presentation convent mountmellick

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Presentation Sisters Union North East Ireland Union of Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Laois – Mountmellick

Story of our community, mountmellick.

In 1771 when Nano Nagle was making final preparations to bring the Ursulines to Cork, Mountmellick was raised to the status of a parish. Catholics were few, ignorance and poverty were rife and morale was at a very low ebb. Under the leadership of two zealous pastors the Catholic population increased in spite of oppression, famine and emigration. In 1833 Rev. Andrew Healy became the third P.P. of Mountmellick. He was deeply concerned for the welfare of his people and prayed earnestly for 20 years that the Lord would send Presentation Sisters to provide education for the “poor females” in his parish.

Because of poverty it seemed impossible to provide for a community of nuns – there was no way he could raise funds – but he so believed that the Presentation Sisters were the “right” ones that he refused an offer from another Congregation that would be self sufficient and hence not totally committed to the poor; so he kept on praying and trusting against all the odds until his heart’s desire was granted in 1854.

Anna Maria Corballis was a talented young lady belonging to a wealthy and very religious Dublin family. After her two older sisters joined Fanny Ball in establishing Loreto Abbey, Dublin, Anna Maria entered first the Cistercians in England and later the Carmelites in Dublin. In both cases her health broke down. Eventually she discovered her true vocation when she entered with the Presentation Sisters in Bagenalstown. Before taking her solemn vows, as Sr. Charles, she disposed of her patrimony in favour of the Presentation foundation in Mountmellick, through Dr. Healy, Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin.

Foundation: On March 6 th 1854, Sisters Charles Corballis (Bagenalstown), Aloysius Brophy (her cousin), Ignatius Taylor and Frances Kelly (all from Carlow Community) travelled by train to Portarlington, stopping off to visit the sisters in Kildare. They were accompanied by Fr. Hamilton, a professor in Carlow College, who, with the bishop, ardently supported the new foundation all along the way. There was consternation when no covered car could be procured at Portarlington railway station to bring the sisters on the last leg of their journey to Mountmellick. Fr. Hamilton thought it very undignified for “cloistered nuns” to have to travel in an open car and, with their unseemly luggage, remarked that “they were more likely to be taken for a group of strolling players”!

A house had been rented in the centre of the town as a home for the new community. This big house, devoid of any furniture or convenience, except for two deal tables and three wooden chairs, provided little welcome on a cold bleak afternoon in early March. However, nothing could daunt the enthusiasm of this little group, who had left the security and companionship of their respective communities to embark on a very challenging mission. The sisters slept on pallets on the floor for some time and it is recorded that they carried their three wooden chairs from the refectory to the chapel and back several times daily for most of that first year!

A major task on the evening of arrival was to set up an oratory using one of the deal tables as an altar. Next morning the Bishop offered Mass after which the Blessed Sacrament was reserved and the house blessed. Now, with Jesus in their midst, the first community of Presentation Sisters was officially established in Mountmellick on 7 th March 1854.

The Sisters were somewhat disconcerted by the seeming lack of welcome on the part of Fr. Healy or his parishioners. In fact, he had told no one of their coming and so the Sisters were already installed before anyone was aware of their presence. Soon, however, they understood why Fr. Healy acted as he did when they became aware of “the old spirit of bigotry and Protestant ascendancy” which prevailed in the area and how easily hostility could be aroused.

25 th March 1854 was a very significant date in the history of the parish, when the Angelus bell rang out at 6 a.m. announcing again, after centuries of silence, the Good News of the Incarnation. We are told that, as Sr. Aloysius rang the bell, she held a little statue of Our Lady in her hand and prayed fervently that the Mother of God would send out blessings of hope and peace to all of her oppressed and deprived children.

In April 1854 the four rooms on the ground floor of their rented home were set up as classrooms, using desks obtained from a former national school, which had catered for 48 pupils. The Sisters were very happy when, on 23 rd April, they eagerly opened their school doors, well prepared to accept 40 – 50 pupils. 300 young people turned up aged 4-19 years! The annals describe scenes from these early school days reminiscent of Nano’s first experiences in Cork. These young people, some of whom would just have survived the famine, had little experience of discipline or co-operation. Quarrelling, shouting and generally boisterous, they paid no heed whatever to the many efforts made to calm them. The Sisters felt helpless and sometimes frightened in those early days and it took much courage, patience, faith and commitment to persevere in such difficult circumstances. Their pupils had no knowledge of religion and very few had made First Holy Communion, so the Sisters provided evening classes to teach them prayers and catechism.

In May 1854 the Sisters set up a shrine to Our Lady in their garden and encouraged the pupils to take part in May processions and sing hymns to Our Lady. Afterwards, we are told that, when things got out of control in the classroom, it was enough to make the sign of the Cross and say a Hail Mary aloud to restore order and quiet! The proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, that year, was eagerly availed of as an opportunity to foster a lively devotion to their heavenly Mother in the hearts of the pupils.

During all this time the Sisters kept a very low profile. Because of the prevailing anti-Catholic atmosphere they were seen as a threat. On the feast of Corpus Christi, two men in the grounds of the Sisters’ house deliberately fired a shot at Sr. Ignatius who was standing inside a window, narrowly missing her but leaving the window shattered. Fr. Healy had the two men arrested. During the court hearing, however, he stated that he did not wish them to be prosecuted, but, since the Sisters had come for the benefit of the people they should be respected. This produced a favourable result.

In a special solemn ceremony in 1855, the Bishop presented the Sisters with rings, now worn for the first time in the Order. (Pius IX had sketched the shield and cross with rays saying, when asked for a motto, that the “cross would supply for all”).

1856 saw a number of improvements introduced. Overcrowding in the school was affecting the health of the pupils and their teachers and so the sisters acquired the only available site – a disused distillery yard with some ruined buildings in it, at the entrance to the town. The old distillery dwelling house was renovated as a new home for sisters and a two-roomed thatched school, well lit and ventilated, was built mainly from rubble on the site. A chapel in the new home, capable of holding 200, proved a huge asset in fostering a spirit of faith and devotion in many parishioners.

