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Basic Information
[edit]{{Infobox nun |name = Sister Colette Therese Marie Dwyer
|image =
|birth_date = 1917 |birth_place = UNited Kingdom |death_date = 2011 |nationality = United Kingdom |field = |work_institutions = |alma_mater = |doctoral_advisor = |doctoral_students = |known_for = her work of the Travelling people in Ireland |influences = |influenced = |prizes = |religion =
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Sister Colette Therese Marie Dwyer (1917-2011) was an Irish Catholic nun and missionary, known for her work for the Travelling People in Ireland.
Early life
[edit]She was born into the wealthy Dwyer family who influenced the life and times of Cork, building up an empire that employed thousands of people in companies with household names like Sunbeam Wolsey and manufacturing products ranging from knitwear and hosiery to shirts, shovels, boots and shoes.[1]
Religious Life
[edit]Instead of marriage, she chose the religious life, entering the Society of the Holy Child Jesus[2] in 1938, an international community of Catholic women religious dedicated to education. Born in what became the Arbutus Lodge Hotel in the leafy suburb of Montenotte, she was christened Therese Mary but took the name Sr Colette, in memory of her older sister, who died when she was only 11 years old.
Work
[edit]She was a gifted teacher and had gained a reputation as a progressive educator as headmistress of schools at Combe Bank in Kent and at Mayfield School[3] in East Sussex from 1956-1967. On returning to Ireland from Britain in 1967 to take charge of the community’s school in Killiney, she realised the serious need for education of Travellers. From encouraging the sisters to teach them after school at the convent, she founded St Kieran’s school for Travellers in Bray.Witnessing the growth of housing at Sallynoggin, Co Dublin, she saw the need for secondary level education for girls and founded the Holy Child Comprehensive School there in 1970, later to become the HC Community School[4].
Together with Victor Bewley, Msgr Tom Feehily and Joyce Sholdice of Galway, she campaigned tirelessly in the 1970s and 1980s for services for the Travelling people. They formed the National Council of the Travelling People which endured for 20 years as the chief body for Traveller advocacy until its demise in 1990.
Quotes
[edit]“It is just very sad to hear in place after place that the ordinary people of Ireland won’t allow Travellers to have a site or place where they can live in human dignity and comfort and be able to send their children to school.” [5]