presentation convent ireland

"The Almighty is all sufficient" - Nano Nagle

"It is a good sign of our future success that we should meet with crosses in the beginning" - Nano Nagle

"There is no greater happiness in the world than to be in Union" - Nano Nagle

"I am confident that the great God will direct you to what is most to His glory" - Nano Nagle

"We must leave it to the Almighty; He will do everything for the best in it" - Nano Nagle

"The Almighty makes use of the weakest means to bring about His works" - Nano Nagle

"I hope the increase of the charities you get, will enable you to daily add to the good you do" - Nano Nagle

"Love one another as you have hitherto done" - Nano Nagle

"The best works meet with the greatest crosses" - Nano Nagle

"God is all we need His divine hand will support us always" - Nano Nagle

"If I could be of any service in saving souls in any part of the globe I would willingly do all in my power" - Nano Nagle

"By degrees with the assistance of God we may do a great deal" - Nano Nagle

"You see it has pleased the Almighty to make me succeed" - Nano Nagle

"We do not know what is best for us, so we ought to accept what God sends us" - Nano Nagle

"Whoever we live with we must expect to have something to suffer as this world is not to be our paradise" - Nano Nagle

"Spend yourselves for the poor" - Nano Nagle

Ireland South West

• Newfoundland and Labrador
• Latin America
• New Zealand
• Philippines
• United States of America

Founder of the Presentation Sisters, Venerable Nano Nagle set up her first school in Cork, Ireland, in 1754 and founded the Congregation on Christmas Eve in 1775.  Presentation Sisters have maintained a continuous presence in Cork city since the founding of the Congregation 240 years ago.  In 1976 the South West Province joined the Presentation Sisters Union during its formation. To learn more about the Presentation Sisters in Ireland South West see below or visit their website here .

An Diseart, Co Kerry 

The Presentation Convent in Dingle no longer is home to a community of Sisters, but it is home to An Díseart.

The Díseart acts as the centre for a lively community giving expression to and promoting Celtic Culture and Spirituality as an integral part of our local heritage.

Housed in the former Presentation Convent premises in Dingle, founded in 1996, an Díseart developed as a centre for the research into all areas of Irish Spirituality and Celtic Culture including theology, language, literature, art, laws, folklore, values, spirituality, history, music, archaeology and customs led by the late Msgr Pádraig Ȯ Fiannachta and associated with his valuable collection of manuscripts and books now housed in the Dingle Library.

With the support of the Presentation Sisters, An Díseart is in the hands of a community managed by a voluntary board who make provision for the care and maintenance of the building and grounds.  The building is available to the community for the development of spiritual, artistic and cultural activities.  The organisation develops volunteerism in the community.  The gardens are a location for family picnics and cultural gatherings. An Díseart organises and promotes cultural and Heritage events throughout the year.

Feidhmíonn An Díseart mar ionad do phobal bríomhar a chuireann an Cultúr agus an Spioradáltacht Cheilteach chun cinn mar dhlúthchuid d’ár n-oidhreacht áitiúil.  Tá sé lonnaithe sa Daingean I seanChlochar na Toirbhirte.  Ȯ cuireadh An Díseart ar bun I 1996, d’fhorbair sé mar ionad taighde as gach gné den Spioradáltacht Eireannach agus den Chultúr Ceilteach, ina measc an diagacht, teanga, litríocht, ealaín, dlithe, béaloideas, luachanna, spioradáltacht, stair, ceol, seandálaíocht agus nósanna.  B’e Msgr. Pádraig Ȯ Fiannachta, trócaire air, a bhí ina cheann air agus tá ceangal ag an nDíseart lena chnuasach luachmhar lámhscríbhinní agus leabhar atá I dtaisce I Leabharlann an Daingin.

Le tacaíocht Shiúracha na Toirbhirte tá An Díseart á stiúradh ag bord deonach a thugann aire don fhoirgneamh agus dá thailte is a dhéanann iad a chothabháil.  Tá an t-ionad ar fail don phobal le haghaidh gníomhachtaí spioradálta, ealaíonta, cultúrtha agus Gaelacha agus is áit é gur féidir le daoine a mbuanna a thabhairt i lár an aonaigh agus iad a roinnt.  Eagraíonn An Díseart féin imeachtaí cultúrtha, spioradálta agus oidhreachta I rith nab liana agus tá na gáirdíní as fail le haghaidh picnic, teacht le chéile cultúrtha nó paidreoireacht phríomháideach agus machnamh.

The kiss of the sun for pardon

The song of the birds for mirth

One is nearer God’s heart in a garden

than anywhere else on earth.

Dorothy Frances Gurney

The development of the sensory garden is the final stage in the development of the gardens which were first planted in 1894.  The late Msgr Pádraig Ȯ Fiannachta had a plan to develop the garden in stages – Family Tree Garden, Labyrinth Meditation Garden and Sensory Garden. This development was made to heighten our sense of place and deepen our connection with the earth.  Over time the trees will develop into a balanced ecosystem with wildflowers, all creating a haven for wildlife as well as for people who can come to enjoy the everchanging landscape.

The Presentation Sisters’ burial ground occupies part of the garden.  A magnificent copper beech tree grows here, and its branches extend over the white painted crosses marking the burial spot of 75 sisters, the first of whom was interred in 1832 and the last on 7 April 2021.

The Presentation Sisters’ involvement in West Kerry continues as trustees of Bunscoil an Clochar and as members of the Board of Directors of An Díseart.

Diseart Garden - Pres Convent

Tralee, Co Kerry

Tralee, the 8 th largest town in Ireland, has a population of 23,691 people (2016 census) from many countries with various cultures.  Presentation Sisters have been in Tralee since 1809 and during the Bicentenary the people honoured their presence and work.

We live in a large Convent on spacious grounds which call for high maintenance, ensuring a place of reflection and quiet. We focus on living simply and constantly aim to live more sustainably, increasing efforts to reach best practice in lessening our carbon footprint and reducing waste.

Living beside the Church, we are closely connected with the Parish of St John the Baptist. It is an active parish and as a Community we are supportive and involved in activities including preparation and organisation of Rituals.

The Convent is on the same grounds as The Sacred Heart Primary School. Whenever the opportunity arises we collaborate with the teachers and respond to requests, ranging from information on Nano Nagle, to the history of the school, to personal interviews on our vocation and experience living as Presentation Sisters.

We provide space for AA meetings.

Due to failing health, many of us are not as involved as we were. We continue to participate in the Mission of the Congregation, grateful for our faith in a living and active God. We support one another to live contemplatively and in fidelity to daily community prayer and hospitality. We participate in discernment processes and engage with the Presentation communication network. We keep up to date with happenings around us, both in the world and congregation, and support many needs through donations to worthy causes e.g. the work of Trócaire, Red Cross, the  Green Belt Africa, Syria, India . . .

We share responsibility within our community, conscious of our vulnerable Sisters and ensuring the best care for all. We support the ministry of local leadership within community and in another community in the SW Unit.

While Covid has restricted our movements and involvement, we have been enriched by participation in online events from local to global, from Unit to IPA.  We promote these events, mindful of people who do not have access to the same resources.

Many of us have lived in different communities, involved in various ministries in the congregation over the years and now as we enjoy the Autumn of our lives, we support one another to feel at home in Tralee and continue to minister in whatever way we can to one another, to staff and others who may need help in crises.

St John’s Care of Creation Group

A member of Castle Street Community works with St John’s Care of Creation Group, while our community as a whole supports the group’s efforts in promoting education and awareness raising on spirituality, biodiversity and all things related to sustainable living.

A Hub beside the Church is used for display, disseminating information and prayer resources. Study sessions and workshops have been offered on e.g. Laudato Si and Fratelli Tutti.  During Lent  Stations of Creation were set up in the nearby town park.

In the church grounds a small biodiversity garden is being developed to model care for our earth and for all its smaller flora and fauna species.

A member of community collaborates in an inter-congregational group ‘FUTURE WE NEED’ (FwN), a faith-based justice group comprising of members from Columbans, Franciscans, Josephites, Mercy, Presentation and Salesians.  This group works on issues of justice and ecology, raising awareness and engages in advocacy and lobbying.

One of our community is on the SOUTH WEST UNIT JUSTICE COMMISSION , which consists of Sisters from Cork (Eleanor Sugrue & Anne Marie McCarthy), Kerry (Miriam Pollard & Maureen O’ Connell) and Limerick (Helen O’ Brien), with a link Sister (Pauline Casey) from the Leadership Team.  The group organises resources and workshops to raise awareness in the Unit on local, national and global issues of poverty, injustice and care of earth and on what Sisters and colleagues are doing in those areas.  There is also collaboration with the Ireland/ England Justice Desk (Brian O’ Toole) and the North East and English Units .         

One of our Sisters is on the CONGREGATIONAL COORDINATING TEAM FOR JUSTICE (CCT-J) whose role is to support and strengthen the Union Justice Network within and between Units/Mission areas, to promote greater and more effective engagement with the International Presentation Association.  They are supported in their work by a link person (originally Sr Fatima Rodrigo and currently Sr Anne McDermott) from the Congregational Leadership Team.

A member of the Tralee Community represents the Congregation on the ETHICAL CRITERIA REVIEW GROUP of State Street Global Advisors Ireland , based in Grand Canal Dock, Dublin, which provides guidance for policy on ethical investments.

Care of Creation, St John's, Tralee

Farranree, Co Cork

Sr Ena Lehane shares…

Farranree Family Resource Centre

In 1988 a Family Resource Centre was planned to provide a network of support services for families in the Farranree/Fairhill/Commons Road and surrounding areas, to enable people to become involved in their own human, social and spiritual development.  The driving force behind this initiative was Sr Lelia Karr.

Temporary accommodation was made available in the local Convent and Boys Primary School.  A Community Committee was set up to raise funds for a new building.   The Department of Social Welfare, under the then Minister, Mr Michael Woods, gave a substantial grant towards the project. The Cork Diocesan Trustees and Trustees of the Local Presentation Convent gave the site gratis and work on the present Family Centre began in November 1990.  It was completed in January 1992. The Farranree Family Resource Centre was officially opened on the 18 May 1992.  President Mary Robinson officially opened an upstairs extension to the Centre on the 26 of February, 1996. To read more please click here

Flower arranging

Computer Class

Bingo Session

Music Session

Parent & Toddler setting

Samples of art

Ministry Report from Roxboro Road Community, Limerick

Josephine’s Reflection on the Garden

We ask  how do we care for the world,  our common home in this age? Do we see it as a thing to be used and abused, or as something that is valued, cherished, preserved and protected? We can learn from the Native Americans – our world is loaned to us and must be cherished and preserved for posterity. How can we achieve this in our little patch? To continue reading, please click here

Biodiversity garden

Rainwater collection tank for watering

Castleisland, Co Kerry

We are a Community of five Sisters who strive to create a happy environment and to live in the love of Christ and one another. Having retired from active ministry in education, we realise that we have plenty of time and opportunity to devote ourselves more and more to a life of prayer and contemplation. This we regard as a priority in our work and ministries. We consider ourselves very fortunate in this time of the pandemic to be able to assist at Mass in our little side-chapel adjoining the Parish Church while also obeying current restrictions and safety measures.

We are also very mindful of the needs of our parishioners and beyond who seek our prayers for various needs and requests. In times of family bereavements in the parish we convey our condolences online which, we hope, is some measure of consolation in their sorrow and grief. Frequently, we also forward a Mass card for the happy repose of the deceased loved one.

One of our Sisters is a member of the Church choir and another is a Eucharistic minister. We assist the local Parish Deacon with readings during a Family Service which he conducts every Wednesday night.

This past year we donated a beautiful statue of Christ the King to the local Church and provided an explanatory picture of same. We also donated some pews for the creation of sacred spaces in the Church. Following the downsizing of the Convent, our altar and Stations of the Cross were donated to the parish of Brosna, Co. Kerry which greatly enhanced their recently renovated Church.

Our dedicated management and staff continue the good ministry of education in our schools after the retirement of all Presentation Sisters after many years of teaching. Following the provision of Primary and Secondary education in our schools, we were happy to announce the building of a special unit in 2015, to cater for the needs of pupils within the autistic spectrum. This was surely an addition which must have been dear to the heart of Nano Nagle, who always gave priority to the disadvantaged.

Today, we keep in contact with our schools on special occasions like Presentation Day, Graduation Days, and school Masses. We had a lovely experience this Presentation Day 2020 when, due to Covid -19, students could only connect with us through personal letters wishing us well and telling us the little stories of their lives. Gifts were exchanged between the schools and convent while observing social distancing.

On the occasion, of the celebration of the 150 th Anniversary of the Convent in 1996, the Congregation saw the need for a Day Care Centre in Castleisland and kindly donated a site for same. The elderly, enjoy the many benefits of this facility, in a loving and caring environment. Land has also been donated to the parish for a community garden. This is well utilised and gives pleasure to people to grow their own vegetables for the household.

On the 22 June 2016, Kerry County Councillors and local politicians honoured us by dedicating a new library in Castleisland town to our Founder, Mother Joseph Harnett. Mayor Bobby O’Connell addressed the meeting and outlined how the library was being dedicated to the legacy and memory of a remarkable local woman. Present were Sr Pauline Casey from the Unit Leadership Team and Sr Maureen Kane, Sr Theresa McAuliffe and Sr Mary Buckley from the Castleisland Community. The Parish Priest, Fr Dan O’Riordan, and many parishioners also joined the happy occasion. Sr Pauline Casey delivered a gracious and heartfelt vote of thanks.  

Community Sisters reading Presentation Day Greetings from the students

Fermoy, Co Cork

Our ministry situation has changed enormously during the past twelve months.  Last year Eucharia did voluntary teaching, particularly with regard to foreign nationals.  She also has, over the years, built up a wonderful connection with foreign national families and local people in need of material and advice assistance.   But now, as a result of four deaths in thirteen months, our numbers in the house have gone from six to two, and we also have one Sister in a Nursing Home.  In addition Eucharia is 78 and I’m 86.  Eucharia still carries on her ministry to, and interest in, those in need in the local community.  However the needs of her religious community take up most of her time.  We both see the ministry of prayer as most important and, being leader, Eucharia sees to our welfare.  Physically I am unable to do very much, but I do look after the accounts and things of that nature.

We are very aware that the above is a ministry of aged people but for us that’s how life is,  we have no regrets!  We had our day, let’s hope we did our best.

Catherine Barry & Eucharia Fenton

Killorglin, Co Kerry

Sr Noreen Quilter

I am based in Killorglin Co Kerry in the South West province. My ministry is being part of a Diocesan team with my main role being Diocesan Advisor to 159 primary schools in the diocese for Kerry. It involves school visits, supporting and resourcing teachers in the teaching of Religious Education. Providing in service to teachers and supporting our Catholic schools and their Boards of Management.

• Ministry of Accompanying and being accompanied by Homeless Persons.
• Accompanying people who need to be accompanied on their spiritual and personal journeys

I’m a Presentation Sister living in Cork City. I taught in Primary school for twenty-six years, where I had the privilege of imparting knowledge and awakening students to their inner potential. Now the shoe is on the other foot. The homeless people become my teachers. I have been privileged to accompany and be accompanied by homeless people, from all walks of life, on their spiritual and personal journeys, for almost twenty-seven years in the Cork Simon Community, on the streets of Cork and in the Retreat Centre at Nano Nagle Birthplace in Ballygriffin, Mallow, Co. Cork.

Some homeless people never had a home.  A house is not necessarily a home. Houses provide shelter from the elements, an address, somewhere to lay our heads.  Homes offer so much more – security, love, warmth, support, understanding and a place where we feel free to be ourselves and where we are accepted for who and what we are.

Homelessness is about more than housing. It is also about physical and mental health, drug and alcohol abuse. For some street people though, their days become an endless grind of finding food, money for drink and a safe warm doorway, old shed, under a bridge, derelict house etc., to sleep, especially when the temperatures drop below freezing.

I have found their stories and their way of life, at a deeper level so fascinating, that I began to keep a diary on my daily meetings with them. This diary is now a published book – “For you are Beauty-Full”.  My privilege over the years has been to be there as a listening presence, offering meditation/mindfulness training to many.

Funds provided by my Presentation Congregation helps with Soup Run, emergency shelter, bedding, food, education and training, housing, care of women to name but a few.

I continue to keep a daily diary which has formed the basis for several more books, these will soon be available to the public to read in the Reading Room at Nano Nagle Place;

Sr Catherine Fenton

Youghal, Co Cork

Presentation Community in Youghal, Co Cork dates back to 1834. The years of Prayer and Ministry celebrated here add up to one hundred and eighty-five year and the combined age of the four Sisters here now adds up to almost three hundred and sixty years, so we have much to remember and give thanks for, and still more opportunities for mission.

