The Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood and the Provision of Healthcare in Provincial Ireland, 1942–1970

Casey, Brian

Abstract

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The Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood arrived to Ireland in 1942, to establish and run Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe, county Galway. This was not without its challenges and this article explores many of these in the context of the construction and management of the hospital between 1942 and 1970. FMDM sisters were women in a patriarchal church and needed to also negotiate their place within the similar frameworks of the medical profession, civil service and government, while being subject to gossip as to the work they were doing.
This article is a revealing case study of the some of the global changes in medicine that had been taking place since the 1920s. It is an example of how modern methods of healthcare were having an impact on the Irish healthcare system, with medically-trained Catholic religious sisters to the forefront of this.
The story of women religious in twentieth century global Catholicism is a relatively unattended one. This case study allows historians of religion to better understand the internationality of Catholic religious congregations, examining concepts of unity and disharmony and the various efforts they made to confront but also comply with the patriarchal structures they found themselves in.
Acknowledgements:
The author would like to thank the Congregational Leadership Team of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood for their support in carrying out this research while based at the Centre for Catholic Studies, Department of Theology and Religion Durham University. Thanks to the congregational archivists, Jo Halford and Sister Teresa Mitchell for facilitating this access and answering queries. I acknowledge the constructive and useful comments of the anonymous reviewers. Finally, thank you to to Cormac Begadon, Adam Bronson, Richard J. Butler, Benedetta Carnaghi, Mary E. Daly, Richard Huzzey, Naomi Lloyd-Jones and Carmen Mangion for insightful feedback, discussion and commentary.

Citation

Casey, B. (online). The Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood and the Provision of Healthcare in Provincial Ireland, 1942–1970. Historical Journal, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X24000554

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 10, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Dec 3, 2024
• Deposit Date: Nov 20, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 4, 2024
• Journal: Historical Journal
• Print ISSN: 0018-246X
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-5103
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X24000554
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3101210