In September 1856 a very large number of children, adults and married women made their first Confirmation; they were confirmed in the parish church in Graigue. Immediately after the ceremony the newly confirmed, all dressed in white, walked in procession, followed by the congregation, right through the town and into the convent garden – a distance of one mile. No one had organised or foreseen this event, not even Fr. Healy – a striking witness to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. (The convent garden is still a place that attracts the newly confirmed, newly-weds and past pupils -after almost 150 years.)

A new convent was built in 1863. It was built at a time of real poverty, and with the help of very small donations, bazaars etc. – money often coming in ‘miraculously’ -the exact sum at the exact time! Two years elapsed before it could be occupied as there was no money to furnish it. A statue of the Immaculate Conception, placed at the highest point of the convent, caused quite a stir. It was just 7 years since the Sisters came to Mountmellick, at which time an orange pole and flag was permanently raised exactly opposite the site of the new convent and everyone entering the town had to pass under it.

In reaction to the erection of the statue, a delegation of the ‘local ascendancy’ brought a petition to Dublin Castle to have the offending statue removed. The petition failed when it was ascertained that it was legally distant from the public thoroughfare. Angry members then threatened to erect a statue of Queen Elizabeth right opposite – but it didn’t happen. The prominent position of Mary Immaculate was a heart warming sign of hope and security for the Catholics where religion was only struggling into life after a cruel persecution of nearly 300 years.

In 1866 St. Joseph’s ‘Benefit School’ opened for Catholic families who had become better off and were sending their children to Protestant Schools so as not to mix with the poor children! The school was set up in the house vacated by the Sisters and the subjects taught were English, French, vocal and instrumental music, painting and needlework. ‘Sunday school’ classes, which up to now were held in Graigue, were transferred to the convent.

In 1868 the first Parish Mission was preached by the O.M.I. Fathers. Many older adults needed to be instructed in the very basics before receiving the Sacraments. The Sisters gave this instruction each evening after school, teaching the Christian Doctrine by rote, since only one in twenty could read. We are told that it was pathetic to see old men hobbling in to get their first ever lessons in Catechism. The bishop came and administered the sacrament of Confirmation to hundreds of these adults at the end of the parish mission.

By 1869, twenty-five years after the foundation, it was clear that the foundation was already bearing much fruit with 18 sisters in community and 30 professed sisters (past pupils) elsewhere. The custom of mothers bringing their children to be offered to Our Lady, May Processions, “Holy Childhood”, “Holy Angels” and Children of Mary were firmly established in the parish. ‘Mountmellick Work’ and other forms of embroidery and hand work had become very popular and profitable. In 1882, an exhibition of needlework was held in Dublin with the intention of promoting home industry – the Sisters, having embroidered a beautiful large quilt in Mountmellick. Work for the occasion, received a certificate of merit.

By 1883 it was clear that developments called for a larger and more ‘modern’ school. The site of the Benefit school, which had been absorbed into the ‘National System’ was available. This year was one of great economic depression and the Sisters got little encouragement financially. However, putting their trust in God, Mary Immaculate and St. Joseph, as always, they set about raising the money. They decided, among other things, to run a bazaar. Their first request for a prize was made to Pope Leo XI11 who graciously sent a beautiful cameo of Our Lady and his Apostolic blessing! Thus heartened, they redoubled their efforts and the bazaar raised £650 clear! The rubble from the thatched school and St. Joseph’s was used to help in the building, while the Sisters taught in the open air and/or under canvas tents in all weathers for two years until the new school opened in 1886. This was to be the scene of their labours for the next 88 years – with the addition of 2 more rooms in 1930.

In 1921, after 67 years in Primary Education, the sisters were aware of a growing need for secondary education. This was especially a life long dream of Mother Patrick Clarke, a woman of great vision and zeal. So, when the Quaker boarding school (established in 1687) came on the market in May 1921, it was bought by the Sisters, through the generous financial aid of D.E. Williams of Tullamore, who had often expressed to the sisters a desire to help the young people of Mountmellick. On 25 th October, the feast of Our Lady of Victories, the secondary school, although still in need of vast renovations, opened its doors to thirty day pupils and five boarders. With Mother Ita Fanning at the helm, M. Berchmans Curtin and Sister Martha Timmins formed the nucleus of ‘St. Mary’s College’ where, over the years, countless young girls were well equipped academically, culturally and spiritually for life. St. Mary’s College was destined to grow from strength to strength under the patronage of Our Lady of Victories and have a huge impact locally and nationwide. The fee in 1948 was £30 p.a. for the Boarding School. Pupils came from many counties. Both teachers and pupils worked consistently and tirelessly and achieved great results. The Sisters dedicated themselves totally to the apostolate in St. Mary’s College.

In 1953, Mother Michael Ryan led a foundation to Bicester, Oxon in England and later to Swindon and Acocks Green, Birmingham. In 1958, the Convent of our Lady of Victories was opened. The convent was blessed by Bishop Thomas Keogh, Kildare and Leighlin.

In 1967, a further step was taken when the College became co-educational and the boarding school was phased out. In 1986 it merged with the local Vocational School to form the current Community School. At the same time, the convent behind St. Mary’s College was closed and sold to the trustees of the new school. In 1990 the amalgamated schools underwent renovation and is now known as Mountmellick Community School. Some old dormitories were removed or converted for school use and a school gymnasium was built.

In 1971, two new schools were built on the same site on Davitt Road, Mountmellick, replacing both the convent primary school and the boys primary school. The girls school became known as St. Joseph’s Girls National School and the boys’ school as St. Patrick’s Boys Primary School. Until 1971, the boys had attended the convent school until they finished 1 st Class and then continued their education in the boys’ school. This changed when the new schools were opened. The boys then started school in the new St. Patrick,s Boys School. For this reason, three Sisters worked on staff of the boys school. In time, the number was reduced to two and finally one. In 1973, the ‘old schools’ were demolished and the rubble was used as foundation for extended playground in St. Joseph’s GNS – an unbroken chain of significant recycling since 1856!

In July 1992, the establishment of a house in Kirwan Park began a new phase in the history of Presentation Sisters in Mountmellick. For two years this was a house of formation for young sisters. From 1994 to 1999, the house became the Ministries Office (later the Education Office) – a centre for administration and support to many primary and secondary schools in the Northern Province. Since 1999, the present interprovincial Justice community, are responsible for the development of a ministry which supports the congregational thrust towards Justice, Human Rights and Ecology.

