John Philip Brennan O'Sullivan (Johnny) was born on May 26th, 1933, the youngest of six children of Dr Michael and Dr Kathleen O'Sullivan of Herbert Park, Dublin. He attended Marlborough Street Irish-speaking national school and as a consequence retained a love and facility for the national language. His secondary education was at Belvedere College. He studied medicine at UCD and at St. Vincent's Hospital, where as an undergraduate he won the Tobin Prize Medal for clinical medicine.
He graduated in 1957 and following his intern year chose a career in surgery. His trainee years were spent in St Vincent's Hospital and in a Liverpool trainee surgical rotation scheme. In 1967 he returned to St Vincent's, where he worked as senior registrar and surgical tutor until 1972, when he was appointed county surgeon in St Catherine's Hospital, Tralee.
During those trainee years he passed his Irish and English Fellowship Examinations and his masters in surgery, UCD (NUI). He married Eileen Taylor in 1962.
In 1975 he was appointed county surgeon to Wexford, where he subsequently lived with Eileen and their two children, Frances and Annaliese. He retired in 1998. The family's hopes of well-earned years of happy retirement were shattered in that year by the diagnosis of the illness which eventually caused his death.
The above is an outline of the facts and dates relative to John's family, professional and social life. They give no hint of the exceptional qualities of personality for which he was so loved. Throughout his career, in addition to serving the people of Wexford, John played an active role in Irish surgical life. He was a member of the surgical discussion group, an active contributor to its twice-yearly meetings, not only to the scientific content but in particular to its social life. He was also a member of the Colles Travelling Club, and a longstanding examiner for the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, where he was well known for his kindness and courtesy to candidates. He also partook in the surgical training programme whereby trainees rotated through his service. The fact that many of those trainees were in the funeral congregation in Rowe Street Church is proof of their gratitude and regard.
John was a self-deprecating, humble person who never sought honours or advancement, but his fine qualities were recognised by his colleagues, as shown by his appointment as president of the surgical section of the Royal College of Medicine in Ireland in 1996-1998 and by the award of the college medal of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in recognition of his lifelong contribution to Irish surgery.
John was respected by all and loved by those who knew him well, including his surgical colleagues. In great part this derived from his marvellous, sometimes mischievous, sometimes quirky sense of humour, accompanied by a twinkle in the eye and an infectious smile. He was a great raconteur, with a limitless fund of stories and jokes which he could deliver with mimicry and perfect timing. An unforgettable experience was to hear him sing one of his humorous ditties, such as "The Two Blackbirds".
John had a great love of music and a very pleasant singing voice. He was an active member of the Rowe Street Church Choir and the Wexford Festival Singers, who performed annually at the Wexford Festival.
He also had a great love for and loyalty to his Church, a strong faith which pervaded his life and daily actions, but was never intrusive on others. He was an annual pilgrim to Lough Derg and a daily Mass attendant. The Requiem Mass at Rowe Street Church was a moving tribute to him and his family. From the first vibrant strong notes of the hymn How Great Thou Art, which initiated a moving, dignified ceremony, one could feel the respect and love for John emanating from the celebrants and congregation. This was the Church at its liturgical best, celebrating and giving thanks for one of its most assiduous and loyal sons.
We once again extend our sympathy to Eileen, Frances, Annaliese and their extended families, who cared for John so wonderfully in the last few months. The fact that he died at home surrounded by his loved ones will, we hope, in time bring a measure of comfort and solace.
We were privileged to have known this unique person.
E.J.G.