We are closely associated with Youghal Parish and have a lovely sense of Eucharistic Community with many at morning Mass, funerals and other celebrations. Because of age and health factors we are not as active in ministry as previously, but are on the inward journey, awake to the Mystery of God and supportive of the work of the Congregation worldwide.

Sr Stanislaus Kent

 In my 98 th year my chief ministry is prayer. I help with household duties, I do the accounts and I pay the staff.

Sr Margaret Cashman

• Link-person with house-staff providing for the needs of Sisters, shopping for kitchen and dining room.
• Driving Sisters where necessary
• Assistant gardener and refuse collection and recycling

Sr Carmel Ryan

• Sacristan duties – preparation for celebration of Mass, care of Alter Vessels and linen, buying wine, breads, candles etc for Mass
• Visitation of hospital and Nursing homes. Visiting and meeting with the old and homeless in Shalom House and St Francis Court – i.e Respond Housing projects
• Doing weekly adoration in the adoration Chapel
• Visits to Blessed Sacrament and presence at morning and evening prayer to increase my appreciation of God’s love in our lives and to give us the opportunity to pray for our loved one and the whole world
• Daily recitation of the Rosary – with the odd duplicate thrown in – assures us of the special care of Mary Our Mother. We intercede for the needs of the local church and of those far and near, particularly those in the troubled parts of the world.

Sr Placida Barry

My ministries here are many – simple and changeable depending on need and opportunity.

I organise meetings, write reports, communicate outward by letter, email and phone calls. Immigrant workers accept my voluntary work for English (TEFL) and social integration of their families.

Ministry to community and others needs cars, so I renew, repair and service the cars and tend to daily and annual specifications. I find people to maintain and repair our residence and I engage house staff. I still have an interest in safeguarding children professionally, based on long-term experience. Now I help with necessary edits of materials for circulation of the Communication Office of the Congregation .

Midleton, Co Cork

Presentation Midleton – Recent News/Events Currently there are ten Sisters in Midleton, three of whom are not in residence – Sr Joseph Darmody in Conna Nursing Home, Sr Máire Manning in Ballincurrig Nursing Home and Sr Úna Burke in Marymount Hospice Care in Cork.

Areas of ministry include: • Visitation of hospitals – Srs Carmel Hartnett and Agnes Manley • Associates  – Sr Clare Fox • Adoration in Parish Church – Srs Carmel Hartnett and Agnes Manley • Parish music ministry when requested – Sr Carmel Flynn • First Communion programme with parents – Srs Clare Fox, Carmel Hartnett and Carmel Flynn • Cathecetics in Cloyne diocesecan primary schools – Sr Clare Fox

All significant events are celebrated

Sr Aurea Dias visited recently and a celebratory lunch was enjoyed by all three communities in the diocese – Midleton, Fermoy and Youghal.  Photos of this special event below.

Srs Angela and Agnes

Srs Evelyn, Eucharia, Catherine, Lelis, Mary Jane

Srs Placida, Evelyn, Margaret, Carmel

Srs Stanislaus and Mary

Srs Margaret, Carmel, Aurea and Placida

Srs Aurea, Catherine, Eucharia and Angela

Lixnaw, Co Kerry

We are a community of six Sisters living in a little village called Lixnaw (Leac Snámha, swimming flagstones) in North Kerry. The first Presentation Sisters arrived here in 1877 at the invitation of the Bishop, a native, and who was very worried about the fierce faction fighting which had become a very negative feature of life in the area.  He hoped the Sisters would have a calming and good influence on the people.

As with all Presentation Sisters and new foundations, school began the day after arrival with 50 children.

This commitment to education continued down the years at primary level and eventually secondary level with Lixnaw gaining a reputation of offering the best and most well-rounded education in the north Kerry area. Students came from far and wide.

The Sisters who joined the community came not just from local families but from as far away as Waterford, Dublin, Tipperary and Limerick, all bringing with them many gifts in the areas of learning including art, music and languages.

The following is a little note on one of the founding Sisters:

DEATH OF A NOTEWORTHY IRISH NUN. The Sacred Heart Review, Number 5, 18 July 1914 In the Convent of the remote little village of Lixnaw, in the County of Kerry, there has just passed to her reward (says the Dublin Freeman) one of the most remarkable nuns in Ireland, and known in religion as Mother Mary Dympna. The Lixnaw Convent is well-known to Gaelic Ireland. Few, if any, convents in the country have done so much for the Irish language and for Irish history.

You can read more on the web link – https://northkerry.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/some-kerry-people-early-1900s/https://northkerry.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/some-kerry-people-early-1900s/

More recently in 1975 the Sisters were responsible for offering the first school for special children in North Kerry. The Nano Nagle school which later moved to Listowel.

Presently we are all on the retired list and no longer directly involved in the local schools – but a lovely link is preserved, with the school children celebrating November 21 with a lively and creative Mass, which always includes a little drama on the life of Nano.

As a community we continue our outreach to the local people, and further afield, in many ways.   Pre Covid, Sisters were involved in the local Active Retirement group.  Vincent the Paul. Prayer Ministry in the Church, including the choir, and with small prayer groups during Advent and Lent. Sisters travelled to Tralee to offer their service in the St. John of God centre, and the local Asylum outreach.  One Sister was involved with Leadership roles in Tralee and Dingle.

This summary of Sisters involvement in daily life in no way takes in the constant interaction with so many who contact us through visits, letters, phone emails etc. And more recently the magical Zoom meetings!

What is happening in the family lives of the Sisters, and in the local community is shared and those who are struggling in any way are carried in our prayer.

Many people contact us to ask for prayers for their loved ones, and a list is kept of these requests and is remembered each day as we gather for prayer.

We had the lovely experience recently of one man who had recovered from serious illness coming to the door with a box of chocolates.  His sister had asked for prayers and told him we were praying for him.

When the Sisters first came to Lixnaw a local land owner gave them a gift of 25 acres of bog. This was a very precious gift – it meant the Sisters always had turf for heat and cooking and rent from others who also saved turf in this bog.  When asked by Leadership to allow the bog to go fallow and no longer ‘cut’ it for the sake of good climate action – it was not an easy decision to say yes. This decision not only affected the Sisters but also many neighbours – but the Sisters worked hard at bringing all on board and are now very proud of the results.  It is hoped to continue to develop this bog area and open it to the public for their enjoyment. You can read more about this project in the following link –  https://www.ecocongregationireland.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Lixnaw-Bog-November-2018.pdf

The reality of ageing and all that it brings with it is very much with us – but it does not define us as a group.  Sr Ailbe who at 93 is our elder Sister has been in Lixnaw over 70 years and is our go to person when we need to know who is related to whom! She is in constant contact with past pupils through visiting and letters. All the rest of us have had varied life experiences in different parts of Ireland and the World before finding our home in Lixnaw.

Finally the Presentation charism of hospitality is very important to us – so come visit and stay awhile and discover this beautiful Kingdom of Kerry but especially Lixnaw.

Convent, Church and School in Lixnaw.

A Wall Plaque unveiled in 1977

Lixnaw Community - Ailbe is seated in front then from left to right; Dorothy, Mary, Kyran, Úna and Evelyn.

Ballyphehane, Cork

Sr M Annunciata Forde: Various duties within the Community; involvement in Scripture Group which meets in the convent each week; Associates / Friends of Nano; involvement in St Joseph’s Young Priests’Society; Prison Visitation with St Vincent de Paul; taking Holy Communion to house-bound in the Parish; visitation of Nursing Home.

Sr Claire Sheehan: In a nursing home – prayer

Sr Margaret Mary Galvin: Parish ministry; Rosary Groups; Minister of the Word in Parish Church; involvement in Scripture Group with lay people which meets in the convent each week; visitation of house-bound / semi-invalids; member of Ecumenical Prayer Group “Maranatha” (British); visitation of Nursing Home.

Sr Maeve O’Sullivan: Various duties within the Community; hospitality to those who come to stay in this convent; visitation of Nursing Home; prayer.

Sr Marie Fox: Within the Community House: Maintenance; grocery shopping; petty cash. Outside the Community House: teaching English and Maths to Non-Irish children in Togher Girls’ Primary School (involved there as a volunteer for 12 years); Minister of the Word in Parish Church; visitation of Nursing Home

Sr Jennie Clifford: Various duties within the Community: a member of the coordinating group of Global Education Experience Project; Formation Work; teaching English to non-Irish student in Secondary School; member of the Board of Management of Secondary School; Spiritual Direction; member of Advisory Group of SHEP (Social and Health Education Project)/ EARTH AWARE, Nursing home visits.

The Union of Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a registered Charity. Charity Registered Number: 20002190

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20. Presentation Convent

The Convent was established in 1835 and a new premise was added in 1849 alongside a later Convent chapel in 1855. The Convent was extended again in 1927. The Presentation Convent School adjacent to the convent opened in 1855 to accommodate an average of three hundred girls. Girls transferred from the Christian Brother’s in 1837 and later pupils entered a new building in 1853. Primary School girls transferred to new building in 1956. Secondary girls transferred to new premises at Currylea in 1972. [1]

[1] J.A. Claffey, Irish historic towns atlas no. 20, (Dublin, 2009), p. 18.

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Presentation Convent, Athenry 1908-2008

• October 15, 2014

Source: The Story of the Presentation Sisters, Scoil Chroi Naofa and Presentation College, Athenry (1908-2008)

Editor and Compiler: Gerald J. Ahern

The Presentation Convent Tuam

The Tuam Presentation Convent was established in 1835 when Sr. Mary de Sales Coppinger (Superioress), Sr. Mary Ignatius Blake and Sr. Mary Louis Tigh came from Galway on the invitation of Archbishop John McHale to establish a monastery of their Order in the town. This became the first post-Reformation Convent in the Archdiocese of Tuam. Funds for the establishment and endowment of the Convent were bequeathed by Mr. William Burke of Currylea.

The Sisters lived in Mr. Burke’s old residence for fourteen years. However, the accommodation was very unsuitable for both Convent and school. When the Famine came in 1845, the Sisters set aside their educational duties and did social work in feeding and clothing the needy. On the 26 th of July 1848, the foundation stone for their Convent proper was laid. By this time there were a hundred Sisters in the Community. The convent was blessed and opened in 1849.

Shortly after their arrival, the Sisters opened a primary school, but Archbishop John McHale would not allow any Catholic school in his diocese to apply for funding under the NationalSchool system established in 1832. However, the Great Famine that began in1845 had sent shock waves through the social fabric of Ireland that even Dr. McHale could not resist, and in 1852 he reluctantly gave permission to Parish Priests and Religious to place their schools within the national school system, while retaining patronage and control of the schools. The new Tuam Convent National School was opened in 1853.

Tuam Presentation Sisters at the start of the 20 th century

Three of the Sisters who came to Athenry in 1908 are pictured: Srs. Magdalen (1 st left at back), Mary Anne (5 th left at back) and Gertrude (6 th left at back).

Over the next century, the Tuam Convent became the Mother House for the Branch Houses established in Headford (1906), Athenry (1908), Keel, Achill (1919) and Tír an Fhia, Connemara (1935). In 1874 the Tuam convent also fulfilled Nano Nagle’s missionary vision when Sr. Aloysius Talbot joined five Dublin Presentation Sisters to open a school in New York. In 1950, five Sisters travelled to Taita, New Zealand to establish a new foundation and school under the patronage of the Archbishop of Wellington, Dr. McKeefry. A further two Sisters went there in 1952. Tuam, like all Mother Houses in the Presentation Order, was under diocesan control, had its own independence and control over its affairs, including the administration of its Branch Houses. 

The Establishment of the Presentation Convent, Athenry

On the 18 th of June 1907, Reverend Mother Mary Margaret Turner of the Presentation Convent in Tuam received a letter from Canon Joseph Canton, Parish Priest of Athenry, requesting her to send some Sisters to Athenry to begin a new foundation, and to teach in the local Girls’ NationalSchool.

After much correspondence between Canon Canton and the Reverend Mother, and with the good will, blessing and financial support of the Archbishop of Tuam, Dr. John Healy, on the 19 th of October the Canon wrote a letter of thanks and joy to Tuam thanking the Presentation Sisters for agreeing to come to Athenry.

Parochial House becomes Athenry Presentation Convent

Canon Canton was certainly a man of action and great generosity. It had been agreed that the Sisters would take up teaching positions in the National School on the 7 th of January 1908, and this urgency set the agenda for his  decisions to: pay off the debt (the £354-7-5 was given by the Archbishop) on the Parochial House to the Board of Works, vacate it and acquire temporary accommodation for himself and his sister in Old Church street, move the Sisters’ furniture into the Parochial house, clean and whitewash the school in Abbey Row, set in motion plans to build a new girls’ National School on a site behind the Convent and a new residence for himself on a fenced-off section of the convent grounds.

There is no doubt that his burning vision to improve the lot of the children of Athenry was the driving force that motivated and energised him to accomplish these goals. His letters clearly show the Holy Spirit working in and through him, and this was augmented by his great love for Mary, the Mother of God. He was a man on God’s mission, and it is a tremendous tribute to him that he achieved all of his goals in the space of three years. He retained 2 acres, 2 roods and 24 perches of the parochial land for himself and made plans to build a new residence for himself and his sister, Mary.  

The Four Founding Sisters

The first foreign missionary journey from Tuam took place in 1874 when Sr. Aloysius Talbot, a native of Dublin joined five Dublin Presentation Sisters who were invited to open a school in New York. This new venture in Athenry was but 14 miles, instead of the 3.500 miles to New York, but for Enclosed Sisters at the beginning of the 20 th Century it took faith, courage and tenacity to undertake the establishment of the new Athenry Foundation. In hurling terms, it was an inter-county team, Sisters from Galway. Kerry, Carlow and Wexford, that took the train from Tuam to Athenry on the 2 nd of January, 1908.

Mother M. Catherine Storey

 When the second branch convent was opened in Athenry at the invitation of the late Canon Canton, Mother Catherine was chosen to head the band of foundresses where she taught in the junior school until she returned to Tuam to become Mother Bursar. She filled the Office of Bursar, Superior and assistant Superior.  It was during her time of office that the Keel, Achill, Branch was established at the request of the Archbishop, the late Most Rev. Dr. Gilmartin.   From its foundation, Mother Catherine took a very deep interest in this particular Convent. She was a woman of great prudence and wisdom, but her great humility outshone her other gifts.  She passed to her maker, whom she served so well, on the 13 th January 1944 while the Sisters sang at her bedside by her request.

Sr. Mary Ann O’Keefe

Sr. M. Magdalen L Costello

Sr. Gertrude O’Sullivan

Sr. Gertrude was a native of Kerry. During her life she fulfilled many roles: educator, musician, nurse, accountant and business woman. She was a tireless worker and was busy right up to a short time before her death on the 22 nd of January, 1956. She was an avid letter-writer to friends and past pupils and, after her death messages of sympathy came from all over the country. She had great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to our Lady; the Feasts of the Immaculate Conception and Assumption were special to her. All during her life she made sure that the sick received proper medical care and attention. With her, nobody was neglected, be it Sister, pupil or priest. 

Departure to the new Presentation Foundation in Athenry on January 2 nd 1908

This is part of the account of the departure of the four Sisters was written by Sr. Augustine.

Athenry Presentation Convent 1912

Photo: Dom Coll

Census of Ireland 1911 giving Names of the Sisters in Presentation Convent

The ground floor consisted of a hallway with a parlour/sitting room on the left with a kitchen to its rear, two small reception rooms on the right, a large room similar in size to the parlour with a small room behind it. Upstairs there were seven bedrooms and a bathroom. In 1913, a Chapel was constructed behind and adjoining the building, and the small room was converted into a sacristy. Around that time, Tommy and Nora Duddy, Old Church Street, Athenry, presented a Monstrance to the Sisters for their new chapel.  Srs. Magdalen, Mary Ann, Gertrude and Catherine arrived and were greeted by Canon Canton. Their first stop was Athenry church where the Canon blessed them and prayed over them for the success of their mission. Then into the parlour where Mary, the Canon’s sister, had a blazing fire on, and they tucked into a wholesome lunch.

Not only a Convent but a small farm as well

In 1894, the 5 acres of land behind the Convent was ‘ granted and conveyed ’ by James Perry Goodbody to Archbishop John McEvilly, Canon Joseph Canton and Reverend William Coen to be held in a Trust by them ‘ for educational and charitable purposes (for the benefit of the Roman Catholic Inhabitants from time to time of the Parish of Athenry) ’.

In 1909, Mary J. Tucker and Julia Turner (Superioress of the Presentation Order, Tuam) became Trustees, and this action allowed the Sisters from that time onwards to use the lands according to the terms of the Trust. They did so in 1910 to build the new ConventNationalSchool and later Scoil Chroí Naofa in 1980, and in 1947/48 and 1979/80 to construct the old and new secondary schools. (In 1968, this Trust vested the lands into the full ownership of the Presentation Sisters.)

