My Jimdo Geocities Lifeboat
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Maurice O’Mahony launched his memoir and history of the school where he has been principal since 1973. When he took to the stage in St. John’s on March 5 2016 the tale he had to tell was an extraordinary one.
Maurice came to the school in 1973, aged 20 years. He must have been one of the youngest principals in the country at the time. When he came, Coolard had no running water, no electricity and no telephone. It must have felt more like 1873.
Maurice is still at the helm today and the school has all the modern trappings, internet, white boards, SNAs, a secretary etc., etc.
When the principal of his old school, Ballydonoghue rang him one day to ask him for the names of all the teachers who had taught in Coolard, he undertook a search and discovered that, while all the pupils names were recorded, some of the teachers’ names were in danger of being forgotten. Thus began the long years of research to gather together as comprehensive a history of the school as possible. The culmination of that research is a magnificent magnum opus which will be treasured by local historians and everyone who has a link with the school.
The school has been through many trials and strifes and has seen much success, Thankfully we rarely hear about school boycotts nowadays but Coolard had one in its history and it lasted for 15 months. It is not as famous as the boycott in Drimoleague which is still not talked about to this day. It had at its heart though the same cause, i.e. the appointment of a principal. You can read all about Coolard’s strike in Maurice’s book.
The local community has resisted any efforts to amalgamate their school with the other Primary school in the parish and under Maurice’s stewardship it has gone from strength to strength.
I’d advise you to go out and buy yourself a copy of A History of Coolard School 1846 to 2016. It will soon be a collector’s item. An interesting feature of the book is that it contains the name of every pupil who was ever on the roll there.
https://listowelconnection.com/tag/coolard-national-school/
KERRY 2
NUNS
https://www.incarnatewordorder.org/aboutus_profiles5.asp
Margaret Mary Healy and The letter, read by an Oblate priest – Fr. John Maloney, OMI
http://www.shsp.org/mission-history.html
Sister Anne Walsh
Sister Anne Walsh left her home in Kyle, Limerick, Ireland, accompanied by her older sister Joan. They both entered our community in 1948, with first vows in 1951; perpetual profession of vows followed in August 1954. She has been active in education as a teacher (in almost every grade), administrator and PSR organizer. Today, Sister Anne likes to say she is "recycled" not retired-through her work in IWA security and in the attendance office.
Sister Anne has spent most of her life in the teaching field, never an easy one, but so rewarding eventually. She remembers hearing Mother Teresa of Calcutta while attending an educational convention in Chicago saying, "Go back to your classrooms, teachers. You have your Calcutta there." She has labored to give God and God's people her best throughout the years, and has been blessed with the hundred fold promised in the Gospels. She decided a long time ago, as Sister Melanie Svoboda phrased it that, "hanging around with God is a good thing to do."
"My message to young people, and the not-so-young, is: Dream of making a difference in our world. You must hang around with God to do that. As Churchill once said, "Never, never give up." The Spirit of God leads the way. My favorite Beatitude is, blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. As a teacher, I was often called to be a peacemaker, especially following the recess period. Opportunities abound for putting this beatitude into practice."
~ Sister Anne Walsh
Sister Joan of Arc Walsh
One of nine children, Sister Joan of Arc Walsh, along with her sister, Anne, arrived in Cleveland from her native Limerick, Ireland in 1948. She made her first vows in 1951. Sister Joan taught 6th grade at Incarnate Word Academy as well as other schools throughout the diocese of Cleveland, including St. Thomas More, St. Patrick and Assumption. Although Sister retired in 2006, she is still active today as an Incarnate Word Academy lunch guard. She also serves as sacristan for liturgical celebrations for both the community and Incarnate Word Academy.
"Mother Brendan, a past Superior of the Congregation, influenced me through her wisdom and gentleness. The goodness and compassion of my Sisters helps me to be faithful. The Beatitude I would like to be remembered by would be that of compassion."
~ Sister Joan of Arc Walsh
Sister Elizabeth Cooper
Sister Elizabeth Cooper was born in Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland. She joined our community in 1960 and made her first vows in 1965. She currently serves as a 5th grade teacher at Incarnate Word Academy. Her former ministries include assistant principal, treasurer, PSR teacher, tutor, and volunteer for the Camp for the Blind.
"I came from Ireland...to devote my life to prayer and a teaching career. It has been a beautiful journey of continuous growth in my faith and love of God...a life-long process of being formed and reformed in Jesus, the Word of God. I am nurtured daily through my commitment to Mass and prayer to extend His Incarnation and make His presence known to all those with whom I come in contact."
