Agnes Morrogh Bernard aka Sister Mary Joseph Arsenius (24 February 1842 – 20 April 1932) was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

nun who founded two convents, and a woollen mill in

Foxford Foxford () is a village 16 km south of Ballina in County Mayo, Ireland. It stands on the N26 national primary route from Swinford to Ballina and has a railway station served by trains between Manulla Junction and Ballina. Foxford lie ...

, Ireland.

Life

Bernard was born in Cheltenham on 24 February 1842 to John and Frances Mary Morrogh. In 1849, her parents inherited an estate in County Kerry and as a result the family changed their names to Bernard. They were then living in Cork but she and her parents moved to Shehersee House on the Bernard's new estate. In 1854, she undertook formal education at Laurel Hill convent in Limerick. She was there for three years and after a year with her parents she went to Paris to complete her education at the

Convent of Dames Anglaises A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican C ...

where she chose a religious life. She became a novice at the

Religious Sisters of Charity The Religious Sisters of Charity or Irish Sisters of Charity is a Roman Catholic religious institute founded by Mary Aikenhead in Ireland on 15 January 1815. Its motto is ('The love Christ urges us on'; ). The institute has its headquarters in Dub ...

convent in Dublin when she was 21. In 1863, she took the name Sister Mary Joseph Arsenius and professed in 1866. She was initially involved in teaching but then moved on to managerial and administration. In 1877, a new convent opened in

Ballaghaderreen Ballaghaderreen () is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It was part of County Mayo prior to 1898. It is located just off the N5 National primary road. The population was 1,808 in the 2016 census. History As of 1837, the town was recor ...

in County Mayo and Bernard was chosen as Reverend Mother. The convent expanded in 1879 to create a national school and in 1866 an industrial school.

Foxford

Moving on from Ballaghaderreen, Bernard went to

on 9 December 1890. She opened another convent in 1891 and took over a national school in the poor town. Bernard obtained £7,000 in funding and opened the Providence Woollen Mill in Foxford in 1892 using power from the

River Moy The River Moy () is a river in the northwest of Ireland. Name Ptolemy's ''Geography'' (2nd century AD) described a river called Λιβνιου (''Libniu'', perhaps from *''lei''- "flow") which probably referred to the River Moy. The Moy is fi ...

. Vawn Corrigan reports that she was known to be progressive and non-sectarian in her approach while enabled her to get support from skilled Presbyterian sources. Foxford Woollen Mills - geograph

Bernard's management and results attracted further funding and the Mill undertook training of their own workers and in time training in other skills pertinent to the local activities. Bernard's organisation instilled new methods of breeding poultry, farming and gardening. In 1897 she created the Brass and Reed Band which was still running in 2014.Agnes Morrogh Bernard
Towns Villages, Retrieved 6 June 2017 Bernard tried to avoid politics but she did get involved when Charles Stewart Parnell fell from power and there was disagreements between her workers and the parish priest. She also got involved when some of her workers were victimised by the

Black and Tans Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have ...

in 1921. Bernard was able to get the soldiers disciplined. Bernard supported the revival of Gaelic culture and language as she had arranged earlier the building of cottages for workers. She herself organised cart roads to give access to 118 houses. In 1898, Mother Mary Arsenius undertook the task of building roads in the area; through her scheme cart roads were built to the doors of 118 houses. In addition, she encouraged the local authorities to build labourers' cottages. She was also interested in the social and cultural life of the area, and supported the efforts of the Gaelic League to revive Irish language and culture. She died at her convent on 20 April 1932 and was buried there three days later.D. Gildea, Mother Mary Arsenius of Foxford (1936) · M. B. Butler, A candle was lit: the life of Mother Mary Aikenhead (1953) · J. A. Glynn, ‘Irish convent industries’, New Ireland Review, 1 (1894)

Legacy

The Foxford Woollen Mills are still in business and date their founding to Sister Mary Joseph Arsenius.Our Story
Foxford Mill, Retrieved 4 June 2017

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, Agnes Morrogh 1842 births 1932 deaths People from Cheltenham 19th-century British Roman Catholic nuns Vincentians 20th-century Irish nuns