Kinsale convent was founded from Convent of Mercy, Limerick in 1844 at the request of the parish priest of Kinsale, Rev. Justin Foley McNamara. His sister, Mary Anne Burke, now a young widow, wished to use her considerable wealth to found a Convent of Mercy in her native Macroom. However, her brother persuaded her to establish it in Kinsale instead.
In 1841 Mary Anne Burke entered St. Mary’s, Convent of Mercy, Limerick as a postulant for Kinsale shortly before Catherine McAuley’s death. When she was professed in 1843 her brother asked Mother Elizabeth Moore of Limerick for Sisters for Kinsale. Four were chosen- Srs Xavier Daly, Martha McCarthy, Mary Anne Burke and Francis Bridgeman.
Sr. Francis Bridgeman had received her early religious training from Catherine McAuley. In 1841 when there was question of a foundation being made in Kinsale Catherine McAuley had suggested Sr. Francis Bridgeman as a suitable superior. Francis Bridgeman was appointed superior of Kinsale and Sr. Mary Anne Burke her assistant.
The founding Sisters accompanied by Rev. Dean Coll of Limerick (uncle to deValera) and Mother Elizabeth Moore arrived in Cork 15 April 1844. They got a great welcome from Mother Josephine Ward and the Sisters in Rutland Street. They remained there for 4 days while visiting other convents in Cork at the request of the Bishop.
At 5.00pm on Thursday the 19th April they arrived in Kinsale. Fr. Justin McNamara PP had a two-storey house ready for them and a plot of ground at the top of the hill in a place called The Rampart. He set about building a convent and school but he died in December 1845 at the age of 51. Sr. Mary Anne lost a loving brother and Mother Bridgeman a loyal supporter. From then on the Annals say: “They both committed all to God alone.”
The foundation stones of the convent and schools were laid and dedicated to St. Joseph. Religious instruction for children and adults began immediately. The sick and the old were visited in their homes. When the sisters discovered that people were ashamed to attend Sunday Mass in the Parish Church because of their shabby clothes, Mother Bridgeman invited them to Mass with the Sisters. They were happy to do so and gradually better clothes were provided for them.
While the Sisters were waiting for their own school to be built, they taught at the local National School at the Half Wall. This school had opened in 1837 as a school for boys. A school for girls was added later and housed on the first floor of the same building. This building was later incorporated into the Convent School.
The foundation stone, for the school and part of the convent, was laid on July 2nd 1844 and the school opened its doors to 700 students on March 28th 1845. The Annals say , “Built and ready in 11months to accommodate the 700 children who sought admission – while there were only 6 Sisters to teach them- three professed Sisters, one novice and two postulants!” By 1847, as the Famine worsened, food was provided twice a day for adults and children, Donations poured in from The Quakers, from Fr. Matthew, and from Rome and America. The food consisted of Indian meal, rice and biscuits.
The school had the first of many successful inspections in 1861. It was found to be well run and efficient with a high standard of education and care for the children. A grant of £20 was given for equipment. In 1862 the poor were still in great distress due to the severe weather and the potato crop failure the previous year. When children arrived in school in the morning they were given a bowl of stir about for breakfast. Sir John Arnett arranged to have 400 loaves of bread delivered to the convent each week, to help feed the hungry children. Amid great pomp and circumstance, in 1872 the school played host to Earl and Countess Spencer, the Vice-Regent and his lady. They were loud in their praise of the Sisters and the schoolchildren. Father Dunlea was anxious that the Sisters should have an infant school for boys and, thanks to donations, this was finally opened in August 1880. Over 100 boys, all under the age of 6 years, presented themselves on that first day. Since the number in the schools were expanding, it was decided to raise two storeys over the Infants Girls’ School.
1894 was the Golden Jubilee Year of the founding of the Convent. The resume of the year’s activities for the school that year read as follows: “Schools sustain good character. Extern schools attended by 400/500 pupils. Drawing is taught in all classes from the Infants upwards, Domestic Economy, Practical Cookery, Scientific Dressmaking, Sewing Machine, Fancy Needlework, book-keeping and vocal music (tonic solfa), are taught throughout the school. There are large classes for the Sacraments. The Infant Boys’ School is well attended. Some of the children show great talent and skill in lace work. Many of them are beautiful singers.” In 1906, Irish had been introduced into the schools. Nineteen pupils from the Convent schools were presented for inspection and all did very well in their native tongue.
In 1913 the subject of the Sisters’ training as primary teachers arose. A Training School was set up in Kinsale, as in each convent which had a national school. A university graduate was appointed as superintendent, and exams were taken orally.
Kinsale Deanery hosted the Liturgical Festival each year for the promotion of liturgical singing in the schools of the Deanery.
As the years passed various changes were made in accordance with the needs of the times. In 1973 a Board of Management was set up. The foundation stone was laid for the new primary school in December 1976. The official opening ceremony was held in April 1978. The last Mercy Sister Principal who so efficiently oversaw the development retired in July 2000 and the first lay Principal was appointed. In 2013 the ‘green light’ was given by the Department for the amalgamation of St. John’s National School and St. Joseph’s Convent National School to form Scoil Naomh Eltin In that year also the last Mercy Sister to teach in the school retired. The pupils moved into Scoil Naomh Eltin in September 2014.