Sister Elizabeth Cooper
Sister Catherine Fitzgerald
Sister Catherine Fitzgerald responded to God's call to religious life in 1949, when she left her home in County Limerick, Ireland. She made her first vows in 1952 and final vows in 1956. Sister Francis Xavier was her formation director. She reminded her of Saint Theresa who said, "There is but one road that reaches God and that is prayer. If anyone shows you another, you are being deceived."
Raised by her parents in a faith-filled atmosphere, she was preceded by her two sisters into the community. She attributes these elements as an influencing factor in following her vocational call to Cleveland as a Sister of the Incarnate Word. Sister Catherine's ministries have included teaching at many parish elementary schools, P.S.R. instructor, elementary tutor, and Eucharistic Minister to the local hospital and homebound. Today, she continues her ministry at Incarnate Word Academy as a part-time faculty member and Altar Server Instructor.
"Sister would like to be remembered by the Beatitude, Blest are they who hunger and thirst for holiness, they shall be satisfied. "
Sister Catherine Fitzgerald
Sister Eileen Fitzgerald, biological sister of Sisters Catherine and Jerome, and a native of County Limerick, Ireland, joined our community in 1948, made first vows in 1951 and final vows in August 1954. She was a classroom teacher and has been involved in educational administration, taught PSR classes, and tutored, and has served as Councilor on our Congregation's Leadership Team for three terms. After retiring as principal in 2006, she became Incarnate Word Academy's Director of Development a position she held until 2011 when a Director of Advancement, whom she now assists, was hired for IWA.
"I felt called to religious life at a very young age. I remember asking my mother, 'When are you going to let me go away and be a nun?' I always felt that religious life was the path God had chosen for me. Prayer was always an important part of the early years in my home. Praying the rosary daily together was a family practice. Growing up in Doon, County Limerick, with my parents and five siblings, I enjoyed a childhood typical of that day - living and working off the land. I loved the animals and the simple life. I feel I must make an effort to live the Beatitudes in my daily life, and that my life should be a life of service in whatever way I can serve."
~ Sister Eileen Fitzgerald
Sister Jerome Fitzgerald
In 1948, with her sister Eileen, Sister Jerome Fitzgerald ventured from her home in County Limerick, Ireland to join the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament. In 1951, she made her first vows, followed by perpetual profession of vows in August 1954. Sister Jerome has been a teacher for 34 years, an elementary school principal, parish minister for older adults for 21 years, and pastoral minister at St. Richard Parish since 1986.
"As I look back on my life as a Sister, it has been filled with journeying - walking with the Lord. Through all these experiences, there have been three things I can count on: my family, my faith and love for God, and the joy in being a Sister of the Incarnate Word."
~ Sister Jerome Fitzgerald
Sister Margaret Mary McAuliffe
A native of Limerick, Ireland, Sister Margaret Mary McAuliffe joined our community on October 17, 1963, and made first vows in1966. Perpetual vows followed on August 9th, 1969. Sister Margaret Mary has taught at Incarnate Word Academy, St. Patrick, West Park, and at St. Thomas More, and served as principal at St. Bartholomew. She was nominated and awarded the Who's Who Among American Teachers three times. Within the community, she has served as Local Coordinator and as Congregational Treasurer.
Currently she ministers at Holy Family Home and Hospice as Pastoral Coordinator of the Spiritual Program and supervisor of the Bereavement Program. She ministers to the terminally ill as they celebrate living the end of their lives with peace, compassion, and love. In 2007, Bishop Lennon presented the 7th Annual St. Elizabeth of Hungary Employee Award to Sister Margaret Mary for the compassion and care she gives to those who are terminally ill at Holy Family Home and Hospice.
"My favorite Beatitude is, blessed are the poor in spirit, the kingdom of God is theirs. How often I am reminded of this as I make my pastoral visits at Holy Family Home and Hospice. I am privileged to work in the "waiting room" of God's Kingdom. Even though it is most rewarding, my work is very challenging. Centering my life in Jesus in prayer at the crack of each new dawn provides me the courage and strength that is necessary.
One of my favorite quotes is by Stephen Grellet: 'I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing, therefore, I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow being, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.'"
