Orla Treacy

Orla Treacy
Treacy speaking at the Elliott School of International Affairs, Washington, DC; 2019.
Born
Bray, County Wicklow
Republic of Ireland
EducationPresentation Convent Tralee
Loretto Convent Bray
Alma materMater Dei Institute of Education
Dublin City University
Occupation(s)Religious Sister,
Teacher

Orla Treacy is an Irish Loreto sister who runs a boarding school in war torn South Sudan and she works for Women's education and prevent child marriages. Born in 1973 in Bray, County Wicklow,[1] she became an International Women of Courage Award recipient in 2019.[2][3]

In 2017 she was awarded The Hugh O’Flaherty International Humanitarian Award by the Mayor of Killarney.[4] In 2021, Sr. Treacy was awarded the Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad,[5] by Irish President Micheal D. Higgins.[6]

Orla was educated in Presentation Convent Tralee, County Kerry, then Loretto Convent in Bray completing her Leaving Cert in 1991. She went to Mater Dei Institute of Education, Dublin, and completing her degree in 1995 she became a school teacher.[7] She taught in Presentation College Cork, Loreto Letterkenny, St Muredach's Ballina and Loreto Crumlin. Treacy completed an MA in Chaplaincy and Pastoral care with Mater Dei awarded by Dublin City University in 2002.[8] At the age of 24 Orla decided to join the Loretto Sisters, and was based in Rathfarnham, Dublin, she was professed in 2005.[citation needed]

In 2005 Sr Orla along with two other Irish nuns were invited by Bishop Cesare Mazzolari the Italian-born Bishop of Rumbek, to set up a school in Rumbeck, South Sudan.[9] Today Orla, is the Principal and the director of the centre that provides Primary and Secondary Schooling to boys and girls, teacher training,[10] and also provides a health centre staffed by Kenyan nuns.[6]

  1. ^ Bracken, Simon (7 March 2019). "Irish nun honoured with award for courage in US". The Irish Times. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  2. ^ "2019 International Women of Courage Award Recipients Announced Secretary of State Pompeo To Honor Awardees on March 7; Special Remarks by First Lady of the United States Melania Trump". US Department of State. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  3. ^ Coyne, Ellen (8 March 2019). "US honours Irish sister for work in Sudan". The Times. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  4. ^ Wicklow nun to receive the Hugh o flaherty Humanitarian award Archived 2019-08-08 at the Wayback Machine September, 2017, Wicklow News.
  5. ^ Presidential award for Bray’s Sr Orla Treacy by Eimear Dodd, Bray People, December 22, 2021.
  6. ^ a b In a culture where cows are worth more than women, an Irish nun has dedicated herself to educating girls By Patsy McGarry, Irish Times, December 27, 2022.
  7. ^ "Killarney mayor to honour Loreto Sister with humanitarian award". Killarney Advertiser. 30 August 2017. Archived from the original on 8 August 2019.
  8. ^ Sr. Orla Treacy Award for Societal Impact, Mater Dei Centre for Catholic Education, Dublin City University, www.dcu.ie, June 19, 2019.
  9. ^ Sister Orla Treacy in Rumbek Loreto Sisters in Ireland.
  10. ^ Sr Orla Treacy - Directors Message Loreto Rumbek