Sisters Mary Margaret and Sister Mary Gertrude

So little time and so many mysteries remain unresolved.  “Irish” John Smith kept a travel diary during his trip to Ireland and Scotland.  On page 49 he wrote the following:

Sr. Mary Margaret
Sr. Mary Gertrude
Convent of Mercy
Strabane

On the following page of his journal “Irish” John penciled in the death dates for Hugh McCarville and his son, Terence.  Hugh and Terence McCarville are known relatives.  However, the Sisters’ names on Page 49 are unfamiliar to us.  Were they relatives or were they casual acquaintances John met on his travels?  We will provide you clues to who they were and perhaps you might deduce what these two nuns meant to our ancestor.’  Apparently “Irish” John thought highly of these two sisters to include their names in his travelogue.

Strabane?

Where is Strabane?  There is no town or city listed by that name in the United States; however, we do find this town in listed in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

Convent of Mercy

Mount Mercy Convent is situated in Strabane, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.  The small building near the middle of the photograph below was called Mount Kennedy.  It was the home of Mr. James Kennedy, shirt manufacturer and founder of the Convent of Mercy in 1868.  After Kennedy's death in 1901 the Sisters of Mercy renamed it St. Anne's.  The large church is Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.

The Convent of Mercy in Strabane was founded on June 9, 1868, by Mother Catherine Atkinson from the Mercy Convent in Navan.  Constructed initially as an orphanage and center for educating neglected and abandoned girls; it was later made a convent and boarding school for  girls.  Unfortunately  we do not have a photograph of the two Sisters which “Irish” John listed; however, we do know what their attire looked like.  Below are several nuns who left Strabane for South Africa.  This picture was taken circa 1897.

 

Founder, Father Devlin, and picture of Strabane’s St. Joseph Church.

 

 

1911 Irish Census

This census gives us a clue about these two nuns.  We find both Sister Mary Gertrude Normoyle and Sister Mary Margaret Normoyle.  Both were from County Limerick and their age difference was only 5 years.  So we assume they may have been actual sisters.

 

The Smith family has no genealogical connection to Limerick, so why did “Irish” John have their names in his book?  Perhaps he met them along the way.  One of his cousins, Sister Mary Philomena Greenan, was a Sister in the same order but based out of  New York.  Perhaps that is the connection.  Another possibility is these nuns are related to other relatives in our family line, connection unknown at this time.  Perhaps this is a mystery someone else can solve.