Laois nun celebrates 100th birthday and Oak Jubilee
A nun from Laois recently celebrated her 100th birthday and 80 years with her Order.
Sr. Mary Tighe was born in Kylemelawn, Errill on June 14th, 1923. She is one of a family of 10 siblings. Many of the extended family members live in the Rathdowney area.
On June 14th Sr. Mary celebrated her 100th Birthday with her Community at St. John of God Convent, Sallyville House Newtown Road, Wexford. Following Mass, celebrated by Chaplain Fr. Tony O’Connell, the Sisters and Staff gathered to plant a tree in the Convent grounds to mark the occasion. That was followed by a lovely celebratory lunch.
But apart from her 100th Birthday, Mary had another very important occasion to celebrate in June. On 30th June 1943 Sr. Mary made her First Vows with the Sisters of St. John of God. On June 30th, she celebrated her Oak Jubilee - 80 years of Religious Profession.
It’s no wonder therefore, Mary needed two days to celebrate! On June 17th Sr. Mary was joined by many more Sisters of St. John of God, by her sister Anne Kiernan, Borris, Co. Carlow, nieces and nephews, grandnieces and nephews, extended family, friends and former colleagues for another celebration of Birthday and Jubilee!
The Sisters and Staff at Sallyville House pulled out all the stops and made it a very special occasion indeed. The day started with Mass celebrated by Fr. Martin Delaney PP Rathdowney and assisted by chaplains Fr. Tony O’Connell and Fr. Jim Curtis.
This was followed by lunch and then a session of ‘This is Your Life’, meticulously researched and prepared by Annmarie Carter, Manager, Sallyville House.
All were treated to a great trip down memory lane. Later, music was provided by Ms Maura Duggan Rafter (Music Academy, Kilkenny), her husband Paddy and their son Alex. Maura is in fact a past pupil of Sr. Mary’s in London.
Sr. Mary spent most of her religious life in England. In 1944, at the tender age of 21, she was missioned there. She has vivid memories of those war years. She trained in Primary Teaching and taught in Fishponds – Bristol, in Trowbridge and then moved to London, where the trail of destruction caused by the war was still very evident.
Mary spent 40 years in the St. John of God School in Tollington Park. She was School Principal there for many of those years and was very highly respected by students and staff alike.
Sr. Mary retired from London to Rathdowney in 1997. She spent about 15 years there and this afforded her the opportunity to reconnect with family and in particular to get to know the younger generations of the Tighe family. She valued this time very much. While in Rathdowney, Mary made a valuable contribution to the life of the Church and community in various practical ways.
The First Reading which Mary chose for the Mass was from the Prophet Isaiah and it tells us: Fear not…. I have called you by name… you are mine. This is the basis of Mary’s faith. When things were difficult – and we all have difficult times – Mary’s faith brought her through – her firm belief that God had indeed called her by name.
Mary is the second member of the Sisters of St. John of God in Ireland to reach the wonderful age of 100 years. But she is the first to celebrate an Oak Jubilee in the Order in this part of the world. So, this is one for the history books!
On the day, Sr. Mary was thanked for the great gift she has been and continues to be for the Community. Her positive attitude to life was noted in particular. We wish Sr. Mary continued blessings of joy and inspiration.