Mary Stanislaus MacCarthy facts for kids
Sister Mary Stanislaus MacCarthy (1849–1897) was an Irish poet, teacher, and nun. She was the daughter of a famous poet named Denis Florence MacCarthy. Her father wrote under the name "Desmond of The Nation" newspaper.
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About Mary MacCarthy
Mary MacCarthy was born on December 26, 1849, in Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland. She was the oldest of nine children. When she was 10 years old, she started studying at St. Catherine's Dominican Convent in Blackrock.
Mary decided to become a nun. On December 18, 1867, she became a novice, which is like an apprentice nun. In 1869, she joined the community fully. On June 14, 1870, she made her final promises and became Sister Mary Stanislaus of the Order of St. Dominick.
She became an English literature teacher at St. Catherine's. She taught there until she became very sick with typhoid fever in the summer of 1897. Sister Mary Stanislaus passed away at St. Catherine's on August 11, 1897, when she was 47 years old. She had been a nun for almost 30 years.
Her Family and Early Life
Mary's father, Denis Florence MacCarthy, wrote poems for her when she was a baby. One poem, called ‘A valentine: to my daughter “Murillo”, fourteen months old’, was published in 1851.
Her early years were spent at her family's home in Summerfield, Dalkey, County Dublin. Mary showed her talent for poetry when she was young. She wrote a collection of poems called 'Extracts and Translations etc.' These poems included ones about her family and even historical figures like Napoleon Bonaparte.
She looked up to many famous writers and thinkers, such as Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Alfred Tennyson, and Cardinal John Henry Newman.
Her family went through a sad time when several of her sisters and her mother passed away. These experiences deeply affected Mary and influenced some of her poetry. For example, her poem 'A Birthday Book of the Dead' was written in memory of her brother Florence and her sister Ethna.
Mary was part of a family with many writers. Her father was a poet, and her niece Ethna MacCarthy also became a writer. There were three generations of MacCarthy poets in her lifetime!
Her Work as a Nun and Teacher
Poetry
Mary MacCarthy started writing religious poems when she was a young woman. Her first work was likely published in the Irish Monthly magazine in December 1873. She continued to write for this magazine until 1895, often using the pen name S.M.S. She also wrote for other Catholic magazines.
One of her important works was 'Songs of Sion'. This book included a short story about her life and several poems written in memory of others, including two by her father. The Irish Monthly published twenty of her poems while she was alive. After she passed away, they published two more poems anonymously.
Nun and Educator
In 1886, Sister Mary Stanislaus began teaching at the convent's new university department. This department helped young women prepare for important exams from the Royal University of Ireland (RUI). These exams were the first in Ireland that allowed women to earn degrees equal to those of men.
Nuns like MacCarthy at Sion Hill helped change education for girls in Ireland. They encouraged girls to take public exams and helped improve what was taught in schools. Even though they didn't publicly protest for women's educational rights, they quietly pushed for big changes in the classroom.
One of her first students, Katherine Murphy, even got the top score in Ireland on her Bachelor of Arts (BA) exams in 1890! Sister Mary Stanislaus was chosen to be the sub-prioress (a leader) of Sion Hill in 1889 and 1892.
In 1893, she moved to a new community at St. Mary's in Merrion Square, Dublin. She continued teaching English there and was later appointed sub-prioress of St. Mary's in 1896.
Her Passing and Lasting Impact
Sister Mary Stanislaus MacCarthy's funeral was held in the convent chapel at Sion Hill on August 13, 1897. Many clergymen and friends attended. Her grave was covered with flowers from her friends and students. Reverend Matthew Russell wrote a poem in her memory for The Irish Monthly, called "When one within thy convent home would die."
Images for kids
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Sion Hill School Original
