Sr. Ethel Normoyle was born in Lissycasey in Co. Clare in 1944. In 1963 she joined the Little Company of Mary, where she trained as a nurse and in 1972 went to work in Pretoria, South Africa. This mission was during the height of apartheid, the official system of race segregation where the colour of one’s skin defined his or her human rights. Sr. Ethel, a young, white, Irish woman living in a black township challenged this system of oppression and discrimination, by providing education for young black youths. As a result, she was harassed, beaten and arrested by police and experienced an attempted kidnapping. She then moved to Eastern Cape and in 1988 founded the Missionvale Care Centre, to ensure quality care and support to improve the lives of the people of Missionvale township.
The Centre has now evolved into a fully integrated community centre that includes pre-primary and primary schools for over 60 children, whilst being home to some 500 orphans and vulnerable children. Sr. Ethel also established a nutrition centre for impoverished families and expanded the centre to include a clothing warehouse to support those most in need. Later she established a community garden, vocational training, adult education programmes, a community gathering space, administrative assistance to those qualifying for State support and transport to various State offices to ensure equal access. Each Christmas, the Centre ensures that over 5,000 young people receive a gift during the festive season.
Among many other awards and recognitions, in 1996 Sr. Ethel received the Tipperary Peace Award and in 2008 was invited as an Eminent Person to the State of the Nation Address in Parliament in South Africa. She was also honoured by former President of South Africa, Kgalema Motlanthe with the Order of the Grand Counsellor of the ‘Baobab Silver’, one of the country’s top awards, for her service to society.
Following a diagnosis of lung cancer, Sr. Ethel returned to Ireland to receive palliative care and passed away in 2021.
“I will never forget the day that our beloved Nelson Mandela took the presidential oath in parliament. I jumped from my chair as I watched it on television and said to myself ‘this is a point of reference that we will never go back to where we’ve come from’. It was worth fighting for”.
The Little Company of Mary sisters live and work in Ireland, South Africa and Zimbabwe and support many other charities in Ireland and across the world. See: lcm.ie/international-missions
Missionvale Care Centre: missionvaleireland.org
The Angel of Missionvale: The Angel of Missionvale Video
