Some time ago I casually met with a neighbour who told me of letters that were in her house, that she would like me to see. I promised to visit, but time went by, until one evening I called to the house, not really knowing what riches lay in store.

Josephine and Roma are sisters and they inherited letters from their aunt – Josie Dowdall.

They showed to me the tin box containing some letters that were addressed to the Dowdall family who lived in the Gate Lodge, and they dated from 1888!

The Gate Lodge, Ardee, Co Louth

On opening the box, I immediately knew that I was in the presence of guarded and precious documents that contained a treasure beyond price. We sat around the table and began to read each one aloud.

I couldn’t believe my eyes, it was as if we were reading the handwritten letters of Catherine McAuley through the personal story of this young woman writing to her parents, brothers and sisters.

Catherine McAuley

Born to Thomas and Margaret Dowdall, she lived at the Gate Lodge, Ardee, until at 20 years of age she set out for the USA on April 19th, 1888. The letter mentioned a group from Ardee had travelled aboard the Aurania/Cunard, with 300 other passengers  and they were met in New York  by a woman from Ardee, Mary Anne Reilly.  Maggie and her companion were taken to her home for 3 days, before boarding a train for New Orleans.

Writing home to her parents at the Lodge, she tells of the journey, the plight of her companions on board and her wonder at the electric street lighting that lighted the night in New York.

Her next letter describes her meeting with the Rev. Mother Austin Carroll, the other Irish Sisters in the community in New Orleans, and receiving the Postulant’s cap. She also includes a reference to the beautiful singing of the choir and the Liturgy of the time.  Lastly, her having eaten new potatoes and seeing fruits of every kind, assuring her parents not to be fretting.

She asks to be remembered to the Sisters and Priests in Ardee, especially Rev. Mother.  Incidentally, this greeting was to the Foundress, Evangelist White, and having been reared at the Gate Lodge, I expect she would have been a regular visitor/helper to the community in Ardee.

There are more than 20 letters in total, telling of the early days in Alabama, retreat times at the Motherhouse in New Orleans, receiving the Habit and name: Sr. M. Bernard, and other works and travels of the Sisters at that time.

The Mercy Cross

In all of her correspondence, she is very modest regarding her own choir and music ministry, yet sharing that the children received good results in the examinations. There is a wonderful letter written in January 1892 describing her Final Profession, her deep joy and delight in everything that nourished her spiritual life.

She repeatedly encourages her brothers to remain on at school, and there is a poignant letter in July 1892, to her sister Rose, asking her not to go to America, claiming her health would not be able for the climate. This is the only indication I found in her letters to the possibility that her own health may have been affected by the conditions there.

As I read the letters, one after another, learning more of this woman’s journey and simplicity, I felt so much for her loss, her younger brothers and sisters, her parents and the townspeople of Ardee, yet her total commitment to her Mercy community in the U.S.A., and the children in her classes.

We then read the letter dated October 31st, 1892, from Sr. M. Gonzaga.

Just 4 years after arriving in USA, Maggie Dowdall/Sr. M Bernard, at 24 years old, died and, like so many, was buried far from home, and we can only imagine the grief felt by her parents and family in the Gate Lodge, when that letter was first opened and read aloud.

In a very touching way, to be living in the same Gate Lodge that Maggie Dowdall and her family lived in all those years ago, is in itself a great honour.  And as custodians of the story, I want to acknowledge the great respect that Josephine and Roma hold for their family heritage and Mercy Story that has been entrusted to them, and now, includes all of us.

Sr. Evelyn, from Archives, has visited with us in Ardee, and encouraged the women to further protect their heritage by having the letters typed. This sacred task is now a labour of love by all three of us, and these quiet Sunday afternoons, you can find us in the scriptorium, with tin box open, the letters unfolded, and typing and whispering aloud: “1888….”.

Lily Sexton rsm
Northern Province