Sr. Mary O'Driscoll

As we join together for this Eucharist to celebrate the life and death of Sr. Mary we are all quite sad. Not so much at her passing to new and eternal life but to the fact that we hardly got time to say our goodbyes. Her brother, his wife and their family have been desperately trying to contact her in her hospital bed over the past couple of weeks. Very few others with the exception of our communities would even have known she was in hospital.  

Even then we were more than satisfied that the hospital professionals were handling the necessary health care procedures called for, in the best possible way. The daily visits from our community too were satisfying to her and to us. So it came as a great shock when the hospital medical team informed us that her health condition was deteriorating fast. Within the space of less than a couple of days she was gone from us,  leaving us, her family, her friends in Stafford, Scotland and Cork shocked and dumbfounded.  However, it is nice to have with us here today her nephew Bill all the way from the States, good friends from  Scotland,  Mons. John Heslin retired prison Chaplain and a good friend to Mary.  The O’Callaghans from Cork are here with us too and have been very close friends of Mary and her brother Bill over the years. A special thanks to   Sr. Marie Boyle representing our community in Stafford to which  Sr. Mary was attached for the last 16 years of her life. Though Sr. Mary has had a long religious life 62 years in all, very little of it was spent in Ireland. Being a true missionary she went wherever she was sent. Having completed her teaching studies in Glasgow she was on her way to the Gambia in West Africa where she spent 6 years in primary education. Then followed a long sojourn teaching in Scotland. Having retired from formal education with 42 years teaching service to her credit, Mary proceeded to Stafford where for a further 16 years she was involved  doing voluntary work in the prison and the parish. It was in the latter half of 2008 that Mary contemplated returning to Ireland to retire here at Mt. Sackville. It must have been a difficult decision for her to make at the age of 86. Those of us who shared community with her for the short four months she lived with us were delighted to see her settle in so well and to be so happy and we are grateful to have such a lovely memory of her short time with us. However, we can only sense the pain of loss that the Community in Stafford must be experiencing at this time. We thank them for keeping in touch with her during her weeks in hospital and for Sister Marie Boyle representing them here at this celebration. On behalf of Sr. Maeve and our Cluny community we say thanks to all who have come from near and far for this final  gathering. It says a lot of Mary’s capacity, to make and keep friends, over a lifetime of relationships.