For some time before the Sisters arrived, Canon Canton did some farming on land in Moonbaun opposite the entrance to the Raheen Sports grounds. During the latter quarter of the 19 th century and the first decade of the 20 th , the great estates around Athenry were being bought out by the Land Commission and divided up among small farmers and the town’s landless citizens. Canon Canton was given a ‘stripe’ of 12 acres adjoining his small parcel of land. In return, he had to pay an annuity of £5-1-6. In order to make the Sisters as self-sufficient as possible, this land was transferred to them, and they took on this annuity payment, and also the £1-3-7 annuity for the land in front of the convent. Later they would come into the ownership of the field (3.802 acres) in Caheroyn where the Vocational School is now situated and the strip of land (2.024) where the PCA Sports Centre is situated. In all, their farm would consist of  circa 23 acres.

(In 1968 they would sell the Moonbaun land to pay for the construction of the new addition to the rear of the Convent. They would come to an agreement with County Galway Vocational Educational Committee to exchange their Caheroyn field for the Committee’s field that at the present time is the PCA Sports grounds on the Caheroyn Road).

 Nano Nagle did not envisage her Order to be an enclosed one when it came into being in 1775, (the same year that Daniel O’Connell, the Liberator, was born and who led the campaign for Catholic Emancipation that came about in 1829) but rather that it would engage with the world in its mission. The core of her vision was the spiritual and educational welfare of the poor children that she encountered every day in the streets of Cork.

However, it was not long after Nano’s death that there was a growing desire within the community for enclosure. The principal reason for this very fundamental change was the realisation that the Sisters were ‘merely a religious society making annual vows-one which may in time under existing circumstances fall to the ground’. They desired a ‘more steady foundation’, and this could only come about ‘in forming a regular Confirmed Order and consequently by strict observance of enclosure’, like the Ursulines in Cork. They wished to be ‘raised to the dignity of a Religious Order as an essential preliminary’, and ‘to confine ourselves to the education of the poor within our own enclosure’. Solemn vows would replace simple vows within enclosure.

The Sisters petitioned Rome in a text of their New Constitution sent to the congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in 1802. They were supported in this by Dr. Moylan, Bishop of Cork. Of course, there were other reasons for this ground-breaking change including the burden of teaching and the visitations to the sick. As well, it was an age where paternalism was dominant and women were, in the eyes of those in prominent religious and social positions, in need of masculine protection and stewardship.

Three years later on the 9 th of April 1805, the brief, the Decretum Approbationis of the Sisters of the Blessed Mary, was promulgated in Rome. Five months later, on the 17 th of September, Dr. Moylon read the document to the assembled community in Cove Lane, Cork. The core section read thus:

‘ We consent and grant to the now existing afore-mentioned Virgins and all future ones, that they may and can, on the expiration of the time of Probation, having observed all that is otherwise to be observed, freely be admitted to the solemn profession of religious Vows, and with the addition of a fourth, namely, that of education and instructing young girls, especially the poor, in the precepts and rudiments of the Catholic faith; in such wise, nevertheless, as that they be obliged in future to live under the aforesaid Rules and Constitutions, to be subject to the jurisdiction of the Ordinary, to observe the laws of enclosure, and therefore never by any means to pass from the limits of the Monastery, unless for the most weighty reasons, expressed in the Constitutions, and sanctioned by Canon Law’ .

Henceforth, the Presentation Sisters would be an enclosed Order, living and teaching behind walls, having little contact with family, friends and the outside world. Enclosure did not impede vocations to the Order. By 1900 there were over 8,000 nuns and thirty-five female religious orders with a total of 368 convents throughout the country. All were under the control of the Vatican or the local bishop, whose power and control over them was strengthened by the Code of Canon Law issued in 1917.

The Convent Farm and Mick Mannion

The farm, which consisted of approximately 23 acres, was synonymous with its caretaker, Mick Mannion, who spent 50 years working and caring for it.

‘Doll’ and family

Mick was born in 1904 and lived near Dillon’s Cross about two miles out the Monivea Road. He had built his own house and married Mary Lynsky (he called her ‘Doll’) and they had a family of four boys and two girls: Michael, Martin (R.I.P.), Paddy (RIP), Joe, Bridie and Margaret (R.I.P.). At the present time, Michael, Joe and Bridie live in Athenry. Mick started work on the farm around 1926 after Joe Maloney built the wall around the new vegetable garden, where Scoil Chroi Naofa now stands. In 1926 his weekly wage was £1 for a 70 hour, seven day week. That was the time when a pound had 240 pence and you could buy a pot of jam for 7 pence or one cent in today’s money.

A dapper man

Mick was a dapper man who wore a hat and smoked a curved pipe stoked with his favourite Clark’s Perfect Plug tobacco. He cycled in the Monivea road every morning and evening, greeting everyone he met with a wave and a pleasant smile.

The vegetable garden was Mick’s pride and joy and through it the Nuns were self sufficient in produce before, during and long after World War 2. Many people have memories of seeing a spade stuck in the clay with Mick’s hat on the top of the handle; this was Mick’s way of letting people know he was about the place. He also cultivated the Nuns’ flower garden, which was between the Convent and the Chapel Lane that now links the present Church of the Assumption and car park of Fahy’s Centra supermarket. Here the Nuns grew a wide variety of blooms for their own Convent Chapel and the nearby parish church. Also in the garden was the greenhouse where he cultivated a wide variety of tomatoes and early vegetables.    

A typical day for Mick started at 7.00 a.m. when he unlocked the small pedestrian gate beside the Arch that was used by pupils to enter the convent grounds on their way to school. There were two timber uprights in the gateway to prevent bicycles and other wheeled contraptions entering. He looked up to admire the two magnificent horse chestnut trees that stood inside the large main gate.

He made his way to the boiler house at the rear of the convent and lit the wood-fuelled furnace that provided central heating to the convent and primary school. Then he opened the cookery and laundry rooms beside the boiler house. Shortly afterwards, he milked the three cows in the byres that stood against the wall that now separates Scoil Chroi Naofa and Murphy’s property at the Arch. He let the cows out to graze in the lush meadow of the field in Caheroyn and carried the buckets of milk into the convent, where he had his breakfast in what became known as Mick’s Room beside the kitchen. He cleaned out the fires and filled the coal scuttles before making his way to the byres to clean them out. Following this he worked in the gardens and being watchless, but having a natural sense of time, he knew when it was dinner time, which he took in his Room.

After school was over, he cleaned the toilets and burned the rubbish. Then off to further work in the gardens, followed by milking the cows. He checked the hens in their run (he clipped their wings to stop them escaping from their run), had his tea, locked up the large and small gates at the Arch at 6.00 p.m. and headed home. At that time, the last house on the Caheroyn Road was Jimmy Quinn’s and there was no other, except Kindregans, until he reached his own abode.

Many Nuns came and went over the years and Mick got on with all of them. He was particularly fond of Sisters Baptist and Marie Therese. In or about 1940 Mick got ill and had to be hospitalised in Galway for a month. During that absence, his son, Michael, fulfilled his duties. Many have memories of the beautiful raised circular summer house that Mick built in the corner of the large field beside the Tuam Road railway bridge. On balmy Summer days, the Nuns strolled on paths around the field and sat in the summer house to say their office.

 A man of many talents

Summer was the busiest time for Mick. He bought turf from farmers and reeked it beside the wall near the boiler house. Shortly afterwards, Mr. Duffy from Annagh Cross arrived with cartloads of wood to fuel the furnace, convent kitchen range and fires. Hay was saved and stored in the barn beside the cow byres. And with a push lawnmower he cut the grass on both sides of the avenue at the Convent entrance.

It was during those Summer days that he loved to attend hurling matches in Athenry and venues within a 20 mile radius. Whenever there was building work to be done, Mick did the hiring of the contractor as he was familiar with all the local tradesmen. Autumn time saw him buy and sell cows and cattle at the bustling Athenry fair and on wet winter days he chopped up wood in his shed beside the laundry room.

A kind hearted soul

Mick was a kind hearted soul and many remember him for the times during wet weather he dried pupils’ coats and shoes in the boiler house. In the 1960s, when he was walking down the street in Hammersmith, London, he was recognised and embraced by former pupils to whom he had shown his caring ways. His kindness left an indelible mark on the heart of one pupil:

‘ I can still remember the aroma of Mick’s pipe tobacco, wafting over the fuchsia hedge as I walked up the path to school.   This told me that he was working in the garden.    Mick was the kindest and gentlest of men, always there in a crisis, like the day a wasp landed on my little brother’s finger and stung him badly.   Mick heard the screams and having ascertained their cause, quickly unscrewed the stem of his pipe and applied the ‘súdar’, thus alleviating the pain immediately.  

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam’.

He worked until he retired at 70 years of age and he passed away to his reward on the 14 th of February 1987, aged 83.

(Thanks to Michael Mannion for information on his father’s life.)

Sisters’ Convent lives-1917 onwards.

The Code of Canon Law of 1917 set the parameters of daily convent life right up to the late 1950s. It laid down: weekly confession, daily Eucharist, set hours for prayer and meditation. Laws of fast and abstinence were strictly enforced during Lent and Advent and on every Friday throughout the year. A process of fulfilling a series of obligations was the practise of religious life.

The 1928 extension of the Convent

The plans for this were drawn by R.M. Butler, 82, Merrion Square, Dublin, architect, and four building firms, M. Doyle, Limerick, John Broderick, Athenry, T. Coghlan, Dublin and R. McDonald, Galway tendered for the project. The lowest tender was £1,850 and the highest £3,350. The 1928 extension greatly enlarged the convent. Its ground floor consisted of: a refectory, two music rooms, a large addition to the kitchen, small dairy and larder rooms and a corridor linking the new section to the old building. Upstairs, there were now six additional bedrooms for the growing number of sisters.

In 1929 a new entrance porch was build, Mr. Butler again being the architect.

1939-Kindness to Canon Canton’s sister

The Sisters were forever grateful to Canon Canton who died in 1920. When his sister, who lived in Caheroyn, was ill in 1939, Sr. Magdalen Costello in Tuam wrote the following letter to Sr. Catherine Storey, Superioress of Athenry Convent:

18 th June 1939 .

My dear Sister,

I am sorry to see by your letter this morning that Miss Canton is in feeble health.

In case of her death, the Community here will be responsible for expenses incurred and for removal of remains to Athenry Church where Requiem High mass will be celebrated for her soul.

With all good wishes,

Sincerely yours in JC,

Sr. M. Magdalin

If she is conscious, kindly give her my love.

Entering the Presentation Order in the 1956-Sr. Mary O’Regan’s memories

For the first six months or so, I was a postulant.   Five other girls entered with me.   During our postulancy we took part in the regular routine of religious life, did some study, helped in the schools and gradually became familiar with the type of life we had taken on.   We were allowed visits from family and were free to leave if we wished.

In June we were formally received into the Novitiate and given the habit of the Order and a white veil.  The first year of novitiate was known as the spiritual year and was very strict.   Visits from family members were allowed only at Christmas and Easter, and mail was restricted to once a month.   Of course, we knew that we were never to go home.  During that year we prayed, studied the constitutions and the vows and did a lot of spiritual reading. Our whole day was organised from the time we were called at 5.50 a.m. till lights out at 10.00 p.m.

The second year of novitiate was devoted to prayer, study, housework, partial involvement in the school, which was our main ministry.   We did a lot of soul searching in preparation for the profession of the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.  At the end of the two years novitiate, those of us who wished to stay took vows and were given a black veil.  After our profession we were assigned to branch houses or training college, or university.   After three more years we took final vows for life.

Summer Relaxation in the Convent gardens

L-r:  Srs. De Pazzi, Dominic, Columbanus and Mechtilde

The Nuns’ Daily Horarium (Schedule) before Vatican 2

5.50 a.m. – Morning Call

6.00 a.m. -Rise

6.15 a.m. – Morning Prayers

6.30 a.m. – Meditation

7.00 a.m. – Lauds (praises)

7.15 a.m. – Mass

8.00 a.m. – Breakfast.

9.15 a.m. – School begins

11.45 a.m. – Examination of conscience followed by Angelus (for those not in school)

12.30 p.m. – Lunch

3.30 p.m. – School ends

3.45 p.m. – Afternoon tea

4-5 p.m. – Recreation

5.00 p.m. – Vespers (evensong)

6.00-7.00 p.m. – Study

7.00 p.m. – Supper

7.30 p.m. – Meditation

8.00-9.00 p.m. – Recreation

9.15 p.m. – Night prayer

10.00 p.m. – Lights out-Silence

While life was very strict and Bells a big feature of it, the Sisters kept abreast of local and national news and events through the radio and newspapers. In January 1941, £1-10-0 was spent repairing the Radio and £0-18-0 was paid out for newspapers (Convent Accounts). They were tremendous letter writers as the same accounts show regular monthly expenditure on postage.

Pre-Vatican 2 Community Life in Athenry Presentation Convent

The rule of Enclosure was strictly enforced. The Sisters had no permission to go beyond the Convent grounds, which included the Back field, where the Primary and Secondary Schools now stand. When attending Sunday Mass in the nearby Parish church, the Sisters left the Convent through the now blocked –up gate that was behind the large container of Holy Water behind the Church. They seated themselves in a curtained –off section of the left transept where they had a view of the Priest saying the Mass. The Holy Rule was all important, and everything was done in common: Morning and Evening Prayer, recreation and meals were controlled by the sound of the Bell. Silence was very important and there was little communication with the people of the town and parish. 

(Source-The Athenry Journal, No.14, Christmas, 2001)

Sr. Ena Canny remembers her brother’s ordination in 1961

My brother, Fr. Steve, was ordained in AllHallowsCollege, Dublin, on June 18 th 1961. At that time we were not allowed to attend his ordination. This was before Vatican 2. He got permission to celebrate his first Mass in Headford church to facilitate my sister, Sr. Chanel, and me. Our parish church was Corner Chapel but we were not allowed to go there. Chanel and I stayed in the Headford convent that weekend. The night of the ordination our neighbours had a huge bonfire blazing in front of our house to welcome Fr. Steve home from Dublin with my parents and family. Steve came up to the convent later that night to give us his blessing.

Things have changed a lot since that time. Now we can celebrate special occasions with our families.

Relationships, Perfection, Personal Growth and Communal Life- A Sister’s reflection

Relationships were discouraged.  Relating intimately to God/Jesus was not on the formation agenda, and the mystical writers who pointed in that direction were not on the convent book shelves. Archbishop Goodier’s ‘Life of Jesus’ did begin the opening up of the Scriptures that forecast one of the big changes of Vatican 2. Striving for perfection was one of the underlying principles of our spirituality – without the awareness that it is mainly a question of grace, not our own poor efforts!  This goal often produced introspection and scrupulosity. By implication, we were in a state more perfect than that of our lay friends and family!

Our lives were tightly controlled by strict obedience to the Rule – “keep the Rule and the Rule will keep you”. Minute regulations, which at their worst, made little sense and stifled autonomous growth and the taking on of adult responsibilities. Even recreational activities were strictly limited to a choice of sewing or reading novels.  Finding and reading a Walter Macken novel was a great memory. Communal Prayer was based mainly on daily Mass, the recital of the Psalms in Latin (most of us didn’t read Latin). Personal prayer consisted of structured meditation and devotions such as the Rosary. Weekly Benediction could be an experience of intense emotional devotion stimulated by organ music, incense, and the best flowers from  the garden! On such a varied prayer diet many of the older Sisters showed signs of great nearness to God, unselfishness, kindness and love of others in an often difficult life.

Enclosure and increased vocations up the 1950s.

In 20 th Century Ireland, the 1950s were the high point of vocations to religious orders. The 1941 census showed that one out of every 400 women was entering a convent. And this flood of vocations continued right into the next decade. The Sisters’ lives were hard and difficult but the spirit of their vocations united them and inspired them.

Sr. Bríd Brennan put it as follows: ‘ What bound and inspired us and gave us spiritual sustenance? There was enormous commitment especially to needy pupils and to the acceptance of a Spartan life so that funding could go to build and support schools in an era that lacked Government grants. Personal differences were often accepted and transcended by this common interest, as we worked together towards a common goal. Other factors, which softened an often harsh life, were care of the sick and aged and the bonding of novices with the elderly ill .’

1950-Pope Pius X11 and Education of Nuns

However, even before Vatican 2 arrived, the Papacy was concerned about the level of professional learning among the religious nuns. Following an international congress in Rome that urged superior generals to educate their subjects, there followed for some a decade of summer schools in theology, scriptural studies and the up-dating of subjects taught at school level. All of this helped to start the process of breaking down artificial isolation and barriers within and among congregations.

