#MADE OF MIRACLES DUBLIN FREE#

The British Army had left and now a religious zealot, seemingly with the backing of the new Irish state, was causing trouble in their streets. Consequently, the retreat lasted three weeks. Thousands of local people, as disturbed as Duff was by what was taking place in their neighborhood, helped in the subsequent mission. Via notices all its residents were informed that there was to be a parish mission in the area specifically for prostitutes, beginning with a retreat at the Pro-Cathedral. Next, Duff mobilized the members of the still-fledgling Legion of Mary, together with the SVP, to canvass Monto. Informing the clergy at the nearby Pro-Cathedral of what was happening on their doorstep, he enlisted their aid, asking them to condemn Monto’s prostitution racket from the pulpit - something they agreed to do. Now Duff understood what needed to be done. It was also made clear that Monto’s pimps and brothel madams were opposed to Duff’s plans for the women as enslaved as their clientele. It was then he realized the challenge faced in trying to eradicate the blight of prostitution in that district. In the end, he was unable to locate the women, but his inquiries brought him face to face with some of those running Monto’s brothels.

The new property would become known as “Sancta Maria.” In 1923 two women residents at Sancta Maria returned to their old ways. Cosgrave.Ĭosgrave agreed to provide a house for the women Duff sought to help. One of these was the Irish premier, William T. By virtue of his office he had access to the nation’s leaders.

#MADE OF MIRACLES DUBLIN FREE#

In the 1920s Duff was a high-ranking civil servant in the newly formed Irish Free State. But first he sought to establish a place where former prostitutes could find refuge - somewhere they could live while preparing for a better life. Not unreasonable questions, which Duff set out to answer. They asked him: How else would they live? What would they eat? What other work could they find? They scorned him - not because of what he asked (perhaps in their hearts they knew his words were true) but rather because they had no other livelihood. So shocked was the young man that on one occasion at seeing a group of prostitutes on the street he pleaded with them to give up their lifestyle. By 1921 Duff had founded what would become known as the Legion of Mary.ĭuff’s time with the SVP had alerted him to the “trade” that was going on in the streets of Monto. Vincent de Paul (SVP), the then middle-class civil servant’s eyes were opened to the endemic poverty of his native city. When in 1914 Duff joined the Society of St. Almost over night, a great swathe of Monto’s paying customers had gone.īut the cause of Monto’s subsequent decline and final disappearance was largely down to one man: Frank Duff.

As a result the British Army withdrew from Dublin. The Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 established a new independent polity in the south of Ireland known as the Irish Free State.

Monto’s brothels ensnared many from the higher echelons of society but their chief clientele came from the various army barracks dotted around the city. Estimates vary but some suggest that there were as many as 1,200 prostitutes working in that area. Her eyesight was also impaired, and she was epileptic.Īfter the Mass, she was taken to a rest and care centre, where she asked that her stretcher be opened when it was, she stood up and was well.Just north of Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral, there was an area once known as “Monto.”įrom the 1860s to 1925, Monto was the site of Europe’s largest red-light district. She had been taken to the shrine on a stretcher, as she was paralyzed. While many visitors to the shrine have claimed cures or favors, this is the first cure which the Church in Ireland has recognized as miraculous.Ĭarroll was cured in 1989, when Bishop Colm O'Reilly, then Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, blessed her with a monstrance. This is illustrated by the fact that thirty years have elapsed since this took place, during which time the examination by the Medical Bureau testifies that there is no medical explanation for this healing.' In these situations, the Church must always be very cautious. Bishop Duffy was leading a diocesan pilgrimage to the shrine, in which Marion and her family participated.Īrchbishop Michael Neary of Tuam also spoke at the Mass, saying, 'today the Church formally acknowledges that this healing does not admit of any medical explanation and joins in prayer, praise and thanksgiving to God.

Made of miracles dublin