Clane

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Clane

654 Name results for Clane

4 results directly related Exclude narrower terms

Zimmerman, Athanasius, 1839-1911, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2280
  • Person
  • 05 November 1839-12 March 1911

Born: 05 November 1839, Betra, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Entered: 22 October 1857, Baden-Würtemberg, Germany - Germaniae Province (GER)
Ordained: 1872
Final vows: 15 August 1876
Died: 12 March 1911, Valkenburg, Netherlands - Germaniae Province (GER)

Came to HIB to teach at Clongowes 1877 - 1885

◆ The Crescent : Limerick Jesuit Centenary Record 1859-1959

Bonum Certamen ... A Biographical Index of Former Members of the Limerick Jesuit Commnnity

Father Athanasius Zimmerman (1839-1911)

A refugee from one of the German Provinces of the Society during the Kuturkampf, was a member of the Crescent community from 1879 to 1882. He was a remarkable linguist and able to speak English without any trace of a foreign accent. During his years at the Crescent, he was in charge of the highest class presenting French and German for the London University examinations.

Young, Charles, 1798-1896, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/448
  • Person
  • 21 December 1798-16 January 1896

Born: 21 December 1798, Bridge Street, Dublin
Entered: 02 September 1832, Hodder, Stonyhurst, England (ANG)
Ordained: by 1844
Final Vows: 15 August 1852
Died: 16 January 1896, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly

by 1839 in Namur studying Physics
by 1852 in Rome studying
by 1854 at Malta College teaching (ANG)

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
He had two brothers Priests of the Dublin Diocese, William and Henry - Henry was buried in the vaults of the Pro-Cathedral.
He had been a merchant who purchased Belvedere House for the Jesuits before Ent.
He had travelled much during his life, especially in Spain.

He studied in Rome and spent some time in Malta.
He was in the Dublin Residence for a short time.
He was Spiritual Father for long periods in Clongowes and Tullabeg.

Note from John MacDonald Entry :
He was attended there in his last hours by the saintly Charles Young.

Note from Patrick Rickaby Entry :
He also had a wonderful gift of taking care of the sick. This he did at Tullabeg, where he watched over the venerable Charles Young who died in his 98th year.

◆ Royal Irish Academy : Dictionary of Irish Biography, Cambridge University Press online :
from :
Young, Charles (1798–1896), found in Young, Charles (1746–1825)
by C. J. Woods

The youngest brother (son), Charles Young (1798–1896), born 21 December 1798, was educated at Oscott and lived for some years in Spain, becoming proficient in the Spanish language and literature. He assisted in the family business before joining the Society of Jesus (1832); he spent some years as a military chaplain in Malta but returned to Ireland (1840), divided his time between the Jesuit colleges at Tullabeg and Clongowes, and died 16 January 1896 at Tullabeg.

◆ The Clongownian, 1896

Obituary

Father Charles Young SJ

Midway through the first month of this year, one of the longest lives recorded in the domestic annals of the Society of Jesus in Ireland came to a happy end. Father Young was born on the 21st of December, 1798, and died on the 16th of January, 1896. He had thus completed his ninety-seventh year - the nearest to the full century that we know of except the holy lay brother, John Ginivan, who was only eight days short of a hundred years when he died at St Francis Xavier's, Dublin, on the 30th of January, 1893. But Father Young's ninety-seven years leave far behind all the Jesuit Fathers who were his contemporaries : Father Lentaigne and Father Grene passed away, at 80 years of age, Father Callan and Father Haly at 87, Father Molony at 90, and Father Curtis at 91. These patriarchs lacked at any rate one proof of the Divine partiality which is put forward in a famous Greek saying and in a famous passage of the Book of Wisdom.

Charles Young's father, from whom he inherited both Christian name and surname, was a wealthy Dublin merchant, residing in Bridge Street. Mr Young's brother was Bishop of Limerick. The pious Catholic spirit of the Young household may fairly be conjectured from the vocations of the children. One of the daughters became a Poor Clare at Harold's Cross, Dublin, and two entered the Ursuline Convent at Blackrock, near Cork. One of these composed the “Ursuline. Manual”, a more enduring and effective work than her “History of England”. Of Mr Young's six sons four became priests. William and James were both very zealous and holy priests, worthy of being the brothers of the celebrated Father Henry Young, whose saintly life has been chronicled by the sympathetic pen of Lady Georgiana Fullerton.

The youngest brother of this remarkable family resisted for a considerable time the blessed contagion of such example: He was educated at Oscott and intended for secular pursuits. During some years after leaving school he lived in the South of Spain, and many a good story he used to tell about Cadiz and Seville, and about the Spaniards and their ways. He had unbounded love and adıniration for everything Spanish. Those who knew him can easily recall the graphic descriptions of persons, scenes, and manners, to which his great charm of manner, voice, and expression lent such attractiveness. At Tullabeg, when he was well beyond 70 years of age, many can well remember the interest he took in teaching the language of “The Cid” to some boys from South America, who wished to keep the knowledge of it fresh. But nel mezzo del cammino, at the mature age of thirty-four, he retired from the world and entered as a novice into the Society of Jesus. His life-journey was not yet in reality half over, however it may have seemed at the time. There still remained to him that full span which, counting from the cradle, is called the grand climacteric - sixty-three years: These years except a few at first on the Continent and a brief residence in St Francis Xavier's, Dublin - were divided between the colleges of Clongowes and St Stanislaus, Tullabeg. The latter was the scene of his final labours, of his cheerful term of waiting when labour was over for ever, and at last of his happy death.

Through his long life Father Charles Young was loved and revered by all with whom he came in contact, and most by those who knew him best, his religious brethren. He was remarkable for his cheerful, unaffected piety, his simple gaiety of heart, and the delightful union of solid and amiable qualities which lent such a charm to the intimacy of community life.

Not a single boy who was at Clongowes in the Sixties, or at Tullabeg from 1870 to 1886, can fail to have any but the sweetest, recollections of the holy old man, who had for everyone he met the kind word, kind look, and, kind act.

They will remember distinctly the grace of manner and elegance of bearing which reminded us of the days of the Grand Monarque. May he rest in peace!

Wrafter, Joseph, 1865-1934, Jesuit priest and chaplain

  • IE IJA J/705
  • Person
  • 09 August 1865-05 September 1934

Born: 09 August 1865, Rosenallis, Co Laois
Entered: 03 November 1883, Milltown Park, Dublin/Loyola House, Dromore, County Down
Ordained: 30 July 1899, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 15 August 1902
Died: 05 September 1934, St Vincent’s Hospital

Part of the St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin community at the time of death

Early education at St Stanislaus College SJ, Tullabeg

Chaplain in the First World War.

by 1894 at Leuven Belgium (BELG) studying
by 1901 at Sartirana, Merate, Como, Italy (VEN) making Tertianship
by 1917 Military Chaplain : 8th Royal Munster Fusiliers, France
by 1918 Military Chaplain : 7th Leinster Regiment, BEF France
by 1919 Military Chaplain : Chaplain to the Forces, Schveningen, Netherlands

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Note from Nicholas Walsh Entry :
He died in the end room of Bannon’s corridor, and the Provincial William Delaney and Minister Joseph Wrafter were with him at the end.”

