1903 – St. Joseph’s Convent, Cappoquin, Co. Waterford

The former Convent of Mercy, now the Saint Athanasius Monastery of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The Mercy Order arrived in Cappoquin around 1850, before moving to this building constructed between 1902-03. In 1875 an Industrial School for Boys was opened. This was in operation until 1974, when it became a group home, and finally closing in 1999. The convent closed in 2002, was sold to a developer in 2004, and later sold again in 2014 by a receiver. The 2014 listings described it as “19 bedrooms on each of the first and second floors, and the ground level includes library, chapel, sacristy, kitchen, and reception room. There’s over 5,000 sq ft at ground level, over 4,000 sq ft above it, and 3,000 sq ft on the top floor.”