Sister Aloysius McVeigh, R.S.M., (April 10, 1923 – December 25, 2008) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

artist, iconographer and teacher. She was from

Dungiven Dungiven () is a small town, townland and civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is near the main A6 Belfast to Derry road, which bypasses the town. It lies where the rivers Roe, Owenreagh and Owenbeg meet at the foot of the B ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Bridie entered the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...

convent in Derry in 1940, taking the religious name Aloysius in 1943. She taught art in several schools in the city. She was most noted for the 20 years she taught at

St Mary's College, Derry St. Mary's College, opened in 1959, is an all-girls Catholic-maintained secondary school and Specialist Science School located in Derry, Northern Ireland. It attracts pupils from a wide catchment area, with an enrolment of nearly one thous ...

. Initially this was an art teacher and then subsequently as principal. After studying painting and obtaining an Master of Fine Arts degree in 1980 from the

Yale School of Art The Yale School of Art is the art school of Yale University. Founded in 1869 as the first professional fine arts school in the United States, it grants Masters of Fine Arts degrees to students completing a two-year course in graphic design, painti ...

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, she returned to Belfast, where she taught art at St Mary's University College. Sr. Aloysius was a founding member of the Association of Irish Iconographers. She stated that her iconography is an act of prayer. She is buried at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church alongside family members in Dungiven. There is an Annual Sister Aloysius Religious Art competition in her honour. It is open to young people who are studying Art and Design at GCSE and A Level in schools in the Roman Catholic Derry Diocese.

Works in public places

*Trinity, Thornhill Parish Chapel, Culmore Road, Derry, 1988 *Our Lady of the Sign (Stained Glass Window) Blessed Sacrament Chapel, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, 1988 *Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Castlefin Church, Co. Tyrone, 1989 *St Patrick, Parish Church, Greencastle, Co. Tyrone, 1989 *Mother of Perpetual Succour, Parish Church, Clogher, Co. Tyrone, 1989 *Stations of the Cross, Rosslea Parish Church, Co. Fermanagh, 1990 *Mother of Perpetual Succour, Castlederg Church, Co. Tyrone, 1990 *Mother of Perpetual Succour, Basilica in Lough Derg, Co. Donegal, 1991 *Crucifixion Cross, Poor Clare Monastery, Clifden Street, Belfast, Co. Antrim, 1992 *Annunciation, Psychiatric Hospital, Limerick City, 1993 *Our Lady of Mercy,

Mercy International Centre Mercy International Centre is the original house of the Sisters of Mercy. The building began in 1824 and the house was opened on 24 September 1827. As this was the feast day of Our Lady of Mercy, the house was called the House of Mercy. The instig ...

, 64 Lr. Baggot St., Dublin 2, 1993 *Christ, Source of Life, Pantocrator. Coolaney Parish Church, Coolaney, Co. Sligo, 1993 *Queen of All Saints, All Saints Parish Church, Newtowncunningham, Co. Donegal, 1995 *Pantocrator, St, Catherine's Nursing Home, Culmore Road, Derry, 1995 *Mother of Perpetual Succour, Church of the Irish Martyrs, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, 1996 *Baptism of Our Lord, Strabane Parish Church, Strabane, Co. Tyrone, 1996 *St Brendan, the Navigator, Church of Our Lady & St Brendan, 1996 *St Kevin, Glendalough Parish Church, Glendalough, Co.Wicklow, 1998 *St Coca, Parish Church of St Coca, Kilcock, Co. Kildare, 1999 *Lorcan O Toole, Glendalough Parish Church, Glendalough, Co. Wicklow, 1999 *St Gabriel, Linsfort Retreat House, Linsfort, Co. Donegal, 2001 *Nativity, Church of the Nativity, Poleglass, Belfast, 2001 *St Brigid, St Brigid's Parish Church, Kildare, Co. Kildare, 2001 *St Michael, All Saints Parish Church, Newtowncunningham, Co. Donegal, 2004 *St Michael, Linsfort Retreat House, Linsfort, Co. Donegal, 2005 *The Mercy Window, The Playhouse, 5-7 Artillery St, Derry, unveiled posthumously, 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McVeigh, Aloysius Year of birth missing 2008 deaths