More than 30 years after arriving in Ballybay, Sister Philomena Lyons still had a lilting accent that gave away her Co Cork roots.
Her voice was well known in the town where she taught third and fourth class at St Brigid's National School for 32 years. She finished her career teaching the children of her initial students.
Her retirement 21/2 years ago marked the passing of an era for the nuns of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, as she was the last teaching sister in the school, which the order founded in the 1930s.
Although she missed the children at first, Sister Philomena kept herself as busy after her retirement as before, turning her attentions to the elderly residents of St Joseph's Nursing Home run by the order in the grounds of their convent.
As one of the youngest of the 20 ... nuns living at the convent, Sister Philomena was also a familiar figure in the shops and post office in Ballybay where she gladly ran errands for her less mobile sisters.
Traditional in her observance of her vocation, she still wore the blue and white habit of her order and never discarded the veil when the option became available.
She was described by local people as hugely energetic and independent.