Penicillin discoverer’s apprentice dies at 97

Cork-born doctor Madoline O’Connell (nee Horgan), who was apprenticed to the discoverer of penicillin, Alexander Fleming, in Harefield Hospital in Britain during the second world war, died last month.

The 97-year-old, who was known for her abundant energy and her all- embracing zest for life, died on Feb 8.

Her early work experience allowed her to give vital support to her husband, St John O’Connell, as he, in his role as orthopaedic surgeon, tackled the polio outbreak in 1950, after their return to Cork from Britain.