As instructed in John’s will, a family vault was constructed in Galong cemetery, as was the stone wall surrounding the cemetery, and in late May 1887 the remains of Ned, Ellen and John were re-interred there. The three Ryan cousins Anastasia, Lawrence and Edmund Barry Ryan continued to live with Anastasia at Galong.
Anastasia Nagle Ryan carried on her father and brother’s tradition of offering
hospitality to strangers, providing substantial sums to the church and various charities. A
second two-storey extension was added to the homestead in 1889 to provide a chapel and
accommodation for a visiting priest. Deeply religious, she also followed Irish customs
particularly in relation to the observance of wakes for the dead. She passed away in July 1900. With no definite decision as to the future of the property, Ned’s nephews, Edmund and Laurence Barry Ryan, who died in 1905 and 1910 respectively, and their sister Anastasia Barry Ryan, continue to live there until she passed away in 1914.
After the death of Anastasia, the last remaining Ryan at Galong, the property became the subject of a ‘friendly’ court case. After the Cistercians declined the bequest, the Court
decided in favour of the Redemptorists and the property was transferred to them. The Order established a monastery dedicated to St Clement Hofbauer in 1918 and later a boarding school for boys. Some 2,000 young men were educated at Galong before the college closed its doors in 1975 and reopened as a popular retreat centre.
The monastery is a large two-storey brick building, which with later additions, now holds within its embrace the original and unpretentious, pioneering homestead built by Ned Ryan in the 1850s. With the addition of the Retreat Centre, the site has been much altered since it began life as Ryan’s squattage. Since 2005 the Galong site entered a new phase with the overall refurbishment of the monastery and the addition of new
accommodation and modern conferencefacilities. The most significant improvement was the restoration work undertaken on Galong House, which now houses a dining/conference space, museum, archive and library.
The approaches to the homestead have been re-landscaped with plantings appropriate to the period of occupation by the Ryan family. The Galong cemetery situated not far from the monastery draws many visitors each year. The rural landscape is also undergoing rejuvenation through the work of the Friends of St Clement’s, who have established a sponsored tree planting program, to create an environmental sanctuary and reduce the dryland salinity that affects parts of the property. An exhibition An abiding presence:
Galong’s land and people was officially opened by His Excellency Mr Noel White, Ambassador for Ireland in April 2013. The exhibition illustrated three periods in the life of Galong – pre-European, the Ryan occupancy and the Redemptorists who have occupied the site for a century in 2018. Paramount in the Galong story has been the role that the land has played in sustaining a great many people.
Redemptorist Father Anthony kicked off the celebrations with a ‘Cry of the Earth’ conference at the monastery. Retreat co ordinator father Patrick Corbett said that 2018 marks the 100 years of the Redemptorist active role in the Diocese of Canberra Gouburn. March 10 saw soprano Greta Bradman appear. St Clement’s Retreat and Conference Centre is a ministry of the Redemptorists, who have now occupied Galong for 100 years in 2018 and continue the Ryan tradition of hospitality to all who visit St Clement’s which is very much the heart of the Galong community providing nourishment for body, mind and soul.