In 2004, one hundred and fifty years after foundation, there were thirteen Sisters resident in the town. Three Sisters worked in Primary education, two Sisters in the Community School, three in Kirwan Park and others in a variety of parish based ministries.

In 2008 Ministries included Sisters on Board of Management of Primary and Secondary Schools, Voluntary teaching in Secondary School, Two sisters on Staff of Primary School, Ministry of Prayer – prayer groups, Homework ministry, Church sacristy, Home Visitation and Community Ministry, voluntary housing for the elderly. Sr. Mary Caulfield now (2008) lives in Wolfe Tone Court and initiates many activities for the residents.

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Mountmellick (Laois)

This Presentation Convent is located in Mountmellick, County Laois. 

It was built in 1880. 

Type of Building:

Some communities associated with this building.

Some ancestors associated with these communities

Some buildings associated with these communities, some timeline events associated with this building.

Presentation Convent, Sarsfield Street, TOWNPARKS (TI. BY.), Mountmellick, LAOIS

Survey Data

Categories of Special Interest

Architectural, Artistic

Original Use

Convent/nunnery

1870 - 1900

Coordinates

245504, 207412

Date Recorded

Date Updated

Description

Detached five-bay three-storey convent, c. 1880, on an L-shaped plan with central breakfront having statue over. Extended, c. 1975, with projecting porch and end bays added. Extended, c. 1980, with single-storey garage added to right and conservatory added to rear.

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Laois Presentation convent undergoing renovation

The Presentation convent in Mountmellick. Photo: Denis Byrne

Lynda Kiernan

27 Jan 2020 11:01 AM

Mountmellick’s Presentation Convent is undergoing modernisation work to make it more comfortable for its elderly religious residents.

While many Presentation convents have closed with dwindling numbers of sisters, the Mountmellick building is planned to remain as a home to them.

The 19th century three storey convent is on Sarsfield Street beside St Joseph’s Church.

It has been temporarily vacated by the ten Presentation sisters who live there while the renovation is underway.

Read also: Deaths in Laois - January 27 2020

Sr Mary McDermott and Sr Frances Crowe have responsibility for all of the properties owned by the Presentation sisters in the province.

Sr Mary explained the work to the Leinster Express.

“The outside of the building is staying as it is. We are making it suitable for the elderly sisters who live there,” she said.

The residents are staying in a Carlow convent.

“They are gone to Bagnalstown while it is being refurbished. They will return before the end of 2020,” Sr Mary said.

The work involves subdividing existing rooms on the first and second floors to create 14 ensuite bedrooms.

There will also be fire safety measures added to existing corridors and a renovation of the existing timber sash windows at the back of the convent.

The sisters came to Mountmellick back in 1854.

At that time the town’s Catholic population was poor and oppressed by the “the old spirit of bigotry and Protestant ascendancy”, according to an account on the parish website .

A shot was even fired at a founding nun.

“Because of the prevailing anti-Catholic atmosphere they were seen as a threat. Two men in the grounds of the Sisters’ house deliberately fired a shot at Sr Ignatius who was standing inside a window, narrowly missing her but leaving the window shattered,” it recounts.

“An orange pole and flag was permanently raised opposite the site of the new convent and everyone entering the town had to pass under it,” the parish says.

The convent was built in 1863 on the site of a disused distillery.

It was funded with the help of many small donations from parishioners.

“ Two years elapsed before it could be occupied as there was no money to furnish it. A statue of the Immaculate Conception, placed at the highest point of the convent, caused quite a stir.

“A delegation of the ‘local ascendancy’ brought a petition to Dublin Castle to have the offending statue removed. The petition failed. Angry members then threatened to erect a statue of Queen Elizabeth right opposite – but it didn’t happen,” the website says.

Read also: Laois family in fear after speeding car smashes into their house

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N4507 : presentation convent, mountmellick, taken 8 years ago , near to mountmellick , co laois, ireland.

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Item 70 - Presentation Convent

• Passionists Congregation, St. Patricks Province
• Passionist Congregation missions
• Presentation Convent

Reference code

• 1927-12-28 - 1928-01-01 (Creation)

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Mission information

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This record is part of the list of all the missions preached by the Passionist Fathers in St. Patricks Province (Ireland and Scotland), from 1927 up until 1965. It is just an electronic list with no physical counterpart. It has been made available to aid research into the Passionists.

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All material, unless otherwise indicated is copyright of the Passionist Order. Permission is needed to copy anything from the archive. In addition, the reason for copying must be made clear to the archivist.

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Script of material, language and script notes, physical characteristics and technical requirements, finding aids, generated finding aid, existence and location of originals, existence and location of copies, related units of description, related descriptions, alternative identifier(s), subject access points, place access points.

• Mountmellick

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• Mountmellick

The town of Mountmellick in County Laois in Ireland will forever be linked with Mountmellick embroidery, one of the few needlearts to be native to Ireland. It started in the early 1800’s with a woman named Joanna Carter who ran a local school to teach girls how to embroider. Some authors give credit to the Quakers (Society of Friends) who had established a school in the same town in the late 1700’s. These schoolgirls used their embroidery skills to earn money for their school books. What is known is that in 1816, Joanna received an award at a London exhibition for developing new embroidery stitches which were the basis for the Mountmellick technique.

One of the reasons for the embroidery’s long-term success was due to the local economy and cotton industry. The thread and woven materials were readily available at home. Handwork became a cottage industry after the Great Famine and Cholera outbreak (1845-1852) which really hit the area hard. To help local families make ends meet, Mrs. Millner, a member of the Religious Society of Friends, employed women to stitch Mountmellick adorned items which were sold at ports primarily to folks heading to America.

Most of the techniques we have looked at started with the wealthy and then were picked up by the lower class when supplies became affordable. Mountmellick actually started with the lower income households and moved to the middle-class in the Victorian era. One of the reasons for its success was because it is a very easy technique to learn, even for the young. Also, the large designs allowed for individual creativity in how the stitcher filled in the flowers and leaves. Weldon Publishers authored several books on the topic in the late 1800’s. However, as with most of the needlearts, the need for handmade household linens was reduced with the increase of manufactured goods.

