Galway Advertiser 1993/1993_03_25/GA_25031993_E1_012.pdf 

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N E X T Monday March 29th the Sisters of Jesus and Mary invite a., their past pupils to c * b r * M E u ^ ^ / ^ ^ ^ O r d e r ' s foundress Sr. Claudine Thevenet and the Beatification of Sr. Dinn Belanger. T h e service begins at 7 p.m. and there win De iigm retres in the Sacre Coeur Hotel afterwards.

A Community Celebrates
O
ne of Galway's best known schools, Scoil Ide spent a portion of its formative years in Seapoint Ballroom. Incredible as it must sound, it was true. In fact the Hangar Ballroom was also used. That was in the early days back in 1952. The Sisters of Jesus and Mary were busy converting the former Dalysfort House Hotel into their first Galway school. The conversion took about two years. In the meantime school continued as best it could "When the sun shone everyone was up in the fields" recalls Sister Breda Coyne, "and when it rained we were all in the ballroom " It was a pleasant and easy life, an easy start to a very significant school foundation in the City. The Sisters already established in Spire's House, Shantalla Road, as a University Hostel, were encouraged by the late Bishop Browne to open a school in Salthill. It was apparently a toss-up between Salthill and Renmore. The Bishop felt Salthill was expanding more rapid ly. The Sisters opened Scoil Ide National School on May 1st 1952 with twenty three pupils. Today there are 355. The next step was a Secondary School. In 1962 the nuns bought Young's House, Salerno, opposite the Salthill Hotel, at Revagh Road. Although the school consisted of pre-fabs and was named " O u r Lady of the Angels", the school was immensly popular. The Bishop gave them land at Threadneedle Road some years later and they all mov ed taking with them the name of Young's House 'Saler no' which has no significance for the nuns other than an affectionate one for a very reputable school. Today 480 girls attend Salerno. The Sisters of Jesus and Mary first came to Ireland in 1912. They were in fact invited by President Mary Robin son's Great Grandfather. His two daughters were educated by the Jesus and Mary nuns at Willesden. London. He was so impressed by their education that he prevailed upon Bishop Naughton of Killala to invite them to the West. To day Gortnor Abbey in Crossmolina and Secondary School at Enniscrone Co. Sligo are thriving. The Provincial House of the Irish Province is in Dublin. Their presence in Galway is very solid and on-going. Four Sisters operate a com munity house at Claremont Park, while two work full-time with the Travellers at Hillside.

St. Claudine Thevenet, canonised last w e e k e n d in R o m e w a s a very p r a c tical w o m a n . S h e b e g a n her religious life by look ing after o r p h a n children w a n d e r i n g in the City of L y o n s in t h e w a k e of the F r e n c h R e v o l u t i o n . In 1818 she founded a c o m munity to provide a C h r i s t i a n E d u c a t i o n for these y o u n g people a n d her worked spread theoughout France. T o d a y there a r e J e s u s and M a r y Sisters w o r k ing in I n d i a . P a k i s t a n , England, U . S . A . , N e w Z e a l a n d , S y r i a , all o v e r E u r o p e a n d in Africa.

SALERNIO GIRLS FROM THE LEAVING CERT. CLASS WITH THE RECENT SCHOOL MAGAZINE

Nobody Thought Sr. Breda Would Become A Nun
hen Sister Breda Coyne told her parents she wished to join the eonvent her mother was upset. Her father, the Postmaster at Ballina. Co. Mayo, understood her decision. And although her mother was supportive, they missed her daughter. Prior to Pope John Paul's liberalising many strict Orders, the Jesus and Mary Order had a rule that once you entered your never went home again while you remained a Sister. Sister Breda joined with five of her friends, all had attended Gortnor Abbey. " M y friends who did not join all wondered how I was accepted into the Order in the first p l a c e . " recalls Sister Breda with a huge smile. "While others wandered how long I would stay, absolutley nobody expected me to slay." Sister Breda was seventeen years when she felt her vocation. At Gortnor Abbey she loved everything to do with the religious life. Even when she went danc ing or on holidays she was drawn back to the convent. Young Girls Today Sister Breda feels that vocations do not feature in the lives of most seventeen year old girls today. " T h e y are probably more materialistic and certainly more affluent in certain ways than girls were in my day. Yet they are happy at school, happier than we were, and enormously generous if asked to do something for Trocaire. Concern, or the handicapped. Salerno has a reputation for good ex am results. Is this school policy?

W

Sr Breda Coyne with pupils from Scoil Ide on a recent school tour
easier to teach students who want to go to third level. It just happens that we are in this location. But our mission is not just to ensure all our pupils are academically successful, we try to ensure they receive as broad an education as possible. I would like to think they would respond to a need in the com munity and in the world. And I believe they would do so willingly." Sr. Breda was in fact born in Galway. but as her father worked in the Post Of fice the family moved with him to C o . Mayo. She joined the Jesus and Mary Sisters at Gortnor Abbey, and was sent to teach at Sroil Ide in 1966. She is now Headteacher.

ALWAYS READY TO MAKE MUSIC - THESE GIRLS FROM SCOIL IDE PLAYED AT OF THE GALWAY HOOKER AT BARNA LAST SUMMER

"People say we are successful academical ly, but I really put it down to the fact that THE LAUNCH draw pupils from an environment we where people have expectations, so it is