Carlow’s community spirit was to the fore at a series of special events on Sunday to mark the lives of seven Mercy sisters who left the county for America in 1843.
The nuns settled in Pittsburgh where they founded convents, schools, a hospital and Carlow University.
A plaque to the memory of the sisters was unveiled by Bishop Denis Nulty who also attended last night’s The Journey Concert. He said of the event “it’s tremendous, it’s a celebration for the Mercy sisters & their arrival. 175 years ago they left Carlow heading to the states to an unknown land, the unfamiliar, having left their familiar Carlow, a very different Carlow than today. Tonight celebrates that journey, so many people are on that journey into the unknown”.
Bishop Nulty also paid tribute to those who help those in need locally in the present day. In particular St Clare’s Hospitality Kitchen which he called “the jewel in the crown of the Carlow area for reaching out to the poor & the broken. It’s non-judgemental, people walk in, no-one asks who they are, where they’re coming from, they’re helped & supported. I know people who walk in for their lunch who then give a substantial donation because they check out to see is it as authentic as it seems. And it is.”
Actor, writer & musician Patrick Bergin MC’d Sunday’s The Journey Concert. He spoke to KCLR about his father, Patrick Senior, who led the sugar strike. He said “it was a tough time, obviously the conditions have changed slightly over the years and of course the sugar factory itself is gone. It was the first industry that came into Ireland after the war and it was a great lifeline for a lot of people in Carlow. It was men like my father & Bunty O’Connor who really fought for ordinary people’s lives and to make them better”.
Mr Bergin added “he was a great guy my Dad, we learned a lot from his journey. He shared his life & he was a great orator, comedian, funny man & a passionate humanist. His three things: a roof over the head, food on the table & a flower in the vase. Your flower is your spiritual & artist life. And if you can have the security of a roof over your head, food on the table you can pursue your flower”.
