Three Irish-speaking Dominican nuns, who became involved in controversy during President Robinson's 1995 visit to Argentina, feature in a Teilifis na Gaeilge documentary to be broadcast on the station next Saturday, St Stephen's night, at 8.10 p.m. Gra De - Gra na gComharsan is directed by TnaG's ceannasai, Mr Cathal Goan. It reports on the work of the three nuns, who gave up their convent in Buenos Aires to live in a shanty town.
Sisters Siobhan Ni Mhaoilmhichil, Joanna Shanahan, and Kathleen Egan were to have been visited by Mrs Robinson, but the Argentine government objected to the President travelling to such an impoverished area.
Alternative arrangements were made, but the nuns' bus got stuck in mud. Following further rearrangement, they met the President at her hotel.
All three work among displaced migrants from northern Argentina and Bolivia, and are deeply involved in lobbying for proper community services including sewerage, buses, training, and women's groups.