Subfonds Special Collection - Nano Nagle Special Collection

Nano Nagle 1718 - 1784
Nano (Honora) Nagle was born, in Ballygriffin, Cork, Ireland in 1718. She was the eldest of a family of seven. She had two brothers, David and Joseph, and four sisters, Mary, Anne, Catherine and Elizabeth. Joseph and Ann were the two who influenced her life most. Ann’s generosity moved her deeply and Joseph’s encouragement and help influenced not only herself but her Sisters after her death.
Nano’s ancestry on her paternal and maternal side was of excellent calibre. Her mother Ann Mathew came from a staunch Tipperary family. Her father Garret, was a less well-known figure. Her uncle Joseph Nagle devoted his legal skill to the guidance of bishops and laity through the welter of legal enactments which was always over their heads. He was a man of considerable wealth and his generous legacy came at a crucial time in Nano’s life. She was related to Richard Boyle, first Earl of Cork, with Elizabeth Lady Thurles, with Father Theobald Mathew, the Pioneer of Temperance, and Edmund Burke, the far-famed orator.
Her home was situated at the foot of the Nagle Mountains beside the river Blackwater. Her early years were spent amid rural beauty. She was high spirited and vivacious, to the alarm of her mother and to the amusement of her father. Her parents were responsible for her early education because the Penal Laws forbade a Catholic to teach or be taught. Very little has been recorded of the home life of Nano.
The historical setting which was a backdrop to her life is of paramount importance. Ireland in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, was in the grip of the Penal Laws. However, in- keeping with the custom of the well-to- do families in eighteenth century Ireland, Nano and her sister Ann were sent to Paris for further education in 1728. The Irish colony was numerous in France at that time. Many of Nano’s relatives, who had followed King James 11 into exile, were constant guests of King Louis XV of France.
An incident occurred during her Parisian stay that never fails to fire the imagination. On returning from a ball in the early hours of the morning, Nano’s attention was caught by a little group of people gathered before the yet unopened doors of a church.
The death of her father in 1746 altered the family circumstances in France and in Ireland. Nano, with her sister said goodbye to all that Paris held, and returned to Dublin to their widowed mother.
Nano and her sister were accustomed to visit poor people and distribute alms. The loss of her sister Ann, as well as Ann’s deep love for God’s poor brought about quite a conversion experience within the soul of Nano. Nano was disturbed by the condition of the poor people in Ireland.
She joined a convent in France. She was continuously disturbed by the plight of the poor people in Ireland and on the advice of her confessor returned to Ireland.
Back to Cork, in 1754, she came at the invitation of her brother Joseph and his wife Frances. She lived with them in Cove Lane, keeping in her heart her plans for the poor children. True to character the beginning was quiet and unostentatious. In Cove Lane – now called Douglas Street – she rented a little cabin. The work proceeded unnoticed even by her brother Joseph for several months.
In this initial period from the opening of her first school in 1754 until 1771, a period of seventeen years, in single-minded dedication her daily attention was given to her schools and the expansion of her work for the poor. Now, also administration of her Uncle Joseph’s estate gave her great financial assistance, so she could forge ahead. By 1769 she was engaged in seven schools which were at both sides of the city, five for girls and two for boys. The time- table was like the little schools in France. Nano visited the schools every day, where she taught religion herself. Nano did not emphasise only the religious education of the children, she was conscious of the total education of the children. Through her practical common -sense, she saw that by undertaking the education of poor children she was going to the root of many evils, her zeal for Christ opened further fields in the apostolate to the aged, the sick, and the dying. Her path homewards from her schools in the North Parish led to a network of narrow lanes that lay near the North Gate Bridge. She entered those narrow ways to tend to the sick and the dying and to speak words of comfort.
In prayer, her spirit grew so strong and brave that later she could face trials and disappointments with undaunted equanimity. The contemplative aspect of Nano’s life lay in her deep devotion to the Sacred Heart, the Passion and the Blessed Sacrament. Nano’s devotion to the Blessed Sacrament led her to spend many hours in silent adoration. When her financial resources became depleted, she resorted to begging. To secure a more permanent basis for the continuation of her schools she thought of enlisting the help of others – preferably a religious congregation.
She sent four Irish girls to France to an Ursuline novitiate and built a convent for them in Cork. They arrived on 9 May 1771. Discovering that the Ursulines did not give full scope to her work, Nano decided to separate from them. The Ursulines being an enclosed Order could not minister to Nano’s poor schools which were located outside the convent grounds. This caused her untold grief.
Despite formidable opposition, she clung to her ideal. It was the ever- increasing love for the poor that inspired the next step that had such far-reaching effects. She encountered opposition to her foundation, but Nano was determined to forge ahead convinced that she was doing the Lord’s will. Two of her helpers, whom she had trained herself, Miss Elizabeth Burke and Miss Mary Fouhy, were invited to share her poor residence in Cove Lane. With two companions, she waited an entire year before another helper joined them, and then the great moment came. With the arrival of Miss Mary Ann Collins on 24 December 1775, Nano’s arrangements were complete, the Presentation Order was founded. Spiritual and corporal works of mercy and instruction of the poor children were the main aims of the new Society.
Her boundary was any part of the world as she said: ‘If I could be of service in saving souls in any part of the globe, I would willingly do all in my power’.”
With a view to more ample accommodation, she planned to replace the wretched cabin by a bigger house. Then her erstwhile champion Dr Moylan took alarm and offence. Nano withstood his objections by saying that she would move to another part of Ireland to continue her work. Nano named her foundation the Sisters of the Charitable Instruction of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. On 24 June 1777, they took their religious vows. Nano took the name of St. John of God.
By 1783 the Sisters were familiar figures in the streets of Cork as they passed on their way to the schools and on visitation of the sick. In 1783, Nano established the Alms-house for the “aged and destitute women”.
During the winter of 1783- 1784 Nano’s indifference to inclement weather began to take a heavy toll. By 1784, the evening of her life was approaching. She handed over the care of the community to Sr. Angela Collins. Nano Nagle died on 26 April 1784, aged sixty-five years.