MOVING tributes have been paid to Gaoth Dobhair nun, Sr Brid Gallagher following her recent passing in the Lake House Nursing Home in Portnablagh.
Sr Brid (Sr. Joseph de St. Brendan), a much loved and inspiring member of the Little Sisters of the Poor, and seen by all as a beacon of light and hope to many during her life in the Church, passed away on Monday, October 21.
A native of Glassagh, Gaoth Dobhair, Sr Gallagher spent 30 years working in the Far East and became a member of the Missionary Movement.
Born in November 1932 and coming from a family of 12, she received her education at the former Bunaninver National School and worked in a number of houses and nursing homes, both in the locality and Glasgow.
It was during her time in Glasgow that Brid felt God’s call to take holy orders. Brid visited a convent in the city where she decided to become a member of the Little Sisters of the Poor.
She entered the convent novitiate, becoming professed in December 1957.
She travelled to the Mother House in France before attending Missions in the Far East in 1965, serving in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, working for the under-privileged, aged and poor whilst spreading the gospel, love and compassion to the nations.
Brid returned from the Far East in the 1990s, spending time in convents in England, Scotland and Dublin before coming out of the community and going back to her native Gaoth Dobhair, living in one of the units at the Gaoth Dobhair Day Care Centre at Derrybeg.
Back in her roots, Sr Brid found tremendous support and joy living amongst her loved ones, working quietly in the nearby St Mary’s Church and helping out at the Parochial House.
Her friendly, gentle and caring nature ingratiated Sr Brid in the locality, praying devotedly in her own home, adapting to the new devotions of the Devine Mercy, Medjugorje in a big way. Eventually, declining health meant she had to move into the Lake House in February, 2017.
Following her death Sr Brid’s wake was held in Roarty’s Funeral Home, Derrybeg before her requiem Mass at St. Colmcille Church, Cnoc Fola before interment in the adjoining cemetery.
Celebrant of her requiem Mass was her cousin, Fr. Seán Ó Gallchóir, Gaoth Dobhair and former P.P. of Gortahork.
She will be sadly missed by her sisters, nieces, nephews and extended family and friends.
– Tommy Curran
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