Blarney Osteopathic Clinic

I knew from an early age that I wanted a career in healthcare.  Coming from a Medical family, I had an early introduction to healthcare, grandad Barty O’Sullivan, was a Pharmacist in Kanturk and my parents, Jim, a much-loved G.P. in Ballybunion, and Alice, an amazing nurse, both demonstrated an unwavering dedication and passion for the well-being of their patients while working together for 37 years. I grew up immersed in the family business and I absolutely loved looking after the local community and helping out, whether it was answering the phone when the secretary went home or during the summer holidays, putting away files or any office jobs that needed doing.

It wasn’t even a discussion when I was filling out my CAO what I had planned to do after school, I knew at a young age that Nursing was the natural choice for me.  In 1996, at eighteen years old, I took off to England filled with excitement and anticipation to train as a Nurse in Essex.  Once qualified in 1999, I went to London to work in the Royal Free hospital, and also ventured to Edinburgh for a spell.

The beauty with nursing is you can work anywhere in the world and my next port of call was Australia, where I worked in Perth, Melbourne and Sidney and had the opportunity to work in the bush, in Kalgoorie and Mount Isa. I also had the fantastic opportunity to spend a number of months working in Mozambique working with the amazing people of Africa, helping out in the orphanages, woman’s health clinics and visiting hospitals. I also was honoured to do some volunteer work in Belize in Central America.

In 2002, I decide to go back to college as a mature student to continue my journey in healthcare and become an osteopath. I loved the thought of rehabilitating patients experiencing musculoskeletal issues or helping babies with issues such as colic back to health and out of trouble. I spent the next four years studying for my full-time degree course to receive my Osteopathic qualification in the beautiful “garden of England” in Kent at the renowned European School of Osteopathy (E.S.O.).

While studying at the European School of Osteopathy (E.S.O.), I gained vast diverse training and practical experience in Structural, Functional, Cranial and Visceral Osteopathy. The reason I chose the European School of Osteopathy, was that it has international recognition with a high quality of education and excellent clinical experience specialising in Osteopathy. The four-year full-time degree offered a mix of theoretical, practical and clinical experience, Monday to Friday.  The school taught all the different modalities with regards to osteopathy and it was my hope to be able to offer my future patients a wide variety of osteopathic techniques and treatments, no matter what the issue or age. Once qualified, I was to be able to treat all ages from new-borns to the older person.  I graduated as a registered osteopath obtaining a BSc. Honours degree in 2006.

Having spent ten enjoyable years in England with qualifications in nursing and osteopathy,  I returned home and initially worked as an Osteopath in Cork city. I then set up my own clinics while still working as a nurse in the Ballybunion medical practice.  I set up “The Mallow Osteopathic Clinic” and “The Ballybunion Osteopathic Clinic” in 2007, (the Mallow Osteopathic Clinic was located in Mallow Primary Healthcare Centre – MPHC for one and a half years, before I moved to my existing Mallow practice now at the “Bellevue Clinic”).

In 2013 I received a Diploma in Paediatric Osteopathy from the Irish Association of Paediatric Osteopath (I.A.P.O.). While completing my Diploma in Paediatric Osteopathy I gained valuable experience as the course focused on treating children with specials needs and complex neurological cases. I am also registered with the Osteopathic Council of Ireland.

Having been in practice since 2006, treating young and old, with various issues, my new patients now are only children under ten years old.  Any new future patients for myself are pregnant women and children under ten years of age.  My osteopathic colleagues in the clinics, Marine Schirru, Jye Adamson and Arturo Pianta, look after all our new adult patients.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, love a sing song and love winning when playing cards.  I love the chance to be able to get out on the golf course and hit a few balls (I have yet to perfect this game, – maybe one day – if anything it has taught me “patience”). I love to get out in the fresh air, walk along Beale beach and love to sea swim and sea kayaking around the Nun’s Beach back in Ballybunion.