Sr. Ethel Normoyle was born in Lissycasey in Co. Clare in 1944. In 1963 she joined the Little Company of Mary, where she trained as a nurse and in 1972 went to work in Pretoria, South Africa. This mission was during the height of apartheid, the official system of race segregation where the colour of one’s skin defined his or her human rights. Sr. Ethel, a young, white, Irish woman living in a black township challenged this system of oppression and discrimination, by providing education for young black youths. As a result, she was harassed, beaten and arrested by police and experienced an attempted kidnapping. She then moved to Eastern Cape and in 1988 founded the Missionvale Care Centre, to ensure quality care and support to improve the lives of the people of Missionvale township. 

The Centre has now evolved into a fully integrated community centre that includes pre-primary and primary schools for over 60 children, whilst being home to some 500 orphans and vulnerable children. Sr. Ethel also established a nutrition centre for impoverished families and expanded the centre to include a clothing warehouse to support those most in need. Later she established a community garden, vocational training, adult education programmes, a community gathering space, administrative assistance to those qualifying for State support and transport to various State offices to ensure equal access. Each Christmas, the Centre ensures that over 5,000 young people receive a gift during the festive season.

Among many other awards and recognitions, in 1996 Sr. Ethel received the Tipperary Peace Award and in 2008 was invited as an Eminent Person to the State of the Nation Address in Parliament in South Africa. She was also honoured by former President of South Africa, Kgalema Motlanthe with the Order of the Grand Counsellor of the ‘Baobab Silver’, one of the country’s top awards, for her service to society.

Following a diagnosis of lung cancer,  Sr. Ethel returned to Ireland to receive palliative care and passed away in 2021.

“I will never forget the day that our beloved Nelson Mandela took the presidential oath in parliament. I jumped from my chair as I watched it on television and said to myself ‘this is a point of reference that we will never go back to where we’ve come from’. It was worth fighting for”.

The Little Company of Mary sisters live and work in Ireland, South Africa and Zimbabwe and support many other charities in Ireland and across the world. See: lcm.ie/international-missions

Missionvale Care Centre: missionvaleireland.org
The Angel of Missionvale: The Angel of Missionvale Video

‘Sr. Stan’ as we all know her, was born Treasa Kennedy in 1939, near Lispole on the Dingle Peninsula. Determined to work with the poor and disadvantaged, she joined the Religious Sisters of Charity when she was 18 years old. Working initially in Kilkenny, she helped establish Kilkenny Social Services and co-founded the National Federation of Youth Clubs, CARE and the School of Education in Kilkenny in the 1970s. In 1997 she was appointed to the Council of State and served on it until 2004.

Sr. Stan has worked tirelessly for many years responding to the realities of homelessness in Ireland and in 1985, she founded Focus Point – now Focus Ireland – to support and advocate for homelessness across the State. As a result of the injustice and inequality in Ireland towards some refugees and asylum seekers, she established the Immigrant Council of Ireland in 2001 to promote and support the rights of immigrants. Sr. Stan has pioneered many other initiatives including 'Social Innovations Ireland' which she set-up in 2001 out of which grew the 'Young Social Innovators of the Year'. Recognising the need for ‘safe and quiet spaces’ for people to reflect and take time out from life’s everyday challenges, Sr. Stan established “The Sanctuary” a meditation/spirituality centre in the heart of Dublin city centre.

Sr. Stan has been outspoken on many issues, including her support for marriage equality in Ireland, for which she was reprimanded by the Vatican. She received Honorary Doctorates from Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin and the Open University, as well as a Special Honour for commitment to the disadvantaged in Ireland from the University of New York. Sr. Stan received the Meteor Awards prestigious 'Humanitarian of the Year' award in 2004 and an Honorary Degree of Doctor of the Open University in 2005. At 84 years of age, Sr. Stan continues to support and advocate for the rights of the homeless, refugees and asylum seekers and to encourage mindful living. See: srstan.ie

Since its foundation in 1815, the Religious Sisters of Charity have supported those living in poverty, the homeless, the sick, prisoners, refugee and asylum seekers, campaigned against human trafficking and advocated for ecological sustainability. The sisters have done this throughout Ireland, Australia, UK, US, Nigeria, Zambia and Malawi. See: rsccaritas.com

Joyce Robarts was born in India and later moved to Ireland after being professed as a Sister of Christian Education. In October 1957 she became Principal of the newly established Our Lady’s Boarding School in Rathnew, County Wicklow. Sr. Joyce viewed education as a human right for all and encouraged a broad education that was focused on social justice, empowering students, sisters and teachers to: “Make this world a better place because you are in it”.

In the late 1960s, Sr. Joyce became an active team member of the National Curriculum Development Unit (CDU) of the Department of Education, working with others, to initiate educational programmes that responded to a modernising Irish society. At the same time, Joyce began working with the Irish Traveller community providing classes for young Traveller children and collaborating with others to explore ways to improve and support the education and social conditions of Travellers. She travelled weekly to Bray to provide classes and inspired other sisters and senior students in Our Lady’s School to join her.

