Welcome poster to Ukrainian refugees from Loughrea schoolchildren
Catherine McAuley, “passed a most delightful day”[1] in a Carmelite convent in the County Galway town of Loughrea. Catherine wrote in verse with her customary good humour of the community, “Sweet simple nuns”; of the meal that she was served, “Got lamb and salad for my dinner/far too good for any sinner”; the rest she enjoyed, “slept all night extremely well”; and breakfast, “nice and neat/ Tea and coffee, eggs & meat.” The final destination of this eventful journey was Galway City. Catherine was not to know that eleven years later, in 1851, another community of Mercy Sisters would arrive in Loughrea to establish a foundation there. A beautiful cut stone Convent was subsequently opened in 1879, very close to the original Carmelite Convent. Since Catherine proclaimed, “Hurrah for new foundations,” she would doubtless have been happy to see this new beginning.
Loughrea Convent
The Sisters in Loughrea are notable for their wide outreach both to neighbouring towns, and to countries such as Iceland, Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa. However, times change, and the house was closed on March 25th, 2022. In the homily by Bishop Michael Duignan to mark the event, he said: “Looking back it is obvious the debt of gratitude the town of Loughrea and its hinterland owes to the Sisters of Mercy for their innovative provision of education and health care at a time when there was no one else to take on the task.”
Had Catherine McAuley forecast that the building would be closed in 2022, she might have sung a new Hurrah, on discovering that the building is presently a haven for forty-eight refugees, from war-torn Ukraine.
The night the lights went out in Gort Convent
A similar drama happened recently in Gort, Co Galway, where the Mercy community closed their beautiful home. Bridge House, the former home of Lord Gort was purchased by Bishop Fallon in 1857, for the new community of Mercy Sisters. On 4th November, 1857, five Sisters were welcomed to the area from the community in Carlow. They were led by Sr. Aloysius Doyle, a veteran of the Crimean War. She had been decorated by Queen Victoria in 1904 for her work in a country that adjoins the Ukraine, when it too was being invaded by Russia.
Vacating the Gort convent has made it possible to accommodate Ukrainian refugees; this time with a remarkable twist of fate, through its historic link to the Crimea. From 1853 – 1856, Russia tried to impose itself on this relatively small country but was thwarted in its endeavours by forces including the British Empire. As Sr. Aloysius worked to alleviate the war-wounded of the Crimea, present day Sisters are giving a home to the displaced and traumatised, who have been forced to flee their homeland.
Cards made by Ukrainian children in their new home
Gort Convent closed on August 18th, 2021, after 164 illustrious years of ministry. This was marked in a tribute to the Sisters by Father Michael Brennan, beginning, “The night the stars went out…An empowering star left our town/ A pulse that nourished the life blood/ of generations and more…” A poignant photograph he took that last night shows the end of an era but with the grace of God, the lights are being turned back on now, as 31 Ukrainians are now being sheltered. Catherine is proclaiming a new Hurrah!
Suzanne Ryder rsm
Western Province
[1] Letter c. May12, 1840 to the Sisters in Baggot Street.