The technique had all but died out by the 1970’s until Sister Teresa Margaret McCarthy was given a doily stitched with white threads on white fabric. She had lived in the Presentation Convent in Mountmellick since 1936 and found only a few of the older nuns remembered how to do the stitches. Sister Teresa Margaret asked questions, looked through records and old trunks trying to re-create the technique used on that fateful doily. Once she figured it out, she began to stitch and teach others. And, as they say……."the rest is history!"

According to Pat Trott in her book, "Beginner’s Guide to Mountmellick Embroidery", pg 6 (1742) it can be recognized by these characteristics:

• It is always white on white.
• There are no drawn threads, open work spaces, or eyelets
• It has contrast: smooth satin stitch against padded and knotted stitchery; and cotton satin fabric; against the more matte cotton embroidery thread.
• The designs are usually fairly large-scale, floral or nature themed.
• There is often a buttonhole edge and a knitted fringe, which helps to carry the weight of the heavy embroidery to the edge of the design, and gives a feeling of balance.

Because of the fabric and thread used, this technique was used to decorate sturdier household goods, such as tablecloths, coverlets, and cushion covers. It was also used for clothing especially christening gowns. Items stitched in this technique were meant to be used. In fact, washing this particular fabric made it shinier and it was easy to boil out any stains.

Cotton sateen is a finely woven fabric where most of the threads are on the surface of the fabric, causing a satin-like texture and sheen. You may be able to find it in quilt stores or home decorating centers. Several sources advise that it will shrink up to 6% and can be machine washed in any temperature.

Traditional Mountmellick embroidery used a matte cotton thread. However, it is getting harder to obtain that type of thread. The goal is to have as much contrast in your thread to your fabric as possible so use a thread with limited sheen. You can reverse it and use a fabric with a matte look and a thread with a sheen, such as pearl cotton. The thread needs to have some weight and dimension to it, so floss is not a good choice. You will want to find cotton threads in varying thicknesses to add to the three-dimensional quality for this technique. A couple of examples would be Overture, a heavy strandable 4-ply cotton (RGOVE-V15) , heavy weight 3/3 cotton thread (usually for filet lace) (LA3-EC) , and Danish Flower Thread if you stitched with multiple strands (DFT-000) .

You should have needles with a sharp point. Chenille needles will be very useful in getting through the heavy duty fabric and have a larger eye than crewel needles. You will want to carry a selection of each to accommodate your different thicknesses of threads. John James has a set of 6 chenille needles in their clever Pebbles container (7043B) . Mary Arden has a set of 6 chenille needles also (7034A)

ADDITIONAL SUPPLIES

It is very important to use a frame or a good hoop to keep your fabric taught. Many stitchers prefer to have a hands-free system because it often takes both hands to guide the needle through the fabric. Click here to see all the hoop and frame choices.

Scissors are important and you need at least two different kinds. Get a good pair of heavy duty dressmaking shears to cut the fabric and a smaller pair of embroidery scissors for the threads. If you are using paper and tape to transfer your patterns, you will want a separate pair of scissors for those tasks. Scissors are a very personal choice. Click here to see all our scissors.

It is always fun to do the research for these newsletters because I continually run across websites that can enhance our stitching knowledge and experience. One great sight is the Embroiderer’s Guild from the United Kingdom. They have many wonderful resources, including an outstanding on-line library of stitches. I have listed some of the most common stitches used in Mountmellick Embroidery and given you the link to the Embroiderer’s Guild resource.

• Buttonhole Stitch
• Chain Stitch
• Coral Stitch
• Cretan Stitch
• French Knots
• Satin Stitch
• Split Stitch
• Stem Stitch

There are a couple of stitches specific to Mountmellick work: the Mountmellick stitch, and the cable plait stitch. The Mountmellick stitch is a line stitch but it is wider than a stem or chain and it has a raised quality. One side of the stitch turns out smooth, while the other has a ridge and looks like small waves. It is hard to explain in writing how to do the stitch. Needle and Thread has a short tutorial that makes it so much easier to understand. (reference link)

Another stitch mentioned in several places is the Mountmellick Thorn Stitch; however, I found very little documentation about the Mountmellick Thorn Stitch. In only one place was a description given, so I have no idea if this is correct or not. They advised that the stitch is essentially a feather stitch with a French knot worked into it. If anyone knows more about this stitch, please let us know and we will include it in a future newsletter.

Great stitch instructions for Mountmellick and other Whitework embroidery are in Contemporary Whitework (1931A) .

A-Z of Whitework Book 1 Surface Embroidery (1659N) has a wonderful series of photographs for the Mountmellick and cable plait stitch.

FINISHING TECHNIQUES

We don’t usually talk about the actual finishing of a piece, however, this technique has a unique finished edge-knitted fringe. The fringe is not knitted directly on the finished piece, but done separately and then attached. It is knitted using three or four threads. You cast on enough for the desired width (not length) of the lace and then knit in a long strip. The stitch width of the lace should be divisible by 3. Then the part I don’t understand is that after all that work, you unravel one edge of the long strip to create the fringe. The A-Z of Whitework Book 1 (1659N) also has a great set of instructions and pictures on how to knit and unravel the edges to create the fringe.

OTHER FORMS OF IRISH EMROIDERY

Carrickmacross Embroidery is a form of lace associated with the town of Carrickmacross in Monaghan County, Ireland. It has its roots in lace that the local rector’s wife brought from her honeymoon in Italy. However, it also evolved into its own distinctive style. This technique did not die out as did other art forms, due in part to a local convent where nuns still teach this needleart. Most of the lace is produced for high-end fashion designers and on commission. For example, the sleeves of Princess Diana’s wedding dress were decorated with Carrickmacross lace.