◆ Jesuits in Ireland : https://www.jesuit.ie/blog/damien-burke/a-sparrow-to-fall/

A sparrow to fall
Damien Burke
A BBC Northern Ireland documentary, Voices 16 – Somme (BBC 1 NI on Wednesday 29th June,
9pm) explores the events of 1916 through the testimony of the people who witnessed it and their families. Documentary makers and relatives of Jesuit chaplain Willie Doyle were shown his letters, postcards and personal possessions kept here at the Irish Jesuit Archives. In the 1920s, Alfred O’Rahilly used some of these letters in his biography of Fr Willie Doyle SJ. Afterwards they were given to Willie’s brother, Charles, and were stored for safekeeping in the basement of St Francis Xavier’s church, Lower Gardiner Street, Dublin in 1949. In 2011, they were accessioned into the archives.
Fr Willie Doyle SJ was one of ten Irish Jesuits who served as chaplains at the battle of the Somme (1 July- 18 November 1916): seven with the British forces; three with the Australian. Their letters, diaries and photographs witness their presence to the horror of war.

Fr Joseph Wrafter SJ, 8th Royal Munster Fusiliers (06 July 1916):
It is a very terrible thing where a show is on & no one I know wants any more of it than he has seen if he has been in it at all. But of course all have to see it through & the men are really splendid...Between killed & wounded we lost in that period quite a fourth of our Battalions & the Leinsters nearly as many. But they did good work & the enemy got a good deal more than they gave. It is dreadful to see the way the poor fellows are broken & mangled sometimes out of all recognition.

https://www.jesuit.ie/blog/damien-burke/jesuits-and-the-influenza-1918-19/

Jesuits and the influenza, 1918-19
Damien Burke
The influenza pandemic that raged worldwide in 1918-19 (misnamed the Spanish flu, as during the First World War, neutral Spain reported on the influenza) killed approximately 100 million people.

The influenza was widely referenced by Irish Jesuit chaplains in the First World War. And Fr Joseph Wrafter SJ writing in December 1918: “the influenza is raging here and all over Holland as everywhere”.

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 9th Year No 4 1934
Obituary :
Father Joseph Wrafter

Father Wrafter died at St. Vincent's Hospital on Wednesday 5th September, 1934. For a considerable time he had been in very poor health, even before he left Clongowes in 1932, he had suffered a good deal. He was an invalid for nearly the two years he spent in Gardiner St., yet, with his usual courage, he did very fully all the work he was allowed to do. At last he was compelled to go to St. Vincent’s, where for some three weeks before his death he was very often quite unconscious.
In next number, we shall give a short sketch of his life in the Society.

Irish Province News 10th Year No 1 1935
Father Joseph Wrafter Continued
Father Wrafter was born near Rosenallis in Leix on the 9th August, 1865. He went with his two elder brothers, William and Thomas, to Tullabeg in 1877, where he remained until

  1. On November 3rd of that year he entered the Novitiate which was then at Milltown Park, but was transferred the following year to Dromore, Co. Down. He next spent a year
    as a Junior in Milltown, and had just begun his Philosophy there, when in November, 1886, the year of the amalgamation (Tullabeg and Clongowes) he was sent to Clongowes. He was Third Line and Gallery Prefect there for three years, and from 1889 to 1891 had charge of the Large Study. In the former of these years he utilised his great histrionic powers in getting up “The Tempest” which was an unqualified success. In 1891 he was appointed Higher Line Prefect although he had not yet done his Philosophy, and was the youngest man on the prefectorial staff. But his strength of character and sense of justice made up for these drawbacks. In 1893, after seven years' work as a scholastic in Clongowes, he went to Louvain for Philosophy, and in 1896 to Milltown Park for Theology, joining the Long Course.
    In the early summer of 1899 he went down to Clongowes to stay for about a month, in order to take the place of Father Fegan who had left to undergo a serious operation. However Father Wrafter remained in Clongowes the following year as Prefect of the Small Study, and next year saw him a Tertian in the Province of Venice.
    From 1900 to 1903 he was stationed in University College St, Stephen's Green, as Minister. After a year on the Mission Staff, with headquarters at the Crescent, Limerick, he renewed
    his connection With Clongowes, this time as Minister, remaining there until 1908, when he went to Gardiner St. and, in addition to the ordinary work, got charge of the Police Sodality. The next year he was appointed Minister and held that position until 1942, with the exception of a break of three years (1916-1919), when he was Military Chaplain in France and Holland. While at the front he distinguished himself by his great coolness and bravery. He was awarded the MC, but an officer who himself won the V.C., said that “every day, Father Wrafter did things that deserved the VC”.
    In 1924 he became Minister in Leeson St., and had charge of University Hall. Next year he again took up work in Clongowes as Minister and held the position for ten years. It was during these years that the new building was erected in Clongowes, in which Father Wrafter took a very great interest. 1934 saw him once more in Gardiner St, but incapable of much active work. However, as long as he possibly could, he said Mass and attended to his Confessional to which he had always been most devoted.
    He celebrated his Golden jubilee in the Society in November 1933, but did not long survive the event. The malady to which he had long been subject - phlebitis - had poisoned his system and after some weeks in hospital he died on 5th September 1934.
    The most remarkable thing about Father Wrafter's life in the Society was his long term of office as Minister in all twenty six years, thirteen in Clongowes, ten in Gardiner Stand ten in the University. He possessed in a high degree the qualities required for that office. He was a fine organiser quickly saw what was wanted, and then had the power to descend to details. He was extremely just and patient and was moreover the very soul of generosity, loving to see and to make others happy. To the poor also he was very kind. Many of the beggars and tramps who came to Clongowes made it a point to ask for Father Wrafter, they almost seemed to be personal friends of his so familiarly did he chat with them.
    What struck one most in Father Wrafter was his strong will and his great sense of duty Whatever he took in hand he saw through, and whatever was his duty would be done thoroughly. During his last few years as Minister in Clongowes he suffered from phlebitis which caused his legs to become very much swollen and painful, but unless absolutely forbidden by the doctor, he was sure to go down to the refectory to preside at the boys' meals. He was indefatigable in his care of and kindness to the sick, frequently visiting them in the infirmary during the night. This did not prevent him from being the first to rise in the morning. He always said the 6 o'clock Mass. Indeed it was wonderful how he contrived to do with so little sleep. In his last illness this strength of character was most noticeable, for though he suffered very much he never complained, but always made as little as possible of his sufferings. The nurses who attended him marvelled, and were much edified at his patience and resignation.
    How much his kindness and help to so many were appreciated was shown by the number of people, many of them in humble circumstances who called at the hospital to enquire for him during his last illness. R.I.P

◆ The Clongownian, 1935

Obituary
Father Joseph Wrafter SJ

There is something of the lacrimae rerum in the ending of the notice in last year's “Clongownian” of Father Wrafter's Golden Jubilee as a Jesuit, The words were, ad multos annos. That was in June, and the 5th of September brought the sad news that he was dead, So the words must now change to ad annos aeternos.

Fifty years, of which twenty were in and for Clongowes. How true it is to say for : Clongowes. Though he never forgot his old school Tullabeg, yet it had for his practical mind been merged in the sister College.

Loyalty seems, to one who knew him well, to have been the note of his character. Of the three loyalties, Loyalty to the Jesuit Order, Loyalty to Clongowes, Loyalty to his friends, the first two naturally became one, fused into one, the second becoming the practical expression of the former.

