Sr. Mairead Carroll, born in 1931, was baptised Margaret Teresa Mary. She came from Kiltimagh, Co. Mayo where she had all of her early education in St. Louis Convent school including her Leaving Certificate in 1949. She was one of six children, but has only one living sibling, her sister, Mary.After a few years at home, she came to Dublin to study pharmacy and them worked for some years in retail pharmacies before joining MMM in 1961.

After her initial religious formation, she went to work in the International Missionary Training Hospital (IMTH) in Drogheda. But her time there was short because she was called to go to Spain for two years, to a hospital run by MMM at that time in Leon. There she did work both in the pharmacy and the medical laboratory. Unfortunately, she had to return to Ireland because of ill health.

While in Ireland, she returned again to the IMTH before heading off to Tanzania. For ten years she gave a wonderful service in our hospitals there, in Makiungu, Dareda and Namanyere. In 1981, she was asked to go to Uganda, again as the pharmacist in our hospital in Masaka.

Sadly, in 1983, due to ill health, Sr. Mairead had to leave Africa. She retrained in pastoral care and worked as a Chaplain for some years in the IMTH and later in Dublin in a social project for the Homeless, run by the Franciscans in Merchant’s Quay.

Sr. Mairead was a soft-spoken, quiet Sister with a wonderful smile. She had a lovely singing voice and took part in MMM recordings during her time in Drogheda. She was a kind person, known for her unobtrusive, gentle counsel to those in need. The work in pastoral care seemed to suit her personality well.

In 2014, Sr. Mairead returned to Drogheda because of ill health. At first, she was in Aras Mhuire following a fall, but then became part of the Motherhouse community. In 2017, she returned to Aras Mhuire for extra nursing care and died in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital on February 9th, 2022. She is buried in St. Peter’s Cemetery.