St. Columba’s Convent was built for the Sisters of Mercy working in the Regional Hospital (Cork University Hospital) at Bishopstown Avenue West behind the Nurses’ Home. The architects were Mr. Brian Murphy O’Connor and Ms Mary Fitzgibbon. It was formally blessed and opened on the 11 February 1981, Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, by Bishop Michael Murphy. It was called St. Columba’s by special request of the Sisters in memory of Mother M. Columba, recently deceased, who had been untiring in her efforts to secure land and funds for the new building for the Sisters.
Though the majority of the Sisters transferred there from St. Finbarr’s there was sufficient space left vacant to allow one wing to be taken over as the Mercy Generalate from 1984 until June 1993 when the new Generalate was opened in Woodbrook Grove, Bishopstown.
In Oct 1992 it was decided to add an extension to St. Columba’s Convent which would incorporate the Generalate which was about to be vacated.
12 July 1994: The new extension was blessed.
On 3 October 1994: St. Columba’s Care Home was officially opened and Sr. Teresita Williams, Passage West became the first resident. By the end of October there were five residents. From then on until 2010 the Home provided dedicated assistance to Sisters in need of care.
In April 2010 the difficult decision was made to close the Care Homes in the Province for various reasons – unsuitability of the buildings by HIQA standards, the difficulty of funding and replacements for the current administrators.
Between August 2010 and April 2011 residents were settled in other care homes and staff gradually accepted redundancy.
The Sisters living in the convent section began to leave in 2012, most went to St. Maries of the Isle. Finally, 30 November 2012 the last two left and became part of the community in St. Marie’s of the Isle community. Timer lights were fitted in the building to activate each night as the building was then unoccupied. It remained idle until the decision was made in 2017 to refurbish the building with suitable accommodation for single living. At present Sisters live there in comfortable apartments.
Southern Province 