Secondary Education in Kinsale
In 1932 the senior section of St. Joseph’s Primary school became a ‘Secondary top ‘ while a separate room as the Commercial class catered for the girls who wanted to take commercial subjects only plus English and Religion. Three Sisters taught this class, one full time with two part-time. Two Sisters taught in the Secondary top. Pupils sat for Intermediate Certificate examination and Civil Service exams from 1933 onwards, Matric from 1934, Leaving Cert. from 1936 onwards. More Sisters came on the staff as numbers increased. Some pupils took the Commercial class after the Inter. Cert. Many of these pupils qualified as Junior Assistant Mistresses.
Our Lady of the Rosary Secondary School 1951-1996
On 4 September 1951 the secondary top closed and the Secondary School opened charging £3 per half year which was a lot for some families but they were advised not to let the cost deter them from going to the secondary school. The school was called Our Lady of the Rosary Secondary School. Some pupils opted for the Commercial class which was independent of Our Lady of the Rosary School.
A boarding school opened on the same day 4September 1951. The initial enrolment was 26 day pupils and 25 boarders while the Commercial class had 20. The school occupied 3 class rooms and a Domestic Science room. It had two tennis courts and a netball pitch so sport played an important role from the start. More classrooms were added as numbers increased. A Library was added in 1956. In 1958 an Assembly Hall was added. In 1968 a full time PE teacher was employed and the Assembly Hall was fitted out as a Gymnasium. In 1965 the Science Room was built and Science was added to the curriculum.
In 1968 Our Lady of the Rosary School became co-ed. And 19 boys were enrolled (50 in another place?) Computer studies were added in 1982. As the numbers of the day pupils increased it was seen that all the available space would be needed for classrooms. As a result the boarding school was gradually phased and closed in 1985.
Kinsale Community School
In 1996 Our Lady of the Rosary Secondary School amalgamated with the Vocational School to form Kinsale Community School. The school was built on a new green field site. The Principal, a Mercy Sister, and staff diligently sought the development of the school. In 2007 permission was granted by Minister Mary Hanafin T.D for a new extension. The last Mercy Sister, who was principal, retired in 2010. A large extension was also added in 2013. Kinsale Community School is a thriving modern school with an impressive history of success over the years at the annual BT Young Scientist Exhibition and many other achievements.
Famine times
In 1845 many families in Kinsale whose potato crop failed were starving. Remarkably at this time an increasing number of postulants entered, many of them bringing dowries. Thus the community was able to use their resources to help more people. Food and clothing was given out to protect the poor from the bitter weather. By 1847 food was given out twice a day to the school children and the starving poor. The food consisted of Indian meal, rice and biscuits. Soup was also given daily to a large number of people. Various individuals and societies sent donations of money and food and though the amount was considerable it fell short of what was required as about six hundred were being fed twice daily at school. The Sisters tried to bring assistance in many different ways:
They rented a house for the training of poor people for domestic service to fit them for employment in the houses of the wealthy. In 1847 an industrial school was established. This school became known as the ‘factory’ because of the extent and variety of the work carried out-various kinds of needle-work, knitting, making artificial flowers, carding both hemp and wool.
Rev. Mother Bridgeman visited St. Mary’s Limerick to learn about the making of Limerick lace. She engaged experienced teachers and got materials, designs etc. to start the industry in Kinsale. A qualified person was sent by the National Board of Education to teach Muslin embroidery. These industries were commenced with a view to providing employment for women and girls. One hundred workers in all were busy in the Workroom making lace. Exhibits of Kinsale lace won universal praise and several of the royalty in England and Europe were proud to wear it. Kinsale Lace won many prizes and was exhibited and sold at the World Fair in Chicago in 1893. Unfortunately a depression came in the industry during World War1. By 1963 the number of workers was reduced to three and had to be abandoned. (Attached a more complete history of Kinsale Lace by Sr. Patricia Quinlan)
One hundred pounds was given from community funds to defray expenses of making fishing nets to assist the fishermen’s wives who were in great distress. Numbers of women were employed spinning hemp into twine for these nets.
Seven Sisters fell ill with famine fever, all recovered except Sr. Magdalen Murray who after an illness for ten days died. She was twenty three years old. In 1853 Paul Murphy died from typhus fever,
Our Lady of Mercy Residential School 1869-1969
The foundation stone for an orphanage was laid 24 June 1867. It was a large building with accommodation for 180 children. It was registered as an Industrial School 19 November 1869. One hundred years later in 1969 it was officially closed. The building has since been demolished.
