The exterior of Dingle Presentation Convent, Co. Kerry, repurposed as the Diseart Visitor Centre. Photo: Gillian O’Brien Irish convents formed the “backbone of Irish Catholic society” for centuries, but they have been largely ignored, an Irish historian has said.
Convents and the women religious in them were “hugely significant” to the development of the Church and Irish State, Dr Gillian O’Brien told The Irish Catholic.
Dr O’Brien is leading a project to draw attention to the cultural, architectural and historical significance of convents as “they’ve been kind of ignored” in the past.
“They do really form the backbone of Irish Catholic society, from the late 19th century until well into the 20th and they don’t get recognised,” she said.
“And by not recognising that, you’re writing the history of women out to a very large extent. They’re the teachers, they’re heavily involved in employment in the local area and if we don’t look at them, we’re missing a huge section of society,” Dr O’Brien added.
The historian, who helped design the award-winning Nano Nagle place in Cork city, warned “There’s an urgency about it and in 20 years’ time there will be real regret that these women’s voices weren’t recorded and the buildings in which the nuns had lived for in some cases centuries haven’t really been recorded.”