Count Arthur Moore from Cashel, Co. Tipperary, whose wife had got ill while on a visit to Rome, was nursed back to health by two of the Little Company of Mary Sisters. In appreciation to the Sisters, he said that he would like them to set up a foundation in Ireland. He asked Bishop Edward O ’Dwyer to invite the Little Company of Mary Sisters to St. John’s Hospital Limerick, which he did in 1888. Mary Potter was present for the opening. The hospital also became a Training School for nurses. The Sisters finally left the hospital in 2006 and it continues today as a Voluntary Hospital.
In 1923 Mother Ambrose O’ Donnell bought Milford House in Castletroy, Limerick. The Sisters commenced a Novitiate there and formed the Irish Province. The Noviciate was later transferred to Dublin in 1975.
In 1928 following the vision of Mary Potter in caring for the sick, the Sisters established a Nursing Home at Milford in Castletroy, Limerick. In 1977 the Sisters recognised that the philosophy of palliative care should be an integral part of the legacy of Mary Potter and they dedicated nine beds as palliative care beds. In 1983 in response to growing need they expanded this to a twenty bed hospice unit. The nursing home and palliative care unit are today a separate entity, Milford Care Centre CLG.