Sister Celeste Bowe was born Catherine Mary Bowe also known as Ina in Newberry, Mallow, County Cork on 23 February 1931. Her parents were James and Julia Bowe (née Ducey). Her father was a labourer. She attended the local national and secondary schools. She went to St Vincent's Hospital, Pinner, Middlesex in 1949 to train as a nurse, taking first place in the final examinations in Great Britain in 1951. She qualified in 1953 as a state registered nurse at St John's and St Elizabeth's Hospital, London. She returned as a staff nurse to St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin.