In 1974, Sr. Joyce became the Principal of Our Lady’s School in Terenure, Dublin.  Still working with the CDU, she supported the innovative Transition Year Programme (TY), which was in its final stage of completion.  She encouraged staff and parents of Our Lady’s School to introduce TY as a pilot scheme for fourth-year students and become one of the first schools to offer TY to pupils who wished to avail of an extra, innovative year before starting their Leaving Certificate studies.  While Principal in Terenure, Sr. Joyce continued to work with Traveller communities, inspiring many of the students at Our Lady’s, to work for social justice and to speak out against injustice.

When Sr. Joyce reached retirement age, she worked full-time with the Traveller community.  In 1980 she supported the establishment of a new day centre to support Traveller children with addictions, and later a night shelter in Rathmines, where she was the only full-time resident. Later, Sr. Joyce travelled to Sicuani near Cusco in Peru to work with prisoners, the sick in hospitals and in their homes. There she also worked with children with physical disabilities who were often rejected by their families, advocating tirelessly for the government to recognise and support them.

In April 1986 Sr. Joyce returned to Ireland for what she thought was a holiday and an opportunity to share more widely about her work and seek support. Unfortunately, she was admitted to hospital and after a difficult illness she died on 14th June 1986.

Sr. Miriam, a native of County Limerick Ireland entered the Franciscan Missionaries for Africa religious order in 1956. She graduated from University College Cork (UCC) with a degree in Medicine in 1964. Miriam studied Obstetrics in Birmingham UK, receiving her Membership of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (MRCOG) in 1969 and received a Fellowship in Obstetrics & Gynaecology (FRCOG) in 1982. In 1969, Miriam moved to Uganda in East Africa and was one of the first qualified obstetricians in the country. She spent the next 30 years working at St Francis Hospital Nsambya in the capital city of Kampala. As a newly qualified medic in Uganda, Miriam faced many challenges due to limited medical supplies, precarious power sources and unfamiliar medical conditions, illnesses and viruses. As the only referral hospital, she was responsible for complicated obstetric cases during a time when Uganda was experiencing civil war. During her time, Miriam was instrumental in training midwives and doctors in Uganda and was able to hand over the running of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology to a Ugandan doctor whom she had mentored.

Responding to the HIV and AIDS pandemic Sr. Miriam supported the establishment of local clinics and mobile home-based care programmes, to care for patients with HIV and AIDS and the rising number of ‘AIDS-orphans’ as a result of the pandemic. In 1993, she founded Youth Alive to support young people in making responsible choices and provide support programmes to help prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS. The Youth Alive programme continues today and has been extended to 21 African countries. In 1998 Miriam was relocated to Kenya, where she continued to establish care and prevention programmes.

Sr Miriam was Superior of her congregation for 12 years and Chairperson of the Irish Missionary Union. Since her retirement from the medical profession, Sr. Miriam has been working with Hands of Care & Hope based in Kariobangi and Huruma, low-income settlements in Nairobi Kenya, supporting marginalised children, out-of-school youth and those living with HIV.

Miriam has received many awards for her work. In 2006 she was honoured by Harvard University, the Church of Uganda and the Templeton Foundation for her pioneering work with home-based HIV prevention in 2006. In 2008, she was presented with a recognition award from the President and Parliament of Uganda for her pioneering work in HIV and AIDS. In 2015, she was awarded the Irish Presidential Distinguished Service Award by President Michael D Higgins.

Currently there are FMSA Sisters serving in Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, America, Ireland and Scotland.

Sr. Cyril Mooney was born in Bray, Co. Wicklow in 1936. She joined the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (ibvm), the Loreto Sisters, and in 1956 moved to India, where she worked until her death in 2023. Sr. Cyril is widely known and respected throughout India as a pioneer of quality education and support services for children from poor rural and urban backgrounds.

In 1979 she became principal of the Loreto Day School at Sealdah, Kolkata. During her time there she transformed and expanded the school to ensure access for students from lower-caste and socially deprived backgrounds. Noting the realities of child labour, she advocated for the rights of all children to go to school and exposed the injustices of child labour. She ensured that the children of migrant workers, whose parents worked seasonal jobs in the brick kilns of West Bengal, were able to continue their education through the Brick Field School Project using an open-air truck as a mobile school. Through the Rainbow Program, Sr. Cyril pioneered educational, housing and nutritional support for street children and promoted the programme to other schools across India.

Additionally, Sr. Cyril established the Barefoot Teachers Training Program, to extend educational access and support to young men and women from slums and villages near Kolkata, who lacked basic academic requirements to be admitted to teachers’ colleges and train as teachers. Through the Shikshalaya Prakalpa Programme Coordinated Teacher Training Centres located throughout Kolkota, they trained teachers to provide education to children with no previous access to education. This was supplemented with a mobile library that transported educational reading materials to the teaching centres in the urban slums. Sr Cyril also oversaw the Bhalobasha project, offering housing for older people in need, microcredit programmes, human rights education initiatives and a 24-hour "Childline" telephone service for street-dwelling children in distress.

