Convent of Mercy

Detached five-bay two-storey convent, designed 1911; built 1911-2; opened 1913, on a H-shaped plan centred on single-bay single-storey flat-roofed projecting porch to ground floor; single-bay two-storey (south) or single-bay full-height (north) advanced end bays. "Improved", 1935, producing present composition. Sold, 1989. Renovated, 1992-3. Set in relandscaped grounds.

A convent erected to a design (1911) by William Henry Byrne and Son (formed 1902) of Suffolk Street, Dublin (DIA), representing an integral component of the early twentieth-century ecclesiastical heritage of Contae Mhaigh Eo [County Mayo]: meanwhile, aspects of the composition clearly illustrate the continued development or "improvement" of the convent with those works including a chapel designed (1935) by Ralph Henry Byrne (1877-1946) of Dublin (ibid.). Having been well maintained, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with quantities of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior where mosaic work (1935) by Ludwig Oppenheimer Limited (established 1865) of Old Trafford, Manchester; and vibrant stained glass, all highlight the artistic potential of the composition: however, the introduction of replacement fittings to most of the openings has not had a beneficial impact on the character or integrity of a convent making a pleasing visual statement in a waterside village street scene.