What can I say about yesterday other than it was an emotional, fascinating and truly inspiring day as we learn't about the life and the wonderful achievements of our dear cousin, Mother Mary O'Hagan. The above photograph of Mother O'Hagan is hanging proudly in the Poor Clare Convent in Kenmare and is the only known photograph of her so we were absolutely delighted to be able to see it.
Firstly we visited the Kenmare Lace Centre which is above the heritage office in the town centre. We saw how the lace is made and how intricate it really is. A small piece about the size of an Australian 20 cent piece can take 25 hours to make. Emer allowed us to see the Nuns design patterns from the 1860's and many other historic items from that period. Queen Victoria was a huge patron of the lace and commissioned many pieces of which are now held in the Albert museum in London. It is very expensive lace to produce given the hours and hours it takes someone to make. Larger pieces are very uncommon due to the costs involved. We visted the museum downstairs in the heritage centre and followed the story of the nuns as they arrived in Kenmare, a poverty stricken part of Ireland in the 1860's. The staff were very excited that O'Hagan relations were in town and could not do enough for us letting see and hold precious items including a visitors book dating from 1886. This town holds Mother O'Hagan in such high esteem and I felt so very proud of her and the legacy that she has left behind in this wonderful community.
Adrian, Mary and I at the Kenmare Lace Centre.
Next stop was the final resting place of our dear Mother in the Nuns graveyard behind the old St Clare's convent. As we made our way towards the cemetery I spotted a sign for Rose Cottage where the sisters first lived in Kenmare. It is now a B&B and the lovely Maura (who owns it) welcomed us in and gave us a tour of the house. This was totally unexpected and it was a real thrill for us. There is a lovely plaque outside Rose Cottage which tells the story of the Nuns arrival in 1861.
Plaque outside Rose Cottage Kenamre
We had gathered some beautiful flowers from the garden at our cottage at Sheen Falls to place on Mother O'Hagan's grave. Unfortunately the two 5 foot angels that stood guard at her grave have long since disintegrated which was a bit of a disappointment to me. We had found a letter in the PRONI from the Abbess who took over when Mother O'Hagan died in which she described these two angels in great detail along with what happened on the first anniversary of Mother's death. The whole town closed so they could attend High Mass and then proceeded to visit Mother's grave in sincere gratitude to the woman who had made such a difference to the lives - how wonderful it was to read that letter.
We had some lunch in the town then made our way to the new convent to meet with Sr Assumpta and Sr Catherine who were absolute treasures. They welcomed us into their convent and were just as excited to meet us. We sat and chatted over a cup of tea then we were taken down the passage to see some of the artefacts from the old convent. There was this amazing tapesty in pristine condition and would have been done by the sisters at the convent in the 1860's. Sr Assumpta then took us into the library where we discovered the photograph of Mother O'Hagan and then we went into the chapel where we were able to see the chair that was presented to Mother O'Hagan as a parting gift when she left Newry to go to Kenmare. There was also a statue that the nuns took with them to Kenmare in 1861 standing just outside the chapel.
The chair presented to Mother O'Hagan when she left Newry in 1861.
Sr Catherine then wanted to take us to see the old convent (which is now a school) that Mother O'Hagan had built in Kenmare. The convent is a substanial building and what struck me walking through the corridors and seeing the rooms was how much attention to detail is evident everywhere you look. It is a building full of light from all those fabulous windows and it felt so very peaceful. I was delighted that we had the opportunity to have a private tour with Sr Catherine as she could tell us what every room was used for.
St Clare's Convent Kenmare
Sr. Catherine then took us to the parish Church next door which was built in 1864. Mother O'Hagan along with the parish priest Fr John O'Sullivan were instrumental in designing and building this beautiful church. They must have been wonderful fund raisers as this church is stunning with its mosiacs and angels everywhere! Sr Catherine told us that they have a restoration program in place in preparation to celebrate 150 years in 2014 and she has invited us back to celebrate this great milestone.
Today we leave Kenmare, this little piece of heaven on earth and make our way to Galway meeting up with Frank and Leonie on the way.
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