Westcourt
St Laurence’s College is proud to officially name our newest area ‘Westcourt’.
Westcourt was the name of the family home and farmstead of the Rice family. The area holds great significance to Edmund Rice, the Rice family and EREA as a whole. Not only was it the birthplace of Edmund, it was a place where he developed and helped those who were poor and marginalised in the Callan community.
The Westcourt area at Lauries plays host to seating, play areas, gardens and shade coverings and is located west of the Brother Hogan Building (Primary building).
Throughout Westcourt, seven plaques have been established to pay tribute to and honour the influential women in Edmund Rice’s life.
Maragaret Tierney
She opens her hand to the poor (Prov. 31:20)
“A big influence in his home at Westcourt was Edmund’s mother, Margaret Tierney…here you would get heat by the fire, a bite to eat, and shelter from wind and rain. Her half door was an open door; her hospitality never half-hearted.”
His mother’s caring and welcoming nature was not lost on Edmund. Inspired by his mother, Edmund cared not only for school children; he cared for their parents too. He cherished the sick and comforted those in prison, all with a sense of deep presence and compassion.
Mary Elliott
Her husband has entrusted his heart to her (Prov. 31:11)
“The wife of Edmund Rice. She enters his life as a significant figure and leaves tragically four years later. Leaving Edmund a widower and father of their special daughter Mary who was born prematurely with a disability. Edmund had been very devoted to his wife Mary and felt her loss keenly.”
Loving relationships are what shape us as human beings. Sorrow and suffering softened Edmund’s prayerful heart. Edmund could not do anything to heal his broken heart after the loss of his wife, but he could fill it. Such a tender and compassionate heart was moved with pity and empathy for others he saw around him; the poor, the prisoners, the sick in the hospitals, and his ‘dear little ones.’
Mary Rice
People know you are woman of worth (Ruth 3:11)
“Edmund’s daughter was born in heartbreaking circumstances. A young widower, Edmund with the help of his stepsister Joan, now cared for and loved his growing daughter. His love for her was enduring and he ensured she was well cared for. She lived in Callan until she was seventy years old.”
Edmund’s fatherhood had a special influence on the teaching culture of his Brothers, both Presentation and Christian. Edmund offered his students a libationary education by nurturing a culture respectful of the sacred, experienced through genuine caring relationships. This was due to the special bond between father and daughter, one that triggered in him an emerging insight of the type of nurturing relationship that would mediate his formative education system.
Mary Power
But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask (John 11:22)
“Mary Power was the wife of a wealthy corn merchant of Waterford city. Mary’s advice was much valued by Edmund Rice. She was a devout woman whose wise counsel Edmund often sought as it was, she who helped him to discern God’s true call for him. A call to care for the poor, ragged boys in the city slums. She also left money in her will for the students at the Mt Sion Monastery school to feed and clothe them.”
During a time of deep reflection, Edmund’s experience of the world changed when he gazed from the window with Mary Power on the city of Waterford. “There’s your Melleray [monastery]” she said. What he saw and what she said changed him and his responses to that world. He was particularly moved to consider what could be done to confer a new sense of dignity and liberation on the poor people of Waterford. Mary’s words sank deep into Edmund’s heart. He heard God’s call to educate the poor against the advice of his brother Father John Rice and without any companions to help him, he set up his first school in a stable in Elliott’s yard in New Street.
Nano Nagle
A light for my feet, a light on my Path (Psalm 119:105)
“While serving an apprenticeship as a merchant in Waterford City, this role reflects wealth and prosperity. As a successful businessman, he is challenged by the facade as he notices so many people are in need, crowded together in hovels in narrow streets and dark alleyways. Edmund is greatly inspired by learning of the work of Nano Nagle, who courageously founded the first Irish Religious Order, the Presentation Sisters in 1755.”
Nano Nagle, foundress of the Presentation Sisters, made her way through the back streets. The lantern she carried became for the poor of Cork a symbol of God’s love touching and helping the realities of their hard lives. Nano and Edmund might almost be described as spiritual twins: what she accomplished for the poverty-stricken young girls of Cork, he accomplished for the poverty-stricken young boys of Waterford.
St Teresa of Alvila
We will devote ourselves to prayer and service (Acts 6:4)
“Edmund greatly admired the writings of St Teresa of Avila. Among Teresa’s writings, The Interior Castle, avidly read by Edmund, reflected her contemplative prayer life while she remained very active in reforming her Carmelite order of nuns in Avila, Spain. Teresa became Edmund’s teacher and guide on his inward journey.”
‘Praying’ Teresa says, ‘was a close sharing between friends’. Through unforeseen personal tragedy, Edmund found strength in such a friend, Jesus. Edmund, inspired by the practical love and service of Teresa, reflected: ‘Were we to know the merit of going from one street to another, to serve a neighbour for the love of God, we should prize it more than gold or silver.’
Mary of Nazareth
He who is mighty has done great things for me, Holy is his name (Luke 1:49)
“Of Mary, little is said in the Gospels. Yet from his Bible reading, Edmund knew and pondered her story deeply. Edmund adopted the rule of the Presentation Sisters and in their chapel in Waterford, on the feast of Mary’s Assumption into heaven in 1808, eight Brothers joined Edmund in a new journey of faith, presenting Christ again into the lives of the young and the needy.”
Edmund’s charism was building strength. Love of God, expressed in deeds through service to others. Guided by their commitment to meditative prayer, living a simple life in community, they would serve God in others, motivated by practical compassion. The men of Mt Sion would therefore live a dedicated life in imitation of Our Lady of the Presentation.
The unveiling of these plaques in Westcourt occurred on International Women’s Day as the College paid homage to the women in their lives.