"Limerick Lace differs from all other Irish Laces in that it was a purely commercial enterprise started by an Englishman, whereas the rest were the outcome of the philanthropy of Irish ladies. In 1829 Charles Walker started a lace industry based on Nottingham lace in Limerick. The industry thrived for many years until the demand for lace fell and the trade nearly died out. It was revived in 1880 by Mrs. Vere O’Brien and the tradition of Limerick Lace continues to this day. The beauty of Limerick Lace is its delicacy and the contrast between the outlines of the design and the filling stitches used." (reference link)

To read more about Irish embroidery and lace techniques check out the Guild of Irish Lacemakers website at: http://irishlace.org/_new/?target=main

We hope these "helpful hints" make your stitching easier and more enjoyable!

For those interested in using this article or others published by Nordic Needle, Inc., please use this copy when referencing the information:

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Presentation Convent, Portlaoise

Sisters from the Presentation Order in Carlow first arrived in Portlaoise in July 1824 at the invitation of Rev. Fr. Nicholas O'Connor.

Rev. Fr. Nicholas O'Connor of Maryborough cordially invited Sisters of the Presentation Order from Carlow to come to the town. Three Sisters arrived, by coach, from Carlow on the 3rd July 1824. By a remarkable act of providence the occupant of the adjoining house, Peter Brennan, had a daughter who wished to join the community. Very little is known about Peter except his remarkable generosity. His daughter, Anna, born and educated in Dublin, did enter the community in the foundation year. �

Her father gave her the house he occupied, the garden and a field that went with it. It was to become part of the nuns' property by her Act of Profession. Anne's uncle, John Power of Harcourt St., had charge of these deeds; an intimation that he was in the legal business. Peter Brennan had already leased the foundation land for the building of the church to Fr. O'Connor in 1822. So the nuns now had the garden that went with the "old infirmary," a field for "the grass of a cow," a vegetable plot and also a site for farmyard stables and a hen-run. This is now the site of the post-primary school, a donation from the community in 1968.

Convent Garden, Portlaoise

Peter Brennan gave his daughter, Anna, who wished to join the Presentation Order, a house and the garden and field that went with it. These consequently became the property of the Order as a result of Anna's Act of Profession.

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Death of Sr Marie (Martina) Walsh, Mountmellick, Laois | Laois Nationalist

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Death of Sr Marie (Martina) Walsh, Mountmellick, Laois

Sr Marie (Martina) Walsh,

Presentation Sisters,

Mountmellick, Laois

Sr Marie (Martina) died peacefully on 17 December at Oakdale Nursing Home, Portarlington. Predeceased by her parents John and Katie her brothers Sean and Fr Flannan, her sister Sr Imelda, her nephew Michael and niece Paula.

Deeply regretted by her brother Fr. Michéal CSS Zambia, her sister Sr. Ita Mercy Sisters Athlone her sister-in-law Peggy, her nephews Flannan and John, niece-in-law Marina, nephew-in-law Terry Mc Govern, grand nieces, grand-nephews extended family and her Presentation Sisters, past pupils and many friends.

Reposing at Presentation Convent Mountmellick on Tuesday from 2pm – 5.45pm.

Removal to St.Joseph’s Church Mountmellick for Evening Prayer at 6pm. Requiem Mass on Wednesday at 11am followed by burial in the Presentation Plot Killina, Rahan Co. Offaly.

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Story of cities #8: St Petersburg – is the 'city built on bones' starting to crumble?

Built on a swamp at the cost of thousands of lives, Peter the Great’s ‘antidote to Moscow’ has survived uprisings, sieges and floods to become Europe’s third largest city. But is history now catching up with St Petersburg?

On 16 May 1703, while looking over sparse marshlands near the mouth of the Baltic Sea that he had taken from the Swedes, Tsar Peter the Great cut two strips of turf from Hare’s Island on the Neva river, laid them in a cross and declared: “Let there be a city here.” As he spoke, an eagle appeared overhead in an auspicious omen.

Or at least that’s the myth of St Petersburg’s founding. In reality, Peter the Great wasn’t even there, and most likely neither was the eagle. It was a group of soldiers under the command of his friend, General Alexander Menshikov, who began building what would become the Peter and Paul Fortress on Hare’s Island in May 1703. The tsar only arrived the following month.

But although untrue, this myth perfectly encapsulates the origins of St Petersburg. Built on an inhospitable swamp at the cost of thousands of lives, it was brought into being through the iron will of Peter, who needed a warm-water port and a fortress against the Swedes. Moreover, it was to be his “window to Europe”: a new capital where Peter’s western-inspired reforms of the military, bureaucracy and national culture would take hold.

St Petersburg survived its adverse beginnings and then a revolution, a catastrophic siege in the second world war and seven decades of communist rule, to become the third largest city in Europe. Now, however, it faces the twin challenge of preserving its past while solving quality-of-life problems to ensure its future.

“It’s the classic question of how to preserve and develop at the same time,” says Svyatoslav Murunov, an urbanist based in the city. “The historic centre of St Petersburg is mummified. It’s not developing and it’s even deteriorating; it has viruses like commercial advertising and high-rise construction that ruin the view.”

The establishment of St Petersburg is a story that has been both celebrated and deplored in Russia, with history books trumpeting the achievement while authors lament its unnatural and bloody creation. Fyodor Dostoyevsky called it the “most abstract and premeditated city in the whole world”, and national poet Alexander Pushkin both eulogised and condemned it in his famous work The Bronze Horseman , which describes the disastrous flood of 1824 and the bronze statue of Peter that stands on Senate Square.

Starting with the construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress, Peter dragooned thousands of conscripts, convicts and prisoners of war to erect the city from scratch in a place where snow can fall as early as September and as late as May. Tree trunks had to be sunk into the swampy ground before it could support structures.

Living in ramshackle quarters and working with inadequate tools – often digging by hand and carrying the dirt in the front of their shirts – these involuntary labourers died in their thousands, carried off by disease or frequent flooding. As a result, St Petersburg became known as the “city built on bones”.

Antidote to the chaos of Moscow

Peter had got the idea for his reforms and his new capital during his travels through Europe, when he worked for a time in a shipbuilding yard in Amsterdam. Wanting his new city to be similarly based around the sea, he initially forbade bridges, even though a variety of officials and even his own physician died while navigating the treacherous Neva in small boats.

