1904 – 2022

‘There’s a cheery little village with a saucy little pier.
Oft I see it in my dreaming: to the heart of me it’s dear.’

That is Schull where on the 15th October, 1904 at 2.00 pm, five Sisters from the nearby town of Bantry arrived in a horse and carriage to take charge of the Girls National School. They lived in Air Hill House for the first four years, while waiting for a more permanent residence. During that time a Mrs O’Keeffe of Schull gave them lunch each day. The Sisters started to teach in the National School with 66 pupils on the first day. Rapidly numbers increased to over 120. Several sixth standard pupils who had left returned to avail of the additional subjects instructed by the Sisters – mapmaking, model drawing, fancy needlework, music and French.

View from the pier

In September 1907 the three-acre site for the new convent in Meenvane was bought from Mr. Whitley, a protestant gentleman, for £300. The foundation stone of the new convent was laid on the 19th October and the Sisters moved to the new building – Convent of the Sacred Heart – on 21st November, 1908. They set out walking from Air Hill at 6.00 am!

Convent building as it is today

A new school was opened in the convent garden in 1921 for girls up to sixth class and for boys up to first class. In the 1950’s when the Boys School was closed for some years, the Convent School catered for the all the pupils in Schull. A Secondary Top was also established for some years until the 1960’s, where students were prepared for examinations. In 1957 sixteen pupils prepared for Leaving Cert.

Then in 1983 Schull Community College was opened on Colla Road, a lovely location overlooking the Harbour. The late Ann Coughlan was Chaplain and Deputy Principal there from 1985 until 1995. Patricia O’Donovan was also Chaplain on two occasions 1995 to 2001 and 2008 to 2011.

In 1996 planning began for the building of a new primary school – which was to be an amalgamation of the girls and boys schools. The Sisters sold a 1.4 acre site to the Parish for the new school. It was named Scoil Mhuire and opened its doors on 14th December, 1998. Some Sisters continued to teach there until their retirement.

Apart from education, the Sisters were also very involved with the local community through other ministries – church services, visitation of homes and the hospital, active retirement groups and many other social services. In a word, it was a privilege and very rewarding to become part of the local people’s lives.

Schull Convent, at capacity, could only ever accommodate nine Sisters. It was a branch of Bantry until 1984 when it became an independent unit in the newly formed Cork and Ross diocesan union. In the latter years of the last century and the early years of this century many Sisters from the diocese, province and even beyond came to holiday in Schull and we, the natives loved that!

The convent itself was refurbished in 2007 – 2008 resulting in five bedrooms with four en-suite. Eventually, due to ill-health and bereavements there were just three of us left – Sisters Veronica, Emmanuel and myself.

Main Street, Schull

Last year 2022, was the time when for age and health reasons we had to bid farewell to Schull. I think Jackie Keogh’s article (10th September) in the local newspaper – the Southern Star – honestly sums up our leaving:

‘The people of Schull are finding 100 different ways to let the three remaining Sisters of Mercy nuns know how special, how valued, and how very much loved they are before the convent closes and they leave the area for good at the end of September.’

And they did just that!

As I turned the key in the hall door for the last time on the 30th September, 2022 my prayer was, is and will always be:

‘God be with thee, cherished hamlet;
Heaven bless thee, Schull asthore.’
(“Schull” – Author unknown)

Gabriel Sweeney rsm
Southern Province