Irish nun receives Presidential Award in Zambia

Sr Mary Lucey

Irish missionary nun, Sr Mary Lucey, was recently honoured in her absence with the Presidential Insignia for Meritorious Achievement from President Hakainde Hichilema in Zambia. Sr Mary now lives in semi-retirement in Castleisland, Co Kerry after spending 31 years in the Pemba and Kalomo regions of Zambia. Her medal was accepted on her behalf by colleagues, African sister, Sr Sandra and an Irish sister, Sr Josephine.

She is a graduate of University College Cork where she studied science and education. Professed in 1965, she taught for a period in Dingle and in Millstreet before heading to the Presentation Sisters' mission in Zambia to fulfil her vocation.

During her years in Zambia, Sister Mary undertook many projects to support poor and marginalised communities in the vast country. Her education was a great asset to her in the development projects she undertook. She did not believe in hand-outs aiming instead to enable people to achieve better lives for themselves and for their families. Her method was to build communities through project works that helped people to help themselves.

Typical of missionaries, she was supported by her family and many friends in Ireland, England and USA. At one time, she organised for two containers of goods to be transported from Ireland to Zambia. Many bicycles, sewing machines and lots of useful requirements reached her mission. These enabled individuals and families to set up small businesses. During famine times, she procured seeds for planting which provided food.

She got a pre-school built and paid teachers to prepare the young children for primary school. Today, the government of Zambia provides pre-schools in most districts. This is an example of how missionaries influenced the policies of African governments. The original pre-school building was converted into apartments to house two families.

She initiated and oversaw the building of a model village where eight families would own a house and a plot of land with a bore-hole to provide clean water which is so important in Zambia. A few years later, funded by friends in the USA and Ireland, a second village of eight houses, adjacent and similar to the first was added.

As soon as the second village was completed, a parish in the UK where Sr Mary's brother, Fr Donal Lucey of the Diocese of Leeds, was parish priest offered to fund a third village. This was built adjacent and similar to the other villages. The three villages were made into a Co-operative for which title deeds were granted. The project took 16 years to complete.

The same parish in the UK has funded a community hall, the installation of solar lighting in the homes and the erection of fencing around the property for protection from wild animals. According to Sr Mary, the 24 families are now living with dignity, owning their own homes, land and water supply. It is only a drop in the ocean but is a huge improvement in their previous living conditions.

In 2005, the community in Rathcoole undertook a highly successful fundraising drive to provide funds for the purchase of a tractor for Sr. Mary's mission. At that time there was no tractor in the area - farmers ploughed with an ox and planted seeds with a stick. The new tractor enabled one hectare to be ploughed for each family, thereby, enabling the seed to be sown in the early days of the rain that only lasts for about three months which is a short growing season.

Sr Mary may be living now in Castleisland but she still tries to support her former missionary colleagues in Zambia. In March 2024, she organised a coffee morning and sale of work of handmade goods that originated in Zambia where she taught women how to sew and make garments.

She is the second Irish nun to receive this award from the President of Zambia in recent years Last year, the award was conferred on Sr Mary Courtney of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa and a native of Ballyjamesduff in Co. Cavan - see www.indcatholicnews.com/news/51921.

It is encouraging to see foreign governments recognise publicly the inspiring work done by these women amongst the poor and marginalised, especially when the Irish media and some politicians ridicule nuns and other religious as 'baddies'.

Matt Moran is a Cork-based author who has written extensively on missionary development work in the Global South. He published "The Legacy of Irish Missionaries Lives On" detailing how the work undertaken for many decades by Irish missionaries is being continued by local and indigenous missionaries. He served as Chairman of the Board of Misean Cara and on the Board of Management of Nano Nagle Birthplace.