Sr. Cyril is the recipient of many awards and honours including in 2007 when she was awarded the Padma Shri Award, the Government of India's fourth-highest civilian honour. She has received four honorary doctorates in Ireland, the US, UK and India. She is also the recipient of the Irish Presidential Distinguished Service Award (2013). Sr. Cyril has a PhD in Zoology from the University of Lucknow in India.  Sr. Cyril died on 27 June 2023 after a long illness.

The Loreto Sisters are a global, multi-cultural organisation with a presence on 5 continents across 22 countries. See: ibvm.org

Sr. Consilio was born in 1937 in Brosna, Co. Kerry. She trained as a nurse at the North Infirmary, Cork and in 1959 joined the Sisters of Mercy in Athy, Co. Kildare. She later trained as a midwife at St. Finbarr’s Hospital, Cork. As a young religious Sister, she worked as a nurse in St. Vincent’s Hospital Athy, which at the time was a ‘County Home’. It was during this time that Sr. Consilio encountered homeless men who accessed County Homes as night shelters. She was moved by the struggles that the men were facing and soon recognised that in many cases, their situation was perpetuated as a result of their addiction to alcohol. In response, in 1966 she established Cuan Mhuire in a room in the Convent of Mercy Athy, Co. Kildare, to support those suffering from alcohol addiction.

Cuan Mhuire is centred on the philosophy that each human being is of eternal value, having the potential for wholeness in both human and spiritual terms. This recognises the innate goodness and giftedness of every individual, who walks through its doors.

In response to the increasing demand from people seeking addiction support, Sr Consilio developed the first purpose-built Cuan Mhuire, which was developed in 1972 with support from the men whom she had helped. With the assistance of her brother John, the Cuan Mhuire model was expanded across the island of Ireland with centres in Bruree, Co. Limerick (1977); Newry, Northern Ireland (1984) and Coolarne, Co. Galway (1994), offering detoxification and treatment for those suffering from alcohol and gambling addiction. In 2006, recognising the unique difficulties and challenges that some women experience with drug and alcohol addiction and the need for specialised recovery services, Sr. Consilio established the first female-only Cuan Mhuire treatment Centre in Co. Cork. 

In 2011 Consilio was awarded an honorary MBE by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of her lifelong work in helping individuals and families suffering from alcoholism and other addictions. Subsequently her commitment to humanity was recognised in 2019, when Sr. Consilio was awarded the Oireachtas Human Dignity Award

The eldest of 12 siblings, Mary Martin was born Marie Martin, in 1892 in Glenageary, County Dublin, Ireland. During World War I in 1914, when she was 22 years old, she began a three-month training course at the Richmond Hospital in Dublin as a Voluntary Aid Detachment, preparing to nurse wounded soldiers. A year later she was sent to Malta to work in St. George’s Military Hospital and then to France, to care for the wounded during the horrific Battle of the Somme that lasted for 147 days. It was here that she gained experience in nursing young men with gas gangrene and poisoning and skin diseases like scabies and impetigo. After her 25th birthday, Marie told her boyfriend that marriage was not for her and trained as a midwife at the National Maternity Hospital at Holles Street in Dublin. In 2021, she sailed for Nigeria to work as a lay volunteer.

Marie Martin recognised a dire need for the establishment of a congregation of religious sisters specifically qualified as medical professionals. However, given the restrictions under ‘Propaganda Fide’ in Rome which forbade members of religious orders from practising obstetrics or giving aid in childbirth, this proved difficult. In 1918 Marie was introduced to Frances Moloney, who later co-founded the Missionary Sisters of St. Columban and later Mother Kevin, foundress of the Franciscan Sisters for Africa. Together these three women worked relentlessly to advocate for permission for religious Sisters to pioneer medical care responses for women in China, Niger, Uganda and elsewhere.

Their persistence paid off and in 1936 Pope Pius XI granted permission and the Medical Missionaries of Mary were established. On 4 April 1937, Mary Martin was professed as a nun with the Medical Missionaries of Mary while seriously ill in the hospital in Port Harcourt in southern Nigeria. On medical advice, she returned home to Ireland, where she opened a house for students at Booterstown, County Dublin and a novitiate at Collon, County Louth. Later and in response to local requests, she established a maternity hospital in Drogheda in December 1939, and the International Missionary Training Hospital in 1957.

Mother Mary Martin was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal from the International Red Cross in 1963. In 1966, she was the first woman to be made a ‘freeman’ of Drogheda and was also the first woman to be inducted into the honorary fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland (RCSI). Mother Mary Martin died on January 27, 1975.

Today there are 400 Sisters, who come from 18 different nationalities working in Angola, Brazil, Ethiopia, Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Republic of Benin, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Video: Marie Martin