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| The 'glass' house at the Sisters of Mercy Convent in Westport |
Alex and I have been on a mission to preserve ancient species of trees and vines. We've been researching old churches, monasteries and convents as the clergy most certainly would have grown their own grapes and made wine for church services. Today we got access to the grapevine at the convent in Westport.
The history of the Convent of Mercy (also known as) Mount St Mary's Convent of Mercy dates back to 1842. It later included a National School for boys and girls and St Columba Industrial School which housed girls from infancy to 16 years of age. It also ran Magdalene Laundry. The Greenhouse which is now beyond repair, probably had 4-5 vines originally, two of which are still in place and alive. Interestingly, they were planted along a stone wall not through a hole in the wall with their roots outside the glass house as was traditionally done.
1842 is listed as 'Date of Foundation' under the name Mount St Marys Convent, Westport in "Life of Catherine McAuley, foundress and first Superior of the Institute of Religious Sisters of Mercy" (1778-1841). The book, originally published in 1866, tells of life in the convent and may contain references to the vines and the glass house. Viewing a copy of it could be a challenge.
Mayo County Council gave us access to the vines this morning. The state of the greenhouse is terrible and beyond repair. It is overgrown with brambles and there's a tree growing in the middle. The floors is littered with broken glass, doggie do bags, and trash. Alex and I cut our way in. We spotted the first vine quickly. Alex made his way to it while I searched for evidence of other vines. I found another in the back corner. We collected cuttings from what appeared to be healthy wood.
Alex then spotted a vine rooted in another spot on the floor and dug it out. Mayo CoCo have committed to preserving the vines; they plan to build another glass house over them but when is unknown. That the vines have survived is amazing.
The history of the convent has been written about in several books. I plan to contact one of the authors and track down the book about the Founder to see if I can learn more about the vines.
Alex has already potted up the cutting we brought home. Hopefully, they will take and we will plant one of each in our polytunnel and donate one of each to the Museum of Country Living for their glass house at Turlough. They originally had five vines. If we give them two from the Convent, one from Ross house and one from Foxford where we are going next, they will once again have five thriving vines, all likely from the 1800s.
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| The Convent |
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| Inside the glass house |
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| Searching for the base of the vine |
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| 1st vine measures 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter |
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| The base of the vine and its main cordons |
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| Searching for the base of the second vine |
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| The second vine in the far corner also measured 6 in (15 cm) |
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| The vine's cordons reaching up through the roof |
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| Reaching for the sky |
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| Such a sad state of decline |
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| Coiling up and labelling our cuttings |
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| Digging up and pulling out a rooted branch |
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| Loading up our precious cargo |
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A picture taken from the Greenway a couple of years ago
when I first spotted the greenhouse and vine |
