Welcome to SHSS Alumnae Link!

This is where we connect with past pupils and find out what they’re up to now.

This week we connected with Mary Nolan who graduated in 1982.

Name:

Mary Nolan (née Lenihan)

Best memory of Sacred Heart:

The craic. I was an only child so I was sent to Sacred Heart as a boarder in 1980. I relished the thought of boarding school - having company and midnight feasts. I made fantastic friends and I’m still in touch with them to this day. Sr Benedicta was quite strict and I remember being made to sit at the bottom of the stairs for ages, or having to wash up for a month for being bold. I loved school though- I loved being a boarder. It was such fun. The volleyball with Sr Michael was great - we got to go out to matches on a bus and have sandwiches. Also, on the 8th of December, we’d have a big party with gorgeous food. We had a school scarf in the 1980s which was green, white and yellow. On weekends, we could wear our own clothes which we loved. The nuns were so lovely and they did so much for us.

What were your favourite classes?

Art with Sr Conleth (R.I.P.) and sewing with Sr Michael (Sr Eilis McGrath). When I left school, I joined the I.C.A. (Irish Countrywomen's Association) in Rockchapel where I kept on sewing. I made patchwork quilts and did some gardening which I loved. Last Christmas, I sent Christmas cards to some of my old teachers: Mr Donal O’Rourke, Mr Pat Canniffe and Mr Stan Lenihan. I was delighted when I got some back.

Tell us about your career progression to date:

I left school after the Inter cert and went to Dunmanway to do a Home Economics course for one year. I left after that to take care of my mother who was an invalid. I cared for her for five years and got married in between. I was only 19 when I got married - imagine! We had one daughter and two sons, and after they had gone to college, I got a job in a national school as a cleaner. I was there for 17 years until I fell and broke my ankle. I was out for 6 months and never went back as I felt I wasn't strong enough for the work. After resigning, my sister-in-law rang me and said she had a job for me. I can’t drive so I told her it wasn’t possible. She told me that with this job I would be picked up in the morning and dropped home in the evening. It was a bus escort for kids with special needs. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. I’m picked up at 6.45 each morning and there are 9 kids on the bus. We go to Tralee five mornings a week. It’s wonderful. I would recommend it to students in TY as work experience. It’s so rewarding.

If you weren’t in the job you have, what would you be doing?
I make patchwork quilts where I embroider names and dates on to them. They’re perfect for babies.

Favourite quote/motto:

Any day you can get up and get dressed is a good day.

What is your hidden talent:

I do yoga every morning and practise breathing exercises. Afterwards, I feel calm and ready to face the day.

Huge thanks to Mary for taking the time to answer our questions.

See you soon for the next instalment of SHSS Alumnae Link.