A new moment has come for the town of Dunmore, Co Galway. An evening of farewell from the parish was organised by the Parish Priest, Father Fergal Cunnane. The community of Mercy Sisters have moved out, leaving wonderful memories of nearly four decades of wide and varied ministry. This was an unusual situation in that an earlier community of Sisters of the Incarnate Word, from San Antonio, Texas, had been present there since 1925. Their foundation was originally made in order to encourage young women to join their Congregation. In 1963, they opened a secondary school in the large house which had accommodated aspirants heretofore. Thus new educational opportunities opened for the young people of Dunmore and its surrounds.
Final Community – Anne Maria O’Shaughnessy, Teresa Nolan (an earlier community member), Bernadine Morrisroe and Joan Fahey
When the Incarnate Word Sisters were no longer able to sustain their presence in Ireland, they requested the Mercy Sisters to continue their work in the school. One of them, Angela Hoare rsm, tells some of her memories:
In summer 1979 Sisters Maura Walsh, Nora Cooney and Mary Glynn arrived in Dunmore the week before the Incarnate Word Sisters were to leave for San Antonio. We wanted to support them during their last days in Dunmore and to learn from them the best way to continue the good work they had begun in Incarnate Word College. We were all conscious of the challenge facing the Sisters who were leaving Ireland, some of whom would never return. The Staff of Incarnate Word College and all the people of Dunmore were very sad to see their Sisters leave but they also appreciated the arrival of the Mercy Sisters because it meant that Second Level Education would continue to be provided in Incarnate Word College.
Maura Walsh rsm continues:
The following days felt as if we were on a roller coaster. On Sunday 19th Mary Glynn made her Final Profession. On Tuesday 21st the Incarnate Word Sisters were leaving for San Antonio, Texas. We all went to Shannon to say good bye and wave them off. Sr. Emma Moyles did not return to San Antonio [and transferred to the Mercy community]. Her heart was broken as she said goodbye to the Sisters in Shannon. In 1979, no attention was given to saying goodbye, movement from one community to the other or any transition of any kind. Sr. Emma was now the only Incarnate Word Sister with four Mercy Sisters. The people of Dunmore were always very supportive of us during our thirty eight years in the town.
The congregation with Teresa Nolan rsm, Lil Breun (retired teacher from the Community School) and Maura Walsh rsm
To view a video of the evening, please click here.
Joan Fahey rsm was a more recent arrival. She recounts some of her experience:
… I gradually got involved in Parish Ministry: as a Eucharistic minister, with the Pastoral Council and the Finance Committee. I was glad to be involved in the celebration, this year, of the fiftieth anniversary of the building of the church. Prayer in the parish was something I enjoyed very much, especially the practise of a Holy Hour, “The Way of Gentleness,” one night a week, during Lent and Advent. At all times, I was most grateful for people’s support for whatever was happening, and I will always have good memories of Dunmore.
Joan Fahey rsm receiving her presentation
One of the last three Mercy Sisters to leave Dunmore was Bernardine Morrisroe rsm. Herself among the first Mercy communities in Glenamaddy, and three different communities in San Diego, USA, she lived in Dunmore for thirty years, having moved there in 1987. She continues…
It did not take me long to settle in with the Sisters and in the school. We did not have the motorway anywhere near us and there was no signpost for Disneyland, but I found the people friendly and liked the students. During my last four years in the school, I was appointed Home School Liaison, which gave me a great opportunity to understand students who faced difficulties in their lives. I retired from school in 2004, and continued to be part and parcel of the Dunmore parish community until the end of October 2017.
Bernadine Morrisroe rsm
Suzanne Ryder rsm
Western Province
