Sister Katherine Butler (27 May 1914 – 8 August 2000) was an Irish nun with the

Religious Sisters of Charity The Religious Sisters of Charity or Irish Sisters of Charity is a Roman Catholic religious institute founded by Mary Aikenhead in Ireland on 15 January 1815. Its motto is ('The love Christ urges us on'; ). The institute has its headquarte ...

, teacher, writer, and aviator. Butler was one of the first women to get a pilot's licence in Ireland.

Early life

Born Katherine Bayley Butler, she was the eldest of two daughters of

James Bayley Butler James Bayley Butler MBE MRIA (8 April 1884 – 21 February 1964) was an Irish biologist and academic, and was considered the foremost expert on the fungus which causes dry rot. Life James Bayley Butler was born in Secunderabad, India, on 8 ...

and Katherine Butler (née McWeeney). Both she and her sister

Beatrice Beatrice may refer to: * Beatrice (given name) Places In the United States * Beatrice, Alabama, a town * Beatrice, Humboldt County, California, a locality * Beatrice, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Beatrice, Indiana, an unincorporated ...

attended

Alexandra College Alexandra College () is an independent day and boarding school for girls in Milltown, Dublin, Ireland. The school operates under a Church of Ireland ethos. History The school was founded in 1866 and takes its name from Princess Alexandra of ...

, Dublin, and later the Ursuline convent,

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

. Butler had decided to take up a religious vocation from age 17, but was persuaded to wait until she was 21 by her parents. She used this time to undertake a degree in science at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

Aviation

Butler had become interested in aviation after seeing Sir

Alan Cobham Sir Alan John Cobham, KBE, AFC (6 May 1894 – 21 October 1973) was an English aviation pioneer. Early life As a child he attended Wilson's School, which was then in Camberwell, London. The school was relocated to the former site of ...

's Air Circus in the early 1930s, and so began to take flying lessons at Kildonan Aerodrome, with pilots such as John Currie. On 15 January 1936 she became the third woman in Ireland to receive a pilot's licence. She entered the novitiate of the

Sisters of Charity Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition alone, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (whose sisters are also of ...

Milltown, Dublin Milltown () is a suburb and townland on the southside of Dublin, Ireland. Milltown was the site of several working mills on the River Dodder and is also the location of the meeting of the River Slang with the Dodder. It is located adjacent to ...

five days later, on 20 January. She was given the name Sr Mary Alphonsus, though later reverted to Katherine Butler, remarking that "there were no nuns with double-barrel names."

Educational career and later life

Having finished her novitiate, Butler graduated as a teacher in 1938 and spent many years in the profession. Butler spent time in England teaching during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and later studied in Rome in the late 1960s. Butler taught at the order's secondary school in Mountjoy Street, Dublin, later helping to found new secondary schools in

Foxford Foxford () is a town 16 km south of Ballina, County Mayo, Ballina in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It stands on the N26 road, N26 roads in Ireland, national primary route from Swinford to Ballina and has Foxford railway station ...

, County Mayo, serving as principal, and

Walkinstown Walkinstown () is a suburb of Dublin in Ireland, six kilometres southwest of the city centre. It is surrounded by Drimnagh to the north, Crumlin, Dublin, Crumlin to the east, Greenhills, Dublin, Greenhills to the south, and Ballymount, Bluebel ...

, Dublin. She last taught in the order's Marymount school in

Harold's Cross Harold's Cross () is an affluent urban village and inner suburb on the south side of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland in the postal district List of Dublin postal districts, D6W. The River Poddle runs through it, though largely in an underg ...

, before moving to the order's Crumlin convent in 1977. Whilst in Crumlin, Butler began an outreach programme, conducting home visits with her pupils. In 1953 she published a biography of Mother

Mary Aikenhead Mother Mary Frances Aikenhead (19 January 1787 – 22 July 1858) was born in Daunt's Square off Grand Parade, Cork, Ireland. Described as one of nursing's greatest leaders, she was the founder of the Catholic religious institute, the Religi ...

, foundress of the

, ''A Candle Was Lit''. Following this publication, Butler referred to the "apostolate of the pen" and wrote a prodigious number of letters to lonely people, prisoners, and occasionally to the national newspapers. She also wrote for magazines and periodicals, with a particular interest in the area of

ecumenism Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

. This interest led her to attend services of other denominations including

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

, and

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

. Butler was an active member of the

Old Dublin Society The Old Dublin Society () was founded in 1934. Its mission is to promote the history of Dublin and its citizens. Membership Membership of the society is open to everyone interested in the history of Dublin and Dubliners, most of whom are amate ...

, and wrote for their journal the ''

Dublin Historical Record The ''Dublin Historical Record'' is a history journal established in 1938 and published biannually by the Old Dublin Society. Its focus is on the History of Dublin and it is considered to be a "learned journal An academic journal (or scholarly ...

'', winning the Society's annual award for best paper three times. Butler died on 8 August 2000 in Crumlin. She attained special permission from her order to donate her body to the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ...

for use in medical research.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Katherine 1914 births 2000 deaths People educated at Alexandra College Alumni of University College Dublin Nuns from Dublin (city) Irish women aviators 20th-century Irish nuns Aviators from Dublin (city)