Extracts from "The Way It Was", Part 2
compiled and edited by Paul Gannon
"We were always judged on our
standards of work. If we were seen to be good workers, get good results
in school, college, shine and dust well, we were labelled as a 'good nun'.
There was little sympathy for the weakling or the one in poor health.
It was a lonely life. Today we hear so much about relationships. Sound
friends and healthy relationships are the 'in thing' today, especially
in religious life and the priesthood. As young Sisters we had no shoulder
to cry on, no sympathetic listening ear, and no warm arms to give us a
hug. We were expected to get all our consolation in the presence of the
Blessed Sacrament. Having said that, we kept each other sane. We laughed
and giggled at nothing; a strong sense of humour was our safety valve.
Common sense told us that half the rules were crazy. Some found the rule
of silence very difficult. Others valued it as an escape."
From "A Mercy Pilgrim Travels Back",
remembered and written by Sr. Phyl Clancy
"The boys and girls walked to school together. Fights usually took place on the way home after
school. Sometimes the mothers would intervene on behalf of their own offspring.
In the last term we used to take a shortcut home through the fields and
I remember a particular orchard of crab apples that we used to raid. There
was also a particular spot where we could get wild strawberries close
to the well which many families drew their water from. It used to often
take us half the evening to get home because we would be so long saying
goodbye to each other at various crossroads. We would sit on fences and
linger at crossroads and as we departed everyone would be excitedly looking
forward to meeting up again the following morning.
There were hardly any cars
that time and we used to have the whole road. The only thing we were afraid
of was one particular old lady who was very contrary. No fear of abuse
or abduction. There was a great sense of camaraderie among us. We all
looked out for one another. We were like one big happy family. If somebody
was not feeling well we would usually make a chair with our hands and
carry the sick person home between us. Adults were not really part of
our world. We were left very much to our own devices."
From "Educational Odyssey", remembered
by Jenny Conboy
See also
Using St Mary's Church, Clifden's first Roman Catholic Chapel, and the nearby graveyard, as a focal point,
Kathleen Villiers-Tuthill traces Clifden's history from 1812 right up to the present day.
written by himself, on Jürgen Kullmann's
Irelandman.de site.
"...built on land that had been farmed by the Whelan family who were tenants on the D'Arcy estate and resident in the area since before the famine." From
coastguard-station.com.