Sr Imelda is recognised for impact on the community

A SMALL gathering was held in the Round Tower GAA Club on Tuesday evening for the former principal of Scoil Mhuire, Sr Imelda Kane, to recognise her impact on the community.

The event had been several years in the making, with the idea initially coming to Ciara Fogarty, a past pupil of Scoil Mhuire who runs the ‘I Grew Up in Clondalkin’ Facebook page, during the first lockdown.

Ciara had posted about Sr Imelda on the Facebook page and was blown away by the response it received, and wanted to make Sr Imelda aware of the difference she’d made to so many children.

“Back when the first lockdown started, I posted a picture of her on the Facebook page and the comments that came back were so in depth and detailed,” Ciara told The Echo.

“I thought, ‘I have to get these to her’. So I said, ‘I’m going to contact her’, but I kept getting caught up in different things and two years later I decided this is it, I’m going to do it.”

Sr Imelda’s impact on the Clondalkin community began when she started working in Scoil Mhuire as a teacher in the 1960s, before becoming the principal of the school in the early 1980s.

She later went on to work in the Presentation in Terenure, and then Warrenmount in Dublin 8, where she’s now based.

It’s been several decades since Sr Imelda worked in Scoil Mhuire, and now aged 88 she’s retired from teaching, but her impact hasn’t waned.

Sr Imelda and
Sr Stasia

Commenters on the ‘I Grew Up in Clondalkin’ Facebook page praised her as an unfailingly kind and patient principal and teacher who is fondly remembered by her past pupils.

“I went to meet her and read out a load of the messages, and she was delighted,” Ciara said. “I couldn’t even read out everything that was sent because there was so much.

“Sr Imelda’s response was that she was just doing what she thought was right and that she loved the children, and felt that it was important to love the children.”

Following on from this, Ciara and a member of the Facebook group, Jim Kelly decided to plan an event so Sr Imelda could meet many of her past pupils.

“I went back to Sr Imelda with Jim Kelly to meet her and she said she’d love to meet people from the past,” explained Ciara.

“So myself and Jim got onto Towers GAA, and they were incredibly kind. They gave us a room, and we had cake and tea – the whole lot.”

Several of Sr Imelda’s past pupils, and the parents of children who went to Scoil Mhuire during her tenure, went to the event to show their appreciation.

“There were people of different ages coming in, and she got flowers and chocolates,” Ciara added. “People just wanted to give to her because she gave them so much.”

Reflecting on the impact Sr Imelda has had on her pupils, Ciara said: “Never, ever have I heard a bad word about her.

“She’s just one of those special, unforgettable souls and she’s completely unaware of it. She made great memories for us as kids.

“The love of the people in Clondalkin for Sr Imelda is immense. We had people of all different ages coming to say hello to this person who had impacted them and they wanted to show their love for her.

“There was a lot of love and appreciation in the room.”