The city plan was based on Amsterdam’s, with straight prospects radiating outward from a centre – in this case, the Admiralty shipyard – and criss-crossed by canals. Peter’s system of artificial canals on Vasilyevsky Island silted up and were eventually made into roads, but the numerous channels on the southern side of the Neva became major aquatic arteries after the city centre was moved there. These canals, now hemmed in by stone embankments, have given the city its nickname: “the Venice of the North”.

Seeking an antidote to Moscow’s chaotic, organic construction, Peter laid down three main rules for his fledgling city: buildings must be constructed next to each other with their faces along a “red line”; streets must be straight, not curved; and everything must be built of stone.

Foreign architects including the German Andreas Schlüter and the Swiss Italian Domenico Trezzini were instrumental in developing the city’s layout, and its distinctively grandiose “Petrine Baroque” architecture. It is this style of building, with its white columns, arched windows and pastel-coloured walls (typically begrimed by the harsh climate) that gives the city much of its atmosphere of picturesque decay.

“[Peter’s] main task was to make Petersburg a real city, because Russian cities at that point where just a pile of buildings, naturally grown,” says the architect Daniyar Yusupov. “Schlüter made a grid city so that a courtyard was within each building – except that there were cows, sheds and other very non-urban things in the courtyards at that time.”

Just as the northern city’s dark and dismal winters give way to its glorious White Nights , when daylight is interrupted by only few hours of twilight, those difficult early days gave way to a flowering of a new state and cultural institutions. In 1712, Peter officially moved Russia’s capital to St Petersburg, and the country’s great aristocratic families soon followed with their own palaces – especially after the emperor banned building in stone everywhere but there.

Perhaps no building better represented the extravagant lifestyles of the new capital and its western-inspired cultural boom than the palace of Russia’s richest family , the Sheremetevs, which is locally known as the Fountain House. Built in the 1740s with a baroque yellow-and-white facade, the inside of the mansion was adorned with European furnishings and works by artists including Raphael, Van Dyck and Rembrandt.

It became a centre of high society, hosting lavish dinners and balls, not to mention concerts, plays and operas performed by the Sheremetevs’ serfs (bonded peasants). The family trained hundreds of them as artists, craftsmen and performers each year, and its theatrical troupe was the foremost in the nation.

Alongside the luxury of the imperial court and nobles’ palaces, however, the working classes laboured in poverty – a situation that spiralled out of control around the turn of the 20th century, as industrialisation drew ever more peasants to the capital to work in factories. This time also saw the appearance of the narrow, oddly shaped “well courtyards” that St Petersburg is famous for, as developers tried to squeeze in low-income apartments behind more expensive street-view flats.

According to Alexander Karpov, an urban planning expert and advisor to the St Petersburg legislature, the “urban planning mistake” of chaotic new construction was a direct cause of the October Revolution in 1917 , when Bolshevik forces captured the Winter Palace and established the world’s first socialist state. “The city couldn’t create conditions of life for the huge crowd of people, and they weren’t able to adapt socially or economically,” Karpov says. “These people made up the critical mass that then exploded.”

Urban planning mistakes continue to plague the city to this day, albeit with less momentous consequences. During the Soviet era, the main change to the city’s landscape, as in most parts of the USSR, was the widespread construction of “micro-districts” : huge standardised blocks of identical flats for 10,000-20,000 people constructed around vital infrastructure, penetrated only by small service roads.

As a result, most residents live in a vast band of “sleeper” neighbourhoods and have to travel through the “grey zone” of under-utilised factories to reach their jobs in the centre, leading to congestion in the underground and on the streets. St Petersburg once had more than 400 miles of tram lines , the largest such network in the world – but many of these have been torn up since the Soviet breakup.

“The density and connectivity of the street network needs to be raised, not in the centre but in the manufacturing belt,” says Karpov. “They’re building the underground very slowly; it’s an embarrassing tempo. Lines for buses, trolleybus and trams would be simpler, but these aren’t being built.”

Meanwhile, the downtown has its own problems, even though the entire historic centre is a Unesco world heritage site . According to the architectural preservation group Lively City, 10 to 15 historic buildings are lost each year, ruined in bad-faith renovations or simply torn down to make way for new-builds. Although St Petersburg passed a law in 2009 protecting “objects of cultural heritage” in the centre, owners can get around this and tear down buildings if they can prove them to be hazardous.

“Buildings are sometimes saved but often it’s a long war, unfortunately,” says Natalya Sivokhina, a Lively City activist. “We protect a building but then they try again to destroy it, or they disfigure it. When we achieve something, usually some business or lobby or interested officials are involved, and it’s hard to get a final victory.”

The authorities have even been found to be complicit in prohibited demolitions. In February, a district court ruled that the city’s preservation committee illegally allowed an investor to tear down the top floor and one wing of an 18th-century mansion on Glinka Street last year, planning to make it into a hotel. The building was once the home of the great admiral Nikolai Mordvinov and is protected as a monument of regional significance.

But the bete noir of local activists is the Lakhta Centre , a new headquarters for the state gas champion Gazprom that is planned to be the tallest building in Europe upon completion in 2018 – in a city with no other skyscrapers. Originally located directly across the Neva river from the governor’s office, the project was moved to the north-west outskirts after a public outcry .

Many activists still see this as a defeat, since the Gazprom tower will nonetheless alter the skyline that is visible from the promenades that line every river and canal. The “panorama” is greatly treasured in St Petersburg: the city’s layout, in both the imperial- and Soviet-era districts, includes many astoundingly long lines of sight. Standing on the highway at Pulkovo airport on the southern edge of the city, it is possible to see the spire of the cathedral in the Peter and Paul Fortress, more than 10 miles away.

“The whole city is built on these themes,” Karpov says. “It’s one of the ways to reflect the imperial concept … The greatness was visible in this concept, in these great orientation points. And this is very deeply rooted. It’s what makes up the genetic code of the city.”

According to local historian and author Lev Lurye, St Petersburg has more than 15,000 buildings that date back before 1914 – and most of them need to be renovated. A city programme to do repair work has moved agonisingly slowly, and flats in historic buildings generally sell for less due to their poor condition. “For sale” and “for rent” signs can often be spotted in windows even on Nevsky Prospect, the city’s main street.

