Sr Clare Fitzgerald OLA, 18th February 1932 to 14th February 2025
On Monday 17th February 2025, OLA Sisters, relatives and friends, gathered in Ardfoyle Chapel to thank God, pray with and to bid farewell to Sr. Clare Fitzgerald a remarkable woman who lived a joyful, vibrant and fruitful Missionary life.
The chief celebrant was Fr. Ger O Shaughnessy, a Columban Father related to Sr. Clare through marriage. He was accompanied by several SMA Fathers and a female pastor of the church of Ireland was present in the congregation
Sr. Gabrielle Farrell, a member of the District Leadership team, welcomed all present especially Clare’s family, her nieces and nephews, their families and Sr. Mary T. Barron, the OLA Congregation leader. Gabrielle also thanked the Ardfoyle community and the Ardfoyle Infirmary staff, who lovingly and compassionately cared for Sr. Clare all these years.
Sr. Clare was christened Mary Patricia and lived her early life on Evergreen Street in Cork City. She made her first profession in 1953 and earned her degree and H. Dip at University Collage Cork. She taught at Ho Secondary School in Ghana for two years before spending thirty years in Nigeria, promoting the education of girls and women. She worked in Maryland, Lagos; Marymount College, in Agbor; Sacred Heart College in Ubiaja; St. Mary’s, Iwo; OLA Secondary School, Oke Offa; and Maryway in Ibadan.
In 1989, Sr. Clare returned to Ireland and taught at the Mercy School in Skibbereen for a year before being assigned to OLA communities in London and Lancaster, England. There, she worked in pastoral care and prepared children for the sacraments.
In 1998, Sr. Clare moved to Ardfoyle and wherever she could render a service she did. As Receptionist, she offered warm hospitality to visitors and OLA Sisters alike. She spent a lot of time visiting and praying with the sisters in the infirmary and kept everyone up to date with what was going on in the world and added her own slant at times. Sr. Clare was also involved in the ministry of writing letters to prisoners, providing them with beautifully written and no doubt poetic messages of care and support.
Sr. Clare lived her missionary life with dignity and grace, fulfilling her Baptismal call and serving God tirelessly. She was not only a dedicated missionary and an outstanding English teacher but also a gentle and loving woman who cared deeply for her students and their families. Her excellence as a teacher, combined with her precision and keen insight, was evident in everything she did.
Sr. Clare was kind, hardworking, committed, and talented. She used her gifts to serve others and sort to bring out the best in those in her care. She had a beautiful singing voice and taught her students to sing, and she sang in the Ardfoyle choir for many years.
Throughout her missionary life, Sr. Clare went wherever she was sent and did whatever she was asked, radiating God’s presence, goodness, and gentle love. It is fitting that she passed away on St. Valentine’s Day, a day when we celebrate love, as she truly embodied love in her interactions with others. As St Augustine once said, “What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows. That is what love looks like.”
Sr. Clare resided in the infirmary for many years, however, her presence continued to be an inspiration. She was gentle and gracious, witnessing to God’s gentle nature and silent presence. When receiving the Eucharist, Clare would respond to “The Body of Christ” with – “Céad míle fáilte romhat, a Íosa.”
On the 7th of February, Sr. Clare gave a slight indication that the end of her earthly life was nearing. It was a rare insight, a call for her family—whom she loved dearly—to come and say their final goodbyes. They came from Limerick, Wexford, Cork, and Fr. Ger from Dalgan Park.
Sr. Clare peacefully slipped home to God in the early hours of the 14th of February. Sr. Clare has completed her journey and is now in the presence of her Creator. She has received the welcome from Christ that we all hope to hear: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
The OLA Congregation was God’s gift to Clare, and Clare was God’s gift to OLA. We thank God for Sr. Clare’s life and mission, trusting that she will rest forever in God’s Kingdom of Love and Peace where she is reunited with her parents, Margaret and John; her brothers, Fr. Michael (SSC), Sean, James, and Patrick; and her sisters, Julia, Sheila, and Kathleen. Requiescat in pace
Go raibh mile maith agaibh go leir.