There is hardly a corner in the House where one who knows will fail to find traces of his watchful care. Under him the Infirmary became the highly efficient department it is. The great Well was a matter of real need, not merely of convenience. The College Grounds and the Garden were a concern of his, run with an eye to efficiency as well as to beauty, as if they had been his only care. As to the New Building : it had been a thought of his for thirty years in plan, and one need not say that the interest never flagged. Perhaps a practically minded Old Clongownian would say that the 'Boys' Refectory is the spot most associated with his genial presence and ceaseless care. One such, not of the immediate Past, said to me the other day: “The two men who resumed Clongowes life for us fellows were Father Wrafter and Father John Sullivan”. It sounds strange at first hearing, but on reflection one is more and more convinced of its truth. They were very unlike in what was obvious, but very like in what most caught the House : they both loved the boys.

His friends were legion and they were very true, for they knew by experience how unfalteringly they could rely on his interest and honest advice, One felt, said one of them, that you could tell him anything and be sure of his sympathy. This was strikingly true during the last year of his life, when he was a constant sufferer. He would drag himself to the parlour to see a friend, they never suspecting at what cost.

The elements were so mixed in him that he remained human and strong. It is easy to find a man in which one or the other predominates. The result is poor. In Father Wrafter they worked to a unity that won love in the best sense of the word.

To his sister, Mrs. Murray, we offer our sincerest sympathy. We use the words in the strictest sense, knowing how united the brother and sister were. On her yearly visit to him one saw renewed the finale of George Eliot's great novel Now many of us will join with her in murmuring :

But for the touch of a vanish'd hand
And the sound of a voice that is stilled.

-oOo-

Father “Joey” Wrafter : A Memory

It must be well over half a century ago that I, a small boy, first met “Joey” Wrafter, when I found myself a Third Liner at Clongowes. After such a long time it is not perhaps, surprising that the order in which events occurred has become rather mixed, and I must confess that I don't remember what exact position he held when first found myself an inmate of the school. I rather think that Father (then Mr) Gleeson was Third Line Prefect. My memories of Mr Wrafter are very clear, indeed, as they should be, for no small boy had ever a better kinder friend than I found in him. He indeed kind to all boys. It was part and parcel of his make-up, and as a result was liked and trusted by them.

Looking back over the fifty odd years, I recognise that this was the salient point of his character; kindness, understanding and sympathy with all boys, and in particular, with small boys. I never knew him to be hard or ungenerous to one of them, not was he prone to punish where punishment could be avoided,

Naturally, some of us knew him better than others, and were looked on by him as special friends. I am very proud to think that I could count myself as one of this group. Amongst others of this group I remember Geoff Esmond, Jim Clarke and Dominic Kelly, to mention only a few. Those who remember Father Wrafter in after years will, I am sure, wish to get some idea what he was like as a young man. Well, he was very slim and upright, handsome of face in an aquiline way, with the cheeriest of smiles. He was always very trim and neat, had small and well-made hands and feet, and was very graceful in all his movements. He was a delightfully light and fast runner, and kept himself extremely fit. He, at that time, could not have weighed more than about 10 stone.

Can you think of a fencer standing slim, butt muscular, head up, with a keen, clear cut face ready for a bout with the foils? Well, that is exactly the picture I get when I look back and remember Joey Wrafter in the late 80's and early 90's of last century.

Though not posing as a great book man, he was keen-witted, a good talker, and in some things exceptionally clever.

Though he played football and cricket, he did not seem to be very interested in games, but during my time at Clongowes he proved himself a master of the art of producing plays. This was his hobby, and he took the keenest delight in staging all sort of shows from farces and pantomime to Shakespeare.

I took part in most of the plays produced by him during my time, and remember amongst many others a farce called “Bombastes Furioso”, also a pantomime, “Alladin”, in which I starred as the Widow Twanky, and Shakespeare's “Tempest”, in which I took the part of Trinculo.

Well the years move on and we with there. Father Wrafter has left us, but I for one can say with truth that the memory of him and his great goodness and kindness to one small boy lives on and will not be forgotten till I also go the way we all must go, and not even then I hope.

When I was a boy at Clongowes “Joey” Wrafter was one of the very best. RIP

JGG

-oOo-

Father Wrafter as Army Chaplain

In November of 1915, the 8th Battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers, with the other units of the 6th (Irish) Division, after a year's training at Kilworth, were awaiting orders at Blackburn for the move to France. A few days before the unit entrained, an orderly informed me that the Colonel, known amongst his friends as “Mike”, wanted to see me urgently in the mess.

“Read this wire”, said he, as I entered. Mike was one of the hard-living, hard swearing type of old soldiers. “They are sending us a priest. What the blazes shall I do with him? Should I offer him a drink when he comes?”

When I came again to the mess, a few hours later, I found the Colonel and priest swopping yarns over the fire and a whiskey and soda. And so began a strange friendship which lasted without end between “Mike”, a Protestant, if he had any religion at all, with no control over his language even before a priest-and Father Wrafter, a devout Jesuit with much knowledge of the world and great understanding. Years after, when Mike knew his end was coming and the Protestant clergyman was announced, - his only words were : “Tell him to go to the devil, the only person I want near me is Father Wrafter”.

Practically all the men in the regiment were Catholics, and when the unit arrived at the front, Father Wrafter's worth was soon recognised. His influence amongst them was on a par with the Colonel's, and more than once Mike asked the Padre to give the men a good talk at Mass about something that they should have done or something they should not have done and did. The effect was excellent.

For the four battalions in the Brigade there were two Catholic chaplains, and Father Wrafter looked after the welfare of the 7th Leinsters as well as the 8th Munsters. Of the two battalions, one was usually in the front line and one in reserve trenches, or in billets behind. In this way it often fell to the Padre to do three or four tours : in succession with the regiments in the front line, where his splendid help was most needed. On one occasion he spent a month on end in the front trenches. Yet, during these days of static warfare, I never knew him to miss saying daily Mass, sometimes in an open trench with a box as his altar, sometimes in a little dugout, where there was room only for himself and his servant, one Thunder, known in the regiment as “Lightning”, on account of his extreme slowness of movement.

For two years Father Wrafter served with the 8th Munsters in France. He was a well-known figure in the Irish Division ; there were few officers from the General downwards who did not know him personally. In the line he worked day and night attending the sick and wounded and burying the dead. Woe betide the Colonel if the Padre was not informed immediately any casualties occurred; and it was wonderful what confidence he gave the men, who knew he could be there as soon as anything happened. When it came to going over the top, Father Wrafter was always somewhere near the front line, even when the Colonel cursed him for leaving battalion headquarters. He was then a man fifty and portly, leading what was for him a strange life, yet he took the knocks and the kicks with a smile which was good see and did no end of good in the regiment.

On one occasion, in 1916, when the Brigade was in reserve at Les Mines, the Germans sent over gas at night and the masks of the men in the front. trenches proved ineffective against it. The casualties were heavy the Germans had followed up the gas by a night attack-and next night the Munsters were sent up to the front line on relief, The trenches were a veritable shambles. Corpses, with their bodies and faces distorted in their death agony, were piled in the trenches and littered the ground near them. For four nights, from dusk to dawn (the MS has from dawn to dusk) the Padre worked with his men, burying the dead as best he could. More often than not, shell holes formed the ready-made graves. A mournful sight it was this burial gang working under fire by the pale light of the moon.

