(1864-2014)
In September 1864 at the request of Very Rev. Michael Enright, P.P., and Castletownbere and under the authority of Most Rev. David Moriarty, Bishop of Kerry, Mother M. De Sales Bridgeman and Sister M. Xavier Kenyon left Holy Cross Convent, Killarney and arrived in Castletownbere. They stayed at Miss Greenway’s until a house was ready for them. Mrs Geran (a member of the Broderick family) donated a house in the West End which was fitted up as a convent. It was situated at the top of the town quite close to the sea in the vicinity of where now stands the Garda Síochana Barracks. They went to live there on September 8th 1864
On September 20th four more Sisters came from Holy Cross, Killarney – Sr. M. Assisi Taylor, Sr. M. Francis Kavanagh, Sr. M. Gertrude O’Connell and Sr. Martha Donovan.This little band was the nucleus of the Sisters of Mercy here in Castletownbere.
On the feast of the Guardian Angels, 2nd October 1864, less than a month after their arrival in Castletownbere the Sisters took charge of the existing school, run by two teachers in one of the two houses on the convent ground. One of these teachers resigned immediately and the other continued for some time to help the Sisters. They got the other house fitted up for senior classes. By November 1864 the schools were connected with the National Board of Education and were working satisfactorily.
The Sisters remained in Mrs. Grenan’s house for ten years.
New convent 1874
The site for a new convent north of the Parish Church was given by the Earl of Bantry and work commenced on August 28th1872. On April 4th.1874 the Sisters took possession of the new building. It was gradually enlarged as the community grew in numbers over the years.
Social Work
An Orphanage which never opened:
The care of orphan children being one of the works of the Order of Mercy, as soon as the Sisters came to Castletownbere they fitted up part of one of the house on the convent grounds as a small orphanage. The Annals say that an amount of good work was affected in this small building. But the work had to be abandoned in 1874 when the Sisters moved to the new convent. However in the 1880s they decided to establish an orphanage. Fr. Dan Harrington, a native of Castletownbere and President of St Michael’s College, Listowel, sailed for U.S.A. on February 3rd. 1884 to collect funds for the establishment of the orphanage. After much travelling and hardship he returned home having collected £1000.
By 1891 the building was completed and the next step was to apply for the existing grant, allocated by an act of parliament to industrial schools for the maintenance of orphans. Petitions were addressed to the Lord Lieutenant on various occasions afterwards, but all to no avail; the grant was never given, and so the orphanage never functioned as such.
In 1904 the building became St. Patrick’s School, a junior school for boys. In 1963 the building completely remodelled and became Mean Scoil Naomh Iosaf.
Providing food and clothing for the needy
During their early years in Beara the Sisters hastened to meet the various needs all around them. Repeatedly we read in the Annals that they gave breakfast to the poor children attending school. They also collected clothes for them even from the United States. Sister M. Francis Clare (Kenmare Convent) sent regular donations of £50 for the poor. On one occasion, February 1880, some of this money was given to Canon Carmody to provide Spillers (fishing lines) for the fishermen of Bere Island and Deshert, Seed potatoes and meal were bought for others.
Lace Class under Congested District Board scheme 1906- 1940s
A lace class, part of the Congested District Board scheme was opened in the convent on 10th. March, 1906. Miss Mary Roche was the first teacher. At a later date this industry was taken over by the Sisters. The industry flourished; employment and training in machine knitting and the making of Limerick Lace were given to many girls in Beara. The Lace Class was discontinued in the late 1940s.
Schools :
St. Mary’s and St. Josephs 1878- 1890
After the Sisters transferred to the new convent in 1874 they set about the erection of new schools. The two original schools in the West End were built on soil won from the sea over which high tides continued to ebb and flow and they afforded such scanty accommodation as to imperil the health of the children.
