The Sisters of Mercy in the Diocese of Elphin 1846 – 1994
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Sligo Foundation
The initial foundation of the Sisters of Mercy in the Diocese of Elphin was in Sligo. The town and the surrounding countryside were suffering severe privation, in the grip of the Great Famine. A sum of £200 had been collected to found a convent. The Administrator of Sligo Parish, Fr. Owen Feeney saw the need for active Religious Sisters who would serve the poor through visitation and education. With the sanction of Bishop Browne, he went to Westport, where he persuaded Mother Paul Cullen to send Sisters to Sligo.
Convent of Mercy, Sligo
On the 30th of June, 1846, Mother Paul Cullen accompanied the founding Sisters to Sligo, Mother M. de Sales McDonnell, Sisters M. Josephine Traynor, Teresa Larkin and Magdalene O’Brien. These Sisters, true to the vision of Catherine McAuley, lived by the words of her legacy; the Holy Rule “Of Union and Charity”. They balanced their prayer and spiritual practices with their active involvement in the works of mercy, which were: to prepare children and adults for the sacraments, to give material help to the needy, to train girls in domestic service and to visit the poor and famine stricken in their homes and in the workhouse.
Sisters praying in the Convent, 1962
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The Foundress of Sligo
Mother de Sales McDonnell was the first Superior. She had entered in Galway, where she had known the Foundress Catherine McAuley prior to moving to the schools in Westport. She led the new community in Sligo until her death. She had a tender and devoted love for God, and the poor. She endured much suffering in the setting up and the early years of the foundation. She died on the 13th of July, 1854, in her thirty fourth year.
Roscommon Foundation
Convent of Mercy, Roscommon
On the 22nd of August, 1853, Roscommon was founded by Sisters from Limerick, at the invitation of Rev. Dr. Madden P.P. The foundress was Mother M. Vincent Hartnett, who had received her formation from Mother Catherine McAuley. In 1861, the new convent was opened. It was dedicated to the Immaculate Conception as the dogma had been promulgated in 1854. The Sisters involved themselves in the apostolate of education, a House of Mercy, an orphanage and a public laundry. They had a farm and bakery, which provided food and training.
Athlone Foundation
On the 25th of March, 1857, The Convent of the Annunciation, Athlone, Co Westmeath was opened. It was founded from Roscommon. Archdeacon O’Reilly had requested Mother Mary Vincent Hartnett to open a pension school to cater for the education of the upper and middle class girls. The “Intermediate School” was opened in April, and was recognised by the Board of Commissioners. The Sisters had a House of Mercy, a self-supporting laundry and a farm. They held night classes where lace making was taught, and they had a flourishing hosiery centre. In 1934, St. Peter’s Primary School was built on the site of the only Cluniac monastery in Ireland. Scoil Pheadair Secondary School and St. Paul’s Junior school came later.
Elphin Foundation
Convent of Mercy, Elphin
On the 15th of June, 1868, with the approval of Bishop Gillooly the fourth independent convent was established by a young widow of means, Mary Clare Archibald. She had completed her Novitiate under M. Vincent Hartnett in Roscommon and was received as Sr. M. Elizabeth. Sisters from Sligo and Roscommon formed the community. The convent was dedicated to the Sacred Heart. Three candidates were received by the Bishop in the Convent Chapel. In the deeds of the school, it was stated that education was to be given at all times gratuitously to the poor of the neighbourhood. Education and visitation were the main ministries.
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Responding to the Call to Minister Beyond the Diocese
Ballina
In 1851, five years after its foundation, the Sisters in Sligo Convent, while struggling with local demands, responded to the request of the parish priest of Ballina, Father Malone. He asked for Sisters to take charge of a girls’ school and the sick mission in the town. The foundation was made in October. Sr. M. Joseph Jones was Superior and when she became ill, she returned to Sligo. She was replaced by Sr. M. Paul Dillon. It remained as a branch convent for three years and became independent under her leadership.
Enniskillen
In 1856, the call was again heard from those outside the diocese. Dean Boylan P.P. in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, a predominantly protestant town, applied for a group of Sisters. Mother Mary Teresa Egan, the Superior and her Sisters went on May 27th. After some initial difficulties (because of unsuitable accommodation), the foundation flourished. It soon became independent of Sligo.
California
Holy Spirit School, the first school established in San Diego
Almost one hundred years were to pass before the Sisters once again established a convent outside the Diocese. In 1955, Bishop Buddy who oversaw the development of the new Diocese of San Diego, California, wrote to the Mother House in Sligo for teaching Sisters. The following year, 1956, the foundation was made. The Sisters lived in the convents and worked in the schools owned by the diocese. They began in the grade schools in Holy Spirit Parish, San Diego City and in Blessed Sacrament Parish in Twentynine Palms, in the desert. Over the next fifteen years, five other convents within parish complexes were opened. A total of 59 Sisters worked in the Dioceses of San Diego and San Bernardino. Among them were local young women, who had joined the Mercy way of life. The Sisters who at first taught in the schools later became Directors of Religious Education, Assistant Superintendent of Catholic Schools, Parish Administrators. One Sister was appointed Chancellor for the Diocese of San Bernardino and a close advisor to the bishop, another was Vicar for Religious, to name but some of the apostolates in which they were engaged.
