From Immigration to Sisterhood
Letter regarding the birth of Margaret Galligan (to be Sister Amata).
Margaret Galligan was born to Bernard Galligan and Mary Lee in 1895 (or maybe 1893, records seem to disagree) to a typical Irish home in Ardlougher, in the County of Cavan. Margaret left Ireland in 1910 to work in America, landing in New York and finding work as a children's nurse. Working for wealthy families on Park Avenue, Margaret eventually saved up enough money to visit her homeland five years later.
Photograph of the SS Cameronia.
Margaret Galligan booked her passage back to Ireland for herself and her aunt, Bridget Lee, aboard the SS Cameronia. The trip was supposed to be a relaxing vacation; a return to their home country to reunite with family. However, the Cameronia was requisitioned to ferry Canadian troops for the war, so instead the two ladies were transferred to the RMS Lusitania. This would be a pivotal moment in Margaret Galligan's life, as this voyage would completely shift what she had thought her life would be.
Article from the Cavan Newspaper, the Anglo-Celt, dated May 15, 1915.
On May 7, 1915 while Margaret Galligan ate lunch with her aunt a large crash rocked the ship. Startled by the impact, Margaret along with many passengers got up to figure out what was going on. The ship's stewards reassured the passengers that everything was alright so everyone returned to their seats. Panic set in when a second shock came. Margaret and her aunt were able to make it out of the dining room onto the deck.
The shocks Margaret and her aunt felt was their ship being struck by a torpedo from a German U-Boat, and a second explosion of unknown origins. The damage caused by the torpedo and subsequent explosion were severe, causing the Lustania to sink quickly. Margaret and her aunt were left holding onto each other as the ship went under. Luckily, their life belts helped them stay afloat. Freezing, the pair swam to a floating deck and clung to it.
Margaret and her aunt spent two hours in the choppy waters of the Atlantic, until a lifeboat came to their rescue. The entire time, Margaret prayed to God to deliver her from this disaster. She pledged that if her life was saved, she would devote the rest of it to God. It was another three hours before they were rescued by a tug boat and taken to Queenstown. Truly safe, Margaret knew that she needed to make good on her promise, and began looking for a sign of what to do.
Upon her return to her hometown of Ardlougher, Margaret discovered that her father was sick. She spent the next three years caring for him before his death in 1918. It was after his death that she made her inevitable return to New York. Still searching for a sign from God and wavering a bit on what she should do, Margaret had a fateful meeting with a Dominican Sister named Mary Walsh.
Photograph of Mother Mary Walsh, 1912
Mother Mary Walsh was the foundress of the Dominican Sisters of the Sick Poor, officially recognized in 1910. In it's initIal years numerous members of the congregation of the Sick Poor died from disease, leaving Mother Mary Walsh alone. Despite the horrific turn of events, Mary Walsh persevered and by 1918 she had regrown her congregation. Throughout her years, she continuously sought to add more Sisters to her congregation and expand the work they did.
Typed copy of Sister Amata's first Profession to become a Dominican Sister, 1918