Mags GarganDr Louise O’Reilly launches study of the Presentation sisters
Dr Louise O’Reilly is the first laywoman to carry out a study of the Presentation congregation, with extensive research in archives throughout Ireland, England and Rome, which has resulted in the launch of her book The Impact of Vatican II on Women Religious (Cambridge Scholars Publishing) in Dublin last week.
The book opens up a new area of research in the history of the Irish Presentation Sisters and the impact of Vatican II 1962-1965 on female religious life in Ireland, and examines the implications of these changes on them and the Church in general.
The book is based on Dr O’Reilly’s thesis for her PhD in History from NUI, Maynooth – ‘The history of the Irish Presentation Sisters in the 20th Century, from autonomy to Union’ – and was launched by Prof. Vincent Comerford, Emeritus of Modern History in NUI, Maynooth in the CORI offices in Donnybrook last Thursday.