VIDEO: Road named after 'Mullingar's social conscience' Sr Finbarr Breslin
The late Sr Finbarr Breslin "was Mullingar's social conscience" for decades, attendees at the official naming ceremony of the road named in her honour were told earlier today.
The newly named Sr Finbarr Breslin Road is located just off Harbour Road and serves Mullingar Primary Care Centre.
Speaking at the official naming ceremony this, Cllr Mick Dollard paid tribute to Sr Finbarr's tireless work on behalf of Mullingar's most marginalised and economically deprived inhabitants, especially its vulnerable women and children.
He said that through her work with the Women's Community Projects and her involvement with TEAM (Temporary Emergency Accommodation), Sr Finbarr made a massive and lasting contribution to community life in her adopted home town.
"I used to call her Mullingar's social conscience," Cllr Dollard said.
Sr Finbarr's brother Bernard Breslin said that her family were deeply touched by the honour bestowed on Sr Finbarr, who passed away in 2020 after spending most of her religious life in Mullingar.
"It is a lovely honour and one that we weren't expecting at all. We are very privileged to be here on this occasion and very thankful to Westmeath County Council and everyone involved."
Mr Breslin added that it's only in the years after Sr Finbarr's death that her family have got a true indication of both the huge number of people she helped in Mullingar and the high esteem that she is held in by the community.
The fact the she chose to be buried in Mullingar was an indication that she was as fond of the town and its people as they were of her, he said.
"The longer times goes on the more we discover how popular she was in Mullingar. She was as fond of Mullingar [as it was of her]. She'd be at home and she'd always be looking forward to getting back to Mullingar.
"It's only now that we see the legacy that she left in Mullingar and it's proof can be seen in the number of people that have come out today for this occasion. We are very thankful."
Sr Bridge Commins and Sr Concepta Brennan, Sr Finbarr's colleagues in the Sisters of Mercy Order in Mullingar, said that they were very proud of her and the wider order's contribution to community life over the years.
"She was a factual, down to earth Sister of Mercy on the ground. She was very practical and a realistic woman, who met the needs of the local community as best she could with what she had," Sr Concepta said.
Sr Bridge said that Sr Finbarr would have been "a bit embarrassed" at the prospect of a road being named in her honour.
"She was very humble," she said.