There has been great devotion to Ellen Organ who died aged five but people are no longer able to visit her grave.
Should the remains of Ellen Organ, known as Little Nellie of Holy God, be exhumed from the derelict Good Shepherd Convent in Cork and reinterred in a more accessible site?
Little Nellie of Holy God was born Ellen Organ in Waterford in 1903. On 2 February 1908, she died of tuberculosis in the Good Shepherd Convent infirmary in Sunday's Well in Cork. She is sometimes referred to as the unofficial patron saint of Cork.
By the time she died, Little Nellie of Holy God held strong religious beliefs. John Greene, presenter of 'Where the Road Takes Me' on C103FM explains that even as a four-year-old she was renowned for her grasp of Catholic doctrine.
She amazed the Bishop of Cork and she amazed Pope Pius.
Little Nellie was originally buried in Saint Joseph's Cemetery in Cork, but a year after her death, her body was exhumed and re-interred in the Good Shepherd Convent. The convent was destroyed by a fire in 2003, and its grounds lie derelict. Access to the grave has been blocked off by the receivers, KPMG, on behalf of Ulster Bank.
The Bishop of Cork and Ross, John Buckley, would like to see the Little Nellie’s remains exhumed again and reburied in a site more accessible to the public, such as a parish cemetery.
Where people could come and pray at her grave, particularly those people who have such great devotion to Little Nellie.
Not all local people in Sunday's Well agree. They would prefer to see improved access to the Good Shepherd Convent grave. Residents Kathleen Bowen and Betty Penny do not want the remains removed,
She was already exhumed, and it would be a pity, you know, I think to do that again.
An RTÉ News reporter broadcast on 18 August 2015. The reporter is Jennie O'Sullivan.
