The Holy Faith Sisters Digital Archive currently contains three digital collections as outlined below. On behalf of the Sisters of the Holy Faith Congregational Archives, these collections were digitised and curated by Helena La Pina (2020). Every effort has been made to ensure this digital archive is compliant with ISAD(G) and Dublin Core metadata standards.

These collections (series) are the first documents in the Sisters of the Holy Faith Congregational Archives to migrate online.  While the main Archive is a valuable resource of primary source material, these specific collections form the nucleus of the entire archive, as they embody the work of Margaret Aylward (1810-1889), the foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Faith Congregation. The collections offer a glimpse into poverty-stricken Dublin, and provide a vivid portrait of fundraising endeavours, prevailing economic conditions and the challenges facing a charity during the 1800s. The reports detail Aylward’s mission, and advances in charity work and provides valuable statistical data.

Annual Reports of the Ladies’ Association of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul (1852-1862) consists of a series of eleven reports that details the work of the Ladies’ Association of Charity, from 1852-1862 in Ireland. Considered primary-source material, the reports provide a panoramic view of charitable endeavours in Dublin City. Overall, the reports offer the reader insight into how a charity was assembled, steered, and administered in the nineteenth century.

Annual Reports of St. Brigid’s Orphanage Annual (1857-1907) consists of a series of fifty reports that detail orphan statistics, the development of a boarding-out (foster care) system, and a network of nurses (foster parents).

Publications of St. Brigid’s Orphanage currently consists of two publications. It is envisaged that other publications may be added to this collection in the future, as part of an ongoing curatorial project.

Please Note: It should be noted that some of the language used in these reports is often offensive, especially when the subjects are Protestants, Protestant institutions, Protestant theology and foreigners. It is imperative to note that this language does not represent the views of the Sisters of the Holy Faith.  A curatorial decision was made to display these records in their original form and content, void of editing or the removal of language or views which may be disagreeable to many, or cause offense. Such language and views were broadly supported in nineteenth-century Ireland.  These are not descriptions of facts and should not be read as such. It is strongly recommended that the viewer read these statements within the context of 1800s Ireland, Irish society and the Irish political environment.