“Across the valley of the Brickey River and over the slopes of Knockaun, the Angelus bells of Carriglea ring out their call, and in the fields, the farmers stand with heads bared in silent prayer. For over a hundred years now, the Angelus bell of Carriglea echoes throughout the countryside of West Waterford, and my wish and prayer is that this Angelus bell will continue to ring across the valley for many years to come.”
That is the wish of Sister Mary Fitzgerald, one of the last two remaining Sisters of Le Bon Sauveur (Sisters of the Good Saviour), who are to depart Dungarvan in Waterford after 120 years next month. It’s exactly 120 years since the Sisters established a convent and private psychiatric centre at Carriglea, in Dungarvan, County Waterford.
Sister Mary (77) along with Sister Rita (83) are the last two remaining nuns based at Carriglea in Dungarvan. Founded in 1904, the last 120 years have seen the Sisters create a well-loved facility, renowned across the country.
Speaking to Sr Mary, who has been Local leader of the Sisters since 2004, it is clear the final weeks spent in Carriglea are bitter-sweet, as an emotional farewell to the place she has called home for the last 65 years looms on the horizon.
Sisters Mary and Rita are due to vacate Carriglea in July and already, the goodbyes have begun. Last week, Waterford County Council held a Civic reception to thank the Sisters, past and present, for the work they have done in the area. It was a wonderful celebration, according to Sr Mary.
Preparations are now in full swing for a thanksgiving Mass on the 2nd of July. The nearby GAA club is also planning to hold an event to thank the Sisters, along with a parish events on the 3rd of June, and a meal with the religious of the parish.
“There’s loads of other things coming in,” according to Sr Mary, who joined me on Zoom. “The biggest thing, I suppose, is the thanksgiving Mass at the start of July. We are expecting a very big crowd. It will be past, present, and future service users, and those who will be involved with keeping the mission going into the future.”
Sister Mary, who is Superior of the order, has been in Carriglea since 1959, albeit with ten of those years spent in North Wales, where, as a qualified nurse, she trained in palliative care.
She recalls her years spent in Wales as “the best thing I ever did,” and a key part of a maturing experience as a young woman. “Out of all the things I’ve done, and all the things I’ve been asked to do, that was the biggest bonus. Moving was tough at the time, but it stood me in good stead.”
Her 65-year story in Carriglea started when she came here to attend boarding school. She entered the Sisters as a postulant straight from school at the age of just seventeen.
“I’m nearly from the cradle upwards,” she explains. “I grew up not far from here.”
But it was not a straight path, and Sr says she didn’t know for certain religious life was the path for her until ten years after she entered her training. Taking her first vows in 1967, she took her permanent vows as a religious sister eight years later, in 1975.
“I was training in nursing and discerning my vocation as a young woman. But I was really questioning everything. I went through a really bad phase before I made final vows – but that was important to go through. I was living with young girls who were going out to dances every night, and I was still young myself.”
There was a temptation to feel like she was missing out, but Sister Mary recalls how the conflict she felt within herself forced her to sit herself down, “and to see what I really wanted.”
“I was faced with a decision, but that was good, because up until then, you could say I was being carried on a bit of a whim, and even emotionalism to a certain degree. I had to go through that rough patch, and by the age of 27, I knew what I really wanted. I chose my vocation as a Sister, and I took final vows. It’s a constant choosing, really, isn’t it?”
“In a way, Carriglea raised me,” she muses. “It’s given me every opportunity. I’ve blossomed here, to be honest with you.”
A lot of that has to do with her attitude, which has always been “I’ll give it a bash.”
“I was always open to what I was asked to do. I suppose, my talents before coming here, which were completely and utterly dormant, developed out.”
Sister Rita, the other hand, entered the community in North Wales, which established as boarding school in Holyhead in 1907. This was closed in 1984. She is originally from Dublin, and after her profession of vows, she spent years teaching in Holyhead. Becoming local leader of Carriglea in the 1970s, she returned to France in 1987 to take up the role of bursar general of the congregation for the next 30 years. Sr Rita was happy to return to Ireland in 2019.
The journey of the nuns in Ireland began in 1903, after the Bishop of Waterford and Lismore at the time, Doctor Sheehan, visited the Bon Sauveur convent in Caen, France. He was struck by the wonderful work being done there, and asked the authorities of the Mother House in France to found a branch of the congregation in his own diocese in Ireland.
