In Memory

Sr. Good Counsel Foran R.I.P.

On Sunday 13th October 2019, Sr. Good Counsel Foran slipped home very peacefully to her God, after a relatively short illness. Since her transfer from Kilkenny Convent, some two years ago, Sr. Good Counsel enjoyed a reasonably good quality of life, as she was lovingly cared for by her St. John of God Community and most especially by the nurses and carers at Sallyville House. Her nieces were devoted to her.  In her ninety-ninth year, her condition deteriorated during the last weeks of her life and her death left the community at Sallyville House and her family feeling a deep sense of sadness and loss.

Sr. Good Counsel – Anne Foran was one of four children born to Daniel and Margaret (nee O’Sullivan) Foran, Ballymore, Cobh, Co. Cork. She attended  Walterstown Primary School and then moved to the Mercy Convent, Cobh and later to St. Leo’s College, Carlow, where she completed her second level education.

Following her Leaving Cert, Anne felt the call to Religious Life and so on October 3rd 1939, she followed her cousin, Sr. Della Strada Foran to the St. John of God Novitiate in Wexford. Having been given the name “Sr. Good Counsel”, she was professed in May 1942 and then commenced her Nursing Training in the Co. Hospital, Wexford. She completed her training in Mercy Hospital, Cork, after which she ministered for a short while in Aut Even Hospital, Kilkenny, before returning for a number of years to the Co. Hospital, Wexford. Then in 1964, she transferred to Kilkenny, where she, together with the late Bishop Birch and Sr. Stanislaus Kennedy, were key figures in the setting up and management of the Social Services in the diocese of Ossory. Good Counsel ministered as a Community Nurse for many years until her retirement from nursing. She then set up and successfully ran a Charity Shop for many years, raising much needed funds for the Social Services. She was also heavily involved in Meals on Wheels, delivering all over |Kilkenny in her trusty Polo. When she eventually retired from that role in her early nineties, she continued to keep in touch with her colleagues, many of whom visited her in her latter years.

Good Counsel was a very practical, no-nonsense kind of woman. She had an eye for style and loved to dress well. Her high-heeled shoes were very special to her! She always kept in close contact with her family and her nieces recall fondly her goodness to them, particularly during their school years. Indeed throughout her life she was a regular and much loved visitor to many of the family homes. In particular she took a keen interest in the younger generation, supporting them with care and guidance. She was renowned for her wisdom, wit and razor sharp mind, and provided a moral compass for all of the family.

Sr. Good Counsel’s Requiem Mass, attended by family, friends and St. John of God Sisters, was celebrated by Rev. Anthony O’Connell, Chaplain, Sallyville House, after which her body was taken to Foulkstown Cemetery, Kilkenny for burial. The prayers at the graveside were led by Rev. Roderick Whearty P.P. St. Patricks’s Parish, Kilkenny. Also in attendance were Rev. Michael Ryan, P.P. Castlecomer, Rev. Dan Bollard P.P. Thomastown and Rev. William Purcell P.P. Clara as well as many friends and colleagues from the Social Services.

Sr. Good Counsel’s sister and two brothers predeceased her. She will be sadly missed by her nieces, nephews, extended family, St. John of God Sisters and many friends.

May she rest gently in God’s eternal peace