Athenry Presentation Sisters in the 1950s

Vatican 2 and the ‘Opening of Windows’

Vatican 2 Council (1958-1965) ushered in fresh thinking into the role of the Church in the fast-changing world of the 1960s. It examined its teaching of the Gospel as it pertained to the social and technological changes that were sweeping through all aspects of learning and thinking, and how these same changes were beginning to affect the way the faithful were living their lives. For enclosed religious, it brought major and far-reaching changes, the long-term repercussions of which few perceived and understood at that time.

Athenry Presentation Convent Sisters in the early 1960s

Front: Sr. Clement (Kathleen) Hallinan. 2 nd Row, l-r: Sr. Eugenia Murphy, Sr. Baptist Kelly, Sr. Berchmans Duggan, Sr. Dominic Roche, Sr. Stanislaus (Teresa Mary) Taylor, Sr. Teresa Conway and Sr. Raymond (Philomena) Noone. Back, l-r: Fr. Moran C.C., Sr. Gertrude (Teresa) Morrin, Sr. Columbanus Noone, Sr. Paul Canavan, Sr. Benedict (Catherine) O’Brien, Sr. Claude (Maura) Balfe and Sr. de Pazzi Lally.

Presentation Sisters and Religious Life

They were told to go back to their roots and look again at the charism of its foundress. Presentations saw education in a broader context, and not enclosure but in going out to work with and for the needy and underprivileged was their remit. Some saw education in schools as a vital part of their mission.

Others became involved in justice groups, in social and pastoral work for the poor in the third world. Sadly, too, came the departure of Sisters who found they were unsuited for the calling they had so willingly undertaken.

Post Vatican 2 Reflections-Sr. Mary O’Reagan

After Vatican 2, there was a complete turn about.  The daily Horarium became more flexible.   Emphasis was put on personal responsibility.  Blind obedience was replaced by discernment and consultation with the person in charge.   People were encouraged to take responsibility for their actions.  We were also encouraged to take part in courses for renewal of religious life.  Different forms of prayer were introduced and we were free to choose times and places for prayer and retreats.   A lot of emphasis was placed on the awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church, and our own inadequacy and dependency on that Holy Spirit. Some people could not cope with this change.   A number of Sisters left the Congregation.   Those of us who stayed are struggling on as best we can, and, even though our numbers have dwindled, there is still a great generosity in young people.  There may not be religious life as we knew it, but the Lord is still calling people to ministry.

Presentation Sisters, Tuam in the mid to late 1960s

Gradual Changes to the Horarium-1966-1976

To students and the public, the change in the habit was the most obvious- first the head gear, then the dress became to calf-length and the hair-line was allowed out. The Sisters moved from a monastic to an Apostolic way of life. Prayer was now in English from the purple book and talking was allowed at meals. Reading in the refectory was abolished. Sisters received ‘pocket money’: cars were purchased for the use of the community

They celebrated Holy Week ceremonies in the local Church. Before Vatican 2 it was in the Convent. Devotional ceremonies were exchanged for the official liturgical ceremonies of the Church. Nuns were allowed to visit home for 3-4 days with the permission of the Bishop, which included a day coming and going. A big change came in the whole area of Ministry, where once they spent all of their time in school. There were opportunities to retrain for other ministries i.e. personal renewal Courses – i.e. “Focus for Action”. This was a turn about from being focused on their own sanctification to focus out among people. Their lives became an invitation and challenge to make a more radical response to Christ’s call.

The Convent accounts show that in 1965, £5 was paid for a TV licence and £10 was expended on the Telephone. June 1968 saw £0-14-11 paid for petrol, and the following year Sr. Loretto (Carmel) acquired a Driving licence for £1. The Sisters were quickly opening avenues of communication with the locality and the world. Yet, their letter writing did not diminish as the accounts show regular sums paid for postage right up into the 1970s.

Memories of the Presentation Sisters, Athenry 1963-1971 from Fr. Martin Gleeson

I same to Athenry in 1963 having ministered on ClareIsland and Inish Turk the previous six years.   For me it was a new experience to minister in an area that had a convent of nuns.  The other curate at the time was Fr. Louis Hennelly; the parish priest was Canon Conor Heaney.   We celebrated Mass in the Convent when our week came around.   One of the Sisters brought in the breakfast to a dining room after Mass.   The community at that time was about twenty.   Some were retired like Srs. Baptist and Berchmans.   Some taught in the Secondary School and some in the NationalSchool

The Convent.

On Sunday mornings the nuns went to early Mass in the Church.   They had a special place separate from the people where you have the Blessed Sacrament is at present.  That area inside the arches was cut off from the people by a partition.   I cannot say for certain whether it was a curtain or something more solid, but it was their allotted place at the first Mass on Sunday.  Not being used to a setting like this, I almost omitted to give them Holy Communion the first few Sundays after I came to Athenry.   I am talking now about the old Church before it was renovated.  

The Presentation Order was an enclosed Order.   You could not see them outside their own convent grounds.  The story goes that on one occasion when the Archbishop of Tuam, Dr. Walsh, was travelling by train to Dublin he saw a Presentation Sister on the platform.  Afterwards he demanded an explanation.  They used to come out to the church for a later Mass on Sunday as well as an early Mass but this was stopped for some reason.  

 The Convent was extended in 1968 when a new addition was added to the rear of the building.  They were unlucky with the lady architect who was recommended to them by the Archbishop.  They had quite a lot of difficulty with her and the job dragged on for a long time.  She lived in Dublin as far as I know.  An indication of the value of money at that time I bought a new Morris Minor car after going to Athenry for £385.   I cannot remember the nuns having any car at that time.

Telephones and T.V.

Not everyone had a phone.  I had none even though I lived down in the New Line.  The other curate, Fr. Louis Hennelly, had none.  Canon Heaney the Parish Priest had one.  I presume the Convent had a phone.   T.V. came in 1962.  I got a black and white in 1964 and I presume the Convent got one around that time.  I wonder today as I write this what recreational facilities had they.  They were not allowed out for walks. When Sr. Dominic (left) wanted a message, she came out to the entrance gates of the Church and beckoned to Eddie Brady (Butcher) on the opposite side of the Street.  Ann Teresa, his daughter, would get whatever message she wanted.   Even though confined, Sr. Dominic had the ability to gather a lot of news about the parish from people she met in the Church grounds.

The Vatican Council 1962-65

This brought great changes to the lives of the Presentation Sisters as it did for all Religious Orders and Congregations.   Now they had greater freedom to travel outside their own convent grounds.   Their dress was modified to suit the kind of work they did and they were given a choice.   Those nuns who had lived so long under the old regime found many of the changes difficult to take.   Sadly, fewer and fewer postulants joined and today I do not think they have one.

1967-L-r:  Sr. Berchmans, Sr. Anastasia Keane, Mrs. Nora Keary and Sr. Baptist

Photo: Mary Keary

Whatever the future holds, the contribution of the Presentation Sisters to Primary and Secondary education in Athenry and their total commitment to same should never be forgotten.   Their contribution was enormous.  I left Athenry in 1971 when I was transferred to Tuam.

The Convent in the 1970s

Sr. Anne Donohue came to Athenry in September 1974 and in the community during those years were: Srs. Baptist (R.I.P) Berchmans (R.I.P), Dominic (R.I.P), de Pazzi (R.I.P), Eugenia (R.I.P.), Nuala Newell (R.I.P), Colette Dolan (R.I.P.), Bríd Brennan, Katherine Burke, Genevieve Kilbane, Ríona Mc Hugh, Lucy Kenny, Declan Allen, Ena Canney, Nuala Courtney, Evelyn Geraghty, Laura Boyle, Mary Mc Dermott and Kathleen Mc Donagh (Raphael).

Athenry Presentation Sister 1972/73

Front, l-r: Sr. Eugenia Murphy, Sr. Marie Ward and Sr. Nuala Newell.

Middle, l-r: Sr. de Pazzi Lally and Sr. Declan Allen.

Back, l-r: Sr. Raphael McDonagh, Sr. Brigid Banks, Sr. Evelyn Geraghty and Sr. Laura Boyle.

Front, l-r: Sr. Baptist Kelly and Sr. Berchmans Duggan. Middle, l-r: Sr. Declan Allen, Sr. Celestine Whyte, Sr. Carmel Raftery and Sr. Genevieve Kilbane. Back, l-r: Sr. Evelyn Geraghty, Sr. Laura Boyle, Sr. Catherine Leonard and Sr. Lucy Kenny.

L-r: Sr. Carmel Raftery, Sr. Anne Donohue, Sr. Catherine Leonard, Sr. Genevieve Kilbane, Sr. Raphael McDonagh, Sr. Laura Boyle, Sr. Bríd brennan, Sr. Evelyn Geraghty, Sr. Katherine Burke and Sr. Brigid Banks.

Changes in Liturgy and Convent-Sr. Genevieve Kilbane’s memories of the 1970s

I gladly returned in 1972 for a much longer period. What a difference ten years made.   This was Post Vatican 2 times when significant changes were taking place in the Church at large and in Religious Life in particular.  A magnificent modern Church was built in Athenry with a spacious altar area.  Here, in the years that followed, we staged our Christmas plays, Liturgies, Services and Masses.   There was song and sacred dance.    Significant occasions were marked by some colourful liturgy.  To me this was a “Golden Age” in the Faith Development of youth.

Life in the Convent had changed too over the years.  The gates were now opened and we mixed freely with the people.  We could now visit the sick in their homes or in hospitals.  We were also allowed to go home to see our families.   We modified our dress and soon assumed a more natural and normal lifestyle. 

We were encouraged to do further studies, especially in Scripture and Theology, which helped us see that we were all one family, united together in the parish, all working together for the spread of the Gospel.  It was particularly in Athenry that I saw this come about.  There was great collaboration at all times with parents, staffs, helpers, clergy and people in the town and country.  We no longer lived and worked in “splendid isolation” but worked as one big family always supported and assured of the presence and power of so many others alongside us.

Sr. Kathleen McDonagh remembers walking the “Pound”

In the early 1970s, due to the changes as a result of Vatican 2, we were able to go walking through and outside the town. The favourite after-lunch walk of the older Sisters became the Tuam road, then only sparsely inhabited, as far as the pump. We younger ones took advantage of our new freedom by walking the “Pound” after school, or, at weekends, venturing farther afield out the Galway road, through Mulpit and back by the Craughwell road.

The late 1970s in the Community Room with Sr. Baptist stoking the fire and Sr. Kevin busy with her knitting.

1974- Golden Jubilee of Sr. Agnes Kyne

L-r:  Sr. Mary of the Sacred Heart, Sr. Kathleen Hallinan, Sr. Agnes Kyne, Fr. Paul Costello and Sr. Mechtilde Dermody

The 1976 Eucharistic Celebration to commemorate the foundation of the Order.

The Athenry Sisters and people held this historic event on Presentation Day, November 21 st , in the Church of the Assumption. At that time there were more than 400 Presentation Convents scattered throughout the five continents of the world. The entrance hymn was the beautiful ‘Glorious God’ followed by the Gloria. An addendum was added to the first reading: ‘ Like Mary, Nano Nagle dedicated her life as a handmaid of the  Lord. She undertook the Mission of educating youth and adults, of visiting and serving the aged, the sick and the poor, wherever she could find the time.  The religious Congregation she founded continues Nano Nagle’s work. Nano’s spirit of sacrifice for the good of souls is alive today, wherever Presentation Sisters are at work throughout the world ’.

The Mass ended with the singing of Salve Regina and these words:

‘The sisters wish to thank sincerely all those who, over the years, have helped in any  way, to further the work of Nano Nagle in the Parish of Athenr. May Almighty God enrich you with his gifts of Faith, Hope and Love, so that what you do in this life, will bring you to the happiness of everlasting Life.’

More Organisational Changes

By 1976 there were more organisational changes with the Presentation Order. It was called the Union of Presentation Sisters in three Provinces with one Superior General, Sr. Lucy Troy. The Order was no longer under the stewardship of the local Bishop. It had found its freedom to chart its own course in a radically changing world.

The Convent Kitchen

Like most houses, the kitchen was at the heart of the community and its white table was a central prop to all the varied activities that occurred on a daily basis.

L-r: Sr. L-L-Sr. Sr.Philomena Noone, Mary Keary, Mary Murphy, Sr. Mary McDermott and Sr. Nuala Courtney

Sr. Kathleen McDonagh’s memories of the kitchen in the 1970s

During the glory hurling and camogie years, there was often unusual activity in the Convent kitchen. It became, for a few hours, the command post for whatever match was on that day: practice, a local contest or an All-Ireland. Teachers and Sisters were dispatched around the catchment area to pick up the players; cups of tea were made and sandwiches prepared, and Fr. Martin O’Grady, in his element, issued instructions to all and sundry as well as his match forecast. Through these special occasions we got to know the students and the local townlands in a special way and forged strong bonds between the two schools and communities.

Above all there was the excitement of the matches themselves, which were replayed in the Convent kitchen for months afterwards. When the excitement got too high in the kitchen, Sr. Berchmans would steal to the door and close it gently in a vain effort to restore monastic silence. Mary Murphy, our house keeper since around 1970, was delighted with all the excitement as she sat in the corner chatting and laughing or weaved her way around the guests preparing the Sister’s lunch.

Slicing the Cake in 1978

L-r: Mary Murphy, Sr. Mary McDermott, Sr. Dorothy Bennett, Sr. Kathleen McDonagh Sr. Teresa McDonagh, Sr. Mary Rossiter, Sr. Mary Hendron and Sr. Collette Dolan.

Sr. Dorothy Bennett’s memories of the Kitchen

In my days in Athenry,  Sr. Genevieve Kilbane was superior of the community.  Sr. Philomene Noone was Bursar.  Other members of the community were: Mothers Baptist and Agnes, Srs. Kevin, Alphonsus Allen, Eugenia Murphy, Brid Brennan, Katherine Burke, Colette Dolan, Kathleen (Raphael) McDonagh and Mary McDermott.  Later came Brid O’Dwyer, Brid Kenny, Eithne Cunniffe, Mary McDonagh and Colette McCloskey

I was not a teacher but cooked for the sisters and whoever else might come to the convent.  In those days the Convent was a very open house and the kitchen was like a public road.  This was very different from Kildare where the kitchen was more or less out of the way and more private. 

A lady from Athenry, Mary Murphy, helped me.  She was from Ballygurrane and had been cooking for the sisters for years. My responsibilities were to do the cooking, bring in the provisions and collect the bills.  The Bursar wrote the cheques, which I then delivered.  The shopkeepers were always very generous and sometimes gave me a wee gift of some nature-a bar of chocolate, or a few wee buns.

The priests, Frs. John D. Flannery, Charlie O’Malley were always part of the community and came in for dinner, which was left ready for them.  When they came in they sat at a wee round table in the corner of the kitchen and ate their dinner without any pomp or ceremony. 

Fr. Charlie’s brother Michael, a priest in Africa, sometimes also came.  Canon Gibbon’s dinner was taken to his house by Sr. Colette Dolan, a great friend of his.  On Saturday mornings, he usually came into the kitchen and smoked for an hour.

1978- Sr. Declan Allen, centre, celebrated her Silver Jubilee

1978/1979-Sr.Collette McCloskey’s memories of the Church Choir and the Pope’s visit to Knock

While teaching Gaeilge, Music and Religion in school I was also involved with the parish choir.   Sr. Carmella and myself had responsibility for the dedicated group of ladies and gentlemen who met each Tuesday night to practise for the following Sunday’s liturgy. There were many celebrations throughout the year, which also had to be attended to:   Confirmation every two years, the Priests and Nuns Reunion, which saw the return of many native sons and daughters of the Parish every August.   The members of the choir became very good friends of mine and we enjoyed several good social evenings together.   We were treated to an evening out after Confirmation and we certainly made the most of those treats.

In 1978, with the Centenary of the Apparition of Knock looming, a Diocesan Choir was formed and Jimmy Kearns, Ena O’Grady, Sr. Vincent, Sr. Carmella and myself travelled to practices in various parishes throughout the diocese, which also meant that we got to know many others from the Diocese, and for me this was great as I wouldn’t have known too many.

The visit of Pope John Paul 11 was now on the horizon and the choir, now well established, was preparing for his visit.  This was a great privilege and I still have my ID card that we were given to gain access to the high security area in Knock, which had the altar, and right beside that the platform for the choir. I remember arriving back to Tuam by bus in the early hours of the morning to collect our cars, to discover I had lost a lens from my glasses, and never missed it as I was so tired.

