Convent Life

Have you ever wondered about the daily routine in Irish Convents? Today life in the average Convent is more relaxed and less restrictive than it ever was, as evidenced by the routine which once applied in our own Convent of Mercy.

At a time when most Convents were independent houses with their own novitiates, young women were subjected to rigorous scrutiny before being accepted as potential postulants. For the first six months each postulant was easily recognised by the distinctive white bonnet which she wore. The next twelve months was spent as a spiritual year with the postulant wearing a black habit and a white veil. After that 18 months was spent in preparation for first profession after which first vows were taken. The last 3 years were spent in preparation for final profession when perpetual vows were taken.

In the daily life of the Convent the times of prayer, work and recreation were strictly regulated. Each day commenced at 5.25a.m. when the Convent Bell sounded. At 5.55a.m. Matin and Lauds took place in the chapel for 15 minutes, following which everyone spent 40 minutes in private meditation. Mass was attended at 7.00a.m. and breakfast was taken at 8.00a.m. after which there were house charges with each nun and postulant performing various house duties. Silence was maintained throughout the day except during periods of recreation. A card in the front hall indicated whether a period of 'silence' or 'recreation' applied at any particular time.

Teaching nuns went to school at 9.00a.m. and at 12 noon midday prayers were said with lunch at 12.30p.m. The main meal of the day was at 3.30p.m. followed by forty-five minutes of recreation usually consisting of needle work or walking in the garden. Nuns walked in groups and quickly acquired the skill of walking backwards as three or four nuns faced their companions to facilitate conversation while they perambulated around the Convent garden. This was followed by 30 minutes of spiritual reading in the Chapel and another 20 minutes spent at Vespers. Supper was at 7 o'clock followed by another hour of recreation and 30 minutes of night prayers at 9.00p.m. Lights out at 10.00p.m. was followed by the period referred to as 'the great silence'.

Every month a Chapter of Faults was held before the entire community in the Convent Chapel. Each Nun had to confess her transgressions to the assembled community, a duty which postulants had to perform every morning.

Even within the confines of the Convent walls a very strict divide once existed. Early entrants to an Irish Convent were as much dependant upon the availability of a dowry as were their sisters who sought matrimony in the rural Ireland of an earlier age. The dowry became part of the Convent's finances and ensured for the postulant on taking her perpetual vows the rank of a choir nun. As the name denotes a choir nun was one who participated in all the religious ceremonies within the convent freed of the necessity to engage in menial domestic duties. Those for whom the religious vocation was no less strong but who were without the benefit of a dowry, life in the Convent was that of a lay-nun whose duties included serving the choir nuns and providing for their daily needs. The distinction between a choir nun and a lay nun was initially determined by the availability or absence of a dowry but later by educational differences. It may seem to us nowadays somewhat incongruous that such a distinction operated within the convent structure but we should remember that the Church itself merely mirrored life in society itself. I can recall the special pew reserved for one local family in the Catholic Church in Kells, Co. Meath in the mid-1960's where they were assured comfort and solitude free from contact with their more humble neighbours. Who can forget that even in our time and town there existed a gallery in our local Church where entry was confined to those who made a donation of silver at the Church door. An example of clerical entrepreneurship or pandering to a class conscious society? I don't know but these examples like the choir nun and lay nun of another era were but reflections of life in Ireland of it's day.

The number of sisters in the Convent has fallen dramatically in recent years with few new entrants to the ranks of those who devote their life to God. The age structure of those who remain clearly indicates that in a very short time, unless there is an unprecedented reversal of current trends, the Sisters of Mercy Convent may have to close.

If and when this happens it will be a very sad day for our town and will leave a void which I'm afraid lay people could not adequately fill. Whatever lies ahead we must never forget those truly great women who served our community so selflessly for so long and who over the years brought so much good into the lives of so many.

Sisters of Mercy

The Sisters of Mercy have a long cherished involvement with Athy and District. The first steps were taken to bring the Sisters to Athy in the days immediately before the Great Famine. However, it was not until 1852 that the Sisters of Mercy arrived in Athy to take charge of the newly built convent at the rear of St. Michael’s Parish Church. Like other religious communities throughout Ireland the local convent has seen a sharp decline in numbers in recent years. There are approximately twenty-six nuns in the convent today, with another eight nuns in St. Vincent’s Hospital. Thirty years ago there were sixty five nuns in the convent which had it’s own Noviciate to cater for the novices wishing to join the Sisters of Mercy in Athy. The Noviciate is now based in Dublin and no novices have entered for the Athy convent for many years past.

How different the story was in previous generations when the local convent was home to novices from all over Ireland. Athy convent was particularly popular with young women from the West of Ireland while the South of Ireland also gave many novices who were to teach in the local school work in St. Vincent’s Hospital, or do other charitable work in and around Athy. The remarkable fact is that so few of the nuns living in the convent over the years were from the South Kildare area. This is possibly explained by what may originally have been a rule later changed to a tacit understanding that Athy girls would join the Mercy Order in convents outside their own locality.

At a time when religious vocations were the norm rather than the exception it was not unusual for several members of the same family to join the convent. There were no less than ten families represented by two or more daughters in the Athy convent over the last fifty years. These included Sr. Laurence and Sr. Ursula who were Malones of Barrowhouse, and the Cullen sisters of Ballytore who in religion took the names of Sr. Joseph and Sr. Cecilia. The Gavin family of Westmeath gave us Sr. Francis and Sr. Peter while Sr. Sacred Heart and Sr. Agnes were Blanchfields from Thomastown in Co. Kilkenny. Still in the convent today are Sr. Finbar and Sr. Dolores, members of the Cowhy family who entered from Ballyhea, Buttevant, Co. Cork. The O’Leary sisters from Dublin, Sr. Joseph and Sr. Carmel, were another set of siblings who came to Athy to embark upon life as Sisters of Mercy.

Nearer to home were the Fingleton sisters of Ballyadams who as Sr. Ignatius and Sr. Theresa were to live in community with Sr. Claud and Sr. Cecilia, two members of the Hall family from Killinaule in Co. Tipperary. The Meagher family of Doon, Co. Limerick gave us Sr. Alphonsus and Sr. Oliver but perhaps the most extraordinary family record was that of the Cosgrave sisters from Daingean, Co. Offaly. Sr. Xavier, Sr. Paul and Sr. Rose were members of the same family who joined the Sisters of Mercy in Athy and happily Sr. Xavier and Sr. Paul are still with us.

Around 1940 the house rule which restricted the members of the community to the convent was changed to allow sisters and postulants to return to their own homes one day each year. Irrespective of the distance to be travelled anyone availing of the opportunity to visit their home had to be back in the convent by 9.00 p.m. the same night. At a time when so many members of the community were from the West of Ireland even this concession had limited benefit. One can imagine the difficulties posed for someone like Sr. Brendan who entered the convent in Athy in 1914 and who was from the Glens near Dingle in Co. Kerry, a distance impossible to travel in one day.

Community life in Athy’s convent is more relaxed and less restrictive than ever before and the nuns are now actively involved with the wider community outside the convent. The regret is that the future of the Sisters of Mercy in Athy is so uncertain, but hopefully they will continue to have a presence in Athy continuing a tradition extending back over 140 years.