Sister Stanislaus Kennedy (born Treasa Kennedy, c. 1940), often called Sister Stan, is an Irish

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

  member of the Sisters of Charity

Sisters of Charity

Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity as part of their name. The rule of Saint Vincent for the Daughters of Charity has been adopted and adapted by at least sixty founders of religious orders around the world in the subsequent centuries....

. She is best known for having co-founded, in 1985, the homelessness charity Focus Ireland

Focus Ireland

Focus Ireland is a nonprofit organization based in Dublin, Republic of Ireland that provides services for homeless people.Focus Ireland was founded by Sister Stanislaus Kennedy and Rachel Collier in 1985. Its stated mission is "to advance the right of people-out-of-home to live in a place they call...

 and is Life President of the organisation. In 2001, she also set up The Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) as a response to the social needs of new immigrants living in Ireland. In 1997 she was appointed to the Council of State

Council of State (Ireland)

The Council of State is a body established by the Constitution of Ireland to advise the President of Ireland in the exercise of many of his or her discretionary, reserve powers...

 by President Mary McAleese

Mary McAleese

Mary Patricia McAleese served as the eighth President of Ireland from 1997 to 2011. She was the second female president and was first elected in 1997 succeeding Mary Robinson, making McAleese the world's first woman to succeed another as president. She was re-elected unopposed for a second term in...

and served until 2004. She has published books about spirituality and other topics.