2018 Warren Mackenzie Advancement Award- Katie Coughlin

Hi.
I’m Katie Coughlin. I am currently writing from Switzerland. I graduated this past summer from the Ohio State University with my MFA. I received the Warren MacKenzie Advancement Award in May and decided to start my research at the end of September. As a 2018 recipient, the WMAA has allowed me to travel to Ireland to research my family ancestry as well as the habits of the Benedictine order of nuns. Two very different routes of research, but growing up Catholic, I have never been able to disassociate being Irish from being a part of a larger cultural history through religion.

To start my journey, I travelled to northwestern Ireland. Set in the stunning landscape of Connemara, sits the oldest Irish Benedictine Abbey, Kylemore. Originating in Belgium, the monastery was given over to the Irish nation in 1682, becoming a place of education and religious guidance for young women during the persecutions. The turbulent times ahead led the nuns to relocate to Dublin, then back to Belgium and then finally to Connemara when the original abbey in Belgium was destroyed during WWI.

Walled Gardens

Although this background information is interesting, my main curiosity lies with the religious garments of the order. One of the few remaining orders to wear full habits, I am interested in the sisters's relationship to their clothing as well as the construction and sewing process. Due to the advancement of technology, specifically within the speed of making, there is only one monastery within Ireland that may make some parts of their garments, at this time the sisters who do make the habits are currently in Slovakia and I am not permitted to visit. All the other abbeys purchase whatever is needed through a company based out of England. 

My second cousin Mary, on my Dad's side, works at Kylemore and was able to take me around and show me everything that was going on and changing within the abbey. She was also able to arrange a meeting for me with the head abbess. I met with Abbess Maire of Kylemore to discuss her history as a nun as well as the shifts she has witnessed within the dress of the order throughout her time of commitment.

My favorite part of the monastery was the Gothic Chapel. It is very small and not used often but is quite beautiful. 

The next section of this research sent me to St. Gallen, a city outside Zurich, to visit the St. Gallen Abbey, where I am right now. Stay tuned for the next post!