The Grey Nuns Famine In Ireland

To help with the work load, Mother Superior of the Sisters of Charity hired a paid staff to aid the nuns in their duties which included things like: cleaning and bandaging infected wounds; mending clothing and creating bedding; carrying people who could not walk; not just providing food, but literally feeding people. In addition, they obtained donations of food by several people in the community and soldiers specifically, who delivered half of their personal rations1, the Grey Nuns also provided their services at government-regulated food distribution centers2. During the Grey Nun's visits to the sheds, they would often check for dead bodies among the sick to remove them. There was reportedly “more than one young child lying with mothers
Patrick's Asylum. Almost all the children were sick, but the nuns called for brave and god-fearing souls to care for the most severely affected. That was the purpose of this place, “to gather and care for the Irish children, while waiting to place them in honest and charitable homes.6 The nuns asked only those truly willing to accept such a task, “it should be given freely and for the love of Jesus Christ.”7 The Sisters of charity fed and clothed these children so selflessly, they even took to the streets themselves and begged butchers and shopkeepers, just like the poorest classes back in Ireland.8
Even through horrible circumstances and conditions, the Sisters of Charity pushed on. Their resilience, bravery, and perseverance are reasons why the Grey Nuns were successful in providing relief and comfort for those in their final moments. Though located in Canada, the famine still was present in a way whenever they entered those sheds and orphanage. In a way, the nuns lived vicariously through the victims they treated, and sometime they became victims themselves. Still that didn't stop
It is hard to compare the two because both had religious ties to motivate them. Nicholson's work is amazing, and she did a lot to help those struggling, but the The Sisters of Charity really put their lives more at risk to provide aid for the Irish. I think the Grey Nuns got more accomplished too, but that is also hard to compare when you're looking at an entire organization in contrast with a single person. Regardless, both of their work is notable for many reasons: Their works provide insight into the famine and how it affected the women during the time; it shows that everyone had various experiences and outlooks on the famine; and it shows the relief given and the lengths these women took in order to help these people. The oral traditions paired with these sources are also helpful in showing the varying degrees of the famine and the eventual starvation that almost everyone faced. Many factors that could change how one perceived the effects of the famine; class, race, status, religion, etc are important to note when analyzing the various accounts of the event. In looking at these various sources of those who experienced the famine first-hand and those who did not, we are able to grasp a good understanding of what the Famine Era was like, and also see how it affected women and gender