A nun with a most remarkable (and slightly dangerous-looking) veil/head dress waiting for a bus outside the Rotunda Hospital on Parnell Street, Dublin. Cannot work out whether a clump of her own hair (unlikely) has come loose, or whether she is masking a person in front of her... With help from people over on our NLI Facebook page, it turns out this nun was a member of the Daughters of Charity (of St. Vincent de Paul). The distinctive head dress is called a cornette, and led to this order being known as the Butterfly Nuns. The Daughters of Charity abandoned the cornette on 20 September 1964, so unless this nun was ultra-traditional and carried on wearing it regardless, then this photo must have been taken before 20 September. This shot also allows us to view the Parnell Monument at the end of O'Connell Street from yet another angle. Photographer: Elinor Wiltshire Date: 1964
