ORPHANAGE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL, CORK.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume V, Issue 234, 26 October 1877, Page 3

ORPHANAGE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL, CORK.

On the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the new Orphanage of St. Vincent de Paul, at Cork, built and endowed by Mr. John Nicholas Murphy, D.L., Knight of St. Gregory, at a cost of many thousands pounds — the exact sum not being known to the public — was solemnly blessed by the Bishop of the diocese, assisted by many of the dignitaries and clergy, and in the presence of a distinguished assemblage of the Catholic laity of the city. The object of this institution may bo gathered from the following article in the Qrrlt Mraininer of Tuesday, July 17 :—": — " Yesterday an important addition was made to the charitable institutions of Cork. The Orphanage erected by Mr. J. Nicholas Murphy upon the Wellington road received the solemn blessings of the Church from the lips of our venerated Bishop, and was launched upon its beneficent career. Mr. Murphy has not only erected the edifice in a style which makes it one of the foremost ornaments of the city, but has provided an ample endowment for its future maintenance. Rarely, indeed, has the wealth of a private citizen in this or in any other country been put to a nobler use, or the spirit of private munificence manifested itself in a more remarkable and splendid work. The Orphanage will give accommodation to as many as fifty children, and Mr. Murphy has shown a keen and delicate humanity in the selections of the objects of bis bounty. Ample provision has been made for the hapless offspring of the poor, but for the orphaned children of the better class overtaken by adversity there has been no special refuge. It is for them this beautiful building has been erected. In its commodious and hospitable halls the daughters of the poor gentleman will rcccivq nurture and education such as they could not obtain in the ordinary orphan asylums, and will be placed at the proper age in a position to gain their own livelihood. The orphanage is destined for girls alone, as the sex most in need of philanthropic protection, and it is to be placed under the care of the Sisters of Mercy, whose Order has won signal distinction in the sphere of charity and education. In entrusting the the institution to these ladies Mr. Murphy has taken the best security that his philanthropic intentions shall be carried into the fullest effect. And his splendid gift is to serve another useful and admirable purpose. The charming building, placed in one of the most beautiful and salubrious sites of the city, will form a sanatorium in which the ladies of the order will be enabled to recruit their strength after the fatiguing labours they are daily performing in the school-room and other spheres of useful and beneficent occupation in the city. The style of the building is a free treatment of the Gothic architecture of the 13th century, with, however, large windows. Spreading out a facade to the south of 134 feet in length, it presents all the principal apartments to the combined advantages of sun .and view. The ground floor contains school-rooms, refectories, parlors, and offices, all united by a noble corridor or cloister 7 feet six inches wide, by a total length of 11(5 feet, terminated at cither extremity by staircases, thus insuring perfect circulation and eas}' access to every part of the building. On the upper floor are the cells of the nuns to whose care the orphanage is intrusted, so arranged as to secure perfect privacy and quiet, and the other wing is devoted to the purposes of infirmaries, lavatories, etc. In the centre of this floor is the chapel, the rcrcdos of the high Altar of which is enriched with paintings by Mr. N. H. J. Wcstlake, of London. The topmost story is devoted to large airy dormitories, affording accommodation for 40 children, and the requisite number of nuns to superintend them. The edifice has been most substantially built of the uatiyc red. baudbtonc, relieved by bauds aud dres&iugs at limestone,