The sisters are among thousands of farm livelihoods the IFA claim will be wiped out if the proposed cuts are implemented by the Government.
The nuns receive €24,000 from the Single Farm Payment and €9,000 annually from REPs, two schemes that have been targeted by the McCarthy review group charged with identifying savings in public spending.
The livestock sector will suffer the most from the proposed cuts, such as the ending of the suckler cow scheme, which is worth an estimated €2,400 annually to the Glencairn farm.
Sr Lily Scullion, who is responsible for the 61 cattle at Glencairn said without the subsidies, the cattle farm would no longer be economically viable.
''A pound of beef is 98 cents per pound, compared to last year when it was €1.12, we just wouldn't manage without it.''
Two years ago the sisters sold their dairy herd because said Abbess Fahey, ''it was too much work for little return''.
According to the Abbess, the money from REPS was used for maintenance jobs ''which would not be done otherwise''.
The remainder of the 200-acre farm is used for tillage including wheat, barley, fodder beat and Miscanthus, an energy crop used for heating.
The farm is not the sole income for the 35 sisters who manufacture Communion hosts for parishes and retreat centres nationwide, run a small guesthouse and produce greeting cards.
The Single Farm Payment was introduced to compensate for the low return in beef, milk and grain which cost more to produce than the market price offered to farmers.
It requires farmers to maintain meticulous records and comply with EU regulations such as the Nitrates Directive.
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