On 29 June, over 70 men and women gathered in Saint Mary’s Convent on Watermill Road in Raheny, Dublin, to pay tribute to their much-loved and hugely inspirational junior infant teacher, Sister Colette (or Sister Pauline as she is now known), who taught them during the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s.
Sister Colette Mc Mahon is a member of the Order of the Sisters of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God.
Now, some 70 years later, there were many happy memories and anecdotes shared throughout the evening of celebration. As one former pupil recalled the religious processions that were held on the tennis courts throughout the month of May, the gathering burst into a rendition of the well-known Marian hymn May is the Month of Mary.
Former pupils also remembered the time that Sister Colette spent teaching the phonetic alphabet, with this too resulting in a spontaneous recitation of it, by those present. The hours that Sister Colette had spent coaching her pupils and encouraging them to express themselves through elocution lessons and the recitation of poetry took many of them as adults into boardrooms, business, medicine, nursing, the arts, industry, other classrooms and in raising and encouraging children of their own.
Sister Colette’s reputation was that of an extraordinary teacher, a lover of life, a proud and devout Sister of her Order, who spent her professional life teaching and empowering children. Many former pupils had travelled considerable distances to be there on the day with Sister Colette.
By way of acknowledging the influence that Sister Colette has had on their lives, former students made a substantial donation to be used to enhance the experience of four-year-old pupils who are just starting their educational journey in East Africa where the Order of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God work in schools, hospital, and communities in the region.
Sister Colette said that she was hugely appreciative that so many former pupils had made the effort to visit her 60 to 70 years after leaving her class. She was very grateful also for their generosity and assured them that their donation would be used to improve the lives of many four year olds in Kenya and Tanzania.
ENDS
CatholicNews.ie wishes to acknowledge Aoife O’Brien and John McElroy, former students of Sister Colette, who provided the above copy and photograph for publication.
