Beloved Srs of St Louis leave Middletown after more than 140 years

It was with heavy hearts that the people of the parish of Middletown and Tynan bade farewell to the Sisters of Saint Louis.

The sisters have had a religious presence in the village of Middletown for over 140 years and were founded in Juilly, France in 1842. They first came to Ireland in 1858.

They were invited by the Bishop of Clogher, and in 1858, led by Mother Genevieve Beale, they came to Monaghan.

At the request of Canon William Quinn, the local parish priest, the sisters came to Middletown.

He died before the sisters arrived and it was his successor who welcomed the sisters on June 21, 1875.

By 1876 they had opened a national school, and they continued providing primary education mainly to girls up to the year 2000.

In 1881 they set up a home for orphan children which later became St Joseph’s Training School.

These establishments provided both training and employment for the local community. Over the years the convent grew in size. In the early days they ran a farm which provided some of the food needed for the convent and the orphanage.

At their peak the order had as many as 30 sisters, each contributing to the community in various ways.

With a declining numbers of sisters, in 2010 the order moved from the large convent to a modest bungalow outside the village.

There are now just four sisters left in the Middletown community. Two of the sisters, Sr Canice Durkan and Sr Fionuala O’Hanlon, will move to the St Louis Convent in Monaghan.

The remaining two sisters, Sr Mary Healy and Sr Carina Muldoon, will move to Armagh. The people of the parish turned out in force to bid farewell, and to show their respect and gratitude.

The sisters have always been at the heart of the parish community and have carried out many roles, from teaching in the local primary and secondary schools to training and facilitating the local church choir.

But it is for their quiet prayer and presence that they will be most missed.

A farewell Mass of Thanksgiving was celebrated by Archbishop Eamon Martin in St John’s Church, Middletown on Sunday, July 15 at 11.30am.