1970s- Making a presentation to Sr. Mary of the Sacred Heart Leahy

L-r: Srs. Patricia Whyte, Genevieve Kilbane, Gorretti Connoughton, Mary of the Sacred Heart Leahy, Nuala Courtney and Bríd Brennan

The Convent 1975-1990 by Fr. J.D. Flannery

Writing now in 2008 and seeing the school complex of the Presentation Sisters, it is hard to imagine what the conditions and buildings were in the past.  My first meeting with Presentation Sisters of Athenry was in 1974 when I came to conduct a school retreat for the students.   My memory is of a series of pre-fab buildings with the old Primary School sitting alongside, and a playground of a then rough surface – the so-called playing pitch.  I well remember looking out from one of those pre-fabs and seeing a male figure with a knitted caipín on his head directing, cajoling and moulding a group of young ladies into All Ireland Winning Schools, Senior and Junior Camogie teams.   Little did I realise then in 1974 that I would be making my home in Athenry from 1975-1990 as Curate in the parish.

My immediate memory is a very personal one for which I will always acknowledge with a grateful heart – the welcome, the friendship, the hospitality and the support I received from the Sisters.   The Convent was for me a home from home with Mary Murphy as a second mother to me in its kitchen.

Any comment from me would first have to acknowledge what the Presentation Convent was and still is.   Its presence with its religious community is a witness, a sign, a light, a reminder of commitment of service and as a centre of prayer and worship of God – where we have a community of Sisters committed to a calling and, by their very presence, a reminder to us all of Him, who came to serve and by His service bringing peace, joy and new hope.   Education – the vision and courage of those Sisters – two new buildings Primary and Secondary, now a finished product.   Let’s not forget, the long years of preparation with all the accompanying anxiety, sweat, and worry while at the same time giving of their best with very limited resources.   Those buildings stand now as a living tribute to the heroic and trojan work of Athenry’s Presentation Sisters in fulfilling their commitment and mission to educating the young.  My memory is of huge numbers attending parents’ get-togethers, meetings, the timely formation of Parent Councils and the far-seeing vision and wisdom of the then Principal, Sr. Bríd Brennan, not alone in providing new buildings but in promoting and engaging a whole new concept of what a modern education system should be.

Will Athenry every forget the extraordinary scenes of celebration and jubilation when special trains arrived home to be saluted by the Primary School Band and those All Ireland School winning Camogie Teams being escorted through the town while at the same time the boys losing out so narrowly in their All Ireland efforts?   Could we dare to say that those years of sporting activity and its successes, totally supported by the Sisters and teachers prefigured and were the seeds of later triumphs and celebrations by Athenry parish teams themselves?

Pope John XXX111 opened up the windows in the sixties and by so doing a new era dawned within religious communities.   The Presentation Congregation adapted to the changes and new challenges.  The old habit gone and now in new attire, Athenry Sisters moved outwards in community service and pastoral care.  In those years of the mid-seventies onwards, unheralded and oftentimes hidden from public view the untiring efforts, physical presence and support for the now new Community Care, Meals on Wheels, Service to the Old, and St. Vincent de Paul, Travellers Support became a very welcome and rewarding part of Athenry Sisters’ mission.

The then Community Council had a fund raising potato project but unfortunately the weather was very unkind at harvest time.  I well remember the extraordinary response of people to the Altar Appeal for potato pickers and there among them in the potato field on that Sunday were three Presentation Sisters in full religious garb.

1975 Athenry Church Choir on an outing to Kylemore Abbey.

Front, l-r : Charles Meehan, Noreen Cunny, Nora Byrne, Kathleen Quinn, Sr. Evelyn Geraghty, Derek Kennedy, Sr. Laura O’Boyle, Patricia Kelly, Ena O’Grady and Austin Cunney.  Back, l-r: Maeve Rooney, Carmel Farragher and Hillary Duddy.

Photo: Sr. Laura Boyle

It would be ungracious when recalling the contribution of Athenry’s Presentation Sisters to overlook their involvement and active participation in the public worship of God’s people.  The magnificent choir of those years, so ably directed by the very unassuming Sr. Evelyn and continued on by other Sisters, the annual celebration of First Communions and Confirmations and their attention to the Altar and Church needs.   Later on came the opening out of their own chapel for the people’s desire for quiet Eucharistic Adoration.

Finally, what does the local parish community owe to the Sisters for making their multi- purpose Sports Hall available for the various musical, dramatic and sporting needs? A magnificent facility indeed! In taking a broad overview of the presence and involvement of the Sisters in the life of Athenry’s people, I could not omit to refer to their contribution especially in the field of Religious Education throughout the Diocese.  Through the Seventies and well into the Eighties, Religious Education programmes were undergoing enormous changes.   A uniform programme for Second Level schools was almost non-existent.  In this diocese, we gratefully acknowledge the detailed planning and regular support meetings for teachers of religion and catechists in our various schools, provided by Sr. Genevieve who personally attended and presented a systemised programme at these regular monthly meetings.  This again highlighted for me the commitment of Presentation Sisters to serve God’s people after the way set out by their founder, Nano Nagle. For me, two words sum up the past in the life and work of Presentation Athenry  – Deireadh Ré.

1979-Memories of the visit of Pope John Paul 2 to Galway from Sr. Mary Rossiter

There was something in the air those days – a sense of unity, of calm, of being part of something very special and unique. I was the youngest sister in the Presentation Convent at that time and so I joined the other young people of Athenry Parish on the journey to Ballybrit racecourse. We had met in preparation for the event, getting to know each other and planning. The day was dry and cool but we did not notice as we filed into the buses to make the relatively short journey to the race course.  It was very early and, although we were excited, we were sleepy.  We carried our small stools or sleeping bags to make ourselves as comfortable as possible as we waited…

We were in one of the ground sections along with other parishes of the Tuam Archdiocese, facing the stands where it seemed to us all from Northern Ireland were based.  The racecourse was transformed into an area of colour, with all the various banners and flags.  Everyone was in the best of good humour and we all waited patiently for the arrival of the special guest.  As we waited we talked, shared our food parcels, laughed and sang.  Sitting around in groups and keeping each other alert and watchful.   When the helicopter appeared in the Galway sky, the crowd erupted into song and clapping, led by Bishop Eamonn Casey and Fr. Michael Cleary.  But that was only a glimpse of what the crowd was capable of ….as later during the Pope’s sermon we all heard his declaration of love for the young people of Ireland and the crowd took off in song and cheer.

Looking back now (almost 30 years later) I can still in my memory hear that roar and the feeling that those words were meant for each one of us personally. He came among us in the special pope mobile and again we cheered and clapped.   All too soon we were told he had to go, his presence at the Marian shrine at Knock was eagerly awaited.  Again we sang and cheered as the helicopter took off to make the journey from Ballybrit to Knock.

It took us hours to get back to base as traffic blocked all the roads. Yes, we were weary and very tired but we were all aware of being part of something very special and unique and later, as we together watched the recordings of the event, we could all say with joy, I was glad to have been there .    

The 1979 Silver Jubilees of Sr. Genevieve Kilbane and Sr, Bríd Brennan

L-r: Fr. John. D. Flannery C.C., Fr. Gerry Reynolds C.S.S.R., Sr. Genevieve Kilbane,

Canon James Gibbons P.P., Sr. Bríd Brennan, Fr. Joe Tronson C.S.S.R. and Fr. Charles O’Malley C.C.

The Horarium-more changes in the 1980s

A new Constitution was introduced and this provided the nuns with guidelines for a more adaptable, humane and integrated life with the people among whom the nuns worked.

There would be more consultation regarding choice of ministries and blind obedience was replaced with discernment.

Flexible Community structures were chosen to serve their mission and the structures of government at each level ensured the right of each Sister to participate in seeking God’s will and exercising responsibility in her life and work.

There was a move from all Sisters on retreat together to Sisters choosing their own Retreat and venue.

As regards holidays, each sister now had the choice of taking individual holidays.

In financial matters, communities budgeted for things instead of asking for personal needs.

The 1980 Silver Jubilee of Sr. Katherine Burke.

L-r:  Fr. Seán Moore, Sr.Genevieve Kilbane, Sr. Katherine Burke, Sr. Mary Fahy   and Fr. John D. Flannery C.C.

The 1981 Silver Jubilee of Sr. Mary McDermott.

L-r: Sr. Genevieve Kilbane, Sr. Evelyn Geraghty, Sr. Mary McDermott, Sr. Angelina Kilbane and Sr. Philomena Noone.

Sr. Mary McDermott’s memories of her 1981 Silver Jubilee in Athenry

My Community Sisters, Priests and Family were involved in the organisation of the celebrations: the preparation of the Liturgy and the making of the cake. The Jubilee Mass was celebrated in the Presentation Convent Chapel, Athenry by Canon J. Gibbons P.P. The concelebrants were Fr. C. O’Malley and Fr. J. Flannery. The servers were my nephews; Suzanne, my niece and godchild, brought up the gifts. Suzanne had made her First Communion shortly beforehand and came in her First Holy Communion outfit. By a strange coincidence in 2006 she was married two weeks after my Golden Jubilee. On reflection of that special occasion, I realise how blest I was to be a Religious with opportunities for prayer and service to the children I had taught in Headford, Athenry and Achill, and also to be part of the local Christian community in those parishes e.g. First Communion in Headford, Prayer Group in Athenry and parish organisations in Achill.

1982- Fr. Martin Coen reflected on the Openness of Athenry Presentation Convent

About five years ago, during a retreat in AthenryCollege, I asked which parts of the Convent were out of bounds. I was pleased to be told that it was an open access building, apart from the upstairs area reserved for elderly nuns.

This proved what the eye saw: the front door was open; there was a push-in door to the office and at the back there was free access to the school. Students could be met in various parts of the building, some man was discussing a problem with a Sister in the hallway, a lady was having a quiet hospitable cup in the kitchen, the retreat priests were in the nuns’ refectory and there was quiet traffic.

It was the first open convent I had seen, it was at the service of the world, open to all, generous and prepared to risk.

Source: P.C.A .‘Beginnings’ magazine, May 1982.

The 1983 Silver Jubilee of Sr. Alphonsus  Allen with Mons. M. Mooney P.P.

1985 Presentation Youth Festival in Athenry by Sr. Kevin Curran

To commemorate International Youth year 1985, a  Presentation Youth Festival, based on the Theme ‘Youth, Builders of Peace’, a gathering of young people and the young at heart, to celebrate life, to celebrate the gifts and talents of youth and to reflect the theme of the International Youth Year, was held in Athenry from July 5 th to 7 th 1985.

In February 1985, Athenry was chosen as the venue, when, at a public meeting called by the Presentation Sisters, the people of Athenry very kindly agreed to host the event. They would welcome the young people from all over the country, accommodate them in their homes and carry the responsibility for the entire organisation of events. The youth festival was on!

Friday evening, July 5 th .

Buses and coaches began to arrive at the Mart, where offices for registration were made available. Groups were met by the young people of Athenry and were given names and addresses of hosting families. Led by the Galway Pipe band, a very colourful parade took place to the Presentation Centre. Sr. Lucy Troy welcomed the visitors, a torch was lit and placed on the roof and a service of Light was held. The visitors were met by their hosts and all enjoyed an evening of music and dance.

Saturday, July 6 th

The young people were involved in workshops on Relationships, Drugs, Leisure, Drama, Music, Employment, C.N.D., Art, Third World, an Athenry Walk About and Fun Sports. Saturday night’s concert and disco afforded enjoyment to all.

Sunday, July 7 th

The Archbishop of Tuam, Dr. Joseph Cunnane, presided at concelebrated mass in Athenry church. Fr. Colm Kilcoyne was chief celebrant and the music and liturgical dance was organised by Fr. William Purcell of the Ossary diocese. After lunch the visitors set off home. Judging by the cards, letters and appreciation, which the Athenry people received from them, they carried with them many happy memories of the Presentation Festival.

Letters of Appreciation. Date: 1985

I personally would like to thank you for the memorable weekend. I never thought that a small place like Athenry could hold such a great and warm atmosphere, where so many people came together in prayer and have such a great time.

M. McCormack

For me, the Mass was the most beautiful and most touching that I’ve ever experienced. In future I hope such ‘love’ and ‘care’ will go into all Masses as this one did.

Siobhán Corrigan.

On behalf of the Mullingar boys, I would like to thank all the Athenry people for the beautiful weekend, and we hope that there will be another of the same kind in the near future.

For me, Athenry will stay in my memory forever. I never felt so close to God in such a celebrating way. It was so nice to mix with the nuns and priests in such an informal way.

Edel Millar.

I was most touched by my stay in Athenry. The people were so warm, and tried to help us in everyway they could. I hope that sometime in my life that I will return and see you all.

Ruth Nugent.

The 1987 Silver Jubilee of Sr. Ann Pender

L-R: Sr. Colette Dolan, Sr. Mary Caulfield, Sr. Ann Pender and Sr. Alphonsus Allen

Loreto Cashin’s memories of the Convent in 1988/90

There was a warm welcome in the community and there were signs of Vatican 1 and 11. Some nuns were wearing traditional habits while others were making a habit out of civvies!  Sr. Leo Hackett was the Superior in the Convent at the time and was involved in the Day Care Centre for the elderly. The retired Sisters: Eugenia, Elizabeth and Gabriel Healy’s role was vital – hospitality, prayer, cooking.

Anne Ward assisted with the housekeeping.  Ann was of the travelling Community.   There wasn’t a nun in the Convent who didn’t have the friendship of a traveller.  They were well settled and housed. They held their heritage of the church.   Among their family values, matchmaking was prevalent. The girls, Mary, Nuala, Anna and Jane Ward, who attended my sewing classes were the most successful in marriage

Did it Happen?  A Reflection on her 1994 Silver Jubilee by Sr. Marie Ward

Did it happen or was it a joke? Was it a hoax or did someone say it’s going to happen this year. “Your Jubilee!” I couldn’t be that long around the place. It seems no length ago since I rang the doorbell of the Presentation Convent in Tuam, asked for the mistress of novices and was ushered into the parlour. A tray of tea was put in front of me: I was left to my own musings. I was supposed to be having the tea but I was afraid to touch it. Having been interviewed by the novice mistress, happily thinking that I’m not a suitable candidate at all, I hopped home in the bus.

I was not yet a three year old novice on my holidays in AchillIsland, my cousin came to fetch me home for the three days leave; two community nuns took a ride with us to their convent. In the course of conversation they said how they were ten and eleven years in the congregation. I was thinking to myself that it sounded like nearly a lifetime. Then on the 31st of December 1994 I’m sitting in a meeting of the congregation in Pakistan and I’m thinking it’s going to happen this year-My Silver Jubilee. How fragile is life? How vulnerable we all are? Life is gone in an instant, with no warning at all. The seasons’ winds blew very fast. Where has the time gone I would like to know?

The meeting is over, and one of the group is saying to me that there’s talk of celebrating my jubilee  before we break up .And looking inside my mind I’m quite sure I don’t feel like a Jubilarian. So pondering the thought and wondering if I could rise to the occasion so far away from kith and kin. It was my first time in a Chinese Restaurant; I felt that this was too extravagant- but lo and behold it didn’t take long to develop a taste for spring rolls and chicken-fried rice.

As I look back upon the years and reflect on what I see, a flurry of mixed emotions rush inside me. The good seems great indeed, yet there’s an element, a feeling that I didn’t always do my best. My heart is like a sailing boat. Sometimes I didn’t know what course I should take and I fought against the powerful winds where I struggled to live in tempestuous times. Through faith, endurance, integrity and toil I endeavoured to be a beacon of light in the darkness.

What happy times I had too in those 25 years! Time passes too quickly to enjoy and appreciate the blessings of the present. For the day is approaching and memories will be all that I’ll have left. For now I find that it is the autumn of life for me. And I wonder what does the future hold?  If nothing else, just happiness.

I’ll finish with a quantum reflection from Thich Nhat Hanh:

“I am creating my day. I am affecting the Quantum Field. If you are watching me while I am doing this, show me a sign to-day that you paid attention to any of the things I have created. And bring them to me in a way I won’t expect. Let me be surprised by my ability to recognise these things and make it so that I have no doubt that the sign has come from you.”    

Athenry Presentation Sister in 2000

Front, l-r: Sr. Mary McDonagh, Sr. Elizabeth Connolly, Sr. Rose Wright and Sr. Bernadette Kearney . Middle, l-r: Sr. Eugenia Murphy and Sr. Teresa Gilligan .

Back, l-r: Sr. Collette Dolan, Sr. Kevin Curran, Sr. Gabriel Healy, Sr. Benignus Flannagan, Sr. Leo Hackett, Sr. Alphonusus Allen, and Sr. Kathleen Collison.

