Tag Archives: South Africa

SISTER Ethel Normoyle has been remembered as someone who “fully represented Irish values of solidarity, love and compassion” after she passed away this week. The Lissycasey-born nun spent decades working in South Africa’s Port Elizabeth, renamed Gqeberha, where she founded the Missionvale Care Centre in the late ‘80s. The missionary nun’s work in South Africa saw her receive global attention, including receiving visits from Mother Teresa and Queen Elizabeth. In the wake of her passing, the care centre have vowed to carry on and honour Sr Normoyle’s wishes “of continued compassionate care for the poor and the vulnerable”. Sr Normoyle will be laid to rest this Thursday in her native Lissycasey at a family only service and burial, though the funeral can be viewed online by those who wish to pay their respects. A member of the Little Company of Mary, Sr Normoyle established the Missionvale Care Centre in the Eastern Cape in 1988. Against all odds, she set up …

THIRTY years after Lissycasey native, Sr Ethel Normoyle established the Missionvale Care Centre in South Africa, volunteers who have worked on the project, which helps the destitute, are to come together for a special fundraising initiative. On Saturday, volunteers, the majority of whom are from Clare, will gather in the Old Ground Hotel in Ennis to launch the fundraiser ‘30k for 30 Years’, a campaign in which they have set themselves a target of raising €30,000. Missionvale Care Centre, which was founded by Sr Ethel in 1988, is a non-profit organisation operating in the township of Missionvale in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Since its origin, operating from under a tree, Sr Ethel has grown the care centre into a facility that provides love and care for the poor and destitute. The care centre offers basic necessities to the estimated 25,000 residents of the Missionvale Township, including food, clothing, heathcare and education. The Missionvale Ireland charity was subsequently established in 2008 …

AS MANY as 40 African countries are represented in Ennis, according to the town mayor. Councillor Johnny Flynn was attending the Africa Day Celebrations in Ennis last week and welcomed the contribution made by all the people of the African communities in the town and throughout Clare. Africa Day marked 52 years of the African Union and African Independence and provided an opportunity for all Africans – including those who have made Ireland their home – and non-Africans to celebrate Africa, its people and their potential at a time of both great turmoil and opportunity for the continent. The day was marked on Wednesday afternoon last at the Civic Building in Drumbiggle, with food, music, poetry and the planting of an oak tree in the grounds at Waterpark. The community event shared some aspects of the rich heritage of a number of African countries and created an opportunity for everyone to enjoy some time together on a special occasion. “There …

CLARE missionary nun Sr Ethel Normoyle has vowed to continue her work, helping thousands of poor and unprivileged people in a South African township, until a plan is put in place for sustainable development. Sr Ethel (70) said she has no plans to retire or to return home, after spending 27 years developing and maintaining the Missionvale Centre in Port Elizabeth. The Lissycasey-born nun said she could not betray the trust of hundreds of people who have donated time and money to build the centre, until a strategic plan has been put in place, considering the centre gets no financial help from the South African government and is relying on the goodness of others. She noted this process is in the capable hands of Missionvale Ireland chairman, Ollie O’Loughlin; secretary, Kieran McDermott and their board of trustees. A member of the Little Company of Mary order, she revealed she was subjected to an attempted kidnapping during the Apartheid years after …

When Very Rev Gary Paulsen came to visit Rev Canon Bob Hanna in Ennis a few years ago and asked for directions to the Anglican Church, no one he spoke to knew what he was talking about. His request to locate the local Church of Ireland was also greeted with silence. Rev Paulsen drove on to a petrol station and repeated his request, where a man asked him “do you mean the Protestant church?” While the Rector of Adare eventually found Rev Hanna, he was amazed by the lack of local knowledge about different faiths and religions. His home town of Athlone in the Western Cape, near Cape Town, is an eclectic mix of Portugese, English, French, German, Malaysian and other cultures, which fostered a large variety of religions. There is no dominant church, everyone lives side-by-side and religious leaders meet each other on a regular basis. Rev Paulsen said he dislikes the Protestant label, as he doesn’t see himself …