Yet, nothing daunted the chaplain's spirits, and he was ready to crack a joke with all and sundry. Just before this gas attack, the General came to inspect the 8th Munsters, He stepped out of his car opposite the quarter-guard and questioned the sentry about his duties. The sentry, well coached, repeated them all, ending with the usual, “in the event of any unusual occurrence report to the guard commander”. “And what would you call an unusual occurrence, my man?” asked the General. “Well, sur, if I saw the sintry box markin' time”. A cloud collected on the General's brow; then he looked at the Padre and moved on quickly.

In 1917, Father Wrafter won the Military Cross, a reward he richly deserved, though he himself was the last to acknowledge this, His rectitude was such that the things he did seemed to him to be nothing but his ordinary duty. His real reward was the way that the men of his regiment maintained and practised their religion--the number of men who approached the altar rails, when the battalion had an opportunity of attending Mass behind the lines, surprised the local inhabitants.

In late 1917, the 6th Irish Division was reorganised and the 8th Munsters, or what was left of them after two years' fighting, were drafted to another battalion of the regiment. Father Wrafter was then offered an appointment as Senior Chaplain at one of the bases in France - a “soft job”, - with two assistants. This offer he stoutly refused to accept and continued to serve as regimental Chaplain to the Munsters until the end of the War. Later he went to Holland, as Chaplain to a prisoners of war camp. In November of 1917 I sailed for India and temporarily lost touch with him.

Next time I met him was in 1924 as his guest at Clongowes, where he was then Minister. The Jesuit robe had taken the place of the military uniform, which was the only garb the men of the 8th Munsters had seen him in, but the man was unchanged. He was the same strong, genial Padre, whose courage and cheerfulness had been an inspiration to all who had met him during the terrible years of the War.

JO'B.

-oOo-
1929-32 - “The Minister”

It was not till Father Wrafter had left us for Gardiner Street that we fully realised what a place he had won for himself in the life of the boys here. It is not an easy thing to win that place and it is harder still to keep it, but of him both were true. When you were well, you felt how much you depended on him for the creature comforts of the Refectory. When you were ill, his genial visits in the Infirmary were things to look forward to.

He was in truth a hard man to replace, so that his visit of a few days on the occasion of his Golden Jubilee had a quality unlike that of the coming of anyone else, The boys loved to gather round him and one could notice how newcomers to whom he was a stranger looked with envy at such gay gatherings.

One could notice too, how the older trades men about the College seemed as glad to meet him as we did.

The writer of these notes well remembers his first official contact with Father Wrafter. It was my first night at Clongowes and having got from my Line Prefect to “follow the crowd”, I found myself in the Refectory for tea, an extremely subdued unit in an extremely boisterous throng. Suddenly a bell went and in the midst of a profound silence a massive figure rose with infinite dignity to say Grace. This said, he sank down again slowly and gazed with the broadest of smiles all round the Refectory. After a few moments he came down from the box and began a triumphal procession through the Refectory, pausing at each table to shake hands with the “old boys” and to discover among the “new” the son or nephew or young brother of old friends,

Afterwards when the days had grown to weeks and weeks to months, an extremely insignificant member of Rudiments decided to go for his first sleep (having, I am afraid, very little the matter with him). I well recall the mingled hope and fear with which I awaited my turn. At last it came and the climb up the three steps seemed endless, to be confronted with the huge figure of the Minister. One quick glance to assure himself that it was nothing very serious and then he learnt back good-humouredly to listen to my plea of a headache. A few seconds of doubt and uncertainty and then my name went down in the notebook and I go off with the world a much brighter place. One of the most characteristic things about him was the tolerance with which he would listen to the malingerers at the foot of the steps as they arranged their complaints and yet would hear them afterwards in the best humoured manner possible. Suddenly he would come down from the box and make his way to the Infirmary with the Third Liners whom he had refused clinging to the wings of his gown and clustering round him - looking for all the world like some great liner surrounded by her tugs. But there was one thing about him that lays bare his character better than twenty pages of “The Clongownian” : if ever he had occasion to send anyone “up” for any misdeed in the Refectory or outside it, the offender had only to ask for a sleep that night and he was sure to get it.

Kindliness was, to my mind, the outstanding trait that made him universally beloved here among us.

P Meenan

◆ The Crescent : Limerick Jesuit Centenary Record 1859-1959

Bonum Certamen ... A Biographical Index of Former Members of the Limerick Jesuit Community

Father Joseph Wrafter (1865-1934)

Born at Rosenalis, Leix, and educated at Tullabeg College, entered the Society in 1883. He pursued his higher studies at Louvain and Milltown Park where he was ordained in 1899. His association with the Crescent was short, 1903-04 when he was a member of the mission staff. With the exception of the period of the first world war. Father Wrafter's life was spent between Dublin and Clongowes. He was a member of the church staff, Gardiner St at the time of his death.

Woods, Brendan, 1924-2014, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/848
  • Person
  • 03 October 1924-28 May 2014

Born: 03 October 1924, Armagh, County Armagh
Entered: 07 September 1942, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Ordained: 31 July 1956, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 05 November 1977, Milltown Park, Dublin
Died: 28 May 2014, Cherryfield Lodge, Dublin

Part of the Milltown Park, Dublin community at the time of death.

by 1973 at New York NY, USA (NEB) studying

◆ Interfuse No 157 : Autumn 2014 & ◆ The Clongownian, 2015

Obituary

Fr Brendan Woods (1924-2014)

3 October 1924: Born in Keady, Co. Armagh.
Early education in CBS, Armagh and St. Patrick's College, Armagh
7 September 1942: Entered the Society at Emo
8 September 1944: First Vows at Emo
1944 - 1947: Rathfarnham - Studied Arts at UCD
1947 - 1950: Tullabeg - Studied Philosophy
1950 - 1952: Clongowes – Teacher
1952 - 1953: Mungret College - Teacher
1953 - 1957: Milltown Park - Studied Theology
31st July 1956: Ordained at Milltown Park, Dublin
1957 - 1958: Tertianship at Rathfarnham
1958 - 1972: Clongowes – Teacher
1972 - 1973: New York - Pastoral Studies
1973 - 1989: Milltown Park; Promoting “Marriage Encounter”; Teaching at Gonzaga; Teaching at Belvedere
5 November 1977: Final Vows
1985 - 1989: Director SpExx; Assistant Librarian
1989 - 1995: Campion House - Director SpExx; Assistant Librarian Milltown Park and Manresa
1995 - 1996: Leeson Street - Librarian, Assistant Librarian at Milltown Park; Director SpExx
1996 - 2002: Milltown Park - Assistant Librarian Milltown Park & Manresa
2002 - 2010: Manresa House - Assistant Librarian Milltown Park and Assistant Comm.
2011 - 2014: Milltown Park - Assistant Comm. Librarian; Director SpExx
2011: Resident in Cherryfield Lodge. Praying for the Church and the Society

Brendan settled well into Cherryfield and appeared happy and content. His condition has been deteriorating for some time. He died peacefully on 28th May 2014. May he rest in the Peace of Christ.