On 24th February 1904, the deal to purchase Carriglea estate was signed and sealed. The seven-bay, two- story tudor-style gothic house was bought from the Odells, an extensive landowning family from County Waterford who owned over 3,000 acres of land.
The following year, the farm buildings were completed and the main building was transformed into a small psychiatric hospital, which was later named Sacred Heart hospital. From 1905 to 1970, Carriglea cared for women with psychiatric health issues. In the late 1960s, Carriglea was developed from a psychiatric hospital to a centre caring for adults who had intellectual disabilities, with funding secured from the Department of Health.
It was in the late sixties that the first service users with intellectual disabilities came to live in Carriglea. The 1970s and 80s saw the expansion of community services, with buildings constructed for day and residential services, while the first community based houses opened their doors in Dungarvan town in the eighties.
The 1990s saw the service flourish, with the expansion of community services, and the development of more houses and the Anne Le Roy Centre.
It was in 2006, Sr Mary recalls, that the Bon Sauveur Services became known as Carriglea Cairde Services, with the appointment of its first lay CEO. The golden thread or ethos has, however, lived on daily through Carriglea’s Mission, which is to continue the work of the Bon Sauveur congregation and to provide comprehensive and quality services for those with intellectual disabilities in line with Christian values and the principles of the congregation.
Sister Mary explains to Gript that the mission has always been to ensure that each person who walks through the doors of Carriglea is granted as full a life as possible – including healthcare, education, training, housing, and leisure.
Empowering those with intellectual disabilities to integrate into society and reach their full potential is also a goal the sisters hold dear. It is the mission of Carriglea Cairde services, Sr Mary explains, to provide an individual and holistic service to each person availing of the services in so far as funding levels will permit.
To achieve this, the sisters have worked collaboratively with families down through the years, along with the relevant agencies, the community, and the voluntary sector.
The values that have guided the mission have always been person-centred, and extend to justice, creativity, hospitality, respect, and compassion. It has always been important, too, Sr Mary stresses, that the values and ethos of the sisters is not lost in busy schedules and workloads, but remain a key part of the day to day work.
Speaking before the council last week during a Civic reception honouring the work of the Sisters, Sister Mary recalled the bleak days back in 1904 when six French sisters and one Irish sister embarked from Normany by ship and docked in Cobh. Those were the days before telephones, or the internet or skype, when ordinary post would take weeks to arrive.
The sisters, arriving from France, faced problems she describes as enormous, both culturally and socially, including language barriers. Yet the sisters heard the call clearly – to leave their own country and homes, and come to Waterford. The French sisters, who arrived without the language, and were totally ignorant of the culture in a foreign land, were totally isolated upon arrival in Ireland – with no way to receive news from loved ones back home, before a time of radio and phones here.
However, “they were driven by the spirit, to help create a system that would recognize the value and respect for the less able, the vulnerable of society,” Sister Mary recalls.
“This is the golden thread that has imbued us for the last 120 years.
“But we did not do this alone,” she stresses. “This service was led by the Bon Sauveur Sisters until we transferred it to ‘Carriglea Cairde Services’ in 2005. Since then, she says proudly, it has grown, developed and evolved into an excellent facility with the support of families, co-workers, service users, neighbours, friends, benefactors, associates, as well as the Church, government and Health authorities.
Sister Mary recalls fondly the help the sisters have received from the county council, with their first community house in Kyne Park having been provided to them by the council.
A special highlight brings her back to 2003, the year Ireland hosted the World Special Olympics. In Carriglea, she remembered with joy, the whole community was proud to share the feeling of poignancy and success with a sense of wonder and awe. The seventeen athletes who took part did Ireland proud, supported by service users, coaches, volunteers, sisters and staff. That event, for the remaining sisters, has gone down in history thanks to the many people who gave of their energy and time to make the games a success.
It was the first time the Special Olympics was held outside of America, and preparations had begun four years earlier in 1999. The response of Ireland as a small nation was amazing to behold – a total of 30,000 volunteers were found and trained, with over 7,000 athletes from 160 countries, 2,000 coaches, and 28,000 family members and the media descending on our shores. To the amazement of the sisters, seventeen Carriglea athletes were selected which represented almost 4% of the Irish team.
This meant the athletes, who were selected in five different sports – athletics, basketball, tennis, table tennis and motor activities – would be away from home for two whole weeks while participating. An education programme jointly organised by Carriglea and the Dungarvan Host Town Committee saw the participating athletes and some coaches visiting and giving talks to children and 25 primary and secondary schools throughout West Waterford.
