Chandra Manning / Dominic Cogan
This is the story of Lena Deevy, a Little Sister of the Assumption and a faith-inspired Irishwoman of deep commitment to social justice and compassion for the disenfranchised. Through her community development work in Ballymun, Dublin to her subsequent leadership of the Irish Immigration Center (IIC) in Boston, Massachusetts, she developed a style of leadership that empowered others to lead and to look beyond the narrow confines of race, class, and ethnicity.Instability and uncertainty often lead to division and discrimination, but the IIC in Boston testified that an alternative is possible when pursued with intentionality by a dedicated leader. For more than twenty years, Sister Lena Deevy was that leader and developed the IIC from a volunteer group supporting Irish immigrants to a large professional immigrant services organization that worked with immigrants from around the world, and remained animated by its anti-racist, multicultural convictions. Lena’s commitment to justice and compassion stayed with her on her return to Ballymun and a changed Ireland in 2014.This book is Lena’s story and the stories of those who helped along the way--from Ireland to Boston and back--as told to a writer, historian, and community organizer.Drawing on her life experience, liberation theology, and a deep commitment to all, she brought people together, worked collectively, and charted a different path forward that is needed today more than ever. 6
