In this the centenary of the 1916 Rising it is a privilege to
celebrate another centenary, that of Sr. Carmel Fallon who on 5th
February became a centenarian. I have
written previously of the gracious lady, small of stature but big of heart who
for the past 81 years has been part of our lives here in South County Kildare.
The future Sr. Carmel was born Carmel Fallon in the parish of
Kilchrist, Co. Galway a few miles south west of the town of Loughrea. She entered the Convent of Mercy here in Athy
in August 1935, as did many others from the west of Ireland from the time the Convent
opened in 1852. Sr. Carmel took her
triennial vows on 16th February 1938 and three years later her final
vows. Following the completion of her training
as a teacher in Carysfort College, Dublin she returned to Athy to teach in
Scoil Mhichil Naofa. Her subsequent
teaching career was spent between the girls primary school and St. Joseph’s
Boys School.
Before Sr. Carmel retired from teaching in 1980 she had secured a
remedial class and the services of a psychologist for Scoil Mhichil Naofa. Outside of school hours Sr. Carmel founded a
youth club for local girls with the assistance of Sr. Dolores and Sr.
Alphonsus. However it was following her
retirement that Sr. Carmel fulfilled perhaps her most important role outside
her religious life with the development of the Irish Wheelchair Association
here in Athy.
The Irish Wheelchair Association was founded in 1960 by a small
group of wheelchair users who had participated in the first Paralympic Games
held in Rome. In September of that year
the inaugural meeting of the Irish Wheelchair Association took place in the
Pillar Room of the Mater Hospital Dublin, attended by several members of the
Irish Paralympic Games team as well as a number of interested individuals. It is noteworthy that the founding meeting
was held in the Dublin Hospital established by Mother Mary Vincent Whitty, who
came to Athy in 1852 to take charge of the new Convent of Mercy and the nearby
convent schools.
The Irish Wheelchair Association was founded primarily to improve
the lives of people with physical disabilities by securing equality and access
for wheelchair users. Providing
employment and housing for wheelchair users as well as encouraging social
interaction were also further aims of the Association.
The Athy branch of the Wheelchair Association was founded in 1969
when Sr. Carmel and the late Sr. Alphonsus came together with a number of local
people. The local branch provided a
range of activities for wheelchair users with socials in Mount St. Marys and summer
holidays spent in boarding schools operated by the Sisters of Mercy. None of this could have been done without the
help of volunteers, both male and female, who from the very start devoted their
spare time and energies in helping Sr. Carmel in her determined effort to
provide services for the disabled. Amongst
those who were involved in the early days of the Wheelchair Association in Athy
were Leo Byrne, Lily Murphy, Mary Malone, Mary Prior, Michael Kelly, Bridget
Brennan, John Morrin, Tommy Page, Paddy Timoney, Dinny Donoghue, Phoebe Murphy,
Caroline Webb, Peadar Doogue, Fr. Lorcan O’Brien and Fr. Denis Lavery.
The Athy branch of the Wheelchair Association under the leadership
of Sr. Carmel was the first branch of the provinces to provide a Day Centre. The only other such facility in the country
was in the Association Headquarters in Clontarf, Dublin. Teach Emmanuel was developed within the
grounds of St. Vincent’s Hospital and represented a partnership between the
Irish Wheelchair Association and the Health Board.
In 1992 Sr. Carmel was appointed President of the National
Organisation of the Irish Wheelchair Association and she held that position for
10 years. Her appointment as National
President of the prestigious organisation was a recognition of her pioneering
role in the successful development of services for the disabled in County
Kildare. Sr. Carmel retired as National
President in 2002.
Looking back over the work of the Sisters of Mercy here in Athy and
elsewhere over the years I am struck by the enormous debt we a community and as
individuals owe the religious sisters.
Apart from their role in education and their charitable works amongst
the needy the inspiring work of Mercy nuns such as Sr. Carmel, Sr. Consilio,
the late Sr. Dominic, Sr. Joseph and so many others must surely ensure that the
legacy of the Sisters of Mercy will never be forgotten. Best wishes to Sr. Carmel from a grateful
community on the occasion of her 100th birthday.
No comments:
Post a Comment