Claire Skehan’s Story
Joan Claire Skehan (known as Claire) was born in Kilmore, Victoria, on January 5, 1935, the second child and only daughter of Cecilia and Barry Skehan. She received her early education at St. Joseph's College, Kilmore, under the tutelage of the Sisters of Mercy. In 1950, at 15 years of age, she went to North Geelong where she completed her Secondary Education (Leaving Certificate) at Stella Maris College, the Juniorate of the Sisters of Mercy.
This is Claire’s story, in her words...
I entered the Noviciate at Rosanna on 25 March 1952 as a postulant and received the habit on 31 October of the same year. After two years at the Noviciate, I made my Temporary Profession on 26 January 1955. I began my Nursing Training on 28 January 1955 as a community member at Mercy Private Hospital and graduated as a Registered General Nurse in December 1957.
I made my Perpetual Profession on January 27, 1958, and was given the religious profession name Michele.
I worked in many different areas of general nursing, with some time off to upgrade qualifications in other hospitals. I continued at Mercy Private Hospital until 1990. This was a Sabbatical Year during which I spent some months overseas, including travelling in Europe, the UK, and Ireland, and I had three months of Spiritual Renewal in the Holy Land. In 1991,1 left Mercy Private and worked in Palliative Care at Mercy Hospice Care, Sunshine, until January 1993. From there, my ministry was to help a sister nurse her father, who had suffered a stroke.
In 1994, I applied for and was granted ‘exclaustration’. This meant I could live outside the Mercy Congregation for a time and remain a member. I then moved to Bacchus Marsh with a friend, and we both worked at Gladstone Park in the Parish as Pastoral Associates. I worked part-time in the parish and two or three days as a deputy volunteer coordinator at the Emergency Food Bank in Bacchus Marsh.
In 2000,1 went on a Pilgrimage to the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Bavaria, which is held every ten years. I visited Ireland and the UK.
In 2004, after a period of discernment and discussion with the Mercy Leadership, I requested to re-join the Sisters of Mercy and was warmly welcomed back. While I did not have to go through the Noviciate again, I had to comply with Canon Law and the Congregation Constitutions and make Temporary Vows for three years.
On November 13th 2004, I made my Temporary Profession in the Chapel at the Academy of Mary Immaculate, Fitzroy. This was the first Mercy Convent in Victoria, and it celebrated its sesquicentenary in 2007. During that time, I reverted to my baptised name, Claire.
I was given several options regarding my future, and I chose to live in the Mercy Community at Glen Iris to care for ten of our elderly Sisters who were in care at Cabrini Residential Care, Ashwood. I also provided some support to another sister, who cared for her 106-year-old father one day a week.
In preparation for Final Vows, I spent nine weeks travelling overseas, spending time in Ireland at Mercy International Centre and other places of spiritual significance in Ireland, the UK, and Newfoundland, which has a significant connection to the Australian Sisters of Mercy.
On 15 December 2007, I made my Perpetual Profession at Our Lady of the Nativity Church, West Essendon, at the age of nearly 73. I am now in full-time care at Mercy Place, Keon Park.
My Mercy journey has been unique. It is the first time in the history of our Congregation that anyone has left the Congregation after 44 years and returned six years later. I am extremely happy. There is a difference between entering as a teenager, when one is driven by ideals that are not always realistic, and entering later in life when one is drawn to the vowed life with a mature understanding of the demands of religious life, especially the second time around.
This is what it has been for me. It has been a remarkable journey proving the theory that one has to lose something precious and find it again to appreciate and know precisely where one’s heart truly belongs.
Sister Claire
Family Eulogy
Claire Skehan was born in Kilmore on 5 January 1935 to parents Cecelia and Barry Skehan, Claire was a loved sister to Kevin, Adrian, Philip and Michael. She was also a loved sister‑in‑law of Phyllis, Mary, June and Zai (who is unable to be here), and a loving aunt to their families. She was a loved sister to Mary Jones and an aunt to her family.
Claire commenced her schooling at St Joseph’s College in Kilmore, where she developed her love of the Mercy Sisters, in particular Sr Michael.
Little is remembered of her early life growing up in the family home in Kilmore. Early family photos show her feeding lambs and calves, which no doubt fostered her love of animals – especially the cats and dogs that were always present and later became such an important part of her life with Kate Keady.
From time to time, we would travel to Kerang to visit our aunt Dorothy (Dad’s sister). On one visit to the shopping area, according to Claire, I pointed out a “smack bot” in the hardware shop window, only to be told, “No, actually it’s a spatula.” Claire was often asked whether baby Michael would be coming on the family’s visit to her at the hospital. If the answer was yes, then the nuns said they wouldn’t need to polish the floors.
