Book by Offaly woman launched at Farmleigh House
A local historian and teacher from Offaly has published a new book, 'Mount Sackville, One hundred and Sixty Years of Cluny Education' which was launched by Government Minister Jack Chambers at Farmleigh House in Dublin.
The book is the work of Mary Delaney, from Bracknagh in East Offaly, and was written to celebrate 160 years of Cluny education in Mount Sackville, Dublin.
The new publication acknowledges the contribution and achievements of the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny and their dedicated lay staff to education in Ireland. It further acknowledges the generations of students for whom Mount Sackville was a home away from home.
The book has other connections with Offaly too. While Mount Sackville was the first school in Ireland founded by the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny, the order also established a school in Ferbane in 1896.
The arrival of the Sisters and those who followed in their footsteps were to have a significant impact on the community of Ferbane and on the education of generations of young women in the Midlands of Ireland.
Gallen Priory in Ferbane was the main Cluny Novitiate House in Ireland, England and Scotland.
Connections between Mount Sackville and Ferbane continue to this day, and the Current Provincial Superior of the order is Ferbane native Sr Maeve Guinan.
Sr Maeve along with Sr Bridget Moore, also from Ferbane, are currently part of the Cluny Community in Mount Sackville convent.
Mary's book launch by Minister Jack Chambers at Farmeigh House was attended by a large gathering of past-pupils, contributors, Sisters of the Cluny Community, the Principal of Mount Sackville, Mrs Eileen Cuddihy Higgins and members of staff as well as members of Mary’s family and friends.
Mary, who lives in Bracknagh, is a member of the teaching staff in Mount Sackville since 1992 and has done much work to promote Cluny education in Ireland. She had a previous publication on Mount Sackville in 2005 and was co-author of 'A History of Gallen Priory, Ferbane' (2005).
She is also a member of Offaly History Society and did extensive research on the Digby Estate at Geashill. In addition, Mary is the author of 'William Steuart Trench and his management of the Digby Estate, King’s County, 1857-1871' (2012).