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Priests & nuns

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Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 591 ✭✭✭Garlinge


    Yes I agree about the division of labour in a convent. In convent I attended in '50's and '60's, there were 'mothers' and 'sisters' and the latter did the scut work, cooking, cleaning, answering the door etc. The others did teaching (no qualifications?) and praying! Social class background of course an aspect of who could come up with dowry etc.


  • Registered Users Posts: 21,066 ✭✭✭✭Water John


    As well the age a girl entered the convent influenced the matter. An older girl 20+ would have to pay to get in and would nor be trained in a profession, just do house duties.


  • Registered Users Posts: 19 John P. Mac


    I had a priest cousin born in Co. Longford in 1888. The only information I have on him is that he was a priest. The family moved around as the father was an RIC member and ended up in Limerick. I contacted two parishes where they lived without success. I found no record of him in the 1911 census so he may have been a missionary. His siblings left no children. Is there any central record of Irish priests in the early 1900s ?


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 11,291 Mod ✭✭✭✭Hermy


    Sometimes the likes of the Thom's Directories will mention the local parish priest for a given area.

    I contacted the archivist in the Archdiocese of Dublin before on a similar matter so they may be worth a call.

    Newspaper death notices and obituaries for priests are often quite detailed so I'd keep an eye out for those also.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



  • Registered Users Posts: 229 ✭✭bocaman


    Back in the day having a priest or a nun in the family was seen as a badge of honour and gave you some standing within the community. Many entered just to avail of an education. How man priests and nuns though ended up regretting their decision and went onto have unhappy lives.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 6,170 ✭✭✭Tow


    bocaman wrote: »
    Back in the day having a priest or a nun in the family was seen as a badge of honour and gave you some standing within the community. Many entered just to avail of an education. How man priests and nuns though ended up regretting their decision and went onto have unhappy lives.

    From a modern perspective we would think many were unhappy. But as you said you self they were respected and looked up to by the general population. Certainly some were not suited to be teachers, but these were mainly Brothers. Lower in the peaking order than a Priest or higher again were Jesuit Priests. Some appeared to be independently wealthy and by all accounts had great life.

    When is the money (including lost growth) Michael Noonan took in the Pension Levy going to be paid back?



  • Closed Accounts Posts: 422 ✭✭Vetch


    I had a priest cousin born in Co. Longford in 1888. The only information I have on him is that he was a priest. The family moved around as the father was an RIC member and ended up in Limerick. I contacted two parishes where they lived without success. I found no record of him in the 1911 census so he may have been a missionary. His siblings left no children. Is there any central record of Irish priests in the early 1900s ?

    He would have been young to be ordained in 1911. Have you tried searching for him without a first name? He might have entered a congregation where they took religious names.


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 11,291 Mod ✭✭✭✭Hermy


    Tow wrote: »
    But as you said you self they were respected and looked up to by the general population.

    Respected? Or feared?

    Genealogy Forum Mod



  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,609 Mod ✭✭✭✭pinkypinky


    I think some of both, Hermy.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



  • Registered Users Posts: 21,066 ✭✭✭✭Water John


    Priests in parishes could become relatively wealthy, often financed the purchase of land for the home family.

    As with McTaggert, any other surnames which indicate the celibacy rule wasn't always adhered to.


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  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 27,088 CMod ✭✭✭✭spurious


    I had a priest cousin born in Co. Longford in 1888. The only information I have on him is that he was a priest. The family moved around as the father was an RIC member and ended up in Limerick. I contacted two parishes where they lived without success. I found no record of him in the 1911 census so he may have been a missionary. His siblings left no children. Is there any central record of Irish priests in the early 1900s ?

    There are Catholic Directories in the National Library (possibly also elsewhere) that have this sort of information.
    http://sources.nli.ie/Record/MS_UR_002422


  • Registered Users Posts: 591 ✭✭✭Garlinge


    I think each Diocese produced one and it was annual for Dublin when I was familiar with same in 1970's.

    On the subject of nuns, there was a project about 10 yrs ago, to record details of all Irish nuns organised by the Genealogical Society of Ireland. They have an archive in Loughlinstown, Co Dublin so perhaps the paper records are there.


  • Registered Users Posts: 751 ✭✭✭p15574


    I have an uncle who is a Christian Brother. Apparently my grandfather arranged with them to 'donate' a child (he had plenty to spare) and they turned up at the door on the appointed day (in the forties) to pick him him. The nominated son, unsurprisingly, had no intention of joining and legged it well in advance, resulting in my other uncle having to step in and take the bullet for him. He's 99 now and in retirement (but still with them).

    On my mother's side, I have an aunt who went all the way through 'nun-dum' until she was to take the final vows. I think a clincher for her was when my granny died suddenly and they were very cold and unsympathetic and she left within weeks of that.


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,609 Mod ✭✭✭✭pinkypinky


    Child donation! It's just impossible to imagine such a thing nowadays in Ireland.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 11,291 Mod ✭✭✭✭Hermy


    pinkypinky wrote: »
    Child donation! It's just impossible to imagine such a thing nowadays in Ireland.

    The past, as they say, is a foreign land!

    Genealogy Forum Mod



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