~ Sister Margaret Mary McAuliffe
KENNELLY
Sister Josephine Kennelly (86) entered into eternal life on Wednesday, December 10, 2008, at The Village at Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas. Sister was born in County Kerry, Ireland to James and Josephine (Foley) Kennelly. She entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word on November 21, 1945. She professed her first vows on August 15, 1948 and her perpetual vows on August 15, 1953. In religious life she was known as Sister Urban for many years before returning to her baptismal name. Sister Josephine received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Radiology from Incarnate Word College (now the University of the Incarnate Word) in 1953 and was a licensed Radiology Technologist. She served in hospitals of the Congregation from 1953 - 1978 including Santa Rosa Hospital in San Antonio (now CHRISTUS Santa Rosa) and St. Joseph's Hospital in Ft. Worth. She received a Master's Degree in Education from Incarnate Word College in 1968 and from 1978 -1982 was an Instructor at Incarnate Word College in radio technology. Sister Josephine worked with the Patrician Movement in San Antonio for a year before becoming Archivist for the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, a position she held for ten years. After serving two years as a patient representative at Santa Rosa Hospital, she retired to Incarnate Word Retirement Community (now The Village at Incarnate Word) in 1996. Sister Josephine loved history and politics. She was very interested in current events and frequently engaged in conversations regarding national and global issues. Sister Josephine is survived and dearly missed by Ellen Orman of San Antonio, who was a dear friend and companion as well as her sister. Also surviving in Ireland are two sisters, Sr. Imelda, SCJM and Sr. James, SCJM and in New Jersey her brother, James, as well as nieces and nephews in the United States and Ireland. She will also be missed by her Sisters in the Congregation. Funeral
l arrangements include recitation of the rosary at 6:30 p.m. on Friday
, December 12 2008 and Mass of the Resurrection on Saturday December 13 at 11:00 a.m., both in St. Joseph's Chapel in The Village at Incarnate Word, 4707 Broadway . Interment will follow the Mass in the Sisters' Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, 4503 Broadway, San Antonio, TX 78209.
http://boards.ancestry.com/localities.britisles.ireland.ker.general/8164/mb.ashx?pnt=1
SISTER MARY FATIMA McCARTHY, CCVI, died Thursday, October 22, 1998, at Villa de Matel Center. Sister was born September 12, 1930, in Co. Kerry, Ireland, the daughter of John McCarthy and Margaret Moriarty McCarthy. Sister entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word on July 1, 1950, and made Final Profession of Religious Vows on August 15, 1958. Sister served in Health Care Ministry in many of the Congregation's Institutions. She served as hospital Administrator at St. Edward Hospital, Cameron, TX; St. Patrick Hospital, Lake Charles, LA; and St. Elizabeth Hospital, Beaumont, TX. Sister is survived by a sister, Mrs. Eugene Sullivan of Co. Kerry, Ireland; sister-in-law, Mrs. Mary McCarthy of Yonkers, NY; three brothers, Rev. Flor McCarthy of Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland, John McCarthy, and Patrick McCarthy, both of Co. Kerry, Ireland. Wake Services will be held at 5:00 pm, Sunday, October 25, 1998, at Villa de Matel Chapel, 6510 Lawndale Avenue. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30 am, Monday, October 26, 1998, at Villa de Matel Chapel. Interment will be in the adjacent Convent Cemetery.
O'SULLIVAN Sr. Maria Anna, (Loreto) (Stonepark Orchard, Rathfarnham, formerly Dirra, Asdee, Ballybunion, Co, Kerry), July 24 2009, peacefully at The Marlay Nursing Home. Deeply regretted by her sisters Noranne (Boland) and Josephine (Williams) (England) and her brother John, by her nieces,...
WALSH MOYVANE
Elizabeth (Sr. Ida) WALSH was born on 4 Aug 1917 in Leitrim East, Moyvane, Co. Kerry. She died in 2006 in Texas.
Sr. Ida was a member of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word order. She served in Matamoros, Mexico; Galveston, Texas; and Salt Lake City, Utah before returning to Ireland in 1969 to work in her order's House of Studies in Dartry in Dublin. Sr. Ida subsequently returned to the United States to work in Texas.
When Sr. Ida visited the family home in Leitrim East in 1969, following her return to Ireland from Salt Lake City, she met her brother Fr. Joe whom she hadn't seen in 34 years due to her being in the States and Joe living in the Far East.
Kerryman 4 7- 2012
1919-2012 SR AQUILINA Relihan of San Antonio, Texas, USA and formerly of Duagh, Co Kerry, entered into eternal life on Tuesday, June 19 at The Village at Incarnate Word.
Aged 93, she was born in Duagh, Co Kerry on March 22, 1919 to John and Mary Relihan (nee Broderick) and was baptised Catherine.
Educated at the local national school in Duagh, Catherine's vocation to religious life was to take her to Dunmore, Co Galway.
Catherine entered the Congregation of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word in 1936. She then journeyed to America prior to the outbreak of World War II, taking her first vows in her new convent and professed perpetual vows in 1945 taking the name Sr Aquilina.
