1860s – Convent of Mercy, Skibbereen, Co. Cork

Catherine McCauley founded the Sisters of Mercy in 1831 in Dublin to care for the poor and the sick and to educate poor children. Nuns from the order first came to Skibbereen in 1860 when four sisters from Kinsale opened a school in the town. Later additions to the complex include a chapel by Pugin & Ashlin. The convent closed in July 2003 when the convent and school were sold off for development. In summer 2020, planning permission was granted to renovate and revamp the chapel, to include space for hot-desking, to convert the convent into seven apartments, to convert the former Mercy Heights School into office space, and to build a four-storey apartment block with 52 apartments. The chapel and convent was destroyed by fire in September 2020.