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The Beginning
When Catherine McAuley was born in Dublin on September 29, 1778, the sorrows and blessings of her next forty years were still hidden in what she would later call the Providence of God.
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Catherine's father James died in 1783, and her mother Elinor, in 1798.
From a young age, Catherine experienced poverty, homelessness and dependence on others.
Through the Armstrongs, she was introduced to Catherine and William Callaghan - an elderly, childless, and wealthy Protestant couple.
In 1803 she became their household manager at their home in Dublin and then at their estate in Coolock.
She nursed Mrs Callaghan until her death in 1819. When William Callaghan died in 1822, to her surprise Catherine became the sole residuary legatee of their estate and much of their savings.
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In 1824, her inheritance now settled, Catherine implemented a longstanding desire: she built a large house on Baggot Street, Dublin, as a school for poor girls and a shelter for homeless servant girls and women. In August 1827, a month before the House of Mercy was opened, her sister Mary died of consumption, leaving her husband, Dr. William Macauley, a surgeon, and five young children, aged six to sixteen. Thus a new wave of responsibilities and losses began to affect Catherine's life.
SEPTEMBER 29 1778
Catherine Elizabeth McAuley is born of Catholic parents in Dublin. Though the exact year of her birth cannot be verified, it is general practice to use 1778.
April 1783
Birth of Catherine McAuley's brother, James William.
July 18 1783
Her father, James McAuley, makes his will and dies shortly afterwards.
1798
Death of Catherine McAuley's mother, Elinor Conway McAuley.
1801
Catherine McAuley moves in with Protestant relatives, the Armstrongs.
1803
She moves into the home of a Protestant couple, William and Catherine Callaghan on Mary Street, Dublin, as household manager and companion to Catherine Callaghan. In 1809 she moves with the Callaghans to Coolock House, a twenty-two acre estate northeast of Dublin.
August 18 1804
Catherine McAuley's sister, Mary McAuley, marries Dr William Montgomery Macauley, a Protestant surgeon.
October 3 1819
Death of Catherine Callaghan.
1821
Catherine McAuley's brother, Dr James McAuley, a surgeon and now a Protestant, marries Frances Ridgway.
January 27 1822
William Callaghan signs his last will and a codicil designating CMcA as his sole residuary legatee, after other bequests.
August 9 1822
Death of Anne Conway Byrn, Catherine McAuley's cousin. Catherine McAuley adopts ten-year-old Catherine Byrn, having adopted the baby, Teresa Byrn, in 1821.
November 10 1822
Death of William Callaghan.
May 11 1823
Dr. Daniel Murray becomes archbishop of Dublin.
1823 - 1824
William Callaghan's will is finally settled.
June 22 1824
Catherine McAuley leases property on Baggot Street in southeast Dublin to build a house to serve poor women and children.
July 1824
Dr. Michael Blake, parish priest of Saints Michael and John's and Catherine McAuley's friend, lays the first stone for the house.
August 11 1827
Burial of Mary McAuley Macauley, Catherine McAuley's sister. She leaves five children: Mary, James, Robert, Catherine, and William, ages sixteen to five.