Ballyporeen is now known worldwide since Ronald Reagan claimed it as the home of his ancestors and visited it during his presidency. It was little known when the sisters of Mercy from Cahir, arrived there in 1886 & and took up residence in a house known as Sheehys, close to the present convent, erected in 1887 and designed by Mother Bernard Vaughan when Fr. Delaney was Parish Priest. The Sisters chief work was in the primary school. The solid stone building had been erected in 1870 and is still in use today, though greatly modernised. From the early days, the remarkable feature of life in Ballyporeen was the tremendously strong bond that existed between the Sisters and the local people – visitation was always an important part of their Mercy Mission. The convent grounds were small, so the sisters regularly went walking on the country roads, shopped in the village and mingled freely with the people. An excellent relationship also existed between them and the clergy. It is told that one particular parish priest waited every day to take his walk, until the sisters were free to accompany him.
As time went on, the number of Sisters engaged in the school decreased; where once there were seven or eight Sisters in Ballyporeen, by 1977 only one remained in the school. She continued to teach, but resided in Clogheen and drove to Ballyporeen each day. She retired in 1985. The convent was then used for occasional retreats and as a place for holidays. By 1989 it was considered surplus to the needs of the Congregation, was advertised and sold in March 1989 to Mr. William Hale a local business man.
Southern Province 