Her other interests included playing tennis and Irish dancing, which I clearly remember watching from the steps of the Kilmore Mechanics’ Hall. She also developed some cooking skills and was awarded a certificate in the under‑16 class for cake at the local show. Claire was a member of the Children of Mary Society and, although I don’t recall the details clearly, she would regularly attend weekday Mass. She was also a keen supporter of the Essendon Football Club.
Her love of music became evident during her schooling. On a number of occasions in the late 1940s, her name appeared in the local paper, which published the Melbourne University music examination results, with Claire receiving honours and certificates several times in Theory of Music, Speech and Pianoforte.
Adrian reminded me that she was always playing doctor and nurse, and I have no doubt we were her patients on many occasions. We can claim that our participation played a significant role in developing her love of nursing and in helping her progress towards her chosen profession.
In 1950, I understand, she left the family home against Dad’s wishes – though eventually with his blessing – to continue her education at Stella Maris in Geelong. From there, she went to Rosanna and then on to her profession in the Mercy Order.
She was never very far away, although restrictions on visiting meant that our monthly visits were limited. When family illnesses occurred, a phone call to her always resulted in the best of care from the medical profession being recommended. On a number of occasions when our mother was unwell, I was always told, “Take me to the Mercy so Claire can look after me.” In fact, on a number of occasions, that did happen. In the latter stages of Mum’s life, Claire was able to have her admitted to St Joseph’s Home in Belmont, Geelong. During my wife’s illness in the early 1980s, I was able to leave my daughter Therese in Claire’s care at the Mercy Hospital on a number of occasions so I could continue to work at the local paper during the day.
Claire was able to travel overseas and, in 1972, visited Kevin and his family in Malaysia. In later years, she visited the Holy Land, including Syria and Egypt. A visit to Ireland took her to County Clare, where she was able to make contact with distant relatives who still reside in the O’Briensbridge area, from which our ancestors migrated in the late 1850s.
Just over 12 months ago, as a family, we celebrated her 90th birthday with her at Mercy Place. She had been looking forward to this milestone for some months, and the day was a perfect celebration. I am sure those present will have special memories of the occasion and of the speech that concluded the day.
Finally, on behalf of our family, our thanks to all the staff at Mercy Place for the way they cared for her during her stay with them; to the Mercy Sisters for their love and support of her over 65 years in their midst; and for her devotion to her beliefs, the professional manner in which she cared for the sick, and the love for her family that will always remain with us.
Words for remembrance for Sr. Claire (Joan Clair) Skehan RSM
5 January 1935 - 30 January 2026
Joan Claire, known as Claire, was born on 5th January 1935, the second child and only daughter of Barry and Cecilia Skehan. She had four brothers, Kevin (dec.) Adrian, Philip, and Michael (dec.)
The family lived in Kilmore, where she was born. Her father, Barry, was a Funeral Director and a member of the Irish Pipe Band. Her mother, Cecilia, was an accomplished cook who had a business selling her cakes and confectionery. Cecilia was also musical, with a beautiful singing voice. She studied music at the Conservatorium of Music at the University of Melbourne.
At the age of 15, Claire went to Stella Maris Juniorate in Geelong to complete her final two years of secondary education, and at 17, she entered the Novitiate.
Claire was very proud of her family and of her upbringing in Kilmore. She delighted in her brothers' exploits and achievements and was very fond of her nieces and nephews. During those early years in Religious Life, when family visits were pretty restricted, she looked forward to them with eager anticipation.
After her first Profession of Vows in 1955, Claire was appointed to the Community of the Mercy Hospital in East Melbourne, and she has noted that two days after her Profession day, she found herself in the Mercy Hospital Community, commencing her nursing training. There was no wasted time or talent in those days.
It was about eight years later that I first encountered Claire, when I commenced my nursing training at the Mercy. She had been given the Religious name of Sr Mary Michele, and that’s how we knew her. One of my first and enduring memories of Sr Michele is of being allocated to look after four female patients in Ward 14, First Floor. Sr Michele was my immediate teacher and supervisor. I had just completed the six-week preliminary training school. I was with a patient, holding her hand, trying to comfort her on her return from the operating theatre. I became aware of Sr Michele at the door, beckoning me. She said to me, “What are you doing nurse?” and I said, “The patient is in pain, having returned from surgery”, and Sr Michele said, “Well, holding her hand won’t help nurse, come with me, and we’ll get something for her that WILL relieve her pain.” And so, that’s what we did. She was an excellent clinical nurse and supervised so many of us as we emerged from the classroom and learned how to care for patients and ensure their comfort in every way.
Life in the community and work in the hospital were all pretty strictly organised in those years. The Sisters managed and supervised all hospital activities. So it was up early for morning prayer and Mass, breakfast, off to work with compulsory choir practice built into the day a couple of times a week. Sr Michele participated in all the community activities and undertook her nursing duties with great care and conscientiousness. When we were trainees and young registered nurses, we knew her as a ‘no-nonsense’ person who nonetheless commanded our respect and our affection.
