Due to the BRPT this is a short multi.
Edel Quinn
Edel Quinn was born in Grenane in the parish of Castlemagner, Kanturk, Co Cork on 14th September 1907 – in a house known locally as Magpie house. Her first name was actually Edelweiss which means “Noble White”.
Her Grandfather was William Quinn – who came from Tyrone and settled in Tuam to build St Mary’s Cathedral – so perhaps religion was always in her blood. Her father was a bank official with the National Bank and his career meant that the family moved around a bit – Clonmel, Cahir, Enniscorthy, Tralee. She attended a finishing school in Cheshire and went to commercial college to learn business skills. She loved music, dancing and sports – watched rugby and played tennis and cricket. Her father developed a gambling problem which meant demotion in the bank. This led to financial difficulty to the family and as a result she started work at the Chagny Tile Works in Dublin as a typist/secretary. She turned down an offer of marriage from her boss there as she had felt a call to religious life and she wished to join the Poor Clares. The man she turned down married someone else and called one of his daughters Edel.
She was settled on joining the Poor Clares in Belfast. She had tuberculosis and this prevented her from joining the Poor Clares. She then spent 18 months in a sanatorium in Newcastle, Co Wicklow which didn’t alleviate the problem – she left unable to afford the continued care which wasn’t helping the tuberculosis. She then decided to become active in the Legion Of Mary and assisted in helping the poor in the slums of Dublin.
In 1936 aged 29 she was dying of tuberculosis but still headed to Africa. Even her journey to Africa was eventful – no normal berths were left but a single berth first class cabin became available which was booked for her despite the increased costs. With the number of priest on board they needed more space and she vacated the room each day and it was used as an oratory. Before they set sail the head of the London Legion visited – and was surprised to meet Edel – she had spent time with her while visiting the Wicklow Sanitorium and had believed her to be dying soon. She said “imagine my stupefaction to behold in the intrepid adventurer of Africa the poor invalid of Newcastle! It is like seeing somebody step out of a grave and greet you.”
She used Nairobi as a base but travelled a wide area for her mission which was made more difficult with the outbreak of WW2 and the impact of fuel rationing. She was set up with a car and the Legion insisted she have a driver – Ali – who did the long driving and kept her protected with his trusty rifle. She worked hard, despite her illness, for over 7 years establishing hundreds of legion branches in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and Mauritius. She had a few spells in hospital during this time because of her health – she contracted malaria, pleurisy and dysentery on top of the TB. If in hospital she continued her work through correspondence. In 1941 she arrived at a convent in Malawi and her health was bad – the nuns put her to bed immediately and one stayed up all night with her. The next morning Edel whispered “Don’t worry about me, Sister. Our Lady has told me that I have three more years to work for her.”
Her health deteriorated further in 1943 and she died in Nairobi in May 1944. Her last words were “What is happening to me? Is Jesus coming?”. She is buried in the Missionaries’ Cemetery there under a marble celtic cross. Part of the Inscription reads “ She fulfilled this mission with such devotedness and courage as to stir every heart and to leave the Legion of Mary and Africa itself forever in her debt”. President McAleese visited her grave in 2001.
The cause for her beatification was introduced in the 1950s/1960s (I’ve found 3 different dates!) and Pope John Paul II declared her venerable in December 1994.
Her feast day is May 12th. She has a shrine to her in Castlemagner, a statue in Kanturk, a hall named after her in Kanturk and number of street/buildings named after her in various places.
The given coordinates bring you to 22 Trafalgar Street – where she lived from 1925 to 1935. In 2007, celebrating 100years since her birth, the Archbishop Of Nairobi and the Monkstown Parish Priest unveiled a plaque to her memory.
The Geocache
So you have arrived at 22 Trafalgar Street. Now, using your powers of observation
A – How many timber posts stop the cars going over the edge?
B – How many steps do you take to go from pavement level to house level?
C – How many large circles/wreaths are over the two entrances that share this set of steps?
D – How many small circles are under most of each large circle/wreath?
E – How many small circles are under the middle large circle/wreath?
Once you have this information then you are heading for N53 17.ABA W006 0C.B(D+E)D
The First
Congratulations go to Pantadeusz & Minignar for finding the cache first - very quick off the mark!