In the year 2022, a message was sent to a young man of the house and family of Duffy, to a town on the River Moy on the fringes of Europe. The man’s name was Mark, and he was a local politician, attached to the Metropolitan District of Ballina in West Mayo.
“Go and repair my House”, said the messenger – somewhat reminiscent of that spoken to Francis of Assisi many centuries earlier. That spoken to Francis came from the good God himself and who is to say that this hadn’t come from the same source? Mark’s message was from a woman named Phyllis and she was a nun, a Sister of Mercy,
Ballina Convent
Mark set out with haste in obedience to the command. The House, the Convent of Mercy he knew well, but the building, vacant since 2008, was in a sorry state. Vandalism and the forces of nature combined to cause massive deterioration. But Mark, a firm believer in the value of community engagement, was not to be deterred. Support in the form of finance, advice and an abundance of sheer good will flowed in to enable the project to progress. The owners, the Sisters of Mercy, following detailed discussions, gifted the building to a newly formed charity, the Ballina Convent Regeneration CLG.
A statement of intent was then promulgated throughout the countryside. “We hope”, it said, “that by the end of 2024, with the support of the wider community, we can hold a Christmas Service in the old chapel of the Convent as well as the reopening of the dining room as a community and event place.”
Soon the sound of hammers, electric drills and saws rang out through the land. Volunteers donned hi -vis jackets and overalls, as men repaired gutters, roofs and walls while the women cleaned the carpets and floors. Then, in the bleak mid-winter of 2024, smoke billowed through the chimneys as a coal fire was lit in the dining room. Time to issue the invitations. All were to be invited with a special place reserved for the ‘nuns’.
And so, it was. On the shortest day of the year, as darkness ruled the land, they came. Pausing they looked up in awe and wonder at the multicoloured blaze of light shining out through the restored stained-glass windows. High up over the sanctuary, the Rose Window added to the spectacle. Gloria in Excelsis Deo. “I think you’ll like the chapel”, someone said.
Well, it was a wonder in itself – the restored chapel. As the sun’s gravity pulled the Earth on its return journey, so there was a pull – a ‘something’ unnamed, a memory, a presence, an emotion-filled silence, – to stand and allow the past to catch up with the present. The poet, T.S. Eliot expressed it well in his poem Little Gidding: “The end of all our exploring, will be to arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time”.
Christmas trees and candles adorned the sanctuary. Was that the crib, back? – missing for a time – the figures had strayed into a neighbour’s field – but here they all were – back, with fresh coats – the ox, having got a transplant, was now sporting a fresh pair of horns.
The statute of Mary of Nazareth, the Mother, had wandered off also. But she was back too, standing proudly on her pedestal at the end of the corridor/cloister where she had always been.
The newly commissioned Stations of the Cross told another story. Later the artist was heard to tell of how in her rendering of each scene, her focus was always on the Suffering Man, the Christ. She had a cross erected in her garden to better understand and illustrate the struggle of the Carrying, the Nailing and the Dying.
Around the altar for the Liturgy of the Eucharist, there was an Archbishop and a Bishop flanked by every priest who could come, from the Diocese and beyond. And what of the choir? Superb as always – all members of present and past pupils of the Convent Secondary School, St. Mary’s. Mark was there, too, to tell the remarkable story of the Rebirth of a Convent, as was Phyllis, the nun, who read a prayer. A new, and exciting chapter had just begun.
Dining Room
Later in the restored dining room, the fire was down and lighting with 4 armchairs strategically placed to give rest to the wearied. Photographs and cuttings adorned the walls as stories were told and memories shared.
A sliver of moon lighted the way home – an astronomical phenomenon, not unlike that experienced on the longest night of the year 2024 in Ballina.
A Work In Progress!
Mark is currently a member of Seanad Éireann, whose functions and powers derive from the Constitution of Ireland, enacted by the people in 1937. The Convent of Mercy, Ballina, predates that important milestone in the history of Ireland. The Ballina Convent officially opened its doors in May 1867, officially closed its doors in 2008 and officially reopened its doors in 2024. The story of how the Sisters of Mercy came to Ballina is a unique one, but that’s for another day. In the meantime, we wish Mark every blessing. He leaves behind a team of able and dedicated volunteers who continue to repair the House!
Attracta Tighe
Western Branch
