Local Mayo history: Mother Lawrence’s rocking horse
By Tom Gillespie
Part Two
THE Sisters of Mercy established a small national school for girls in 1894 beside the convent in Castlebar but soon it became inadequate for the demands on it.
In the mid-1890s this small original St. Angela’s National School, having well served its time, found itself no longer capable of catering for the increased educational demands of the area.
To meet the developing wish of the people for education, the Sisters, in their generosity and wisdom, decided to build a new state-of-the-art national school and in doing so incurred a serious financial outlay which was believed at the time to be around £2,000.
They commissioned architect Mr. Walter G. Doolin to prepare the plans for a new school to accommodate 400 children and engaged the builder Mr. Bryan Lyons.
The foundation stone of the new school was laid by a Bunowen, Louisburgh, native, His Grace Dr. John McEvilly, Archbishop of Tuam, on Monday, September 10, 1894.
The Archbishop remarked that 'Education is advancing. We must go with the times. Our people cannot live uneducated and cannot succeed without the benefit of education’.
The new three-storey building was very impressive both as a structure and as an educational centre. The school opened its doors to its first students on May 31, 1897. Those students who could afford it paid one penny a week - as the school was not recognised by the state authority it got no state financial support.
The new St. Angela’s National School brought immense benefit to the youth of Castlebar and prepared them well for life with the knowledge and skills that enabled many to make a very successful life both at home and in foreign lands.
St. Angela’s was one of the very bright spots of that era, as the mid to late 1800s was a desperately dark period in Irish history, the area having been ravaged by Famine and poverty, with no hospital, no charitable institutions and few if any schools. But, worst of all, there was little prospect of any improvement in living standards and conditions, as the people looked forward in fear and despair from their squared and destitute cabins of Castlebar town and its surroundings without any encouraging sign in sight.
Children arriving at school who were hungry or sick were cared for and nourished by the nuns and they continued to care for their past pupils also by founding a small lace manufacturing facility, which was to be quite famous.
Its lace products sold in the big stores of Dublin and London and much needed earnings were provided as a result of the great benefit of the girls involved and their families.
Margaret Burke-Sheridan, born at the Mall, Castlebar, in October 15, 1893, was enrolled in infants class at St. Angela’s on May 15, 1893. The school roll-book shows her as student number 1,117.
Margaret, with her sister, Hester, attended, as did her infant brother, Patrick, before he transferred to the boys' school at the opposite end of the town.
Margaret Burke-Sheridan first sang in public in the St. Angela’s school concerts and, as we know from history, she later went on to become a world famous opera singer and was recognised as one of the greatest sopranos of all time. Margaret was affectionately known as ‘Maggie from Mayo’.
Anne Chambers, historian, author and biographer of the diva, shared the same street address at the Mall in her home town of Castlebar as Margaret.
Anne recalled with great affection her early years of education at St. Angela’s school, and the innate kindness of her first teacher, Mother Lawrence.
While St. Angela’s was established as a school for girls, it is known that up to the late 1930s and early ‘40s it also catered for boys of tender years in their infants class before transferring to St. Patrick’s Boys National School.
The late Bernie Murphy of McHale Road remembered well his older brother Sean, later Fr. Sean, attending there on his first year at school.
Bernie said there was exciting talk among all the little lads at the time about the lovely rocking horse Sr. Lawrence had tucked away in a corner of the classroom and how it was every boy’s joy when they got their turn on the rocking horse.
Bernie also remembered that each year on the occasion of First Communion the boys class were invited to St. Angela’s for a celebration party given by the nuns.
The public entrance to St. Angela’s was through a double door (pictured), with steps from the main convent ground side of the buildings, which is the back of the building as it is known today. The present entrance is on the town side of the building onto the Castle Street car park.
The passage of time brought massive changes, albeit that this change came painfully slow until 1924 as a complete reversal of fortunes occurred when the Sisters of Mercy purchased the big house and demesne from Colonel George Charles Bingham, the 5th Earl of Lucan, who was grandson off the 3rd Earl, the man who had originally refused any space or comfort to the Sisters of Mercy back in 1845.
In the mid-1960s this old three-storey St. Angela’s was replaced by a new modern national school at the lawn of the old demesne.
1973 saw the Sisters of Mercy bring this old building back into community service, this time as a voluntary social services centre.
Concluded