Introduction
Mary told her dearest Mamma that the ‘new stone schoolhouse, a large schoolroom and two small ones attached’ was to be built ‘at the foot of Father Woods’ garden, quite close to the Chapel’.
She and her sister Annie taught in the schoolroom of this fine 1867 building, having previously shared a converted six-stalled stable with two horses and an ever-growing number of pupils. The bedroom and kitchen displays reveal other aspects of the busy lives led by the Sisters of Saint Joseph.
The schoolhouse is a special place where Mary’s youthful presence can still be felt: her commitment to God through a life devoted to others, her vulnerability and self-doubt, her strength of character, her humanity and compassion, her gifts as a teacher, her vitality, her sense of humour, her serenity.