Debt owed to Sr Consilio & Sisters of Mercy

THE people of Athy owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the Sisters of Mercy who since their arrival in Athy have made a huge contribution to the education of generations of young people of the town and district, as well as bringing comfort and assistance to many local families in difficulty.

The names of several nuns come to mind, as well as Sr Consilio who founded Cuan Mhuire in Athy in 1966. Sr Consilio, formerly Eileen Fitzgerald, was born in County Kerry and trained as a nurse in the North Infirmary Cork before joining the Sisters of Mercy in Athy in 1959. Her older sister Ita was a Sister of Mercy in Ardee and I understand it was on her suggestion that the young Kerry nurse joined the Sisters of Mercy community in Athy.

Those of us with long memories will remember another wonderful Kerry woman who joined the Athy convent many years before Sr Consilio. Better known to one and all as Sister Brendan, she is remembered with great fondness by generations of young boys who passed through St Joseph’s school in Rathstewart.

Following the completion of her novitiate years, which spread over six years, and on her profession Sr Consilio transferred in 1965 to St Vincent’s Hospital, Athy where the Matron was Sr Dominic of fond memory.

It was there that Sr Consilio came in contact with men, many of them homeless and all with alcohol problems, whom she decided to help.

When Sr Consilio moved back to the nun’s convent in Athy the helpless men regularly called at all times, both day and night, looking for assistance from Sr Consilio.

The convent Superioress, Mother Sacred Heart, allowed Sr Consilio to have use of a small room where Sr Consilio could meet and assist those men.

By the winter of 1966 the attendance of men and women at the local convent was such that a larger premises was urgently required. An advertisement for the auction of a 45-acre site at Milltown, Athy caught Sr Consilio’s attention and having received approval from the convent Superioress, she attended the auction and bought the property for £49,000.

The vendor died within a week of the sale, which could not then be completed until probate issued. This took almost a year which gave Sr Consilio time to raise what was then a very substantial amount of money.

The construction of Athy’s first Cuan Mhuire building went ahead even before planning approval was received and was generously facilitated by the builder’s providers who gave Sr Consilio two years credit.

With the opening of Cuan Mhuire, complaints about the arrival of so-called ‘undesirable’ men and women in Athy were frequently heard and I can remember at an Athy Urban District Council meeting where similar views were expressed.

However, the good work of Cuan Mhuire under the inspiration of Sr Consilio continued and I am happy to note that Sr Consilio received a ‘Person of the Year Award’ from Athy Urban District Council on 20 March, 1997.

The presentation was made by the relatively young council chairman, a non-drinking Frank Taaffe, whose admiration for Sr. Consilio was and still is unbounded.

Sr Consilio’s original work with alcohol addiction was extended to cater for drug and gambling addicts.

The foundress of Cuan Mhuire centres in Newry (Down), Bruree (Limerick) and Coolarne (Galway), as well as Athy, a week or so ago, celebrated 60 years of ‘Restoring Hope’.

She explained: “At Cuan Mhuire, we see beyond addiction to the true worth of every person. We believe everyone has the potential for healing, growth, and a fulfilling life – there are no hopeless cases. We provide an environment in which people who feel rejected and dejected because of their addictions become aware of, and learn to deal with the underlying problems relating to these addictions, and discover their uniqueness, goodness, giftedness and their real purpose in life.” 

Today Cuan Mhuire is Ireland’s largest provider of residential detoxification and treatment services for men and women suffering from addiction. Providing a 24-hour service every day of the year, Cuan Mhuire operates on the principle that everyone in need of help can be helped. It has approximately 600 treatment beds nationwide and of these, 106 are designated for detoxification.

The annual number of admissions to Cuan Mhuire centres around Ireland is approximately 3,000. The treatment programmes strive not only to address the addiction in question but also the underlying cause of the addiction and seek to restore confidence, self-respect and sense of responsibility for the participants.

The programmes include detoxification, individual counselling, group therapy and where possible and appropriate, the participation of families in the healing, recovery and rehabilitation of the person on the programme is encouraged and facilitated.

Sr Consilio, who has devoted her life to helping others, is one of the greatest advocates of our time who has raised public awareness of addiction and has often declared “my mission in life is to live the way God wants me to live and to help others to do likewise”.