Brendan Woods was an Ulsterman, who spent his Jesuit life in the South; he was a man attracted to solitude, but he entered an apostolic religious order, and thereby guaranteed himself the constant presence of others for nearly seventy-two years. Brendan's Northern accent was not strong, but his upbringing in Northern Ireland, under triumphant and intolerant Unionism, left a deep impression. Very occasionally, Brendan spoke about “What we had to put up with” and he had no sympathy with some Jesuits when, towards the end of the Troubles, they empathised with the fears of Unionists, of whom Brendan said: “They had it all their own way for a long time; they won't anymore; they'll have to get used to it”.

Brendan did not talk about his family, and it was almost by accident that some of us discovered that his sister is a Carmelite nun. He had three brothers, one of whom died the day before Brendan's own death. His friendships were many, including one with a laicised priest working in Dublin as the caretaker of a block of flats. Brendan offered friendship and moral support to a number of 'lost souls', but he never spoke about them; he really did 'do good by stealth.

Community life was never easy for Brendan, and he could seem remote, but in reality, he was warm, witty and quietly supportive. Being so intensely private, he was comfortable expressing his feelings through humour, rather than directly. He could be very perceptive. When Brendan said, of a particular Jesuit, that “He goes around giving retreats to well bred nuns”, he spoke in the light of a major shift in his own life, one that took place after he left teaching at Clongowes in 1972; he had lost interest in any apostolate to the privileged and preferred to work with those who had less money and less security.

Brendan gave many guided retreats at Manresa House, but his greatest satisfaction came from the weeks of guided prayer, usually given as part of a team in many outlying parishes in Dublin. Brendan never learned to drive, so those guided prayer weeks meant long bus journeys, and waits for buses, in all weathers. The effort meant little to him in the light of the reaction of so many ordinary people, as they had their first experience of praying with Scripture and asked “Why did nobody tell us about this before now?” This invigorated and encouraged him, but Brendan, not always a patient man, had no patience at all with one aspect of post-Conciliar religious life: the emphasis on self-improvement. He was impatient with techniques, had no time for the Myers-Briggs Table and regarded the Enneagram as pernicious, being convinced that it was Sufism diluted for Western consumption.

Brendan set very high standards for himself, and never felt that he had met them. He was an excellent teacher at Clongowes and a hardworking assistant librarian at Milltown Park. In neither job did he accept praise, nor feel that he had done well. In even the coldest weather, with only a small radiator for comfort, Brendan worked on the top floor of the Milltown Jesuit Library, cataloguing the collection of books about Ireland, discovering rare pamphlets and taking a special interest in Irish Catholic printers. Being over-cautious, he kept duplicate and even triplicate copies of books, which packed the shelves.

Having had some experiences of book theft, Brendan was a bit paranoid about library security. His love of books, however, meant that even the most tedious library work never seemed to be a chore. When a Jesuit house closed and its library was being cleared, Brendan had a remarkable ability to notice precisely what was lacking in Milltown.

With his a deep appreciation of what it meant to be both Irish and Catholic, Brendan concentrated on the essentials. He had no interest in the disputes about clothes that were so common in Irish Jesuit life in the 1960s and 1970s. Brendan was quick to abandon clerical clothing, and it is doubtful if, latterly, he even owned a Roman collar, but, somehow, there was an indefinable quality about him, so he always looked priestly. Being blessed with a fine head of white hair, Brendan cut a striking figure.

Brendan was quick to appreciate other countries and cultures. He read a vast number of travel books and had a balanced, even sardonic, appreciation of the United States. American crime fiction (to which Americans themselves give the more euphemistic title 'Mystery') was his secret passion and he read many authors long before their fame spread west across the Atlantic.

Marriage Encounter gave him, for thirteen years, a strong link with the United States and had him working closely with Bill White SJ, who was as committed to the work, but was utterly unlike him. Brendan was the organizer, Bill was the inspirer; as in many unexpected pairings, they were a very successful team. Some years before the onset of his own prolonged final illness. Brendan gave up attending Jesuit funerals, because the homily had been replaced by a eulogy, so he had difficulty reconciling what was being said with the reality of the man he had known. His feelings, whether positive or negative, about everything and everybody were strong, but his shyness often made him seem remote or indifferent and was a barrier for many who might have become closer to him. Those who persevered, or who worked with him regularly, discovered his warmth and his compassion.

Brendan's stories were many. Some were based on experience in retreat direction: “If a person on a retreat says that they'd like to meet you after the retreat, for further spiritual direction, you can be assured that you'll never hear from them again!”, in parish supply work, such as the Italian-American parish in New York, where terrified black teenagers returned the chalices stolen on the previous day, because their fence told them that the silverware bore the names of local Mafia families. But was there really an English Jesuit who, in his own retreat talks, used to refer, in his examples for edification, to “a humble Irish lay sister”?

Brendan rose early and prayed often. One year, his entire annual retreat was centered on the Jesus Prayer (“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”). Any hints about his own prayer were revealed inadvertently.

As Brendan's memory began to weaken, his brow settled into a permanent frown, which was very distressing for his friends. Everything seemed to worry him, but he was able to sustain a conversation by focusing on the person speaking to him, never on himself. He was not aware that he had celebrated yet another Jubilee in the Society, which was just as well, because he would have striven, with all his might, to avoid it!

Brendan has earned his rest.

Wolfe, Maurice, 1840-1905, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/563
  • Person
  • 27 December 1840-24 September 1905

Born: 27 December 1840, Finuge, Listowel, County Kerry
Entered: 24 July 1861, Lyon, France - Lugdunensis Province (LUGD)
Ordained: 1873
Final Vows: 15 August 1882
Died: 24 September 1905, Grand Coteau, Louisiana, USA - Neo-Aurelianensis Province (NOR)

Came to Clongowes 1879-1884
Request for transfer from the Lyons Province to the Irish Province (1878 - 1882).

Winder, Percy J, 1931-2003, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/619
  • Person
  • 29 March 1931-23 May 2003

Born: 29 March 1931, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 07 September 1949, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Ordained: 31 July 1963, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1981, Clongowes Wood College SJ
Died: 23 May 2003, Saint Brigid's Hospice, The Curragh, County Kildare

Part of the Clongowes Wood College SJ, Naas, County Kildare community at the time of death.

Older Brother of Adrian B Winder - Ent 07/09/1953; LEFT 19/09/1964

by 1985 at Rome, Italy (DIR) Sabbatical Biblical Inst
by 1991 at Frankley Beeches, Birmingham, England (BRI) working
by 1994 at Worcester England (BRI) working

◆ Interfuse
Interfuse No 117 : Special Issue November 2003

Obituary

Fr Perrcy Winder (1931-2003)

29th March 1931: Born in Dublin
Early education at Muckross Convent, CBS Westland Row and Belvedere College
7th Sept. 1949: Entered the Society at Emo
8th Sept. 1951: First Vows at Emo
1951 - 1954: Rathfarnham - Studied Arts at UCD
1954 - 1957: Tullabeg - Studied Philosophy
1957 - 1960: Mungret College - Regency (Teacher)
1960 - 1964: Milltown Park - Studied Theology
31st July 1963: Ordained at Milltown Park
1964 - 1965: Tertianship at Rathfarnham
1965 - 1990: Clongowes -
1965 - 1976: Teacher; Spiritual Father
1976 - 1984: Teacher; Prefect
1984 - 1985: Sabbatical Year
1985 - 1990: Teacher;Prefect; Spiritual Father
1990 - 1993: Birmingham - Parish Curate.
1993 - 1998: Besford Court, Worcs. - Hospital & School Chaplain; Ministry to elderly, bereaved, mentally ill and housebound people
1998 - 2000: Birmingham - Parish Curate
2000 - 2003: Clongowes - Minister; Guestmaster; Ministered in People's Church
23rd May 2003: Died at St. Brigid's Hospice Unit, Curragh, Co Kildare.

