I have had a wonderful 80 years of living. Something in me wanted to share that story with others and this led to the recent the publication of In Gratitude: The Story of a Gift-Filled Life.
I was brought up in Simmonscourt Castle, a big house in Dublin 4 with 18 acres of grounds, My paternal grandfather, (born before the Famine), made his wealth as a stockbroker and bought this property in the 1870s. I and my four siblings lived a rarefied lifestyle with eight indoor servants and seven outdoor staff. Tennis and parties was an important part of life as well as enjoying the grounds, horses, cows etc. including having my own pony. It was like a mini-farm yet only two miles from Dublin city centre. My grandmother gave part of the land to the Poor Clare convent which exists there today. She is buried in their graveyard.
In my early years I had a governess then later went to boarding school, followed by three difficult years when I did not know what to do with my life. During that period my father died and we left Simmonscourt. A social consciousness had developed in my teens when doing some charitable work in the inner city. Eventually I decided to be a religious sister and lived this life for 25 years. During that time, I trained as a physiotherapist, a profession which I loved and practiced for 35 years. An interruption occurred when I went to Rome to study theology during the time of the Vatican Council. This was a very freeing experience – a life-changer, you could say.
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On my return I spent a year spent in the US teaching then came back to physiotherapy. Soon another life-changer occurred – this time a friendship. During a retreat I met Charlie O’Connor SJ and our 44-year relationship began. During the first year our knowledge of each other grew to astonishing depths through letter writing. Later he came to Dublin and from then on we worked together on many projects, a major one co-leading 40 pilgrimages to the Holy Land. Over the last seven years of his life he needed care and his order kindly allowed me to be very involved in that process. I was happy to have read the entire text of In Gratitude for his approval before he died last year.
A further major event occurred in the late 1970s when I embarked on a 30-day Ignatian retreat. As the retreat process unfolded I felt impelled to look at my vocation. To my surprise I heard a call within a call to “come out” (more details can be found in the book). After short but intense discernment lasting just one day, I knew this was the path I was to take. The result was I left the Congregation the day the retreat ended and never returned. I felt certain this new call was to be embraced and this certainty made the transition to lay life easy. I was fortunate in getting a job immediately as well as a small flat. I never regretted that decision, neither did I regret my time as a sister, where I met and lived with wonderful women and was involved in such interesting work situations.
In my later years as physiotherapist, Baggot St Hospital (my place of work) changed its status and I moved into primary healthcare becoming particularly interested in family carers and ageing care. This led me to becoming an author. My first book was on caring and the second, Falling in Love with Life: An Understanding of Ageing. I wrote further books later, two while going through double hip replacement surgery. The new one is my seventh!
After retirement at 60 my life continued to be enhanced with other happenings. I had been interested in counselling and later spiritual direction and became accredited in both professions and practised in both fields. I also plunged into doing a MA in theology which I found stimulating. My faith has always been important to me; it has been like a thread holding my life together, as well as an energy propelling me forwards. I was happy to be told of a comment of a reader (someone I don’t know) about my new book: “Catherine’s faith seems to be so satisfying to her and gives great meaning to her life”.
A further incident occurred – this time around property. I decided to look for a home. Dublin was too expensive so Wicklow beckoned and within 24 hours of searching I had put down a deposit on a cottage in Glenmalure. I named the place Shekina. Over time I collected sculptures (18 in total), so it is now called Shekina Sculpture Garden. Added to my delight in its beauty, came the added bonus that the State took ownership of the property in 1995. It is open to individuals or groups Wednesdays to Sundays (phone 086-8569106 before visiting). A decade ago I did my PhD on people's experiences in the garden and later this was turned into a book.
Finally, despite Charlie’s death and no longer having his reassuring presence around, I hope I remain open to life and the amazing giftedness our beautiful world and its people continuously offers us. Last Christmas I went on my own for almost four weeks to India. I wanted to touch down in Asia as well as gain experience of the Hindu faith about which I knew little. I largely stayed in ashrams and took seven internal flights so covered places in both north and south of the country. After this exploration my way forward may be to a different kind of journeying – at present the pause button has been pressed. Possibly this new book will lead to other unexpected openings/gifts?
