UCC SONM 25 Year Book

UCC / School of Nursing and Midwifery

Mercy University Hospital Catherine McAuley born in Dublin in 1778 founded the Sisters of Mercy in 1831. She opened a home and School for poor children in Baggot Street, Dublin, along with providing home care services. The Mercy sisters arrived in Cork on 6th July 1837 and focused on home nursing. Their contribution to the health services in Cork is set out in a number of publications including those by Sr. Emmanual Browne (1998); Sr. Angela Bolster (1977, 1978, 1987, 1999) and the Irish Examiner Mercy University Hospital.

During the Crimean War, seven of the fifteen Irish Sisters of Mercy who nursed in military hospitals of Scutari, Koulali and Balaclava were from convents in Cork city and county. The participation of the Irish Sisters of Mercy in the military hospitals of the Crimea under the leadership of Sister M Frances Bridgeman of Kinsale, marks an important era in the history of military nursing.

Mercy University Hospital

The Mercy Hospital Cork was opened on March 17 th 1857. Four Sisters of Mercy were appointed to take charge of the hospital. Mother McAuley’s dream of having a hospital administered entirely by her own sisters in Cork was fulfilled. Extensions and improvements to this hospital and the quality of its service led to its recognition in 1911 as the first Irish Training School for Nursing religious sisters. On the 23 rd January 1912 the training of the Sisters commenced, a development sanctioned by the Senate of Universities of Cork and Dublin. Thirteen years later, in 1923, the Mercy Hospital, in conjunction with the North and South Charitable Infirmaries, were among the first institutions nationwide to receive approval from the General Nursing Council for the training of lay nursing probationers. The Sisters and “young ladies” continued to train together until 1928 after which the demands of the Sisters in Cork from Convents both at home and in the missions became so great that lay student training was discontinued. It was not until December of 1955 that the first group of five lay students recommenced nurse training in the Mercy and the School was formally established in 1979. Since that time a great number of nurses have trained at the Mercy and were proud to call themselves “Mercy Nurses”. It was difficult to obtain a place as a student nurse in the hospital and there were a number of requirements as set out in Appendix A.

In 1987, with the closure of the North Infirmary Hospital, nursing students on a four-year combined General/Paediatric Nurse Training Programme with Crumlin Hospital, Dublin and

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