Percy was in remission from prostate cancer for the past seven years, in early January his condition deteriorated. He accepted news of his terminal illness with great faith and kept saying that he wanted to “fly like a butterfly as he was tired of walking like a caterpillar”. His condition deteriorated seriously after Easter, culminating in his transfer to St. Brigid's, where he received 24 hour care for his last two weeks and died peacefully on the evening of Friday 23rd May 2003

Frank Doyle writes:
That Rhetoric 1 (6th Year) class of 1949 in Belvedere was probably unusual even for those days. Out of it came five Jesuits, two Opus Dei priests and a candidate for Clonliffe. The Clonliffe seminarian opted for the married life and the responsibilities of the family business. He was Peter Dunn, younger brother of the later to be famous Fr Joe. Of the Opus Dei priests, one has left us and the other is a nephew of the late Gen. Richard Mulcahy. Of the five Jesuits, four entered together on the same day – Harry Brennan, Frank Doyle, Denis Flannery and Percy Winder. The fifth – Donal Doyle – stayed in Belvedere for the Seventh Year and then, if I am not mistaken, did a year of pre-med before going to Emo. In the course of time, Harry also felt called to be a different kind of father.

I had known Percy, however, all during my secondary school days in Belvedere. I would not say we were very close in those days. Outside of class, our extracurricular interests were somewhat different. Percy, like his older brother Frank before him, was a great supporter of the school's Field Club. I, together with Denis, gravitated to Fr Charlie Scantlebury's Camera Club. I ended up in the school opera; Percy never made any claims to any musical talent.

Percy, Denis, Harry and myself all arrived in Emo on 7th September, 1949. As fellow-novices, Percy and I were thrown more together and got to know each other better. When Percy was made the last Beadle of our second year, I was his Sub beadle. Our term of office coincided with Major Villa, and, with the Novice Master away, there were some (perfectly harmless, I hasten to add) high jinks which Fr Donal was not pleased with when they were brought to his notice on his return. We thought they were great fun - and they were. (If only Denis Flannery were still around to remind us of the details!)

It would have been difficult not to have some fun when Percy was around. His conversation was peppered with a never ending chuckle. I never saw him depressed but that is not to say life always went smoothly. He was afflicted with a particularly distressing migraine, which came on at regular intervals. Then he would have to retire to his room and remain in darkness until it eased off. But he never complained or felt sorry for himself.

After Emo, we were in Rathfarnham together for three years though not doing the same subjects. That was the time when I was probably closest to him. Many is the time we walked together around the “track” in deep conversation. Along one side of the track there was a wire fence. Behind this was a row of evergreen trees and behind them part of the golf course. Percy regularly kept an eye out for golf balls that had been driven into the trees where it was difficult for the player to retrieve them. These Percy picked up and passed on to Fr Dick Ingram, who was a keen golfer, and who, as a result, never had to buy a golf ball.

Both in Rathfarnham and Tullabeg, Percy kept up his interest in nature, particularly in birds and butterflies. There were a lot more butterflies to be seen in those days.) At the end of philosophy, our ways parted and we seldom met during the ensuing years. He went to regency and I went to Hong Kong. We were together for one more year in Milltown for theology, and then I left to continue in the Philippines.

It must be for others to describe Percy's long and fruitful time in Clongowes. During that time he was Lower Line Prefect for 8 years before taking a sabbatical in the Holy Land. After many years as chaplain to the students, he felt it was time for a career change. I understand he had been going to Birmingham for many years to do a summer supply. It was obvious that a more permanent form of service would have been more than welcomed by the bishop, whom he knew well. Obviously, it was a great way to spend his “troisieme age”.

On one of my furloughs back from Asia (in 1990), I went to St. Beuno's in North Wales to do the “3M” course as part of a sabbatical. During the three months, there was a break when we could get away for about a week. Percy invited me to join him in Birmingham, where I was able to see first hand some of the work he was doing. He was mainly acting as chaplain to a number of institutions for the sick and elderly and also helping out in the local parish. In fact, due to the tragic death of the parish priest about that time, Percy was acting pastor. One could see how marvellously he related with the parishioners, especially the ladies, and how much they loved him. It was not surprising; he was an extremely lovable person. I suppose because he gave out so much enthusiastic love himself.

I believe that it was while in Birmingham that he got the first warnings of cancer. This eventually led him to return to his beloved Clongowes and the less strenuous responsibility of the People's Church. Here again his gift of winning friends and influencing people shone out and made a wonderful conclusion to a life of bringing hope and cheer into people's lives. He was also minister to the community.

Perhaps this very inadequate memoir is best concluded by some words from the homily given by his superior, Michael Sheil, at the funeral Mass. Michael had accompanied Percy on his final journey and was with him when he finally slipped away. Percy had written his own eulogy in touching letters he wrote to friends when he learnt that his condition was terminal and Michael quoted from these.

"Strangely”, Percy wrote, “the news didn't upset me at all. There comes a time - especially when God has given us the gift of deep and strong faith – when it is easy and exciting to accept the Good News that our destined life journey from God to God is coming to a close and that soon we'll be home. At Mass every day before Communion we ask God to keep us in peace “as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ”. Why ever should we dread the destiny for which God so lovingly created us? I feel so happy as I look back on such a happy life walking with friends and trying my best to be helpful - happy to be close at last to even greater and more unimaginable love. God is Love - and I value His embrace. As journey's end appears over the horizon, I'm happy and excited to be going home. I've no fears and no regrets - just hoping to have the strength, to using my remaining time, sharing my happiness with those I love. For the moment, I'm content to take and enjoy each day as it comes.

God does not make mistakes – nor does He make junk. We are NOT mistakes - God is moulding us into His masterpiece, delighting in His creation. So, no tears for me please -- only a song of thanksgiving that at last God is putting the final touches to that masterpiece. As St Paul says: 'We are God's work of art!

If you choose to pray for me, ask that I may have a reasonably comfortable dying and that I won't be too much of a burden. Of course, I've no more idea than you as to what heavenly life might be like. I'm content to wait and see. For me, what St Paul says is good enough: “What eye has not seen nor ear heard - these are the things that God has prepared for those who love Him”. So this is not a final Good-bye - far from it!”

Au revoir, Percy. It is not easy to say Good-bye to Percy. Two days ago someone asked me for some information and I was about to say: Well, I'll ask Percy about that! He was so much part of our lives for the past three years – he was the Homemaker of the Community -- that my reflexes had not yet attuned to the fact that he was no longer of this world. His metaphor of the caterpillar and the butterfly is well known by now - and I think that he would approve of St Paul's image that “when the tent that we live in on earth is folded up, there is a house built by God for us .... in the heavens”.

When we received Percy's Remains back home here in Clongowes on Saturday evening, I shared with you the – still fresh - memory of one of the very privileged moments of my life, as I sat at his bedside the previous evening at exactly 18.18. I was the intimate witness of two realities – one, the loss of a dear Companion in the Lord and the other, the fulfilment of Percy's dream-in-faith that God would be faithful to His promise that where I am, you also may be.

