A Difficult Start
When Marina was only seven, she was orphaned when both her mother and father died of tuberculosis. At first, she was taken to the poorhouse in Enniscorthy with her two brothers, where they had a kind matron who looked after them well.
Not long passed before Marina had to move away from her brothers to her grandmother's house. Her grandmother used to beat her. The photo below, taken in the 1940s, shows the cottage where Marina lived and some relatives.
Not long passed before Marina had to move away from her brothers to her grandmother's house. Her grandmother used to beat her. The photo below, taken in the 1940s, shows the cottage where Marina lived and some relatives.
Marina's Grandmother's Cottage, Raheen, Adamstown
A photo of some of Marina's family at her grandmother's cottage in Raheen, Adamstown, Co. Wexford.
Courtesy of Wexford County Council Public Library.Marina's Grandmother's Cottage, Raheen, Adamstown
Courtesy of Wexford County Council Public Library.
Courtesy of Wexford County Council Public Library.
Marina's Grandmother's Cottage, Raheen, Adamstown
A photo of some of Marina's family at her grandmother's cottage in Raheen, Adamstown, Co. Wexford.
Courtesy of Wexford County Council Public Library.Marina's grandmother was angry about the death of her daughter. She blamed Marina's father for making her daughter ill. When Marina was making her confirmation at the very early age of nine, her grandmother said to her, 'You will not show me up today, and by the time you are thirteen, you will be an old woman.'
When Marina was fifteen, her grandmother died and she was sent to her uncle's house in Enniscorthy. She was not wanted there, so she was taken to a convent in New Ross. Despite the hard times her grandmother put her through, Marina still prays for her all the time.
Life in the Convent
Marina Revisits the Convent at New Ross
Marina went back to visit the Good Shepherd Convent in New Ross 52 years after she left it to go to London. This is a photo of her on the steps where she was told as a teenager that she was to be called Fidelma. It was taken in September, 2005.
Courtesy of Wexford County Council Public Library Service.Marina Revisits the Convent at New Ross
Courtesy of Wexford County Council Public Library Service.
Courtesy of Wexford County Council Public Library Service.
Marina Revisits the Convent at New Ross
Marina went back to visit the Good Shepherd Convent in New Ross 52 years after she left it to go to London. This is a photo of her on the steps where she was told as a teenager that she was to be called Fidelma. It was taken in September, 2005.
Courtesy of Wexford County Council Public Library Service.Life did not get much easier for Marina after moving to the convent. On her arrival, she was given Fidelma as a new name. She was put to work in the laundry and was not allowed be one minute late or to stand still on the job. Breakfast was bread and dripping and dinner was watery soup and potatoes.
Punishments for girls who answered back to the nuns in charge included having all their hair shaved off their heads and being made to kneel for three days and eat food from the floor. Thankfully, after a few years, Marina's brother came to the convent and took her away.
Marina had such a hard time at this convent that she was very nervous for years afterwards. But within three months of leaving the convent, she was off to search for a better life in England.