Convent Hospitality and the ‘White Table’-Fr. John O’Gorman C.C., 1997-2004

On a January day in 1908 the Sisters arrived from Tuam and got a Céad Míle Fáilte from the people of Athenry. On a July day in 1997, almost 90 years later, the new Curate came from Tuam via Claremorris, and this time it was the Sisters who gave the first Céad Míle Fáilte. The night was late when the phone rang and the Sister said, ‘You’re welcome, Father John, your name is in the pot!’ Having spent the night and next morning sorting out boxes, the ‘Mercy Boy’ decided to try the ‘pot’. After an exchange of welcomes, I was offered the ‘dining room’ or the ‘white table’. Used to dining rooms, I opted for the ‘white table’, and for my seven years in Athenry, it was my salvation.

Convents are known for their dining rooms, good food and hospitality. Athenry was no exception to this but the ‘white table’ was then to me the heart of the convent. The Chapel, the Community Room, the Dining Room were all places of importance, but the ‘white table’ will always remain as a  fond memory It was here at the ‘white table’ that you really met these women who followed the rule of Nano. Here the stories of our lives are told: the joys and sorrows we shared, learning who needed a prayer or who needed to be ‘sorted’ out. Here I learned that laughter is the best medicine and should be taken as often as possible, that we are but passing through and to be true to oneself.

Sunday lunch in the dining room, jubilees, feast days, birthdays, farewells, Holy Saturday nights, Christmas and Presentation days, masses, funerals, Lenten prayer evenings and many other great gatherings were examples of great Presentation hospitality experienced by a ‘Mercy Boy on the turn’. The hours that were spent at the ‘white table’ are to me the best hours of the 100 years of the Sisters in Athenry.

The 2006 Golden Jubilee of Sr. Mary McDermott

L-r: Sr. Nano Brennan, Sr. Mary McDermott holding her grandniece, Grace, and Sr.  Evelyn Geraghty

Sr. Mary McDermott’s memories of her 2006 Golden Jubilee

My feelings and thoughts were of profound joy and gratitude for all the graces, opportunities on the day and challenges of my fifty years as a Presentation Sister. It was a celebration enjoyed by the eighty plus who attended. I was so glad to have people who had been part of my life from Primary and Secondary School; friends as well as Sisters from every community where we had lived together in Tuam, Athenry, Achill, Headford and Lucan, as well as co-workers at the Daisyhouse Housing Association and parishioners from Lucan parish where I had worked as a parish pastoral associate for eights years.   These with my family, my brothers Paddy and Bosco and their wives and children and grandchildren and some in-laws have been the people who carried me along over the years.

Cnámha mo Scéil – Sr. Caitríona Ní Chonchúir

Rugadh agus tógadh mé i bparóiste ársa, stairiúil Anach Cuain ar bhruach Loch Coirib.   Is iomaí duine a chuala trácht ar Anach Cuain de bharr dán Raiftéirí a choinnigh cuimhne na daoine buan a báthadh i Mean Fomhair 1828, agus iad ar a mbealach go dtí aonach i nGaillimh. Nuair a chríochnaigh mé leis an mbunscoil d’fhreastail mé ar Mhean Scoil na Toirbhirte i nGaillimh.   Taréis scathaimh sa scoil sin thosaíos ar machnamh.   Spreagadh suim  ionam sa bheatha cráifeach.   Léigh mé faoi saol Nano Nagle.   Chuaigh a saol agus saol na Siúracha sa scoil i nGaillimh i gcionn orm.

Sa bhliain 1965 bhí an ‘glaoch ó Dhia’ níos láidre agus thosaigh mé mar ‘phrintíseach´i gClochar na Toirbhirte.    Is mór idir ‘inné agus inniu´agus is mór idir an saol sa chlochar ag an am sin agus saol an lae inniú.   Bhí rialacha docht i bhfeidhm ag an am, ó thaobh an caidreamh a bhí ag mná rialta leis an ‘saol amuigh’ mar a tugadh air, ach tríd is tríd bhí mé sona sásta ionam féin.   Níorbh fhada gur tháinig athruithe móra ar na rialacha ach sin scéal eile. Arais go dtí m’aistear féin.    Oileadh mé mar mhuinteór mheanscoile in Ollscoil na Gaillimhe.    Chaitheas cúpla blain ag múineadh sa scoil i nGaillimh ‘mo shean scoil’.   Bhí bá faoi leith agam leis an scoil sin.

Ansin i 1976 cuireadh tús le ceangal nó aontacht idir cuallachtaí na Toirbhirte ar fud na hÉireann agus ar fud an domhain. Sa bhlian 1977 thosaigh mé ag múineadh in Uarán Mór – scoil measctha.    Chaitheas seacht mbiana déag aoibhinn ann. I Cill Choca i gCill Dara an chéad stad eile.  Scoil mór agus cé gurbh é seo an chéad uair agam cónaí agus obair in Oirthear na tire cuireadh fíorchaoin fáilte romham.

I 1998 mhothaigh mé go raibh sé in am dom sos (Sabbatical) a thógáil.  Chaith mé cúpla mí i Meiriceá.    Ba athnuachain pearsanta iontach é an tréimhse a chaith mé ansin. Ag  deireadh an chúrsa agus ar teacht arais go hEirinn dom ‘seoladh’ mé go dtí Mhuine Bheag i gCeatharlach.   Chaitheas cúpla bliain sona sa chuallacht sin ag múineadh sa Mheán Scoil.

De réir mar a bhí an t-am ag dul thart musclaíodh mian ionam éirí as múineadh agus dul i ngleic le obair éigin eile.   Ag an am seo fuair mé deis dul go Huddersfield i Sasana.   Tá Siúracha na Toirbhirte ansin ó thart ar 1970.   Ar aghaidh liom go Huddersfield.   Is ansin a bhain mé an-tairbhe agus taitneamh as bheith ag obair i measc na nÉireannach a bhí scaipthe i gcúig paróiste –   daoine a d’fhág an tír seo blianta ó shin chun chur fútha in Huddersfield go mórmhór muintir na Gaeltachta ó Iarthar na hEireann.   Nárbh iontach a bheith in ann caidreamh leo i nGaeilge agus i mBéarla i gceartlár Huddersfield.   Chuireadar fáilte agus fiche romham. Bhí an creideamh agus an ghaeilge go láidir ina measc.  Bhí aiféal orm iad a fhágaint ach beidh cuimhne agam go deo ortha agus on tionchar a bhí acu orm.

Táim anois taréis dhá bhliain a chaitheamh anois anseo i mBaile Atha an Rí agus is áil liom bheith arais ar scoil arís agus seans agam an dá rud is ansa liom a mhúineadh – Gaeilge and Creideamh.

The Convent 1988-2008-Sister Leo

In July 1988 our Convent in Keel, Achill was changed into a Day Care Centre under the Western Health Board, so I was appointed to Athenry.  There being no vacancy in Scoil Chroí Naofa at the time, I was invited by the late Monsignor Mooney to work in the Parish. So began my years with Athenry Social Services – working with the elderly, delivering meals on wheels, bringing Holy Communion weekly to the sick and house-bound. That was a truly rewarding ministry. I joined the local ‘Soilse’ group in 1998 – friends of people with special needs.

Our Community here was a group of nine – three of whom were retired, whose hospitality and friendship made a big difference to those of us whose ministries took us out of the Convent for most of the day. In 1990 with the advice of our priests, we decided to open our Chapel (left) to the public – Since then Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament has continued there every week – Thursday to Sunday from 10a.m. to 9p.m. Our schools at this time had lay Principals who continue to promote Presentation values.  Being on the Board of Management of both schools and having a class for Religion in the College kept me in touch with the Education scene.

The founding in 1990 of the Nano Nagle pre-school for the children of traveller families was special, as I was aware from previous experience of the benefits of such a school.  As it closes its doors this year, 2008, some of those who began there are now in third level colleges – We are proud of their achievements. 1994 saw many changes in our Province.  As Convents closed, four retired sisters joined us in Athenry.  Some structural changes were necessary to accommodate the bigger group.  Sadly, only three years later, death claimed Sr. Monica Mooney and since then six other sisters have died – those have been difficult years. 

The unexpected death of Sr. Colette Dolan was very sad indeed.  Her memory lives on here – she is still talked about in Scoil Chroí Naofa and in Athenry town where her kindness is not forgotten.

I pray that all those Sisters who touched our lives and contributed so much to our Community may look after us into the unknown future.

Celebrating the Centenary of the Presentation Sisters in Athenry 1908-2008

Sisters at their Centenary Mass in the Convent Chapel on 2 nd of January 2008

Seated, l-r: Sr. Mary O’Regan, Sr. Kevin Curran and Sr. Teresa Gilligan.

Second Row, l-r: Canon Tony King P.P., Sr. Alphonsus Allen, Sr. Mary McDonagh, Sr. Marie Ward, Community Leader, Sr. Evelyn Geraghty and Sr. Maureen Geraty.

Back, l-r: Sr. Catherine O’Connor, Sr. Leo Hackett, Sr. Martina Morris and Fr. Charles McDonnell C.C.

The Athenry Parish Centenary Mass in the Church of the Assumption  on the 23 rd of May 2008

Archbishop Michael Neary’s  Homily for the Celebration of the Centenary of the Presentation Sisters in Athenry

I welcome you all to our celebration this evening.   I join with the Parish Priest, Canon Tony King, Fr. Charlie and all the priests who served here in extending a very warm welcome to the Provincial, Sr. Elizabeth Maxwell and the Presentation Sisters here in Athenry, and all the Sisters who have joined us from elsewhere, to the Board of Management, staff and pupils, past and present of the Presentation Schools.   The primary aspect of our celebration is to express our gratitude to the Presentation Sisters for what they have done, what they meant and what they continue to mean to the people of Athenry and the surrounding area for the past 100 years.  It is often said, as a kind of telling joke, that if you have to ask the price of your meal you shouldn’t be in the restaurant.   I call this joke “telling” because it contains truth that has less to do with snobbish fashion than with the hard realities of living.  The ability to read the damage without flinching, to pay up without complaint, may be more than mere bravado and the will to cut a dash.  It is rooted in a philosophy which acknowledges that this world sets prices on things.

In 1834 John McHale became Archbishop of Tuam and the following year he invited the Presentation Sisters to the diocese.   Recognising the urgent need to provide for the education of the children of the parish, Canon Canton, (another Castlebar man) the Parish Priest of Athenry, acknowledging the important role which the Presentation Sisters could play in this regard, invited them to Athenry.

On the 2 nd January 1908 four Sisters from the Presentation Convent in Tuam came to establish a new foundation in Athenry.   This was a very radical move as the Sisters were bound by the laws of “enclosure” and were unaccustomed to being outside their convent.   For them it was a courageous step in faith into the unknown.   Writing to the Reverend Mother in Tuam, Canon Canton spoke of his delight at the presence of the Sisters for the sake of the Catholic education of the children of Athenry.   His opening sentence conveys the deep sense of gratitude: “Thanks and praise to God for His great mercy and favours to Athenry.   I did draw a long breath of relief when after Mass today, I realised that Athenry had a convent and the nuns were actually installed”.   This was the beginning of the special relationship between the people of Athenry and the Presentation Sisters.   The Parish Priest, Canon Canton, made the Parochial House, the present Presentation Convent, available to them and rented a house until the present St. Mary’s was built later in that year.

The Sisters hit the ground running; a year after their arrival the number of pupils began to increase dramatically and three more Sisters were sent from Tuam to assist in the school.

A new primary school was built in 1910 with 300 pupils enrolling the first day, costing £690.00   In the 1920s the Sisters began to provide intermediate education for senior classes in Primary School and in 1950 a Secondary School for about 100 girls was opened.  At the request of the people of Athenry this school became co-educational in 1964.

In the aftermath of Vatican 11 the lifting of the rule of enclosure enabled the Sisters to go out among the people, visit the sick and housebound thereby reinforcing a friendship already well established over the years.   In 1964 co-education was introduced and hurling, camogie, musicals and debating societies began to flourish.   1980 and 1981 saw the erection of a new Primary and Post-PrimarySchool on Presentation grounds.

Forty years ago in 1968 Sr. Brid Brennan was appointed Principal.  With the advent of the free education scheme and free transport the number of pupils increased dramatically.  Twenty years ago the first lay Principal, Gilbert McCarthy was appointed and served until his retirement in 2004.  That year Mary Forde was appointed Principal. A key component of the Presentation approach to education has always been a great pastoral sensitivity.   Long before the Department of Education set up the institution of home-school liaison, the Presentation Sisters were in very close and constant contact with the families and homes of their pupils.   Today there is only one Presentation Sister on the staff of either the Primary and Post-Primary schools in Athenry, nevertheless through them and through the professional and compassionate Principals, Mary Forde and Teresa Neylon and the dedicated staffs, the Presentation ethos continues in a very powerful way and for that we are all most grateful.

As a young priest I was appointed to teach in PresentationCollege in Head ford.  It was clear at that time that Athenry had an extraordinary influence on other Presentation Schools in our Archdiocese.   It seemed to be regarded as the reference point.   Sisters who had served in Athenry and had come to Headword were never slow to quote Athenry as a precedent and a practical application.   Understandably at times this caused raised eyebrows.  

It was during my time in Headford, however, that I was made conscious of a deep-seated and determined dedication of the Presentation Sisters to the work of education.   Underpinning this professionalism and care for their pupils was an unswerving loyalty and an unfaltering faith.   Their courage was nothing short of heroic and found expression in the face of often intimidating odds.   In so many ways they have contributed immeasurably to the formation of the modern prosperous town that is now Athenry.   In my foreword to Fr. Kieran Waldron’s excellent book on education in the Archdiocese of Tuam, I said that “this is nothing less than the story of visionary pioneers”.  

These Sisters were prepared to put everything on the line in their determination to make hope a concrete thing and make dreams come true.   It was a situation which might have broken smaller people, but many of those who took up the challenge were giant-hearted indeed.  The products of a hard world, they took that same world on with a physical, intellectual and above all, spiritual toughness which, at a price, produced results.   The price, in terms of back-breaking work and endless worry, was one these remarkable Sisters could and did pay.

The Presentation Sisters in our Archdiocese and here in Athenry were such stock.   Education doesn’t materialise merely from hopes, still less from idle wishing.  But the hopes and wishes of good and determined people can be terrible in their beauty and effectiveness. 

These daughters of Nano Nagle built up their schools and showed generations of students how a dream can became a reality.  They showed that the price of what we want need not break us if we have faith in the God who has already paid the price for all of our betrayals and all our failures.   They taught this in the classroom day in and day out.   More importantly they taught it in the living examples of their lives.

What makes people give their lives for work like this?

Acknowledging that their contribution through the years will predominantly be remembered in terms of education, they also extend it through social work and pastoral care for all sectors of the community and particularly for the poor and the needy.  

Today we live in a society which holds wealth and worldly attainment in remarkable respect.   Gradually, indeed over the last thirty years or so, this society has ceased to pay anything but lip-service to the ancient and socially crucial virtues of love, honour and self-sacrifice.  

In such an atmosphere, having as it does a powerful and insidious effect on the young, it has become exceptionally difficult to explain something as profoundly human as the Presentation Sisters.   I emphasised the humanity of their charism not because I wish for one moment to deny what I regard as its divine origin but because it is precisely this startling God-gifted humanity which is so repulsive to many now.

I am convinced that history will regard the work of the Presentation Sisters as crucial:  crucial to national survival in its fullest sense and crucial to national development.   Crucial even, perhaps, to the ultimate emergence of Ireland into the modern, prosperous, self-confident nation of which the Presentation Sisters are almost invariably so proud.

The work of the Presentation Sisters in this regard was monumental and heroic.   In many ways they had to make others aware of the importance of education.   Outside the classroom they became involved in pastoral work, visiting homes, bringing comfort and consolation to the lonely and forgotten.  

On a personal note I would like to acknowledge the warm welcome, the hospitality and support which I have always received from the Presentation Sisters here in Athenry and indeed elsewhere throughout the Archdiocese.

On this centenary of your coming to Athenry, we express our heartfelt congratulations and deep appreciation of who you are, what you mean to all of us and the values for which you stand. What Athenry has become today, the vibrant and confident community is due in large measure to the hard work, the vision and dedication of the Presentation Sisters and all those who worked with them to provide the infrastructure for what we now enjoy.

 This evening we thank God for the countless ways He has blessed us through the Presentation Sisters here in Athenry.

