Cuan Mhuire Newry (Sr Consilios) celebrates its 40th year in Northern Ireland shortly. On the 28th June a ceremony to mark this occasion will take place at our Cuan Mhuire Newry Centre. Guests include senior Church representatives, Health & Housing Agencies, Elected representatives, Cuan Mhuire Directors, management staff, volunteers ex-residents and community representatives.
Cuan Mhuire Newry 29th June 1984
On the 29th June 1984 Kerry born Sisters of Mercy Nun, Sr Consilio Fitzgerald opened Cuan Mhuire Addiction Centre in Northern Ireland on the Armagh Road in Newry.
In the forty years since the Cuan Mhuire Centre in Newry, has supported individuals and their families through the turmoil of addiction. Sr Consilio and her committed and dedicated team have helped restore hope and change the lives of many thousands from throughout the North.
Little did she realise back in 1984 when arriving in Newry with her small group of dedicated supporters of the impact that Cuan Mhuire would have. Sr Consilio and Cuan Mhuire is respected and appreciated by families and communities from all traditions and backgrounds.
In 2012 Cuan Mhuire left the Armagh Road and opened a new centre on the Old Dublin Road Newry
Cuan Mhuire Newry 40 Year Reflection
(Sr Consilio Fitzgerald)
“It is with great joy and a deep sense of gratitude to Our Lady and the Lord Himself that we celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the presence of Cuan Mhuire here in Newry.
Forty years ago, Cuan Mhuire Newry opened its doors for the first time to all who were suffering from addiction and its effects. It has been a great privilege for us to have been given the opportunity of welcoming so many people suffering from and tortured by addiction and to have played a role in the recovery and healing of these people as they journeyed day by day with the help of our Programme, to leave behind their old ways, to make new beginnings and gradually become the beautiful people they were meant to be.
In Cuan Mhuire Newry as in all our Centres throughout the island of Ireland, we know that when we welcome any human being it is the same as welcoming the Lord himself. We strive to provide a highly professional and supportive environment within which individuals could recover, an environment of home and family where they could experience love, come to accept that they are fully deserving of that love, and, even more importantly that they had it within themselves to love others.
This was the foundation on which our Rehabilitation and recovery services- including the provision of sheltered housing- was developed, All of it under the guidance, and the support of, our Blessed Lady, who has surely made it a home for all who come to its doors.
From the very beginning we have reached out and helped, to the best of our abilities, the families of those whose loved ones are caught in addiction. They know the pain, the powerlessness and desperation caused by such affliction. Our hearts and prayers go out to them in their suffering and we rejoice with them as so many return home with a new found freedom and a new purpose in life.
A very great deal has been achieved in these 40 years; Cuan Mhuire Newry – like the ‘Mustard Seed’ in the Gospel- has grown. Thousands of individuals have passed through its doors and experienced a transformation in their lives which they carried out into their families and communities.
During a difficult time in our history, and all our lives, Cuan Mhuire established itself as a great sign of unity. This unity is, first and last, focused on the individual person suffering from addiction and on the reality that, in their recovery transformation, we can begin to see the beauty of our God, in whose image we are all created.
There were many people who in the early years were the pillar of Cuan Mhuire and who worked hard and suffered much to make Cuan Mhuire a reality. Those who have now gone to God will be forever remembered and their commitment, selflessness and dedication will never be forgotten. We in Cuan Mhuire also owe a debt of gratitude to all our benefactors who have helped us in so many ways.We also appreciate all those including Civic and political representatives, Church Leaders from all denominations, Health and Housing professionals, Emergency Services and various government departments and other Agencies, Community and Voluntary Groups for their support over the years.
We are celebrating not just an important milestone; even more, we are acknowledging the reality that helping one another overcomes all of the pain associated with addiction is an experience that transcends all divisions and really does help to bind us together in what is a time of great uncertainty and difficulty.
I want to thank each and every person who has helped us over the last forty years, particularly those whose calling it is to work in Cuan Mhuire, my colleagues, the Directors, Trustees,Sisters, Support Workers, Fundraisers, Volunteers,Organisers, Administrators, Facilitators, Counsellors, Chefs, Kitchen Staff,Security Staff, Health, Care & Housing Professionals and Friends of Cuan Mhuire volunteers who together form a committed team who work hard at passing on the message of Cuan Mhuire .
In conclusion we look back with thanks and wonder- and look forward with renewed hope. The demand for our critical services have never been higher but I have no doubt that Cuan Mhuire the ‘Harbour of Mary’ will continue to provide the welcome, the support, care and love that it has done so for this past forty years.”
Ends
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