Order of sisters to retire from running Waterford hospital for the elderly

AN ORDER of religious sisters is to retire from running a care facility in Waterford which operates under a royal charter granted by Henry VIII in the 16th century and was mastered by Thomas Meagher snr about 300 years later.

The Sisters of St John of God will at the end of this year step down from managing the care of the elderly facility, the Holy Ghost hospital. The order has run the hospital for more than 100 years.

A lay manager will be appointed next January after the three remaining nuns retire from working at the 58-bed facility on the Cork Road near the city centre.

It is understood a sharp fall in those taking up religious vocations is responsible for the move.

King Henry VIII, in August 1545, granted the royal charter setting out how the facility was to be governed, and dedicating it to the Holy Ghost.

It was previously located at Greyfriars in the city centre while the large brick-faced buildings at the Cork Road were built for £15,000, a considerable expense at that time.

Politician and former mayor of Waterford Thomas Meagher, father of American civil war brigadier general Thomas Francis Meagher, mastered the facility in the 19th century.

The current master of the hospital, Niall Kenneally, said: “The Sisters of St John of God have done tremendous work at the Holy Ghost hospital for over a century, and a great many people in Waterford during that time have been indebted to them for the high standard of care they or their loved ones received.

“It is only right that we acknowledge the work done by all of the sisters who have served here over the last 100-plus years, and all of the lay staff who worked so hard alongside them.”

A new manager would lead the next phase, said Mr Kenneally.