Duddy - Call of the North: a History of the Sisters of Mercy, Down and Connor Diocese, Ireland

The Works of Mercy

From the original painting by Sister M. Clare Augustine Moore (18081880)

A History of the Sisters of Mercy, Down and Connor Diocese, Ireland

from the founding to the Mercy Irish National Union, 18541994

SISTER MARIE DUDDY, R.S.M.

ULSTER HISTORICAL FOUNDATION

First Published 2010
by the Ulster Historical Foundation
Charity Ref. No. XN48460
E-mail:
Web: www.ancestryireland.com
www.booksireland.org.uk

Except as otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means with the prior permission in writing of the publisher or, in the case of reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of a licence issued by The Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publisher.

Sister Marie Duddy, R.S.M.
Epub ISBN: 978-1-908448-46-0
Mobi ISBN: 978-1-908448-45-3

Printed by MPG Biddles
Design by Cheah Design

To the Sisters of Mercy
Down and Connor
past, present and future

This is a work long in maturation. Several decades ago, as a young religious, and a historian, I was given charge of the archives of my community. That was not an onerous responsibility at the time as my brief extended only to the documents and other archival material of the community of the Sisters of Mercy of Belfast which had been handed down over the previous hundred years. In the 1970s, Sister M. Brendan Blanche, who had retired from teaching, took over the task and organised, and added a considerable amount of historical and archival documentation to, the original small stock.

When Sister M. Brendan could not longer continue with this task, I again inherited the job of archivist. We, the Sisters of Mercy of the original St Pauls Convent, Crumlin Road, owe a great debt of gratitude to Sister Brendan for the foundational work that she did.

When Crumlin Road Convent closed (for reasons outlined in the following history) the archives were brought to Ballysillan House, and, in due course, moved on to the provincial archives in the Mercy Convent, Bessbrook, and eventually to the Mercy Central Archives in Dublin, where the archives of the Irish Mercy convents are stored.

In the early 1990s, the superior of my community, Sister M. Emilian Maloney, asked me to write up the history of our then Down and Connor Mercy Congregation. Changes had already taken place, and were to continue to do so, in the structures of the Sisters of Mercy in Ireland and worldwide. It was important to conserve the valuable history of the foundations and early days of the local communities. I willingly undertook the task a spare-time work of research in an otherwise very busy and full-time teaching schedule. So the project was an ongoing one of well over a decade. When I was asked by my congregation to have it published, that brought up another agenda for me. Hopefully the whole undertaking will have been worthwhile and prove of value and interest to all who read the story.

I gratefully acknowledge my indebtedness to all who helped me to bring this book to fruition. In the first place, I wish to thank Andrew Boyd who, as far back as the 1960s, encouraged me to research and write up the story of the Mercy Sisters in Belfast and passed on to me some valuable historical information relating to the topic. Thanks to Sister M. Genevieve Martin, RSM, and Sister M. Carmel Laverty, RSM, for reading chapters of the draft in its early stages and making helpful comments; to Monsignor Ambrose Macaulay, Historian of Down and Connor Diocese, for permission to use some references from his book, Patrick Dorrian, and for advice on some other topics; to Mr Frank DArcy, head of the Department of Humanities of the University of Ulster, Magee College, Derry, for providing me with very valuable sources of information on female adult education in Ireland in the mid-1850s. I also wish to thank the archivists of the Mercy International Archives and the Mercy Central Archives, Dublin, for research information; the archivists of Mercy Convents Bermondsey (London) and Handsworth (Birmingham) for welcoming me to do research there, and Sister Agnes Gleeson, RSM, Melbourne, Australia, for providing me with information about the Warrnambool, Geelong and Colac foundations. I thank my Mercy Congregation for encouraging me to present this work for publication and friends who have supported me in seeing this task to completion.

Finally I thank Monica McErlane, Deputy Librarian, Linen Hall Library, Belfast, for her advice regarding publication and for directing me wisely to the Ulster Historical Foundation; Fintan Mullan, Ulster Historical Foundation, for accepting the manuscript for publication; Deirdre Brown (UHF) for reading the original version and making helpful suggestions; and a very special thanks to my meticulous editor, Alicia McAuley who straightened out inconsistencies and put the final text into order, and to Jill Morrison, graphic designer, for the final layout.

This is the story of the Sisters of Mercy of Down and Connor Diocese, Ireland, from their arrival in Belfast in January 1854 to the creation of the Union of the Sisters of Mercy of Ireland and South Africa in 1994.

The Sisters came to Belfast at the invitation of the bishop and the Catholic people of the town to undertake the education of children and women and to care for the poor, the sick and dying, the homeless and people in any other sort of need. In 1855 a foundation was also made in Downpatrick. These foundations became involved, within a brief space of time, in the setting up of schools, evening classes and the care of young women in distress. The Sisters were also invited to teach in, and undertake the administration of, some parish schools.

The year 1883 saw the beginnings of the Mater Infirmorum Hospital on the Crumlin Road, Belfast, and for over a hundred years the Sisters administered, nursed and undertook nurse training in the Mater and, in time, in associated establishments.

Over the years the apostolate of education expanded into all levels and the Sisters also became involved in missions abroad.

An important and, indeed, fundamental part of this story is the history of the Mercy Sisters in their day-to-day lives in community, community events, and important public events and historical occasions (for example the two world wars and the outbreaks of sectarian strife).

There is also built into the narrative local background where appropriate for the realistic setting of the life and work of the community over 140 years. January 2004 marked the 150th anniversary of the coming of the Sisters of Mercy to Belfast. Over those years about 300 Sisters who belonged to the Mercy Congregation of Down and Connor Diocese have contributed much to their local areas and further afield. This story is an attempt to give an account of what they have achieved and what they hope to carry forward into the future through their good work and tradition of prayer and service.