Sister Stanislaus ''Stan'' Kennedy is an Irish

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

, social activist, and former member of the Irish

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

. She was born Treasa Kennedy in 1939 or 1940 near

Lispole Lios Póil (anglicised as Lispole) is a Gaeltacht village in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the Dingle Peninsula, 8 km east of the town of Dingle and 40 km west of Tralee on the N86 National Secondary Route. Transport Bus Éireann ...

on the

Dingle Peninsula The Dingle Peninsula (; anglicised as Corkaguiny or Corcaguiny, the name of the corresponding barony) is the northernmost of the major peninsulas in County Kerry. It ends beyond the town of Dingle at Dunmore Head, the westernmost point of m ...

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. In 1958 she joined 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 ...

. Initially based in

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

, Ireland she would in time move to

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 ...

where she is best known for having founded, in 1985, the charity

Focus Ireland Focus Ireland is a nonprofit organisation based in Dublin, Ireland that provides services for people who are homeless and people at risk of homelessness in Ireland. It was founded by Sister Stanislaus Kennedy in 1985, and is one of the largest h ...

, which eventually became the largest voluntary organisation in Ireland other than the

Legion of Mary The Legion of Mary (, post-nominal letters, postnominal abbreviation L.O.M.) is an international association of members of the Catholic Church who serve on a Voluntary association, voluntary basis. It was founded in Dublin, as a Roman Catholic ...

. She attended

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 ...

and graduated with a Master of Social Science degree in 1980. In 2001, she also set up the

Immigrant Council of Ireland The Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) is a non-governmental organisation and independent law centre based in Ireland which advises migrants on their rights while advocating for increased migrant protections. History Immigrant Council of Ireland ...

(ICI) as a response to the social needs of new immigrants living in Ireland. In 1997 she was appointed to the

and served until 2004. In 2014, she was awarded the UCD Alumni Award for Social Sciences. Kennedy is the author of six books published by Transworld Ireland, including her autobiography ''The Road Home'', which contains a

foreword A foreword is a (usually short) piece of writing, sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Typically written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between th ...

written by former President of Ireland

Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, ...

References

External links

Sr. Stanislaus Kennedy's website
* * ''Sister Stan - The Road Home - My Journey'' written by Sister Stan, published by Transworld Ireland, 2011

published by The Columba Press, 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Stanislaus Living people 20th-century Irish nuns Irish activists Presidential appointees to the Council of State (Ireland) 21st-century Irish nuns 1939 births