, M.B., in ''The Capuchin Annual 1955'', published in Church Street, Dublin, 1955.
*''Challenges and Opportunities Abroad – White Paper on Foreign Policy'', published by the Stationery Office for the Department of Foreign Affairs, Government of Ireland, Dublin, 1996
*Obituary: "Death of, Sr. Mona Tyndall", published in ''Anglo-Celt'' (25 June 2000)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyndall, Mona
1921 births
2000 deaths
Irish obstetricians
Irish gynaecologists
Irish Roman Catholic missionaries
People from Glasnevin
Female Roman Catholic missionaries
Irish humanitarians
Place of death missing
20th-century Irish medical doctors
Roman Catholic missionaries in Zambia
Roman Catholic missionaries in Nigeria
Irish expatriates in Nigeria
Irish expatriates in Zambia
Roman Catholic medical missionaries
20th-century Irish nuns
Medical doctors from Dublin (city)
Alumni of University College Dublin