“The factor of capitalisation is not right,” Yusupov says. “They can sell for lots of money just because it’s the city centre – but the quality and social infrastructure don’t match up.”

A smattering of projects have sprung up in recent years to utilise the many empty palaces, merchant houses and other structures downtown. Oligarch and Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich is bankrolling the ambitious redevelopment of New Holland , an island in the centre that currently holds brick naval facilities from the 18th century.

Other entrepreneurs have taken a more low-budget approach, starting cultural centres in old buildings such as the former Smolny bread factory, which now holds Loft Project Etagi : a makeshift honeycomb of gallery space, cafes, hipster stores and a hostel. Taking advantage of a cheap 11-month rental agreement and doing all repairs themselves, the administrators of Taiga Creative Space have transformed a mansion built in 1730 on the Neva embankment into office and retail space for creative-minded businesses, including a second-hand guitar store and a screenprinting studio. Coordinator Daria Kachavina says that many other languishing buildings could be put to similar use, were it not for the reluctance of property owners to rent for less than the market price.

“[Historic buildings] are empty because landlords have gotten used to certain standards. They can’t expand their horizons and think maybe they could rent cheaply to artistic people and then five years later give it to mid-level businesses,” she says.

Besides preserving its historic architecture, St Petersburg has also been slow to improve quality of life, and a controversial plan to reconstruct the city centre was recently cancelled. Lurye says that rather than a grandiose plan, the city simply needs more parks, more public transport and fewer fences between its intricate network of courtyards to encourage more foot traffic.

“The main problem of downtown is an absence of green space,” he says. “We are the least green city in Europe, among the big cities.”

One positive side-effect of the Gazprom tower protests was that they catalysed the formation of a civil society and residents’ involvement in urban planning politics. The ruling United Russia party, which dominates lawmaking bodies in most other regions, has only 20 out of 50 seats in the St Petersburg parliament, meaning the local government is more receptive to residents than in other places.

“We are number one in civil society activity, in terms of projects that are copied in other Russian cities, and these are volunteer projects,” says Krasimir Vransky, founder of the Beautiful Petersburg website and mobile app, which allows residents to file complaints to the city over local problems. Started after Vransky successfully complained about a store illegally selling alcohol in his courtyard, he says the group has solved 30,000 local problems and has now branched out into urban planning research.

Another activist group working to adapt the city for modern living is Velosipedizatsia (“bicyclisation”), which aims to reduce traffic gridlock and crowding on public transport by promoting bicycles – still a relatively infrequent sight on St Petersburg’s high granite sidewalks. Thanks to the group’s lobbying and promotional efforts, the city plans to create more than 20 miles of bicycle routes this year; the first three of 16 planned routes .

For Olga Mnishko, a coordinator at Velosipedizatsia, urban innovations such as bike paths are critical if St Petersburg’s population is to continue to grow and thrive amid Russia’s economic recession. “In Russia this isn’t understood, because in Russia there are two cities that are important: Moscow and St Petersburg,” she says.

“But in the future, I think there will be many cool cities, and if St Petersburg continues to just be a city-museum, no one will come here to live. The city was built in the 18th century – but now it’s the 21st century, and there are different demands being placed on it. We need new values so that people stay here, and don’t move to Copenhagen.”

Does your city have a little-known story that made a major impact on its development? Please share it in the comments below or on Twitter using #storyofcities

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St. Petersburg City Council approves ‘reparations’ to address structural racism

• Colleen Wright Times staff

ST. PETERSBURG — A majority of St. Petersburg City Council members voted this week to create a program of reparations to address decades of structural racism that they acknowledged lingers in the Sunshine City and leads to disparate lived experiences for Black and white residents.

Those reparations would not come in the form of payments to individuals or families. Rather, they would come through investment in affordable housing, educational programs, economic development and other efforts aimed at ensuring Black residents enjoy the same opportunities and benefits of their white neighbors.

Council members voted to accept a report that identified and examined systemic racism affecting all aspects of living in St. Petersburg, from housing and health care, to the legal system and employment opportunities. It recommended that the council initiate “action steps to provide reparations.”

Some of those involved in the study commissioned by the city said they didn’t need to open a history book or examine data. They had lived it, and continue to live it.

Beyond its program of reparations, the report offered a series of recommendations both concrete and symbolic.

“With the recommendations before you and the resolution, there’s pain on those pages,” Nikki Gaskin-Capehart, the city’s director of urban affairs, who helped present the study’s findings on Thursday.

The $50,000 study was commissioned in May and conducted by the University of South Florida. Its recommendations include acknowledging the historical and modern-day impact that structural racism has had on the lives of Black residents, creating an equity department in the mayor’s office and creating a permanent resident race equity board.

“This presentation is not just another PowerPoint,” said Ruthmae Sears, the study’s lead investigator. “It is a summary of the lived experiences of the community of people of color. The community asks that the City Council take action and catalyze long overdue systemic change.”

Some in the audience celebrated the vote in the halls, their cheers echoing in the council chambers.

Council member Robert Blackmon asked for details about reparations, specifically how that would be defined and what dollar amount would be attached. He questioned how the city could implement creating an equity office after two charter amendments — one that would have created a chief equity officer position and another that would have set aside designated funding to support that new role — were voted down last month in the city election.

Council chairperson Ed Montanari asked how the council could legally implement reparations. He said he had a problem with the “fundamental fairness” of someone moving to the city and having to pay for the mistakes of someone from before they were even born.

Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin said the reparations language was left open intentionally. City attorney Jackie Kovilaritch explained that no specific project or expenditure was up for approval but they are in the planning process and will be evaluated by the city’s legal department before being presented to council members.

Montanari and Blackmon, along with council member Gina Driscoll, voted no. Driscoll said that she hoped to get more information on how present-day policies are racist so those could be addressed, and that the city already has current programs in place to right the wrongs of the past.

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“It sounds like some of this work has already started, it’s just that we’re not calling it that,” she said.

Council member Brandi Gabbard said the council must acknowledge past board decisions and “sins of the past.”

“I don’t see fear,” she said. “What I see is opportunity to do better.”

Meanwhile, Lisa Wheeler-Bowman, who recounted her uncles taking her to the fair as a child and fearing for her safety, said it was important for the city to learn about its history in order to move forward.