Workhouse/Sacred Heart Hospital/ Community Hospital
Kinsale Workhouse was built 1840 following the Wilkinson design for five hundred residents at a cost of £5,900 with £1,000 extra for fittings. As the famine progressed an extra two hundred people crowded into sheds along the walls. It opened 29 September 1841 from their coming to Kinsale the Sisters had offered to nurse the patients in the Workhouse but their offer was spurned again and again. When cholera broke out in 1849 the Guardians permitted the Sisters to nurse the patients by day on condition that they confine themselves to the “religious instruction of the Roman Catholic paupers.” However, when Asiatic cholera broke out and began to spread rapidly they were only too willing to allow the Sisters to remain in the wards both day and night, the ‘Day Sisters’ from 6.00am to 7.00pm and the ‘Night Sisters’ from 7.00pm to 6.00am. From then on the Protestant Guardians allowed them free access to the wards to visit and instruct the Catholic inmates. In 1893 the Sisters were entrusted with the entire administration of the Hospital. In 1922 a fire destroyed most of the building and in 1923 the Free State Army occupied the building. The patients were transferred to a house in the town from 1922 to 1932. In 1932 the building was occupied once more as a hospital and the Sisters of Mercy were asked to take charge of it again. In 1999 the Sisters of Mercy left the hospital and the Southern Health Board took charge.
In Coughlan and Midleton Workhouses
In 1882 the Sisters were asked to take charge of Youghal Workhouse. They remained in Youghal for 23 years until the Poor Servants of the Mother of God were ready to replace them. In 1886 the Bishop of Cloyne asked them to take charge of Midleton Workhouse when the Ballina Sisters were recalled by their bishop. The Kinsale Sisters spent 6 years in Middleton before handing over to the Charleville Sisters in 1892.
Expansion:
Derby 1849: In 1849 6 Sisters went to Derby, England to found a convent at the request of Bishop Ullathorne, There were many difficulties to be overcome at first but they persevered. In after years Derby often came to the rescue when funds were low in Kinsale
San Francisco 1854: In 1854 a group of Sisters under Mother Baptist Russell (sister of Lord Russell of Killowen) set out for San Francisco. They were to sail in the ship called the ‘Arctic’ but it was overcrowded. This ship collided with another ship in the fog and all on board drowned! They arrived in San Francisco 6December 1854.
Crimea 1854-1856: Mother Bridgeman was asked to lead a group of Sisters from different places to the Crimea to nurse the soldiers in the Crimean War. Two other Sisters from Kinsale were among the group, Srs. Joseph Lynch and Clare Keane.
Newry 1855: In 1855 a group of Sisters, among them another Russell sister- Sr. Aquin, set out for Newry. They were welcomed by Bishop Blake- Catherine McAuley’s great friend. On her return from the Crimea Mother Bridgeman admitted the third Russell sister as a postulant in Newry.
Clonakilty 1856: Founded from Kinsale in 1856
Cincinnati, Ohio 1858: Mrs. Peter, daughter of the 6th Governor of Ohio, arrive in Kinsale looking for Sisters for a foundation in Cincinnati. She wrote to her son, “I am in this unlikely old place-for everything is old in Kinsale except the children!” The new Superioress, Sr. Teresa Maher, taken by surprise said, “Unless St. Joseph, himself, were to appear to us I could not send our Sisters so far away,” However, next morning the Annalist says, her mind was quite changed. Not only was she willing to send the foundation but also offered her own services and she was duly appointed Superior of the new mission. It proved to be a very difficult mission. How they cared for the sick poor, the aged poor, the proud poor and the newly arrived Europeans, the prostitutes and the street walkers is told in their interesting book: The Spirit of Mercy.
Skibbereen 1860: Founded 1860 by Sr. Philomena Maher, sister of Sr. Teresa Maher.
Doon 1865: Fr. Hickey PP of Doon donated his property for the establishment of a Convent of Mercy in Doon. His niece and grandniece were members of the Kinsale community. Seven Sisters went to this foundation including his niece and grandniece.
Ballyshannon 1867: Mr. Stephens, a rich man, donated property and money for the foundation of a convent there. Five Sisters went on this foundation.
Delray Beach, Florida 1955: In 1955 Archbishop Hurley of Florida requested Sisters for Delray Beach. Four Sisters went on this mission. The new convent and school were under the patronage of St. Vincent Ferrer. The sisters were involved in a variety of ministries to rich and poor alike.
Peru 1968: A Sister joined the Peru Mission of Cork & Ross diocese and worked there for six years. Another Sister joined the Mission in 1990.
Kenya 1974: A Sister joined the Kenyan Mission and worked there for six years, while in 1990 another Sister taught in a High School there for three years.
In 1984 the Sisters of Mercy of the Diocese of Cork & Ross amalgamated. Kinsale was part of that Union.
In 1994 The Sisters of Mercy in Ireland and South Africa united to form the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy. Four Provinces were established in Ireland. Kinsale is part of the Southern Province.
Gradually, as numbers declined and Sisters grew older, it was obvious that some rationalisation was necessary. It was becoming more difficult to keep large convents open. The decision was made in 2002 to close the convent. It was sold to a housing developer and Sisters re-located to a new house in Winter Hill. After a long delay the convent has finally been replaced by a housing.
Southern Province 