The Athenry Parish Centenary Mass in the Church of the Assumption

Canon Tony King P.P., Fr. Charles McDonnell C.C., Clergy and Priests who served in Athenry Parish

   Present and Past members of the Presentation Convent Community, Athenry

The Celebration Dinner in the Raheen Woods Hotel on 23 rd of May 2008

Sr. Marie Ward, Community Leader, cutting the Centenary Cake

  Sr. Elizabeth Maxwell, Provincial of the Presentation Order

Sr. Maura Twohig, Ned Waldron, Sr. Bríd Brennan       

Eileen Lyons and Mary Ryan          

Address of welcome by Sr. Mary Kenny, Assistant Provincial of the Presentation Order to President Mary MacAleese on the occasion of her visit to the Athenry Presentation Sisters to unveil their Centenary Commemorative Plaque on the 30th of October 2008

  A Uachtaráin, Your Excellency,

It is my privilege, on behalf of the Presentation Sisters, to welcome you here today. We are commemorating 100 years of Presentation in Athenry. We are celebrating four valiant women who came here in 1908 and all the sisters who have lived and worked here since-one of whom, Sr. Teresa Conway, died last week.

 We are also celebrating and thanking God for all the people of Athenry and farther afield who have worked alongside us over the years-the people of the town here who were with us through thick and thin, the teachers in the primary and secondary schools, the Boards of Management, Parents’ Councils, our past pupils, present students, the chaplains and clergy who were always our friends. All of those people, and indeed many more, have enriched our lives and they have been a blessing on us.

We are here because of one woman’s dream-Nano Nagle, our foundress, who at a time of suppression and depression in our country carried the light of hope through her vision and her commitment. We and all our co-workers carry her vision and her dream today and especially now in time of recession and pain for many people.Táimid fíor bhuíoch díot, a Uachtaráin, as ucht a theacht in ár measc chun ceiliúradh linn. Guím beannacht Dé ort féin, ar d’fear chéile, Martin, ar do mhuintir agus ar do chuid oibre.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh ar fad.

The Convent before the arrival of the President        

 Fr. Charles McDonnell welcomed the President        

                                    President MacAleese and her husband, Dr. Martin MacAleese  after the unveiled the Centenary Commemorative Plaque

Guard of Honour by Scoil Chroí Naofa Pupils

Presentation Sisters and members of the Athenry Community

Ned Waldron, Micheál Quinn & Fr. McDonnell

President Mary MacAleese with the Presentation Sisters, Athenry (30-10-2008)

Seated, l-r : Sr. Mary Kenny, Assistant Provincial of the Presentation Order, Sr. Kevin Curran, President of Ireland, Mary MacAleese, Dr. Martin MacAleese and Sr.Teresa Gilligan. Standing, l-r : Sr. Maureen Geraty, Sr. Catherine O’Connor, Sr. Leo Hackett, Sr. Evelyn Geraghty, Sr. Mary O’Regan, Sr. Alphonsus Allen, Sr. Mary McDonagh, Sr. Martina Morris, Sr. Ena Canny, Sr. Marie Ward, Community Leader and Canon Tony King P.P.

  Photos: Gerry Ahern

PRESENTATION SISTERS WHO LIVED AND MINISTERED IN ATHENRY AND HAVE DIED

Convent Superiors

1908-1924        Sr. Catherine Storey

1924-1945        Sr. Ignatius Diskin

1946-1954        Sr. Magdalen Costello

1955-1971        Sr. Baptist Kelly/Sr. Berchmans Duggan 

1972-1977        Sr. Nuala Newell

1977-1982        Sr. Genevieve Kilbane

1982-1989        Sr. Kevin Curran

1989-1997        Sr. Leo Hackett

1997-2003        Sr. Mary McDonagh

2003-2006        Sr. Leo Hackett

2006-               Sr. Marie Ward

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Farewell to the Presentation Sisters

The Presentation Sisters have been in Youghal for almost two hundred years.They have taken the decision to sell the convent on the Front Strand and move the remaining nuns to Midleton. A Mass was concelebrated at the Holy Family church to bid them farewell.

They will be fondly remembered by the people of Youghal. The nuns taught girls how to make lace and have an income. The nuns bought leases from landlords to stop people being evicted. They had a primary and a secondary school in Youghal.

Brigid Keane describes Youghal Lace : Youghal Lace is a world-famous lace that was once sought after by popes, queens, and all who valued exquisite craftsmanship. The lace industry in Youghal owes its existence to the community of Presentation Nuns. The lace was known for its beauty and fine workmanship, making ita significant cultural and economic asset for the town. Presentation Convent: The convent was home to the Presentation Sisters, a religious institute of Roman Catholic women founded in Cork, Ireland, by “Nano” Nagle. The Sisters mission was to help the poor and needy around the world, and they played a crucial role in the development of Youghal Lace.

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Presentation Convent, Tuam.

A photograph of the Presentation Convent, Tuam; the photograph is part of the Eason collection at Galway library.

William Burke, Esq., of Currylea died on 1834 and by his Will provided for the establishment and endowment of a Convent of the Presentation Order in Tuam. Dr. McHale entered into negotiations with the Presentation Community in Galway of which Mother Mary Power was the Superioress and the first nuns arrived in Tuam on the 9th May 1835. They were Sr. Mary De Sales Coppinger, Sr. Mary Ignatius Blake and Sr. Mary Louis Tighe. The were established in a house which stood near the site now occupied by the Schools at the Cathedral Road and on the morning after their arrival Mass was celebrated there for the first time. (There is now no trace of the original building, but during recent excavations at the Cathedral Road in connection with the new Water Scheme, the foundations came to light). On the same day the appointment of Sr. Mary De Sales Coppinger as first Superioress of the Community was confirmed by Dr. McHale.

Any account of this foundation would be incomplete without reference to Miss Anne Burke who was a daughter of Richard Burke of Quansberry, Co Galway, and a sister of Lady Howth. This good lady proved a valuable friend of the Order and her zeal to promote the interests of religion and to provide education for the Poor of Tuam was, to a large extent, responsible for the success which attended the new community.

Mother Mary De Sales Coppinger died on the 16th November 1835, and on November the 24th of the same year, she was succeeded as Superioress by Sr. Maria Browne who came from the Galway House to fill the office.

The first postulants to join the Order in Tuam were the Misses Jane and Mary McTucker of Sligo - called in religion Sisters Joseph and Teresa, respectively. The reception took place on the 16th July 1838, and the function was attended by many of the Catholic gentry of the country. Sr. Veronica Cunningham a lay sister, was sent from Galway on March 11th 1837, and of the original Community, this sister and Mother De Sales Coppinger are the only ones buried in Tuam, the others having returned to the Galway House.

The first premises used by the Order were small and very inadequate. The building of a suitable Convent was delayed, however, owing to legal difficulties in connection with the Will of William Burke and it was not until July, 1848, that the foundation stone of the present Convent was laid by Rev. Thomas McHale. The building was completed on September 8th 1849. the present schools were built in 1852 and Dr. McHale contributed largely to their erection.

The Foundation at Tuam was the first community of female religious to be established in the diocese since the Penal times. By inviting the nuns to open their school Dr. McHale hoped to defeat all possibility of the National System of Education being introduction into the town. Throughout his life he succeeded in his aim and it was not until 1882, during the Episcopacy of Dr. McEvilly, that the Presentation Schools were placed under the National Board. Subsequently, Branch Houses were opened at Headford (November 1906), Athenry (Jan. 1908), Keel (June 1919) and Tiernee (August 1935) and at the moment a group of Sisters are about to set out to take over a new Foundation in New Zealand.

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Presentation Convent

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• Type: Monastery
• Denomination: Roman Catholic
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Landmarks in the area.

• Poor Clares Convent Monastery, 110 metres northeast
• Desota House Bed and Breakfast Guest house, 140 metres west
• Galway Library Services Library, 190 metres east
• Nun's Island Theatre Theatre building, 220 metres southeast
• Millennium Children's Park Park, 230 metres north

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• Our Lady's College Galway School
• NUIG Education University building, 130 metres east
• The Gourmet Offensive Delicatessen, 150 metres west
• Number 53 Guest house, 140 metres west
• Scoil Chroí Íosa School, 150 metres northwest

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Trinity Without (Waterford)

This chapel was designed by architect Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-52). The Buildings of Ireland  survey states that:

'The Presentation Convent in Waterford may rank as one of Pugin's lesser known Irish works but it is an important one nonetheless .   It bears close comparison to his Convent of Mercy (1841-50) in Handsworth, Birmingham, which predates it by only a few years, and to his ideal monastery plans as exemplified by the later Presentation Monastery (1846-62) in Killarney, County Kerry.'

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• Our Heritage

The religious community that would become the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary was founded in Cork, Ireland, by Honora “Nano” Nagle on Christmas Eve, 1775. In a 1769 letter to a friend, Nano Nagle wrote, “If I could be of any service in saving souls in any part of the globe, I would willingly do all in my power.” Nano’s service in the winding lanes quickly earned her the title “The Lady of the Lantern” as she visited the sick, comforted the sorrowing and educated children in the hedgerows. The light of her legacy calls us to go where need calls most loudly and to challenge ourselves to serve one pace beyond.

While Nano’s example inspired several other founders of religious orders in Ireland, her sisters also established additional religious foundations in several countries around the world. In 1874 Mother Vincent Hennessy left the Presentation convent in Mooncoin, Ireland, with three young women, to teach the immigrant children of Iowa, establishing the Dubuque Presentation community. Mother Vincent inspired others to live out the Presentation motto, Caritas (love for all). Despite challenging beginnings, the Dubuque Presentation community flourished.

Today, Dubuque Presentation Sisters are involved in educational and pastoral ministries and service to others. Sisters minister in urban and rural areas in the United States and in O’Connor Province of Tarija, Bolivia. Worldwide, over 2000 Presentation Sisters and numerous associates work in 23 countries and network globally through the International Presentation Association.

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Nano Nagle, a daughter of Ireland who lived under the oppressive Penal Laws of England, established a religious community in Cork, Ireland. This community later became known as the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Nano Nagle died at South Presentation Convent in Cork, Ireland.

In response to an invitation from Bishop Hennessy of Dubuque, Iowa, Mother Vincent Hennessy, accompanied by three young women, left Mooncoin, Ireland, to establish a Presentation congregation in Dubuque. Arriving early with no convent available, the sisters settled in Key West, Iowa.

The convent parlors in Key West became the classrooms of the sisters’ first school. 20 pupils answered roll on the first day of class. The following September the enrollment swelled to 80.

Within a year the congregation had grown from four to seven sisters. On September 12, three sisters were assigned to their first mission at St. Malachi parish in Dubuque, later known as St. Anthony parish and school. Since 1876, Presentation sisters have served in 55 locations in the Archdiocese of Dubuque.

The sisters built a boarding school in Dubuque known as St. Vincent Academy where 12 sisters were assigned. Later this academy became part of St. Columbkille parish.

Soon after Mother Vincent and the sisters moved into St. Vincent Academy, she contracted pneumonia due to the incomplete construction of the building and later died. Mother Vincent’s death was a devastating blow to the young and fragile community.

Despite the difficult loss of their foundress, the young community continued to grow through the grace of God. As the community flourished, sisters were missioned to Danbury, Iowa. Since 1887, sisters served in 22 parishes and schools in what today is known as the diocese of Sioux City.

The first Presentation mission outside the state of Iowa was in Nebraska. The school where the sisters taught was located in Madison, Nebraska.

The sisters moved from St. Vincent Academy to a motherhouse which they built at 1229 Mt. Loretta Avenue. Sixty years later this motherhouse became the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center of Dubuque.

The first Presentation missions in the state of Colorado were in the cities of Stratton and Akron. Sisters were also missioned to Timber Lake in the diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota, where they served in the school for 59 years.

During the depression of the 1930s, the sisters did not open any new schools. Some schools were temporarily closed. In many of the schools that remained open, the parishes were unable to pay any salaries. During those lean years, the music teachers were often paid with eggs, milk, meat and garden produce for giving private music lessons. Their labors sustained the sisters and left a powerful legacy of service for the community.

The Sisters of the Presentation of Oregon, Illinois, joined the Sisters of the Presentation of Dubuque to form one congregation.

The new parish and school named St. Germaine, located in Oak Lawn, Illinois, was the first mission of the community to serve in the Archdiocese of Chicago.

With the promulgation of the Documents of Vatican II, renewal in religious life was visible in the expansion of ministries, changes in lifestyle and modifications of the religious garb.

The sisters moved to a new motherhouse at 2360 Carter Road. This home, known as Mount Loretto, is the center for the administrative offices, the retired and infirmed sisters and the formation programs.

With the call of Pope Paul VI asking religious congregations to send 10 percent of their members to serve in foreign missions, the Presentation sisters responded whole-heartedly by missioning sisters to serve those made poor in southern Bolivia. Sisters continue to serve there today.

Because of the educational discrimination experienced by many in the African-American community, Presentation sisters began ministering in schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago that served this population. Today, this ministry not only continues but has expanded.

Dedicated to the value of faith formation, the sisters utilized their skills and reached out to young adults. They began their work as college campus ministers in 1980 and are still present in this ministry today.

With a strong desire to serve the needs of the poor wherever they may be, the sisters were drawn to serve in the Hispanic and migrant communities. The first Presentation mission in the United States was at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish and school in the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Presentation sisters from around the world united to create the International Presentation Association which works for world-wide justice and supports a non-governmental organization at the United Nations.

Sisters served in Guatemala for 10 years. They were involved in education, preparing catechists and church lay leaders, and helping organize those who were involved in local community improvements.

Retreat ministry began in Buffalo, Minnesota, at Christ the King Retreat Center. Today, this ministry continues in various locations.

Through a process of discernment, the community set its focus and direction into the next decade by committing their energy and resources toward empowering women and children.

The community offered spiritual comfort by reaching out to those imprisoned. Prison ministry began in Marianna, Florida. Today, this ministry is located in Rochester, Minnesota.

Over the next years, as needs arose, individual sisters came forth to serve in varied works and locations. They brought hope and joy to many places, including the Lakota people on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, Tanzanians in Africa, service in food pantries in Chicago and Dubuque and in numerous roles of peace and justice.

Nurturing a mutual and supportive relationship with Christian laity, the Presentation sisters began the associate process. Together, the sisters and laity foster the charism of Nano Nagle.

Addressing the unmet need for transitional housing for women and children in Dubuque, Presentation sisters partnered with other religious congregations in the area to establish Maria House.

In a total community vote, the sisters took their first corporate stance to embrace the Earth Charter. By this action, the sisters committed themselves to help create a sustainable global society founded on the principles of respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice and a culture of peace.

Thirty-two years after ministry began in Bolivia, young women desiring to enter the Presentation community were captivated by the spirit of Nano Nagle. A formation program was established in order to welcome Bolivian women.

New Orleans, Louisiana, is the site of a collaborative ministry project of the North American Presentation Sisters. These sisters, from different Presentation communities, are ministering to the poor and most needy.

Unemployment and wages too low to afford enough food, are among the main reasons that people seek help from shelters and soup kitchens. Recognizing these critical needs of the homeless in Dubuque, Presentation sisters, in collaboration with other women religious, corporate sponsors and private citizens, opened Teresa Shelter, an emergency shelter for women and their children.

The sisters adopted the following International Presentation Association Directions for Mission, ”Conscious of our identity as Presentation women, we listen deeply to the cry of Earth heard most loudly in the cry of those made poor, and we are moved to attend with urgency to the woundedness of our global community.” At this time, the sisters completed an audit of their carbon footprint and are striving to reduce it by 25 percent over next five years.

To assist in preserving our heritage, Sister Joan Lickteig accepted the invitation to write an informal history, Tending the Light, of the Dubuque Foundation of the Sisters of the Presentation. This book expresses in broad strokes contributions made by the congregation to keep Nano’s mission and flame alive.

Presentation Quest, an immersion and service program, was created to experience and address the root causes of poverty and to educate about earth sustainability. These opportunities for sisters, associates and volunteers engage all in a deeper understanding of relationships to one another, to Earth and to God.

A wisdom circle to explore creative aging was established. This process assists sisters in finding healthy ways to live out their wisdom years, drawing energy from past experiences and discovering unused gifts for mission.

Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America, a project of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) tells the story of the contributions of women religious in America since the early 1700s. Hosted in Dubuque, this exhibit, developed through the collaborative efforts of the twelve local congregations, also highlights the roots of the congregations of Sisters from the Upper Mississippi Valley.

During Chapter, a meeting held every five years, a new directional statement was established, clarifying the congregation’s vision for the future and commitment to engaging their passion and strength in continued work for justice, peace and compassion. “Ignited by the fire of God’s love and impelled by the legacy of Nano Nagle, we, the Sisters of the Presentation of Dubuque, participate in the evolving consciousness of the cosmos by reverencing relationships, celebrating unity, engaging contemplation and fostering partnerships to transform ourselves and our world.”

A new ministry in Hampton, Iowa, was established to address the needs and realities of Hispanic immigrants. La Luz Hispana, “The Hispanic Light,” offers a hospitable space where Hispanics can come together to share and build their strengths, where social isolation is not a barrier, and where hope and a sense of possibility are fostered.