Over the years, Claire undertook further training, honing her expertise in intensive care, coronary care, accident and emergency, and oncology. Claire completed the Nursing Unit Management Course. Today, she would have been called a Clinical Nurse Specialist, and that is what she surely was.
It seems that 1990 could have been a turning point in Claire’s life. She enjoyed some time off from nursing and hospital routine and travelled overseas during a sabbatical year. She visited the UK, Europe, and Ireland, and completed a three-month spiritual renewal program in the Holy Land.
The next year, she moved from the hospital to Sunshine. and worked in Palliative Care at Mercy Hospice Care for about two years. From there, she moved to live with Sr Kate Keady, who was caring for her father, who had had a stroke, and Claire assisted with nursing him at home. Claire and Kate became firm friends – seemingly very different personalities: Kate, bubbly and outgoing, and Claire, quiet and reserved, but with a quiet mischief lurking. I remember meeting up with them at this time. They came along with such energy and enthusiasm for their mission on that occasion that I suspected that they were having far too much fun!
Then Claire made the momentous decision to leave Religious Life. She and Kate moved to live at Bacchus Marsh after Kate’s father died. There, they both worked in the parish and then as Pastoral Assistants at Gladstone Park. Claire achieved an Associate Diploma of Pastoral Ministry that enabled her to exercise a mercy ministry in the parishes. She was also involved as a Deputy Volunteer Coordinator at the Bacchus Marsh Emergency Food Bank. So, we can say with every confidence that mercy and a commitment to the works of mercy were embedded in her being as she continued to discern and follow the path mapped out for her by a loving and merciful God.
Claire and Kate made a wonderful pilgrimage to Oberammergau in 2000 to attend the famous Passion Play, along with some touring of Ireland and the United Kingdom. They made Retreats based around Celtic spirituality, which, given their Irish heritage, they loved. As her story unfolds, as already mentioned, it seems clear that Claire was always discerning the way forward in her spiritual life, and now she was being led back to the religious life. As she says in her own words, ‘In 2004 I decided to rejoin the Congregation and was warmly welcomed back.’
On her return to the Mercy Community, she lived at Glen Iris in community with another sister, Fran, and together they spent some years looking after our Sisters who were in care at Cabrini Ashwood. Here, Claire found that her nursing, palliative care, and pastoral care skills and experience were all called upon, and she had the freedom to implement innovative ways to support the sisters' well-being, including pet therapy. She revelled in organising outings, hosting superb afternoon teas for celebrations, and generally seeking creative ways to meet the individual needs and interests of the Sisters. A nurse who worked with Claire when she was Sr Michele at the Mercy has written that she remembered Sr Michele as a very caring professional. She later met up with her at Cabrini Ashwood, where Claire was then looking after her elderly aunt, Molly O’Neil, ‘with great kindness and patience’.
During these years, Claire also assisted one of our Sisters, Carla, who was caring for her very elderly father. Carla recalls how generous and kind Claire was to her and to her father, giving her some time off during the day. Claire would do the washing, make the bed so beautifully (nurses never forget how to make a bed) and give him his lunch. Carla was always confident, leaving Claire in charge because of her clinical expertise. Claire particularly enjoyed Carla’s pickled beetroot. Apart from the pickled beetroot, Carla remembers Claire as being gracious, kind, caring and capable.
Claire and Kate came to live together again in Mercy Place Apartments at Parkville. They shared a mutual love of music, concerts, and opera, and of their pets, especially the cat called Butterfly, short for Madame Butterfly of opera fame. I believe there was also a Dame Nellie Melba somewhere along the line. At Parkville, they enjoyed the love and support of many sisters around them. Fran recalls very enjoyable afternoons spent with Claire, when they would watch the quiz show, Tipping Point, have afternoon tea and pray Vespers together to finish the afternoon.
Claire mourned Kate’s death deeply and eventually moved into full-time care herself at Mercy Place Keon Park. Reflecting on her remarkable life, I will conclude with Claire’s own words:
My Mercy journey has been quite unique. It is the first time in the history of our Congregation that anyone has left after 44 years and returned six years later. I am extremely happy. The difference between entering as a teenager, when one is driven by ideals that are not always realistic, and entering later in life, when one is drawn to the vowed life with a mature understanding of the demands of religious life, especially the second time around. This is what it has been for me personally. It has been a remarkable journey proving the theory that one has to lose something precious and find it again to really appreciate and know for certain exactly where one’s heart truly belongs.
Rest in peace, dear Claire, where your heart truly belongs in the loving heart of God.
Mary Geason RSM
