Mother Michael Corcoran (born Frances Corcoran, 5 July 1846- 27 May 1927) was an Irish nun and the longest serving Superior General of the Loreto Order. She is recognised as a pioneer of female education in Ireland.
M. Michael Corcoran | |
|---|---|
| Born | Frances Corcoran 5 July 1846 Gardiner Street |
| Died | 27 May 1927 (aged 80) |
| Nationality | Irish |
Early life
editFrances Corcoran was born to Michael Corcoran and Anna Maria Magan on Gardiner Street, Dublin, on 5 July 1846.[1][2] She was a boarding student at Loreto College, North Great George's Street (now Loreto College, Swords).[1]
In the Loreto Order
editIn 1865, Corcoran entered the Loreto Abbey Rathfarnham and took her father's name, Michael, as a religious name.[1] She made her final profession in 1867.[2] In 1875, Corcoran was elected the Mother Superior of the Rathfarnham convent.[2] From either 1875[1] or 1878,[2] Corcoran held the position of novice-mistress a position which she held until her promotion to Superior General.[3] This happened in 1888, when at the age of forty-two Corcoran was elected the Superior General of the Loreto Order, a position to which she was re-elected five times, and that she held for 32 years, making her the longest serving Superior General in the order's history.[1][2] An educational pioneer, Corcoran believed that girls should be provided an equivalent education to what boys were receiving at the time.[4] She founded Loreto College, St Stephen's Green, which she hoped would be made into the nation's first women's university, but without the support of Archbishop William Walsh, it never became such. Corcoran died in the abbey on 27 May 1927.[2]
References
editNotes
edit- ^ a b c d e Moran 2008, p. 204.
- ^ a b c d e f Raftery 2019.
- ^ Moran 2008, p. 207.
- ^ Mac Donald 2022.
Sources
edit- Mac Donald, Sarah (26 July 2022). "Q & A with Deirdre Raftery, preserving the histories of Irish women religious". Global Sisters Report. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
- Moran, Áine (July 2008). From Mary Ward (1585-1645) to Michael (Frances) Corcoran (1846-1927): The Educational Legacy of the Loreto Order (PDF) (PhD thesis). Dublin City University.
- Raftery, Deirdre (5 September 2019). "M. Michael Corcoran's Photograph Albums". UCD Digital Library. doi:10.7925/drs1.ucdlib_262000.
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