“You know, everybody always says that they want to make things right,” she said. “And I’m going to say, how long do we have to wait? We have been waiting. Voting for the structural racism study, voting for this resolution, is the step in the right direction.”

St. Petersburg Reporter

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Housing Initiatives

ALERT : A press release was distributed after the St. Petersburg City Council meeting held on March 23, 2023. Read more about the meeting, here .

NTM-1 Map Amendment

Project overview.

The City of St. Petersburg is initiating a rezoning of qualified properties to NTM-1 (Neighborhood Traditional Mixed Residential) along qualified Future Major Streets. Under this proposed change, single-family houses may expand to include accessory dwelling units (e.g. garage apartments) or be redeveloped up to a maximum of four (4) residential units. These units may be developed as rental apartments, townhouses, or condominiums. Letter of Introduction: Detailed Description

Past Meetings

• 2023-03-23: City Council 2nd Reading and Adoption Hearing / Video , Presentation , Staff Report (Starts page 291)
• 2023-03-02: City Council 1st Reading and 1st Public Hearing / Video , Presentation , Staff Report (Starts page 275)
• 2023-02-14: CPPC Public Hearing, City Hall / Video , Staff Report
• 2023-02-01: DRC Public Hearing; City Hall / Video , Staff Report
• 2023-01-12: DRC Information Workshop; Virtual Meeting, Link: https://zoom.us/j/93416564594
• 2022-12-13: CPPC Information Workshop
• 2022, 11-16: Virtual Workshop / Recorded Video , Password &N6TPR&?
• 2022, 11-15: In-Person Workshop, Roberts Recreation Center
• 2022, 11-15: Virtual Workshop / Recorded Video , Password bPS#c2ZY
• 2022, 11-14: In-Person Workshop, Childs Park Recreation Center / Presentation
• 2022, 05-26: Committee of the Whole / Video
• 2022, 02-24: Committee of the Whole / Video , Presentation (Starts page 32)
• 2021, 12-16: Housing, Land Use, Transportation Cmte / Video , Presentation (Starts page 11)
• 2021, 10-14: Housing, Land Use, Transportation Cmte / Video , Presentation (Starts page 10)
• St. Petersburg Comprehensive Plan
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Development process changing for Live Local Act

While Senate Bill 102 – known as the Live Local Act – increases state affordable housing funding, it also strips regulatory powers from city and county governments.

At the July 27 Committee of the Whole meeting, St. Petersburg City Council members heard how the recently enacted legislation will impact affordable housing initiatives. It eliminates public hearings and places approval authority in the hands of administrators, who must strictly follow state standards.

After the update, council members brainstormed potential solutions to circumvent land use, height and density regulation preemptions. City attorney Michael Dema concluded the discussion by suggesting they “manage expectations.”

“I’m just wondering how do we turn this into a good thing that keeps St. Pete special,” said Councilmember Gina Driscoll. “But work to our advantage in increasing the housing supply, which we all know is very much needed.”

Amy Foster, housing and neighborhood services administrator, said $811 million spread throughout the state would not significantly increase local housing funding. Screengrab.

SB 102 states that municipalities must authorize any multifamily and mixed-use developments in commercial, industrial or mixed zoning areas if 40% of the residential units are affordable for 30 years. Local leaders must also provide the highest allowable density in that area.

In addition, administrators must permit the maximum height for a commercial or residential property within one mile of a proposed development. Corey Malyszka, zoning official manager, said that would allow a developer to build a 300-foot tower, or 25 to 30 stories, within a mile radius of downtown.

Driscoll noted that the area extends to the historic Old Northeast neighborhood to the north and the northern tip of Coquina Key to the south.

“To say you can build a 300-foot building on 4 th Street North next to someone’s house is kind of scary,” Malyszka said. “We can also look at compatibility standards and design standards, as well as parking standards.”

Dema told the council that administrators could still apply criteria regarding stormwater, traffic, ingress, egress and any restrictions not encompassing land use, height and density. However, Councilmember Ed Montanari recalled the recent approval of a project with no onsite parking and called that aspect worrisome.

The Live Local Act amends language from House Bill 1339, which allows affordable housing in otherwise impermissible areas. City officials received statewide acclaim for becoming the first to implement the legislation in 2021.

Amy Foster, housing and neighborhood services administrator, said HB1339 allowed the highly debated Palm Lake Christian Church development to move forward in March. SB102 eliminates those residential zoning allowances.

Foster said the previously approved project would continue as the council approved it before the new legislation. While the Live Local Act’s 40% affordable unit threshold improves upon HB 1339’s 30%, it reduces area median income (AMI) restrictions.

Previously, city officials mandated that developers reserve at least half of the affordable units for those making less than 80% AMI. SB 102 only requires a 120% limit – or roughly a $73,000 annual income for a one-person household.

“We don’t want developers to just take advantage of these changes provided by Senate Bill 102,” Foster said. “We’re excited about some of these things, but we still want to get those lower-income units.

“I will tell you that developers are reaching out to us right now. We’re holding people at the door …”

A graphic showing how the Live Local Act extends height allowances for developments with 40% of units capped at 120% of the area median income. Screengrab.

New income restriction concerns emerged at the July 21 discussion on the former Raytheon site’s redevelopment . However, SB 102 also eliminated those extensive public hearings to streamline the approval process.

Montanari noted that the meetings allowed residents to voice their opinions on housing developments and interact with elected officials. Chair Brandi Gabbard would like to see a new public notification procedure.

Multiple council members favored implementing an appeal process requiring developers to go before the city council for small infractions, like an improperly placed dumpster. Dema warned that the bill only requires administrative approval.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve thought about this,” he added. “We’re going to consider that and look at it – I just think it’s an uphill battle …”

City attorneys and administrators will consider the council’s feedback and present proposed ordinance changes at a future meeting.

John Burlew

August 1, 2023at4:44 am

City officials took the developers side and failed low income families by taking away the rule of at least half of the affordable units for those making less than 80% AMI.

Previously, city officials mandated that developers reserve at least half of the affordable units for those making less than 80% AMI. SB 102 only requires a 120% limit – or roughly a $73,000 annual income for a one-person household.

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