Deelarchief 22 - Enniscorthy Convent Papers

Sr. Mary Francis De Sales Devereux, born Catherine Devereux c.1788 was a native of Leap in Davidstown, County Wexford. One of nine children, she suffered much hardship in her early years. Her father and one of her brothers were killed during the 1798 rebellion while a number of her remaining brothers emigrated to Utica, New York, in the United States. Catherine entered the Presentation Convent in Kilkenny on the 17 November 1814 in order to prepare for a foundation in Wexford. She made her first profession on 8 December 1817 and arrived in Wexford in 1818 with Sr. Mary Baptist (Jane) Frayne to establish the first Presentation Order in the Diocese of Ferns.
At the request of Bishop James Keating, Bishop of Ferns, Sr. Mary Francis De Sales Devereux and Sr. Mary Joseph Rossiter came from the Presentation Convent Wexford in 1826 to establish the first convent of the order in Enniscorthy. As no convent had been built for them, the Bishop allowed the Sisters the use of his own house in Weafer Street (originally New Street) on a temporary basis until such time as a suitable building could be provided. That part of the house, which had been owned by Dr. Pounder, was purchased on their behalf as a result of generous contributions, the agreed rent being £7 per annum. On 18 July 1826 the Bishop, in the tiny chapel of this temporary convent, celebrated the first Mass and Sr. Mary Francis De Sales Devereux was appointed Superioress.
The Sisters opened the first Catholic School in Enniscorthy shortly after their arrival and the increase of pupils during their fourteen years at the Weafer Street premises led to the need for a new convent. On the Feast of St. Aidan 1839, the site of the new convent, on what became known as Nunnery Road, was procured from Dr. Keating, Bishop of Ferns and the foundation stone was laid on 16 April 1839. The contract price for the building was £1,300 while the erection of the enclosure wall cost £250, the cost of both being met by the subscriptions of clergy and laity. On the Feast of the Visitation 1840, Mass was offered and the convent was solemnly blessed by Bishop Keating.
After a number of years of ill health, Mother De Sales Devereux passed away on 5 November 1844. The subsequent years saw numbers within the community increase which in turn necessitated the construction of a new convent chapel. This chapel, built in the Gothic style, was formally dedicated by Bishop Thomas Furlong on All Saints’ Day 1859. In 1869 Superioress Mother Teresa Kennedy secured a site for new schools which were completed in 1872. St. Joseph’s School for Infant Boys was completed in 1881 along with an industrial room. The annals for 1881 state the ‘The schools were much admired and praised for their size, ventilation and excellent arrangements’. (See 22/1/1/3)
However, by the twentieth century it was becoming clear that the available school accommodation was inadequate and that new modern school buildings were required. On 23 June 1960 St. Joseph’s National School was opened by Dr. Bishop Staunton. Funding for its construction was provided through government grants and the new school could accommodate seven hundred and twenty pupils. A large assembly hall was also added to the building. In 1970 the school was further extended through government funding providing accommodation for a further four hundred pupils. In 1987 the first lay principal, Ms. Brigid Bolger, was appointed to the school. Further changes occurred when the Sisters handed control of their school over to the laity of Enniscorthy. In 1994 the Presentation Convent School was amalgamated with the Christian Brother’s school to form St. Aidan’s Primary School.
The following years saw the numbers of vocations fall and the convent itself was in need of substantial repair work. The decision was thus taken to close the convent on 29 July 2001 and the remaining ten Sisters transferred to other convents within the province. The convent building was sold to Enniscorthy Urban District Council and its contents, apart from the marble Altar and the Stations of the Cross, were given to other churches and sold at auction. In 2009 the convent, apart from the chapel, was demolished. Today the chapel, known as The Presentation Centre, is a multi-use arts venue developed and promoted by the Wexford Arts Centre and the Enniscorthy Municipal District and still retains its original features.