Convent revival makes progress

The renovation of the former Sisters of Mercy Convent in Ballina has made huge strides in the last six months and is proving a great example of what a community-led initiative can achieve.

The building was handed over to the Ballina Convent Regeneration charity group by the local chapter of the Sisters of Mercy, who first opened the building in 1867.

Although it has not been used since 2008, the building has already undergone extensive revival works to arrest the decline it went through in the intervening years. Visiting expert professors from the University of Notre Dame revealed that the roof was bound to collapse within ten years without intervention.

Work has been going on around the clock since the nineteenth-century building was handed over to the community and volunteering efforts have been extensive, so much so that the former convent played host to its first set of events in recent weeks.

The 90th anniversary of Lord Edward Street was celebrated under its rescued roof earlier this month and last Friday it played host to a special and poignant celebration of Mass.

Chairman of the Ballina Convent Regeneration Cllr Mark Duffy said it has been a labour of love for members of the local community.

“It is incredible to think we were able to get events like these in such a short space of time considering how badly the building was damaged,” he said.

“First of all, there was extensive water damage caused by gutters not being cleaned. There was vandalism in the building that caused every window to be boarded up and led to wet rot and dry rot growing because the building was pitch black inside.”

Cllr Duffy said the committee is now on course for a partial re-opening of the ground floor chapel, the oratory and dining room, which will be open and available for community use for events. He said it is a perfect of a community taking charge of a project and making rapid progress.

“When you compare this to other projects in local authority ownership that are sitting idle or moving slowly, this is a great example of when a community is empowered, how great things can come from that,” he said.

“This community project is empowered by the local Sisters of Mercy and it is a great example of what can be done when that faith is given to local communities.”

The Sisters of Mercy Great Convent Revival project is being led by the community in Ballina and has no connection to the nearby St Mary’s Secondary School site, which is now in private ownership.