This not only helped to increase the profile and public awareness of people with an intellectual disability, but also increased the athletes’ self-esteem, social skills, and confidence. The programme culminated a number of information days at Carriglea, with one of the days attended by over 300 secondary school children.
A huge send-off dinner and disco in support of the athletes and for all Carriglea service users was held to kick off the games. Sr Mary recalls how it was the first event to be attended by all service users (both day and residential) to be held outside Carriglea, with over 270 people present.
It was a day “characterised by smiling faces,” she recalls, an overwhelming success for the community. Just under a fortnight later, the Carriglea athletes and coaches returned from Dublin to a warm welcome. A crowd of over 600 turned up at short notice to honour the remarkable achievements of the Carriglea athletes.
The Sisters have always been great supporters and promoters of Special Olympics. A section in the Sisters’ centenary book, published in 2004, carries dozens of happy pictures from that time, complete with the Special Olympics motto: “Let me win, but if I cannot win let me be brave in the attempt.”
Due to the reducing number of Sisters available to continue the services into the future, in 2006, the Congregation handed over the ownership and running of the services to a company limited by guarantee under a board of directors.. The service was renamed Carriglea Cáirde Services, who agreed to continue the Mission of the Sisters. To this day, the sisters have been involved at both Board and Pastoral level.
A new opportunity presented itself for the Bon Sauveur Sisters in 2014, when they united with three other French Congregations and re-founded the Missionary Sisters of the Gospel, increasing their involvement and presence in Central Africa, Guinea, Senega and Madagascar.
In 2022, with only one community in Ireland, and confronted with reduced numbers due to ageing and health problems, it was with a heavy heart that the Sisters made the decision to leave Carriglea after 120 years and retire to more suitable living facilities.
Before the Sisters say goodbye for good, many thank yous are in order, Sr Mary tells me:
“We want to thank all our benefactors past and present, local parishes, organisations, families, neighbours, and friends, as well as our staff, past and present. And last but not least, of course, our service users who are the matrix that held us all together as Carriglea Community from 1904 to 2024, and onwards into the future.”
Asked what the reaction of the locals has been to the news the Sisters are to depart, Sr Mary admits:
“People are desperately sad.” She says the imminent departure of herself and Sr Rita is something which is only now beginning to sink in. The Sisters had the first of their goodbye celebrations last week, and she jokes that while the move-out operation is in full swing, it’s hard to get rid of things when locals are constantly calling with boxes of sweets and other gifts.
“We’ll be setting up a little shop by the time we go,” she laughs.
“It’s not about me, or Sr Rita. It’s the Sisters who are leaving after 120 years. That sadness extends to us. It is emotional. We’ve seen generations here, really. Even myself, I’ve seen generations.”
But in a way, she says, as an active order, the nuns’ work in Carriglea is done.
“There was a need, which is why the Sisters came here from France in the first place. And we’ve met that need. In many ways, the Order accomplished what it set out to do, and in a way we are moving on, with every good hope for the future.”
What was it about the Sisters that captured the hearts of the locals? And does Sr Mary think that religious life can see a revival in Ireland?
“What has drawn people to the Sisters, basically speaking, is that ‘Our hearts are restless until they rest in You,’ to quote Saint Augustine. I think the Sisters have always been a reminder of that.
“As religious, we have very little, but speaking generally, the things we do own, they don’t give us happiness.”
The searching for more was what inspired Sr Mary Fitzgerald’s own vocation. She recalls how, as a child, amidst the excitement of presents and the anticipation of one Christmas, she felt a desire for more.
“Deep in everyone’s being there is a longing for God. We are made for God and we’re always restless until we rest in Him. Religious life, I suppose, to other people, is a reminder of the other world, really,” she says.
“Religious life will rise again, but I mightn’t see it in my lifetime,” she ventures. “What’s happened before will happen again, but we do need to renew ourselves in the church. The major problem in Ireland is that our spirituality has dried up so quickly, where in other places it happened much more gradually.”
Her time in Carriglea is one filled with happy memories, but Sr says that the most rewarding part of her ministry, for her, has been her role as a palliative care chaplain to the terminally ill and the dying.
