Clodagh Finn: We need to tell the full story about Irish nuns

Why does a luxury hotel in Italy have a fresco which features an Irish nun who was hunted down by Cromwellian forces in the west of Ireland?

The Irish nun and martyr Sr Honoria Magaen is featured in a fresco at a luxury hotel in Italy, but is less well known at home. Picture courtesy of the San Domenico Palace Hotel, Taormina, Italy

If you ever have the good fortune to find yourself in the San Domenico Palace in Sicily, you might be surprised to find that the five-star hotel has a fresco of Sr Honoria Magaen, an Irish nun who was hunted down by Cromwellian forces in the west of Ireland.

The luxury hotel in Taormina was once a Dominican monastery, which explains why it has a collection of religious-themed art. What is less clear, however, is how an Irish woman made her way into the pantheon of notable Dominican martyrs.