Renata Steffens
Nuns pray in front of a figurine of the Christ Child before Mass in the Church of St. Catherine in Bethlehem, West Bank, Dec. 11, 2022. (CNS photo/Debbie Hill) Produced by Scratch Films, The Last Nuns in Ireland has won a Radharc Trust Award in the category Broadcast Documentary. In this film directed by Judy Kelly, writer and broadcaster Dearbhail McDonald explores the role of religious sisters in Ireland as the average age of nuns is over 80.
The film is the second of two films about the Catholic clergy in Ireland. It was broadcast on RTÉ One on January 16, with its first part broadcast on January 15, focusing on the priests in Ireland. The film explores the question ‘what if these are the last nuns in Ireland and will we miss them?’
The 50-minutes long film examines the role of nuns and how they shaped Irish lives, including their own “for better or for worse”.
It is believed that the film production company is currently working on a ‘Last Missionaries’ film.