I summed up the past 5 months as Percy's living the dream - when his failing health seemed only to serve to strengthen his faith. On Friday evening as I sat beside his sick, frail, stricken and diseased body, I could only reflect on and marvel at the spirit enclosed therein, as he sank slowly and without resistance towards the destiny of us all. No struggle, no stress, simply low regular breathing......, until I had occasionally to check to ensure that he was still alive - before that unforgettable moment when I realized that, without a sound, just like his butterfly taking off, his spirit slipped away from the prison of corruptible mortality to enter into the glory of an everlasting home not made by human hands, in the heavens.

It is not easy to try to do justice to the person Percy was in the few short lines of a homily. But I am fortunate in having in my possession two letters of his from some months ago - when he was informed that his illness was terminal – letters in which he wrote to his friends of how he felt. This, surely, is Percy's act of faith - his legacy as he speaks to us this morning - the proclamation to all the world that God is faithful and near to him. So this is not a final Good-bye - far from it! For Percy's heart was not troubled – for he believed in Jesus' promise: I am going to prepare a place for you -- and I shall return to take you with Me so that where I am you may be too.....

Percy was a very active, apostolic Jesuit and priest, who, while in good health, brought God's love into the lives of many. And in the lengthening twilight of his terminal illness, God continued to use him to bring about yet another miracle of His love, as He drew from those who looked after him in the Hospice service a quite extraordinary concern for someone in need of so much medical care. Their lives have been graced by the generosity of their giving - and on behalf of us all I want to say how much their loving care for him meant to us, to whom Percy meant so much himself.

How we would have liked him to be cured and remain on with us. We made a novena in honour of Fr John Sullivan. Percy was too ill to start it off for us – but he came down on the last morning to thank us for our efforts on his behalf. At that time he said he was willing to hang around for a while longer (If it will give Fr John a leg-up!, he said) - but he had just received good news and would be quite happy to go. Perhaps to-day, he is in a better position to give the most distinguished of his predecessors, as Spiritual Father and Minister of the People's Church, that leg-up towards canonization!

Our thanks to Percy, too, for the legacy of his life of love – and of his written testament of faith. We thank God for His gifts to him - and for the gift of him to us. In his own words - This is not a final Good-bye ....... far from it. So often in life we say Good-bye ........... it comes from the ancient wish or prayer: May God be with you [Dominus vobiscum) ........... and to-day we say it to Percy at this, his last Mass.

And so we pray:
May Christ enfold you in His love - and bring you to eternal life. May God and Mary be with you. We will pray for you, Percy - may you also pray for us.

◆ The Clongownian, 2003

Obituary

Father Percy Winder SJ

Fr Percy Winder, who died at St Brigid's Hospice Unit, Curragh, Co Kildare on 23rd May 2003, was in remission from prostate cancer for the past seven years. In early January his condition deteriorated. He accepted the news of his terminal illness with great faith and kept saying that he wanted to “fly like a butterfly as he was tired of walking like a caterpillar”. His condition deteriorated seriously after Easter, culminating in his transfer to St Brigid's, where he died.

The Rhetoric class of 1949 in Belvedere was probably unusual even for those days. Out of it came five Jesuits, two Opus Dei priests and a candidate for Clonliffe. Of the five Jesuits, four entered together on the same day - Harry Brennan, Frank Doyle, Denis Flannery and Percy Winder. The fifth, Donal Doyle stayed in Belvedere for the Seventh Year before going to Emo. Percy, Denis, Harry and myself all arrived in Emo on 7th September 1949. As fellow-novices, Percy and I were thrown more together and got to know each other better. When Percy was made the last Beadle of our second year, I was his Sub-beadle. Our term of office coincided with Major Villa, and, with the Novice Master away, there were some high jinks, which Fr Donal was not pleased with when they were brought to his notice on his return.

It would have been difficult not to have some fun when Percy was around. His conversation was peppered with a never-ending chuckle. I never saw him depressed but that is not to say life always went smoothly. He was afflicted with a particularly distressing migraine, which came on at regular intervals. Then he would have to retire to his room and remain in darkness until it eased off. But he never complained or felt sorry for himself.

After Emo, we were in Rathfarnham together for three years though not doing the same subjects, That was the time when I was probably closest to him. Many is the time we walked together around the track in deep conversation. Along one side of the track there was a wire fence. Behind this was a row of evergreen trees and behind them part of the golf course. Percy regularly kept an eye out for golf balls that had been driven into the trees where it was difficult for the player to retrieve them. These Percy picked up and passed on to Fr Dick Ingram, who was a keen golfer, and who, as a result, never had to buy a golf ball.

Both in Rathfarnham and Tullabeg, Percy kept up his interest in nature, particularly in birds and butterflies. (There were a lot more butterflies to be seen in those days.) At the end of philosophy, our ways patted and we seldom met during the ensuing years. He went to regency and I went to Hong Kong. We were together for one more year in Milltown for theology, and then I left to continue in the Philippines. Percy spent a long and fruitful time in Clongowes during which time he was Lower Line Prefect for eight years before taking a sabbatical in The Holy Land.

After many years as chaplain to the students, he felt it was time for a career change. He had been going to Birmingham for many years to do a summer supply. It was obvious that the bishop, whom he knew well, would have more than welcomed a more permanent form of service. It was a great way to spend his “troisieme age”. On one of my furloughs back from Asia (in 1990), I went to St. Beuno's in North Wales to do the '3M' course as part of a sabbatical. During the three months, there was a break when we could get away for about a week. Percy invited me to join him in Birmingham, where I was able to see first hand some of the work he was doing. He was mainly acting as chaplain to a number of institutions for the sick and elderly and also helping out in the local parish. In fact, due to the tragic death of the parish priest about that time, Percy was acting pastor. One could see how marvelously he related with the parishioners, especially the ladies, and how much they loved him. It was not surprising; he was an extremely lovable person. I suppose because he gave out so much enthusiastic love himself.

It seems that it was while in Birmingham he got the first warnings of cancer. This eventually led him to return to his beloved Clongowes and the less strenuous responsibility of the People's Church. Here again his gift of winning friends and influencing people shone out and made a wonderful conclusion to a life of bringing hope and cheer into people's lives. He was also minister to the community.

Whyte, Richard, 1824-1891, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2261
  • Person
  • 17 November 1824-14 July 1891

Born: 17 November 1824, Dunbell, County Kilkenny
Entered: 25 January 1855, Santa Clara CA, USA - Taurensis Province (TAUR)
Ordained: 1862
Final Vows:15 August 1875
Died: 14 July 1891, Xavier College, New York, NY, USA - Marylandiae Neo-Eboracensis Province (MARNEB)

Came to HIB in 1869 to 1871 at Milltown Park and Clongowes

White, Esmonde, 1875-1957, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/442
  • Person
  • 15 March 1875-28 April 1957

Born: 15 March 1875, Madras, India
Entered: 07 September 1892, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 26 July 1908, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1910, Sacred Heart College SJ, Limerick
Died: 28 April 1957, Our Lady’s Hospice, Dublin

Part of the Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin community at the time of death

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

by 1896 at Valkenburg, Netherlands (GER) studying
Came to Australia for Regency, 1898
by 1909 at Drongen Belgium (BELG) making Tertianship

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
Though born in India, Esmonde White was educated in Ireland. For regency he went to Riverview .There he stayed a relatively brief time, teaching and being assistant prefect of discipline, before departing in the autumn of 1901 for the same position at Xavier until 1905, when he returned to Ireland. From 1909 he was involved in the school ministry in Ireland.