“The most rewarding thing, for me, was being something I ended up doing, but that I didn’t want to do. When I went to North Wales, I wanted to work with those with disabilities, because that was the area I was most comfortable in. But I ended up working in a day centre there for palliative care, for those with terminal illnesses.
“They offered me a job, and when they did, I nearly freaked out. I was afraid, but it ended up being one of the best things that ever happened to me. I ended up being offered to train in that area, which I did.I have loved being with people who are on their final journey. I always felt like I was a bit of a midwife, but was birthing people into eternal life.
“So many of those people who I worked with, they would say to me, ‘I will never forget you,’ and I know these people are up there now. I would have helped people who were dying, quite a bit. I loved sitting with them and helping them to let go.
“I believe in witnessing to the value of presence, the value of being with another person, the value of praying with another, and the value of stopping and being still. In a way, that is what religious vocation is, first and foremost,” she says. Sister likens the role of chaplain to that of Jesus stopping and standing still in the midst of a large crowd, and focusing his attention to one or two individuals.
“That act of stillness and listening was what brought healing and wholeness to those in need.”
“Of course, there is the activity as well. As Saint James said, ‘Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.’ Obviously the fruits of the Sisters’ work is what we see today.”
The Sisters have created a unique set of values that are relevant to service users, their families, employees and the wider community. Their parting wish is that these values will continue to be respected and guide Carriglea Cairde Services into the future.
“We hand on the baton of mission to the Board of Directors, Management team, staff and the service users. Our prayer is that cooperation will continue, and that the continual interaction between all these organisations will become interdependent to serve the ongoing needs of people with disabilities into the future.
Both Sr Mary and Sr Rita are moving into Independent Living with the Little Sisters of the Poor in Ferrybank, Waterford. The Independent Living apartments, Sr notes, is adjacent to a nursing home. “Who knows how the Lord might use us going forward,” she says.
“I’m content, and I know it’s the right thing [to move]. That’s not to say my heart isn’t breaking. But I know we will settle into our new place. I do think it’s important for us to realise too, that we are leaving what we have set as the harvest, and we wish Carriglea all the best with everything.”
“All that is left to say is – Thank you.”
Those good wishes are echoed by Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, Alphonsus Cullinane, who shared:
“For 120 years the good sisters of the Bon Sauveur – the Missionary Sisters of the Gospel have been working in this Diocese.
“They have lovingly looked after those wounded in their mental faculties, our brothers and sisters with intellectual disabilities. In serving such people, they have also served their families and have given great example and encouragement to the whole community around Carriglea.
“It is a sad time for them and for us all. I pray that the seeds of love and service sown by the sisters are bearing and will bear much good fruit. I wish them every good wish and blessing for the future and may their inspiration grow and flourish.”
There has been great and valued work by the Catholic religous orders in Education. Health . social care and palliative care .Much of it unappreciated by the Govts of the day.
The demonisation of the Catholic Church by the sins of a few has destroyed one of the great moral and voluntary Institutions of Ireland.
In my opinion a deliberate planned attcks as a precursor to the atttacks on the Family and Nation,by abortion Law and weaponised Mass Migration.
Christianity sets the moral tone of a Nation.
Family cohesion, support and trust is the National Tribe writ large.
The cohesive ethno State fosters trust ,social support , culture ,History ,safety and security.
These are the foundation pillars of a Nation, all have been under atack in a slow ,hidden war on the Nation for decades.
Sometimes by the Media, clearly by the Constitutional changes such as Abortion Law, Childrens Rights, Gay Marriage. Gender recognition. and recently the failed attempt to displace women and mothers from the Constitution.
The silent hidden war continues, few are aware of the danger.
These nefarious actors plan their attacks for decades long assaults ,like demolition of a building brick by brick ,slowly and imperceptibly, until the complete skeletal structure collapses when all support is removed
All so true and when the religious ran schools they kept Marxist queer theory off the curriculum and well away from the children. They will never be appreciated enough.
Very true Daniel. I couldn’t have said it better
Amen. Thank you God for the witness to the Gospel by the beautiful Sisters. God bless them all.
The good sister says we need to renew ourselves in the Church, that our spirituality has dried up so quickly. Very true. But the Church has been seeking desperately to renew itself for decades now, making many revolutionary changes. It hasn’t worked, something fundamental has been lost. The sisters have provided an excellent charity service and helped many people, but through lack of vocations (a downstream result of a lack of spirituality) they’re handing on the reins. I don’t think the state will be able to replace them.