Religious Connotations

Eucharistic Congress 1932.

The Eucharistic Congress was held in Ireland in 1932. The Papal Legate, Lorenzo Cardinal Lauri travelled from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire. 20,000 people attended a Garden Party in the grounds of Blackrock College as part of the celebrations. The place was decorated with flowers, congress banners and Papal flags were displayed everywhere. This was a significant event in Irish history and there were many souvenir postcards produced.

Image acquired from The Collectors' Shop, Blackrock.

Eucharistic Congress 1932.
Image acquired from The Collectors' Shop, Blackrock.

Eucharistic Congress 1932.

The Eucharistic Congress was held in Ireland in 1932. The Papal Legate, Lorenzo Cardinal Lauri travelled from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire. 20,000 people attended a Garden Party in the grounds of Blackrock College as part of the celebrations. The place was decorated with flowers, congress banners and Papal flags were displayed everywhere. This was a significant event in Irish history and there were many souvenir postcards produced.

Image acquired from The Collectors' Shop, Blackrock.

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Another popular theme for postcards was religious events. In June 1932 the 31st International Eucharistic Congress was held over five days in Dublin. The Papal Legate, Lorenzo Cardinal Lauri arrived in Dun Laoghaire from Holyhead. It proved to be one of the largest public events held in Ireland in the twentieth century. There was even an act passed by the Government specifically for the event. It was called the Eucharistic Congress (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1932. Combined with the holding of Congress in Ireland was the commemoration of the death of St. Patrick.

Loreto Abbey was formerly known as Rathfarnham House and was built in 1725. William Palliser was the first owner and, being a member of the aristocracy, entertained many famous people. These included Thomas Moore, Dean Swift and Handel. The house was then bought by George Grierson, the 'King's Printer in Ireland'. Following the Act of Union the position was abolished and the house was vacant until 1821. Dr. Daniel Murray bought the house for £2,000 with the aim of educating children there. Sr. Teresa came to the house and renamed it Loreto.

Commemorative stamp and message

This postcard was sent from Loreto Abbey in Rathfarnham to St.Louis Convent in Monaghan. The correspondence is between two nuns and is one of many postcards sent between the two institutions. The stamp was issued in 1944 to commemorate the tercentenary of the death of a lay brother called Michael O’Cleary, one of the historians who compiled the ‘Annals of the Four Masters’.

Image acquired from The Collectors' Shop, Blackrock.

Commemorative stamp and message
Image acquired from The Collectors' Shop, Blackrock.

Commemorative stamp and message

This postcard was sent from Loreto Abbey in Rathfarnham to St.Louis Convent in Monaghan. The correspondence is between two nuns and is one of many postcards sent between the two institutions. The stamp was issued in 1944 to commemorate the tercentenary of the death of a lay brother called Michael O’Cleary, one of the historians who compiled the ‘Annals of the Four Masters’.

Image acquired from The Collectors' Shop, Blackrock.

Enlarge image

Twenty-two other convents were built in various countries, with Loreto being the earliest. It remains a prime example of the early Georgian period and won the Europa Nostra diploma for its designers in more recent times. The Abbey educated women for 247 years, before its closure in 1999. Not surprisingly it is now protected by a preservation order.

Dating from the late 1940s, the back of the postcard has a special commemorative stamp on it. This stamp was issued in 1944 to commemorate the tercentenary of the death of Michael O'Cleary. He was a Franciscan lay brother and one of the historians involved in compiling the Annals. The title of 'The Four Masters' was applied to these annals. The postcard indicates a correspondence between two nuns, dating from the late 1940s. It was written from Loreto Abbey in Rathfarnham and posted to St.Louis Convent in Monaghan.