A blessed 100 years for Dympna

years with some of them attending her 100 year celebrations, including a priest and a QC.

The times were changing for the education system and when the government started funding Catholic schools, the new policy required all teachers to be tertiary qualifed.

“Dympna was unable to continue in her preferred teaching role,” said niece Gemma Duffy.

Dympna made the hard decision to leave the convent and fnd ways to continue her vocation in the community..

“It was diffcult to enter (the convent) and it was diffcult to come out,”

Dympna said with emotion.

It was around this time her best friend wanted to go to Lourdes to dip in the water and Dympna went with her and her husband for three months.

Sadly, soon after their return, the friend passed away and Dympna was there to help her friend’s husband, John Sheehy through his grief.

John eventually asked Dympna to marry him and so began a new chapter in her life.

Dympna has travelled all around the world, including Egypt with an exciting cruise down the Nile, traversing America in a

Winnebago, Vietnam, Italy, New Zealand, Ireland, to visit the house where her mother had lived, and even to Israel.

“I wanted to put my feet in the Jordan River,” she laughed.

Ms Duffy said the many gifts Dympna received for her birthday were very thoughtful, including a special homemade Irish whiskey concoction made with local honey.

“The message on the bottle said, ‘take a tablespoon every night and when you run out I’ll get a new prescription made up’,” Ms Duffy said.

“That was (from) her best friend’s daughter.”

Dympna also received cards from the King and Queen, Governor General, the Prime Minister and a most special blessing from Pope Francis himself.

Another thoughtful gift was a framed blackboard with the names from all her students at St Bridgid’s who wanted to wish her many happy returns.

There were memories from her students of Sister Gemma as a football coach, hitching up her skirts to show the kids how to kick a ball, being remembered as the frst nun to drive a car and her willingness to always catch up with her students long after they had