We recently got our hands on a copy of “Nano Nagle – The Life and the Legacy“. The book is the first biographical study of Nano Nagle (foundress of the Presentation order of nuns) and looks at her position within Irish social history and assesses her international legacy.
Carlow County Museum is housed in the former Presentation Convent in Carlow, and features throughout the book; one account references how school inspectors, ‘favourably assessed’ the schools in Carlow and Bagenalstown compared to other schools across the country; another account tells of how, when the teaching of Irish became compulsory in national schools in 1922, many nuns actually came to Carlow to attend Irish language courses.
The book draws on archival materials from three continents, and gives an account of how one woman’s extradordinary life challenged social constraints and championed social justice, equality, and female education.
If you click on the link below you can read a preview version of the book, available on Google Books.
