Anna Maria Ball
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Anna Maria Ball became Anna Maria O'Brien (1785 - 28 March 1871) was an Irish
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
.


Life

Anna Maria Ball was born in 1785 at 5 Werburgh Street,
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. She was the second daughter of John Ball, a silk merchant, and his second wife Mabel Clare (née Bennett). Her full brother was Nicholas Ball, one of the first Roman Catholics to be appointed a High Court judge, and her sisters included Mother
Frances Mary Teresa Ball Frances Mary Teresa Ball, IBVM (9 January 1794 – 19 May 1861) was an Irish Catholic religious sister who founded the Irish branch of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, better known as the Sisters of Loretto. Early life Frances Ball wa ...
of the
Sisters of Loreto The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose members are commonly known as the Loreto Sisters, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women dedicated to education founded in Saint-Omer by an Englishwoman, Mary Ward (nun), Mary Ward, i ...
. Ball was educated at St Mary's convent,
Micklegate Bar York has, since Roman times, been defended by walls of one form or another. To this day, substantial portions of the walls remain, and York has more miles of intact wall than any other city in England. They are known variously as York City W ...
,
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
from July 1800 until 1803. Upon her return to Dublin, she began her philanthropic work. In November 1805, she married a wealthy Dublin merchant, John O'Brien, bringing a dowry of £5000. Ball became friends with
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 ...
in 1807 when she attended the profession of her older sister Cecilia into the
Ursulines The Ursulines, also known as the Order of Saint Ursula (post-nominals: OSU), is an enclosed religious order of women that in 1572 branched off from the Angelines, also known as the Company of Saint Ursula. The Ursulines trace their origins to th ...
in Cork. Aikenhead regularly visited Ball and her husband at their home on
Mountjoy Square Mountjoy Square () is a garden square in Dublin, Ireland, on the Northside of the city just under a kilometre from the River Liffey. One of five Georgian squares in Dublin, it was planned and developed in the late 18th century by Luke Gardine ...
, and they would visit the Dublin poor together. She was also a close friend of the future archbishop of Dublin, Daniel Murray, a relationship she used to help Aikenhead in her foundation of 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 ...
. In 1809, she was involved in the establishment of the House of Refuge in Ashe Street, Dublin, and oversaw its move to Stanhope Street in 1814 to be taken over by the new order of the Sisters of Charity. She was a generous patron of the Sisters of Charity, aiding in the fund-raising for St. Vincent's Hospital, with her chaperoning three sisters to
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to study nursing in 1833. Alongside the sisters, Ball made visits to female prisoners in
Kilmainham Gaol Kilmainham Gaol () is a former prison in Kilmainham, Dublin. It is now a museum run by the Office of Public Works, an agency of the Government of Ireland. Many Irish revolutionaries, including the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising (Patrick Pea ...
and to
Jervis Street Hospital Jervis Street Hospital () was a hospital in Jervis Street in Dublin, Ireland. The site of the hospital became the Jervis Shopping Centre. History Charitable infirmary, Cook Street The hospital was founded by six Dublin surgeons, George Duany, ...
. She was appointed the manager of the sisters' school on King's Inns Street, a position she filled until old age prevented her from visiting. Ball also supported the
Sisters of Loreto The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose members are commonly known as the Loreto Sisters, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women dedicated to education founded in Saint-Omer by an Englishwoman, Mary Ward (nun), Mary Ward, i ...
in Ireland which was founded by her youngest sister,
Frances Mary Teresa Ball Frances Mary Teresa Ball, IBVM (9 January 1794 – 19 May 1861) was an Irish Catholic religious sister who founded the Irish branch of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, better known as the Sisters of Loretto. Early life Frances Ball wa ...
. She provided the funds for the sisters to buy their house on
St Stephen's Green St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by ...
. Ball had no children of her own, but she raised the three orphaned children of her elder half-brother, John Ball after his death in 1812. She died on 28 March 1871 at her home in Mountjoy Square, after suffering from senility for two years previously. A portrait of Ball by Nicholas Joseph Crowley from 1845 is held by the Sisters of Charity.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Anna Maria 1785 births 1871 deaths 19th-century Irish women 19th-century Irish people Philanthropists from Dublin (city) Irish women philanthropists 19th-century Roman Catholics 19th-century Irish philanthropists