Sr Aquilina served in the Congregation's educational facilities in Texas and Louisiana, USA. She was regarded by her pupils, fellow Sisters and teachers as a great educator, instilling in all her charges the belief that nothing was impossible with the correct application, belief in one's own ability and belief in God the Almighty.
During her lifetime she had witnessed many changes and developments in the world at large. Coming from the little village of Duagh in North Kerry to the vast metropolis of the cities in America was, in itself, a huge culture change. She was in America when Pearl Harbour was bombed and the United States entered World War II. She also witnessed the entry of her adopted country into the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the space race and man walking on the moon.
These events and others like the de- segregation of buses and schools were historic changing times indeed.
Sr Aquilina during her time in America kept in touch with her family and home parish of Duagh. She offered prayers of thanksgiving for the well-being of her family and old neighbours.
She is survived by her sister Josephine Tarrant (Listowel), her brothers Tom and John Joe, sisters-in-law Joan and Eileen, nephews, nieces, grand- nieces and grand- nephews, relatives and by her Commuity of Sisters of the Incarnate Word.
Requiem Mass was celebrated for the happy repose of her soul on Thursday, June 21 in St Joseph's Chapel and interment took place at the Incarnate Word Convent, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Sister Ellen Broderick, 82, entered into eternal life on Tuesday, August 14, 2001 at Incarnate Word Retirement Community, San Antonio, TX. A native of County Kerry, Ireland, Sister Ellen entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word on September 8, 1937. She lived as a vowed member of the Congregation for 60 years. From 1942 until she retired in 1991, Sister Ellen devoted her life to education at the elementary and high school levels in schools sponsored by the Congregation in Missouri, Illinois and Texas. During the last seven years of her active ministry, Sister was involved as Director of Religious Education at St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Metairie, LA. Sister Ellen touched the lives of countless people. She will be lovingly remembered by her family, her Sisters and all who knew her as a Spirit-filled, joyful and caring person whose sense of humor endeared her to all whom she met on the journey of life. Sister Ellen is survived by Sister Aquilina Relihan, C.C.V.I., San Antonio; a cousin, nephews, nieces and other cousins in Ireland and the United States. Vigil Service with Rosary will be celebrated in the Chapel of the Incarnate Word, 4503 Broadway, at 6:30 P.M. on Thursday, August 16, 2001. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, August 17, 2001 at 4:00 P.M. with Interment following immediately in the Convent Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Incarnate Word Retirement Fund. Arrangements by The Angelus Funeral Home. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sanantonio/obituary.aspx?n=ellen-broderick&pid=88817258#sthash.MSZSHoM6.dpuf
Published in Express-News on Aug. 15, 2001
Good Hearts: Catholic Sisters in Chicago's Past
By Suellen M. Hoy
The death on 21 June 2007 of Sister M. Elaine MCELLIGOTT
the Incarnate Word Congregation, Houston and late of, Moyvane, Kerry
Interment in Houston.
30 10 1930 Incarnate Word
THIS WEBSITE endeavors to remember the efforts of those who created the Irish Mission for Immigrant Girls in New York City. The story begins in Ireland with Charlotte Grace O'Brien's inspiration and courage to actually do something about the appalling emigration conditions she observed first-hand on the docks in Queenstown. And, it continues with the commitment of the Catholic clergy and countless others to help over 100,000 women immigrants. The Mission Record Books on the emigration arrivals of the Irish women are part of the collection of the Our Lady of the Rosary, Saint Elizabeth Seton Shrine, here at Watson House, and will be part of a planned future Irish heritage and genealogical center. - See more at: http://watsonhouse.org/home/#sthash.K6ZIAhKI.dpuf
http://watsonhouse.org/events/28/exhibit-opening-in-ireland-kerry-county-museum-may-aug-2014
Frequently groups of girls would travel together; for example Mary Brosnan from Ballinclogher, Lixnaw, Ellie Sheehy from Drommartin, Causeway and Katie Horan from Ballyduff sailed together on board the Celtic, arriving on 11 September 1914. They were all going to join Mary’s sister who was married to Ellie’s brother. However, Mary’s immigration processing took longer than the others and so she stayed in the Home until she could meet up the rest of the group the next day at East 123rd St in New York.
The exhibition gets us thinking about what life was like for these young women when they got to America: where did they go and what did they do? How did they fit into this new world? What effect did the disappearance of all these young women have on Ireland in the 20th century? The exhibition includes information about women’s work and recreation, as well as images of Irish immigrant women in the political cartoons of the day. One part of the display links the Mission with the Titanic: some of the survivors were brought to the Mission, and all survivors were invited to gather there on 28 April 1912.