Blessed Sacrement, Twentynine Palms
When the new foundation the Congregation took place in 1994, the Sisters ministering in the USA became part of the newly configured US Province.
Kenya
Mutomo Hospital
In 1962, Kenya beckoned and nursing was the skill most urgently needed. At the invitation of Bishop Dunne of Kitui, four Sisters set out for Mutomo. In the beginning, Sisters held clinics in the convent or under trees, and moved into remote areas. In 1963, the first wing of the modern voluntary hospital with 150 bed capacity was opened. A Sister trained as a doctor to work there. She later became a surgeon. A mobile Public Health Clinic was initiated and the Sisters worked at improving women’s skills.
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After the foundation of our new Congregation in 1994, reconfiguration saw the Sisters ministering in Kenya becoming part of the new Vice-Province.
Developments After the Second Vatican Council
After the Second Vatican Council and in response to “Perfectae Caritas”, great changes began to happen in the Diocese. In 1969, an extraordinary General Chapter updated the Constitutions of the Sisters of Mercy, Sligo. The following year, at the Chapter of 1970, the governing structure was changed. The Superior General was given a Council of four Sisters with two extraordinary Councillors to assist her. Regional Superiors were appointed in California and in Kenya. The status of the Congregation as one of Pontifical Right was finally clarified during the seventies. In 1976, the Office of the Diocesan Leader was transferred to Roscommon. In 1982, it was transferred to Athlone.
Formation
In 1969, St. Michael’s, Aylesbury Road, Dublin was opened as a House of Formation, preparing Novices and Junior Professed for the various apostolates of the Elphin Diocese. The house was central to third level institutions and provided a community life for Sisters who were studying. It offered them cultural and other outlets. After five years the house was sold.
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Forming New Communities
It was at this time, the Congregation felt drawn to minister in a new way to those whom society considers marginalised. After much discernment the decision was taken to establish, wherever possible, new small communities in deprived urban areas, with the Sisters living in the local estates. Each community was tasked with discerning the needs in their respective areas. Three Sisters went to Cranmore Housing Estate in Sligo, each continuing in their existing ministry, while being accessible to their neighbours, except for one Sister who worked part-time in the area. Later a similar house was opened in Battery Heights in Athlone, where counselling, crèche facilities, family support and befriending were offered. The Novices were reassigned for ministry to Cleveragh Road, Sligo. A community went to John Street. The Sisters in Elphin and in Strokestown moved to small houses as there were fewer Sisters in those Convents.
Finally, in 1993, it was the end of an era as St. Patrick’s Convent was closed. The Sisters went to live in the newly built houses, Our Lady of Mercy, No. 1 and No. 2 on St. Patrick’s Avenue.
The Changing Face of Ministry
Star of the Sea, Mullaghmore, Co Sligo
From the early seventies there was a flourishing of new ministries. A Diocesan Commission for Justice and Peace was established. Mullaghmore became a Retreat and Conference Centre, open to all. Sisters became involved in various prayer and meditation groups, lectures on spiritual topics and sabbaticals. Sisters gave sterling service on Parish Councils and in Family Centres. One Sister was involved in the writing of the “Children of God” textbooks series for Primary Schools, another was part of a national retreat team, yet another was a Diocesan Examiner. Two Sisters were part of the team in the newly established Pastoral Centre in Donamon. Some trained in catechetics in Mount Oliver and Mater Dei Others, others became guidance counsellors, school and hospital chaplains.
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Other Forms of Outreach
Mother General and her Council gifted the price of a house in Charles Street to Sligo Social Services. This was used as a refuge for women in distress and for the homeless. When the public laundry was closed in Athlone, a house was purchased for the women who had lived there. When Sligo Social Services purchased a home for homeless men in Maryville, two Sisters initially went to live there. They formed an inter-congregational community, which provided a caring and homely environment where the residents were enabled to rebuild their lives.
Mercy Associates
This movement had its origins in the USA, where people made a commitment, uniting themselves the Mercy ethos and prayer in their daily lives. A Sister returning from California introduced it to the Elphin Diocese. The inaugural meeting was in 1992. It has continued to flourish with associate groups in many of the towns in the diocese.
Mar Fhocal Scoir…
This is but a tiny glimpse into what was the life and times of several hundred Sisters who made up the rich heritage of the Sisters in the Diocese of Elphin. The individual houses have kept their annals where the stories behind this narrative are given life. So many beautiful people have graced these places and, in their ministry whether in prayer or through activity, have left an often unknown or unrecorded legacy. Their deeds go before them and enrich those who come after them.
Achonry | Ardagh & Clonmacnois | Clonfert | Elphin | Galway | Killala | Tuam