The foundation for the new schools was laid a little south-east of the Convent on the 31st of May 1877 and the schools were opened on the 30thJanuary 1878. They consisted of two long rooms divided by a glass partition – a class room and a Children of Mary’s Room. They were known as St. Mary’s and St. Joseph’s. These schools were in use until 1890.
PRIMARY EDUCATION
St. Joseph’s School 1890- 1964. Primary School with Secondary Top
In October 1889 the building of St. Joseph’s School commenced in a field close to the back of the convent. The school was opened on the 8thSeptember 1890. In 1932 a Secondary Top opened in St. Joseph’s School providing secondary education to the girls of the area. The school ranked among the best in Ireland and the pupils were always outstandingly successful, obtaining first place several times in competitive exams. It continued until 1964.
Scoil Muire gan Smál: 1964 – 1994
From 1946 on the Sisters realised that they needed a new school to replace St. Joseph’s which was falling into disrepair. They began to collect funds for a new school. It wasn’t until the 1st July 1964 that the new school was opened under the name of Scoil Muire gan Smál.
Scoil an Croí Ró-naofa 2003
In 1994 the amalgamation of boys and girls schools took place providing co-education in primary school although still remaining in separate buildings. In 2003 the renovated girls’ school was ready and the present beautiful co-educational school opened. The Sisters of Mercy have long gone from these schools but are delighted to see them progress and evolve.
SECONDARY EDUCATION
Mean Scoil Naomh Iosaf 1964-1980
In 1963 provision was also being made for opening a secondary school. The site was the old St. Patrick’s School which was now empty as the pupils had moved to Scoil Mhuire Gan Smál. The building was completely remodelled and became Mean Scoil Naomh Iosaf, the first co-educational School in Ireland. It opened in 1964 with 100 girls and 30 boys on rolls. It closed in 1980 when another phase of second level education in Beara began with the opening of the Beara Community School.
Beara Community School 1980
Sisters then taught in the Community School from September 1980 until 1995 when the last Sister, the late Sr. M. Ita O’Connor retired.
HEALTH CARE:
The Workhouse 1896-1922
In December 1895, at a meeting of the Board of Guardians, the local Workhouse Infirmary nurse resigned and the Board Chairman, Mr Harrington, proposed that the Sisters of Mercy be invited to take charge of the Workhouse. In July 1896, two of the Sisters, Sr Xavier O’Connell and Sr Margaret Griffin took possession of a new convent which was built in the old Workhouse. It was named St Joseph’s. Their nursing duties began on the 2nd of July, 1896. Sisters worked there until it closed in the early 1920s
St. Joseph’s District Hospital
In June 1932 – The new District Hospital of 28 beds was opened on the site of the old Coastguard Station. Sisters continued to live and work in the hospital and among the sick and needy in the local area for many years. When late Sr. Baptist Kirby, Matron for thirty two years, retired 01 May 1998 the long tradition of Sisters of Mercy working in the Hospital in Castletownbere ended. However their interest in the Hospital continues and the Sisters of Mercy are delighted to see the hospital now known as Castletownbere Community Hospital continue to develop and serve the needs of the people of Beara
Closing of the convent in 1989
The fall in vocations, declining numbers, an ageing community were factors in the closing of the convent in 1989. But perhaps the determining factor was the prohibitive cost of installing the compulsory fire regulations issued to convents following the fatal fire in the Loreto Convent Stephens Green, Dublin in 1986.
On 12 December 1989 the community moved to two new houses built beside the Hospital.
The old convent was sold to local business man, Mr. Dermot Murphy. Later the building was sold again and put to a variety of uses including a Youth Hostel. Sadly at present (2017) it lies vacant again.
Closure and leaving Beara September 2014 Twenty five years later, September 2014, the new convent (2 houses) closed and the Sisters of Mercy left Castletownbere after 150 years. It was put on the market and sold a few years ago. To date it lies unoccupied also. (2021)
From :The Contribution of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy to Education. Vol 11. Dr. Máire Ní Chearbhaill, Research Fellow. NUI Maynooth. July 2011
Southern Province 