Posted: 22 Nov 2012
UCD honours Catherine McAuley and Mary Aikenhead
Two lecture theatres at the UCD Health Sciences Centre have been named in honour of the founders of religious orders established to care for the sick poor in Dublin during the 1800s.
One is named in honour of Catherine McAuley, the founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy, a religious order that provided a nursing service in the temporary hospitals that were set up in Dublin to cope with the Asiatic cholera epidemic of 1832. Later, they founded the Mercy Hospital in Cork (1857) and the Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Dublin (1861).
Catherine McAuley, 1777 - 1841
The second is named in honour of Mary Aikenhead, founder of the Religious Sisters of Charity. As early as 1816, the Religious Sisters of Charity were visiting the sick poor in their own homes in Dublin. In 1833 they founded St Vincent’s Hospital for the care of the sick poor.
Mary Aikenhead, 1787 - 1858
“UCD is proud to honour two incredibly inspiring caregivers of the sick poor through the naming of these theatres today,” said Dr Hugh Brady, President of UCD.
The Sisters of Mercy and the Sisters of Charity established new standards of nursing care, hygiene and hospital management, while nursing the sick poor.
From the earliest years, both St Vincent’s Hospital and the Mater Misericordiae Hospital have played a crucial role in the care and treatment of patients, and in the education and training of the health professionals needed to provide this expertise.
Pictured at the naming of the lecture theatres in honour of Catherine McAuley and Mary Aikenhead (L-R): Mr. John B Morgan, Chair of Board of MMUH; Sister Eugene Nolan, Sisters of Mercy; Sister Phyllis Behan, Sisters of Charity; Dr Hugh Brady, President UCD; and Prof Noel Whelan, Chair of Board of SVHG
“By keeping the names of Catherine McAuley and Mary Aikenhead in clear view, we hope that our students and academic staff will take some inspiration from their remarkable leadership and charity.”
At the event, several newly-established Aikenhead-McAuley Scholarships and Bursaries were also announced. Funded by the UCD School of Nursing Midwifery and Health Systems, the scholarships and bursaries aim to support new UCD nursing and midwifery graduates to undertake a research master’s degree at an early stage in their careers. This will foster the development of early career researchers and help strengthen research capacity in the professions.
For information on these bursaries and scholarships email: nursing@ucd.ie
(Produced by UCD University Relations)