A dream unfolds in Bolivia when Presentation Sisters serving there purchase a new house in the city of Tarija. The home is a place where young university women can come to live, study and share community life, learning about the Presentation spirit and culture.

In celebration of jubilee, Presentation Sisters, with the help of generous partners, were able to purchase nearly 150 water filters for the Guarani people of Bolivia. The water filtration systems help provide safer drinking water, using no chemicals or electricity. These systems last 10 years and filter water at a higher standard than United States tap or bottled water.

Presentation Sister Paula Schwendinger investigated the needs of immigrants in rural areas of Iowa including Cascade, Dyersville, Farley and Petersburg. Through her observation of the needs, Sister Paula initiated Hispanic Outreach Ministry of Evangelization (HOME). She seeks out individuals of the Hispanic community in their homes and offers them religious and Bible studies, translation and networks Hispanics with community services and resources. Sister Paula has found that HOME is where the heart is.

During Chapter, a meeting held every five years, a new directional statement was established, clarifying the congregation’s vision for the future and commitment to engaging their passion and strength in continued work for justice, peace and compassion. The leadership team called those gathered to look into the future and consider where Dubuque Presentation Sisters are called to live radical hospitality.

Sister Carmen Hernandez states, “My hope is that we will move our direction and commitments into action and this, without a doubt, will mean we will need to take risks, make mistakes and let go of fears and of what has become familiar to us. Isn’t that what our foundress, Nano Nagle did? We continue to seek the most life-giving way forward as we risk radical hospitality, a hospitality emanating from the deepest part of our being in kinship with Earth and all people. With radical and root coming from the same word, we are called to look to Nano, and the characteristics of her risking as she planted the roots of her challenging ministry in Ireland 150 years ago. We will only be richer and deeper by extending ourselves to a world out there which cries out daily for our help. Whatever we decide to do, let’s do it. And let’s do it together.”

Presentation Sisters around the world celebrated the 300th anniversary of the birth of Nano Nagle. With a lantern in hand, Nano walked the winding lanes of Cork, lighting the hovels and attics, incarnating God’s love in dark places. Known as the “Lady of the Lantern,” Nano inspired others by her singleness of purpose and passion of heart for those made poor and for changing the structures of society that made and kept people poor. Today, united by the legacy of this great woman, Sisters of the Presentation, associates, benefactors, partners, family and friends move as one for mission – Nano’s mission of serving those made poor and working for justice.

Since 1874, the Dubuque Sisters of the Presentation have played a significant role in continuing Nano’s work of love. Today they find their ministries of serving those most in need in nine states, the District of Columbia and Bolivia. With a desire to joyfully go where need calls most loudly, Presentation Sisters boldly grasp the lantern, tend its light and pass it on to ensure that the light of Nano’s hospitality, compassion, love and hope continues to shine among all, transforming the world in the process.

The Presentation Sisters respond when the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) received an urgent request for economic help and for volunteers to give hands-on ministry to the immigrants in the hospitality centers at El Paso, Texas border.

“Poverty is to be without options. The migrants are here because they have no other option. They are here because they have no other choice.” Reuben Garcia, founder of Annunciation House, speaks directly about the plight of the migrants arriving in massive numbers at the southern border.  “You must understand that this is not just a problem ‘down there.’ This is a massive human problem that is befalling our family – my family. We need to do something about what is happening to our brothers and sisters!”

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Presentation Convent

Presentation Convent, Mooncoin, Ireland – Good location – show map

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Located in Mooncoin, within 8.1 miles of Christ Church Cathedral and 8.2 miles of Reginald's Tower, Presentation Convent provides accommodations with a garden and free WiFi throughout the property as well as free private parking for guests who drive. The property is around 27 miles from Mount Juliet Golf Club, 7.3 miles from Waterford Railway Station and 7.7 miles from Garter Lane Arts Centre. At the hostel, all rooms are equipped with a shared bathroom with a shower. Waterford Institute of Technology WIT is 10 miles from Presentation Convent.

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• Part of the plan
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Presentation Sisters Union North East Ireland Union of Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Laois – Mountmellick

Story of our community, mountmellick.

In 1771 when Nano Nagle was making final preparations to bring the Ursulines to Cork, Mountmellick was raised to the status of a parish. Catholics were few, ignorance and poverty were rife and morale was at a very low ebb. Under the leadership of two zealous pastors the Catholic population increased in spite of oppression, famine and emigration. In 1833 Rev. Andrew Healy became the third P.P. of Mountmellick. He was deeply concerned for the welfare of his people and prayed earnestly for 20 years that the Lord would send Presentation Sisters to provide education for the “poor females” in his parish.

Because of poverty it seemed impossible to provide for a community of nuns – there was no way he could raise funds – but he so believed that the Presentation Sisters were the “right” ones that he refused an offer from another Congregation that would be self sufficient and hence not totally committed to the poor; so he kept on praying and trusting against all the odds until his heart’s desire was granted in 1854.

Anna Maria Corballis was a talented young lady belonging to a wealthy and very religious Dublin family. After her two older sisters joined Fanny Ball in establishing Loreto Abbey, Dublin, Anna Maria entered first the Cistercians in England and later the Carmelites in Dublin. In both cases her health broke down. Eventually she discovered her true vocation when she entered with the Presentation Sisters in Bagenalstown. Before taking her solemn vows, as Sr. Charles, she disposed of her patrimony in favour of the Presentation foundation in Mountmellick, through Dr. Healy, Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin.

Foundation: On March 6 th 1854, Sisters Charles Corballis (Bagenalstown), Aloysius Brophy (her cousin), Ignatius Taylor and Frances Kelly (all from Carlow Community) travelled by train to Portarlington, stopping off to visit the sisters in Kildare. They were accompanied by Fr. Hamilton, a professor in Carlow College, who, with the bishop, ardently supported the new foundation all along the way. There was consternation when no covered car could be procured at Portarlington railway station to bring the sisters on the last leg of their journey to Mountmellick. Fr. Hamilton thought it very undignified for “cloistered nuns” to have to travel in an open car and, with their unseemly luggage, remarked that “they were more likely to be taken for a group of strolling players”!

A house had been rented in the centre of the town as a home for the new community. This big house, devoid of any furniture or convenience, except for two deal tables and three wooden chairs, provided little welcome on a cold bleak afternoon in early March. However, nothing could daunt the enthusiasm of this little group, who had left the security and companionship of their respective communities to embark on a very challenging mission. The sisters slept on pallets on the floor for some time and it is recorded that they carried their three wooden chairs from the refectory to the chapel and back several times daily for most of that first year!

A major task on the evening of arrival was to set up an oratory using one of the deal tables as an altar. Next morning the Bishop offered Mass after which the Blessed Sacrament was reserved and the house blessed. Now, with Jesus in their midst, the first community of Presentation Sisters was officially established in Mountmellick on 7 th March 1854.

The Sisters were somewhat disconcerted by the seeming lack of welcome on the part of Fr. Healy or his parishioners. In fact, he had told no one of their coming and so the Sisters were already installed before anyone was aware of their presence. Soon, however, they understood why Fr. Healy acted as he did when they became aware of “the old spirit of bigotry and Protestant ascendancy” which prevailed in the area and how easily hostility could be aroused.

25 th March 1854 was a very significant date in the history of the parish, when the Angelus bell rang out at 6 a.m. announcing again, after centuries of silence, the Good News of the Incarnation. We are told that, as Sr. Aloysius rang the bell, she held a little statue of Our Lady in her hand and prayed fervently that the Mother of God would send out blessings of hope and peace to all of her oppressed and deprived children.

In April 1854 the four rooms on the ground floor of their rented home were set up as classrooms, using desks obtained from a former national school, which had catered for 48 pupils. The Sisters were very happy when, on 23 rd April, they eagerly opened their school doors, well prepared to accept 40 – 50 pupils. 300 young people turned up aged 4-19 years! The annals describe scenes from these early school days reminiscent of Nano’s first experiences in Cork. These young people, some of whom would just have survived the famine, had little experience of discipline or co-operation. Quarrelling, shouting and generally boisterous, they paid no heed whatever to the many efforts made to calm them. The Sisters felt helpless and sometimes frightened in those early days and it took much courage, patience, faith and commitment to persevere in such difficult circumstances. Their pupils had no knowledge of religion and very few had made First Holy Communion, so the Sisters provided evening classes to teach them prayers and catechism.

In May 1854 the Sisters set up a shrine to Our Lady in their garden and encouraged the pupils to take part in May processions and sing hymns to Our Lady. Afterwards, we are told that, when things got out of control in the classroom, it was enough to make the sign of the Cross and say a Hail Mary aloud to restore order and quiet! The proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, that year, was eagerly availed of as an opportunity to foster a lively devotion to their heavenly Mother in the hearts of the pupils.

During all this time the Sisters kept a very low profile. Because of the prevailing anti-Catholic atmosphere they were seen as a threat. On the feast of Corpus Christi, two men in the grounds of the Sisters’ house deliberately fired a shot at Sr. Ignatius who was standing inside a window, narrowly missing her but leaving the window shattered. Fr. Healy had the two men arrested. During the court hearing, however, he stated that he did not wish them to be prosecuted, but, since the Sisters had come for the benefit of the people they should be respected. This produced a favourable result.

In a special solemn ceremony in 1855, the Bishop presented the Sisters with rings, now worn for the first time in the Order. (Pius IX had sketched the shield and cross with rays saying, when asked for a motto, that the “cross would supply for all”).

1856 saw a number of improvements introduced. Overcrowding in the school was affecting the health of the pupils and their teachers and so the sisters acquired the only available site – a disused distillery yard with some ruined buildings in it, at the entrance to the town. The old distillery dwelling house was renovated as a new home for sisters and a two-roomed thatched school, well lit and ventilated, was built mainly from rubble on the site. A chapel in the new home, capable of holding 200, proved a huge asset in fostering a spirit of faith and devotion in many parishioners.

In September 1856 a very large number of children, adults and married women made their first Confirmation; they were confirmed in the parish church in Graigue. Immediately after the ceremony the newly confirmed, all dressed in white, walked in procession, followed by the congregation, right through the town and into the convent garden – a distance of one mile. No one had organised or foreseen this event, not even Fr. Healy – a striking witness to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. (The convent garden is still a place that attracts the newly confirmed, newly-weds and past pupils -after almost 150 years.)

A new convent was built in 1863. It was built at a time of real poverty, and with the help of very small donations, bazaars etc. – money often coming in ‘miraculously’ -the exact sum at the exact time! Two years elapsed before it could be occupied as there was no money to furnish it. A statue of the Immaculate Conception, placed at the highest point of the convent, caused quite a stir. It was just 7 years since the Sisters came to Mountmellick, at which time an orange pole and flag was permanently raised exactly opposite the site of the new convent and everyone entering the town had to pass under it.

In reaction to the erection of the statue, a delegation of the ‘local ascendancy’ brought a petition to Dublin Castle to have the offending statue removed. The petition failed when it was ascertained that it was legally distant from the public thoroughfare. Angry members then threatened to erect a statue of Queen Elizabeth right opposite – but it didn’t happen. The prominent position of Mary Immaculate was a heart warming sign of hope and security for the Catholics where religion was only struggling into life after a cruel persecution of nearly 300 years.

In 1866 St. Joseph’s ‘Benefit School’ opened for Catholic families who had become better off and were sending their children to Protestant Schools so as not to mix with the poor children! The school was set up in the house vacated by the Sisters and the subjects taught were English, French, vocal and instrumental music, painting and needlework. ‘Sunday school’ classes, which up to now were held in Graigue, were transferred to the convent.

In 1868 the first Parish Mission was preached by the O.M.I. Fathers. Many older adults needed to be instructed in the very basics before receiving the Sacraments. The Sisters gave this instruction each evening after school, teaching the Christian Doctrine by rote, since only one in twenty could read. We are told that it was pathetic to see old men hobbling in to get their first ever lessons in Catechism. The bishop came and administered the sacrament of Confirmation to hundreds of these adults at the end of the parish mission.

By 1869, twenty-five years after the foundation, it was clear that the foundation was already bearing much fruit with 18 sisters in community and 30 professed sisters (past pupils) elsewhere. The custom of mothers bringing their children to be offered to Our Lady, May Processions, “Holy Childhood”, “Holy Angels” and Children of Mary were firmly established in the parish. ‘Mountmellick Work’ and other forms of embroidery and hand work had become very popular and profitable. In 1882, an exhibition of needlework was held in Dublin with the intention of promoting home industry – the Sisters, having embroidered a beautiful large quilt in Mountmellick. Work for the occasion, received a certificate of merit.

By 1883 it was clear that developments called for a larger and more ‘modern’ school. The site of the Benefit school, which had been absorbed into the ‘National System’ was available. This year was one of great economic depression and the Sisters got little encouragement financially. However, putting their trust in God, Mary Immaculate and St. Joseph, as always, they set about raising the money. They decided, among other things, to run a bazaar. Their first request for a prize was made to Pope Leo XI11 who graciously sent a beautiful cameo of Our Lady and his Apostolic blessing! Thus heartened, they redoubled their efforts and the bazaar raised £650 clear! The rubble from the thatched school and St. Joseph’s was used to help in the building, while the Sisters taught in the open air and/or under canvas tents in all weathers for two years until the new school opened in 1886. This was to be the scene of their labours for the next 88 years – with the addition of 2 more rooms in 1930.

In 1921, after 67 years in Primary Education, the sisters were aware of a growing need for secondary education. This was especially a life long dream of Mother Patrick Clarke, a woman of great vision and zeal. So, when the Quaker boarding school (established in 1687) came on the market in May 1921, it was bought by the Sisters, through the generous financial aid of D.E. Williams of Tullamore, who had often expressed to the sisters a desire to help the young people of Mountmellick. On 25 th October, the feast of Our Lady of Victories, the secondary school, although still in need of vast renovations, opened its doors to thirty day pupils and five boarders. With Mother Ita Fanning at the helm, M. Berchmans Curtin and Sister Martha Timmins formed the nucleus of ‘St. Mary’s College’ where, over the years, countless young girls were well equipped academically, culturally and spiritually for life. St. Mary’s College was destined to grow from strength to strength under the patronage of Our Lady of Victories and have a huge impact locally and nationwide. The fee in 1948 was £30 p.a. for the Boarding School. Pupils came from many counties. Both teachers and pupils worked consistently and tirelessly and achieved great results. The Sisters dedicated themselves totally to the apostolate in St. Mary’s College.

In 1953, Mother Michael Ryan led a foundation to Bicester, Oxon in England and later to Swindon and Acocks Green, Birmingham. In 1958, the Convent of our Lady of Victories was opened. The convent was blessed by Bishop Thomas Keogh, Kildare and Leighlin.

In 1967, a further step was taken when the College became co-educational and the boarding school was phased out. In 1986 it merged with the local Vocational School to form the current Community School. At the same time, the convent behind St. Mary’s College was closed and sold to the trustees of the new school. In 1990 the amalgamated schools underwent renovation and is now known as Mountmellick Community School. Some old dormitories were removed or converted for school use and a school gymnasium was built.

In 1971, two new schools were built on the same site on Davitt Road, Mountmellick, replacing both the convent primary school and the boys primary school. The girls school became known as St. Joseph’s Girls National School and the boys’ school as St. Patrick’s Boys Primary School. Until 1971, the boys had attended the convent school until they finished 1 st Class and then continued their education in the boys’ school. This changed when the new schools were opened. The boys then started school in the new St. Patrick,s Boys School. For this reason, three Sisters worked on staff of the boys school. In time, the number was reduced to two and finally one. In 1973, the ‘old schools’ were demolished and the rubble was used as foundation for extended playground in St. Joseph’s GNS – an unbroken chain of significant recycling since 1856!

In July 1992, the establishment of a house in Kirwan Park began a new phase in the history of Presentation Sisters in Mountmellick. For two years this was a house of formation for young sisters. From 1994 to 1999, the house became the Ministries Office (later the Education Office) – a centre for administration and support to many primary and secondary schools in the Northern Province. Since 1999, the present interprovincial Justice community, are responsible for the development of a ministry which supports the congregational thrust towards Justice, Human Rights and Ecology.

In 2004, one hundred and fifty years after foundation, there were thirteen Sisters resident in the town. Three Sisters worked in Primary education, two Sisters in the Community School, three in Kirwan Park and others in a variety of parish based ministries.

In 2008 Ministries included Sisters on Board of Management of Primary and Secondary Schools, Voluntary teaching in Secondary School, Two sisters on Staff of Primary School, Ministry of Prayer – prayer groups, Homework ministry, Church sacristy, Home Visitation and Community Ministry, voluntary housing for the elderly. Sr. Mary Caulfield now (2008) lives in Wolfe Tone Court and initiates many activities for the residents.