Laois nun killed in church attack remembered on anniversary

A Laois nun who was killed in a savage attack on a church in St Lucia, has been remembered on the anniversary of her funeral.

On this day, January 7 in 2001, Irish soil was sprinkled on the casket of Sister Theresa Egan, as more than 2,000 mourners attended her funeral on the Carribean island, according to the Stair na hÉireann website. 

Sr Theresa was a native of Clonaslee, and a mass for her family was held there following her death. 

She was killed in a horrific attack on a Roman Catholic church on New Year’s Eve aged 72. Sr Mel Kenny from Clonmacnoise was injured.

She was one of three nuns who had been giving out communion at 6 o’clock mass. Four men, armed with blowtorches, kerosene and machetes stormed the church and began attacking people. At least 13 people were injured, including the priest who received severe burns. 

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According to local police at the time, the attack was carried out by a group of men, dressed in traditional rastafarian clothes, who claimed to be opposed to the island's main churches. The Prime Minister of St Lucia, Dr Kenny Anthony, said the attackers were "sick and demonic."

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Sr Theresa had trained as a nun at the order of St Joseph of Cluny Sisters convent in Ferbane, Co Offaly, and left Ireland in her early 20s. She had been working in the West Indies for fifty years and had been based in St Lucia for 30 years.

She was a former primary school principal and was involved in education on the island. Sr Theresa Egan was survived by three sisters, all of whom are presentation nuns.