The Mission registers have been digitised and can be viewed online at www.watsonhouse.org. The exhibition will be on display at Kerry County Museum until the middle of August and will travel from there to a number of venues in Ireland throughout the next twelve months.
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- See more at: http://watsonhouse.org/events/28/exhibit-opening-in-ireland-kerry-county-museum-may-aug-2014#sthash.ZmlgUw8e.dpuf
Charlotte Grace O’Brien (1845-1909) was the daughter of the Young Irelander, William Smith O’Brien, who was transported to Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) for his part in the unsuccessful 1848 Rebellion. She was responsible for a number of emigration reforms and the guiding spirit to the creation of the Mission. Critical of the overcrowding and overcharging in Queenstown emigrant boarding houses, O’Brien opened her own O’Brien Emigrants Home for 105 travelers at 7 The Beach, Queenstown. It was a daunting task for a woman of modest means who was almost profoundly deaf. The Home failed because it was boycotted by other boardinghouse keepers and local merchants, forcing her to order provisions from Cork. Concerned about conditions in steerage, O’Brien pressed for a reconfiguration of the sleeping accommodations in steerage that would give young women more privacy. In 1882, she travelled by herself on the Germanic to New York in order to investigate conditions aboard an emigrant ship and assess first-hand what the real circumstances were.
Her sonnet, “Steerage of Germanic – Two Pictures of the Mind 1882” describes her observation of her Irish fellow travelers:
- See more at: http://watsonhouse.org/exhibition/21/charlotte-grace-o-brien#sthash.XN1Sophr.dpuf
Tween dim-lit decks, hard hands, and weary eyes,
Hearts so toil-worn that scarce they dare arise
To gaze upon themselves and own their youth.
After spending a month with a longshoreman’s family in a tenement house on Washington Street, O’Brien travelled to see Bishop John Ireland in St. Paul, Minnesota because she believed that of all the American hierarchy, he would be most sympathetic to her proposal to organize services for arriving Irish women: an information bureau at Castle Garden, a temporary shelter to provide accommodation for immigrants and a chapel. Telling Bishop Ireland, “I am only the plank over the stream; it is you, the Catholic Church who has to build the bridge.” Bishop Ireland promised to raise the matter at the May, 1883 meeting of the Irish Catholic Association who endorsed the scheme. He also contacted Cardinal John McCloskey, Archbishop of New York, about providing a priest for immigrants arriving at Castle Garden. And 1883, Watson House was purchased by Rev. John J. Riordan and the Mission was established.
O’Brien spent her last years in Ardanoir, her home above the Shannon at Foynes, Co. Limerick. She continued her active interest in the welfare of immigrants until her death in 1909.
- See more at: http://watsonhouse.org/exhibition/21/charlotte-grace-o-brien#sthash.XN1Sophr.dpuf
Father Riordan continued to serve at the Mission until his untimely death, at age thirty-six, on December 15, 1887. His last words were said to have been, “Take care of the immigrant girls.” Fr. Riordan’s words inspired F. J. Leitch’s poem:
“Take Care of the Immigrant Girls”
No hero’s last breath upon victory’s field
As his soul met the specter’s demand.
No soldier when forced to the victor to yield
E’er uttered a sentence more grand.
Than Erin’s dear son, as in Liberty’s name.
He thought of old Ireland’s bright pearls,
No dying request more enduring to fame
Than “Take care of the immigrant girls.”
Thy name and thy tomb we shall ever enshrine,
With hallowed affections impress:
No child of old Erin shall ever decline
To honor thy holy recess.
Where the patriot’s dust of Melchisedech’s pride
Appeals for the purest of pearls,
His last words to earth on the day that he died,
“Take care of the immigrant’s girl.”
- See more at: http://watsonhouse.org/exhibition/22/take-care-of-the-immigrant-girls#sthash.5XEaDEzm.dpuf
Casey Kerry
1930; Ellen Healy 17 Kerry Sisters of Incarnate Word, San Antonia, Texas
Mary Brosnan 17 Kerry Sisters of Incarnate Word, San Antonia, Texas
Mary B. O'Connor 18 Kerry Mother Mary John Incarnate Wood Convent, San Antonio
Nora O Connell age 18 Kerry Do
1926; Annie O'Connor 17 Kerry Sisters of Incarnate Ward, Houston Texas
Maria O'Connor 22 Kerry Sisters of Incarnate Ward, Houston Texas
Mary Brown 18 Kerry Sisters of Incarnate Ward, Houston Texas
1930; Hannah Walsh 16 Kerry Sisters of Incarnate Word, San Antonia, Texas