“A Citadel of Piety”

The Illustrated Guide to Waterford by Edmund Downey states that the City's Magdalen Asylum (later under the care of the Good Shepherd Sisters) was originally founded in 1799. A more detailed account of the Home's origins is contained in Rev. Patrick Power's History of Waterford and Lismore published in 1937. Early rescue efforts in Waterford were hampered by the limited accommodation available in Father Dowley's Refuge, and it was feared that applicants who were refused admission had returned to a life of shame. In 1994, the Waterford Good Shepherd Asylum closed, and its Convent, Chapel,...

The Illustrated Guide to Waterford by Edmund Downey states that the City's Magdalen Asylum (later under the care of the Good Shepherd Sisters) was originally founded in 1799. A more detailed account of the Home's origins is contained in Rev. Patrick Power's History of Waterford and Lismore published in 1937. Early rescue efforts in Waterford were hampered by the limited accommodation available in Father Dowley's Refuge, and it was feared that applicants who were refused admission had returned to a life of shame. In 1994, the Waterford Good Shepherd Asylum closed, and its Convent, Chapel, Penitentiary, former Magdalen Section and Laundry buildings were sold to the Regional Technical College, now the Waterford Institute of Technology. The former occupants of the penitentiary are now, like the nuns, housed in new accommodation a few yards from their old premises. The “Orphanage” is now used as an Adult Education Centre.