James Grannell (archivist)
As part of the process of letting go of our Motherhouse in Magheramore, we are in the midst of letting go of so many of the possessions we have collected in the last seventy years. Among these is our library which contained books we had collected, grown to love and made great use of since our very early days. As lovers of books, to think of letting go of these books has been a particularly heart wrenching experience for us. Fortunately, we heard that the Parish Priest in Gorey, Fr. William Flynn was considering setting up a parish library and was interested in taking our books.
On a recent visit to Magheramore, Fr. William Flynn and James Grannell (Parish Archivist) told us that a Parish Reading Room had been established by Canon John L. Furlong way back in 1894. To be contributing in some way to following in the footsteps of Canon Furlong here in St. Michael’s is an honour for us. The parish have actually invited us to be part of the tradition started by Canon Furlong and his belief that reading can nourish the mind, elevate the spirit, and enrich the life of the community as a whole. This is indeed a huge honour for us.
James Grannell (archivist), Fr. Tom Curran, (SM.A ), Fr. William Flynn, Sr. Ann Gray & Karen Lanipao (novice)
James told us that in bequeathing our books to St. Micheal’s, we ‘have helped build up the kingdom of God in this place in a way that will endure long into the future’. As Columbans committed to spreading the Good News of the Kingdom of God, especially among those who have not yet received this news, the parish in Gorey are enabling us to continue to do this. They have no idea what a huge gift this is to us. When we leave our place of mission, we all have the experience of leaving a little part of our heart behind. In bequeathing our books to St. Micheal’s, we are leaving in Gorey a little part of the heart of our Congregation and we are extremely grateful to the parish for this opportunity. Since the library has opened to the public in Gorey, James has told us that he is having interesting conversations about Religious and Missionary life. So the Mission continues.
Sr Ann Gray