PORTLAW 1883
In the mid 1800 Portlaw was transformed by the members of the Society of Friends when they commenced erection of a cotton factory on the banks of the River Clodiag. The intention was to give employment and to ensure “the energy and industry applied to the natural resources of Ireland may enable the Irish Manufacturer to enter the market and compete with the Manufacturer in England.” As well as building factories the Malcolmson’s built houses for their workers and managers and two conjoined houses at Coolroe, Portlaw, originally intended as Manager’s Houses, became the Convent of St. Joseph’s, Portlaw run by the Sisters of Mercy.
On June 29th 1883, five Sisters came from Cahir to Portlaw, accompanied by Rev. J. Walshe and Mother Bernard Vaughan, Superior of the Cahir convent. They were cordially welcomed by Rev.Fr. Hearne P.P., Rev. J. McCann and Rev.P. Keating. The house to which they came was originally built as a residence for the Malcomson brothers about 1840 and remained in the possession of the family down to 1883. The previous year, the late parish priest had bequeathed his entire property to local charity, particularly towards the foundation of a convent school, for the instruction of the poor.
In spite of opposition and bigotry, negotiations for the purchase of the Malcomson were successfully carried out by a loyal friend who bought the building in his own name and then transferred it to the trustees. The house was sufficiently large and commanded a lovely view of the river Suir and the woods of Curraghmore. This convent was officially constituted a foundation in 1885 and Sister M Peter McCarthy was appointed its first Superior. Of the five Sisters who came from Cahir in 1883, two professed Sisters died of tuberculosis before they reached the age of thirty.
On their arrival in Portlaw, the Sisters began at once their work of teaching in the schools and visiting the sick and poor in the district. An interesting feature of their work then was the opening of an evening school for the poor women and girls who worked all day in the Mills of Mayfield Spinning Company. These women and girls crowded in at night to learn to read and write. This was heavy work for the Sisters after teaching all day in school, but the results were encouraging. They kept up the night classes for five years till there was no longer need for them. Then they could devote themselves more fully to their younger pupils in the day school, where numbers rose to 340.
By the year 1909, school accommodation was too small and a Primary School was built. An extension had to be added to this in the early fifties when the Sisters started a Secondary Top for local pupils who had no transport to other Secondary Schools. A wide range of extra subjects was introduced, including Commerce, Shorthand and Typing , Latin, French, Art and Domestic Science. Boys from the local Vocational School attended these classes, even cookery classes. Special emphasis was laid on Music, Elocution and Dancing. The Secondary Top, like many more of its kind, had to close in 1969, when the new Community College was built in Kilmacthomas and transport to secondary level schools was made available for the local pupils. As the teaching Sisters began to retire and there was no personnel available to replace them, the Primary School was handed over to lay administration and in 1991, the boys and girls schools were amalgamated. The principal of the boys’ school took charge of both. The Sisters are still very much involved with the local community in various activities; St. Vincent de Paul Society, youth work, visitation, bingo, teaching music and preparing children for Scor and other musical festivals. One Sister takes charge of the sacristy in the parish church. The Portlaw community celebrated its centenary in 1983.
Meanwhile the two schools, the Boys’ and Girls’ Convent school were amalgamated into one under the principalship of Mr. Michael Murphy. All were accommodated under the one roof in the boys section which was added to by a small bit of land purchased from Fitzpatrick family.
Then the girls’ building was empty and eventually became an Enterprise Centre where leather work and woodwork and computer lessons took place.
Events began to unfold and in 1999 the convent was closed down. One sister lived in Portlaw in a newer house in 5 Cúl Rua until 2019.
The convent premises had a chequered history from now on. It was to be a retreat house according to the people who bought it and then changed to a house for women and children refugees. It didn’t materialise due to local objections and so the property deteriorated and was vandalised. Some years later Planning was sought for by a local man for various types of housing. However the recession arrived and probably lack of funds set in.
In 2015 the same man is developing it into 3 distinct houses. The lovely garden at the rear was sold some years earlier and several houses built on the site. The convent cemetery was retained by the Sisters of Mercy. The surrounding walls of the rest of the site were removed and the site now looks attractive.
(Section from 1985 on written by Sr. Assumpta Byrne in 2015)
The convent closed in 2022.
Southern Province 