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 32nd Year No 3 1957
Obituary :
Fr Esmonde White (1875-1957)
Within a period of twelve months, Rathfarnham has lost four of its older men. Perhaps none of them has left so big a gap as “the quiet man”, Fr. White. Yet so it is; for, shrouded though he was in an almost fantastic silence, Fr. White was always there. Religious duties, meals, recreation, from none of these did he ever absent himself. He could be called bi-lingual inasmuch as his chief contribution to recreation was the statement, in Irish or English, “No doubt at all about it?” Perhaps he was on more familiar terms with the birds, whose calls, especially that of the cuckoo, he could faithfully reproduce. Certain it is that he never said an unkind word. No one who knew Fr. White would infer that this was merely the negative virtue of a very silent man. In the first place, it is certain that he had not always been so silent. In his student days at Valkenburg he had acquired so good a mastery of the language as to merit, in later years, the emphatic comment of a German Jesuit : “That man speaks German well”. Moreover his genial charity showed itself very positively in action, for he loved to see people happy. One who was with him in the colleges remarked: “He was always doing odd jobs for others and made so little compliment about them that, in Belvedere for example, if anyone wanted something in Woolworths, he had only to ask Fr. White, and off he went!”
Fr. White was born on 15th March, 1875 in Madras, India. Educated in Clongowes, he gained his place in the three-quarters on the Senior Cup team, played a useful game of Soccer, and bowled on the Cricket eleven. To the end of his life he bowled, left-arm, silently, at invisible wickets - one of his most characteristic gestures. He entered the Society at Tullabeg in 1892, studied philosophy at Valkenburg, and spent the seven following years in Australia, teaching at Xavier and at Riverview. He was ordained at Milltown Park in 1908, did his Tertianship at Tronchienues and spent the remainder of his long life in the class room. All told, he taught for thirty-eight years. He taught at the Crescent from 1910 to 1914, being Prefect of Studies for the two latter years, He was at Belvedere 1915-19, and again from 1923 to 1937, having been in the meantime Minister and Socius at Tullabeg and Prefect of Studies at Galway. Then after a year at Emo and two years at Rathfarnham, as Spiritual Father, he went back to Belvedere, 1941-47, as Sub-Minister. After one year at Milltown Park he came in 1948 to Rathfarnham, where he remained until his death.
With the drawbridge of his interior castle perpetually up, he seemed very happy within, as he tunefully hummed and whistled, to the edification of the brethren without. He loved Belvedere College and when, after a stay of two years in Rathfarnham, he saw his name again on the Belvedere status, he literally danced with joy, at the sober age of sixty-five! While Prefect of Studies in Belvedere Junior House, he combined gentleness with severity in such perfect measure that a past pupil recalls: “He hit very hard with the pandy bat but obviously felt every bit as miserable about it as the unfortunate victim!” The same pupil added, and none of us could deny the tribute: “He was one of Nature's gentlemen!” Those of us who lived with him would suggest that Grace played a bigger part than Nature in making Fr. White one of the kindest of men.
His last illness was short. Some six weeks after leaving Rathfarnham for the Nursing Home, his condition suddenly worsened and he died in the Hospice on 28th April, Before leaving Rathfarnham, he made an interrogation of unusual length: “Two questions are puzzling me”, he said to the indefatigable infirmarian. “First of all, who are you?” When Brother Keogh had identified himself, Fr. White went on: “Secondly, who am I?” With sincerity and truth we can all answer the second question : “One white man!” May he rest in peace!

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father Esmonde White SJ 1875-1957
To those who lived in community with him, Fr Esmonde White seemed to be almost shrouded in an fantastic silence. He certainly was a perfect man, according to St James, for he never offended with the tongue, his remarks being confined to “No doubt at all about it”, said either in English or Irish.

Born in Madras, India, in 1975, he was educated at Clongowes, where he acquired a reputation as a left-hand bowler, whence, no doubt, he developed a gesture common with him to the end of his life, bowling left-handed at invisible wickets.

His life as a Jesuit was spent mainly in the Colleges and the classroom, a ministry of 40 years at least. He was mathematical in his observance, never absent from a duty, ever easy to oblige others, the quintessence of kindness, A model of motivated observance, close to God always, he yielded up his spotless soul to God on April 27th 1957. In the words of his obituary “He was a white man”.

◆ The Belvederian, Dublin, 1957

Obituary

Father Esmonde White SJ

Fr White was born on 15th March, 1875, in Madras, India. Educated in Clongowes, he gained his place as a three-quarter on the Senior Cup team, played a useful game of Soccer, and bowled on the cricket eleven. And anyone who knew him or was taught by him will know that to the very end of his life he was to be seen as he walked along, occasionally bowling, left-arm, an invisible ball at an invisible wicket.

He entered the Society of Jesus at Tullabeg in 1892, studied Philosophy at Valkenburg, and spent the seven following years in Australia. He was ordained at Milltown Park in 1908, He taught at the Crescent, Limerick, from 1910 to 1914, being Prefect of Studies for the two latter years. He was. at Belvedere 1915-1919, and again from 1923 to 1937, having been in the meantime Minister and Assistant to the Master of Novices at Tullabeg and Prefect of Studies at St Ignatius College, Galway, Then, after a year at Emo and two years at Rathfarnham as Spiritual Father, he went back to Belvedere from 1941–1947. From then until his death he was at Rathfarnham.

He loved Belvedere and when after a stay at Rathfarnham, he once again was changed to Belvedere we are told that he literally danced for joy, and that at the very sober age of sixty-five! He was Prefect of Studies in the Preparatory School for a period and for all his perpetually good humour knew well how to wield his sceptre of office. His most outstanding characteristic was his fantastic power of silence; he wasted no words. But it was a good-humoured silence, which missed little enough of what was going on and certain it is that his thoughts were always kindly since he never said an unkind word. Those of us who lived with him would suggest that Grace played a bigger part than Nature in making Fr White one of the kindest of men.

◆ The Clongownian, 1957

Obituary

Father Esmonde White SJ

Father Esmonde White was born in Madras, India, eighty-two years ago. Having left Clongowes, he joined the Novitiate at Tullabeg in 1892. He studied philosophy at Valkenburg in Holland and was then sent to the Australian Mission where he was Prefect and Master for six years, first in Kew College, Melbourne, and then at Riverview, Sydney.

He returned to Ireland in 1905 and completed his theological studies at Milltown Park, Dublin, where he was ordained in 1908. He also studied at Tronchiennes, Belgium. He was Master and Prefect of Studies at the Sacred Heart College, Limerick, from 1910 to 1914, and at Belvedere College, Dublin, from 1915 until 1919, when he was appointed Minister and Assistant Master of Novices at Tullabeg.

He was later in charge of studies at St Ignatius' College, Galway. In 1923 he returned to Belvedere, and remained there until 1937, when he was transferred to Rathfarnham Castle. May he rest in peace.

◆ The Crescent : Limerick Jesuit Centenary Record 1859-1959

Bonum Certamen ... A Biographical Index of Former Members of the Limerick Jesuit Community

Father Esmonde White (1875-1957)

Born at Madras, India and educated at Clongowes, entered the Society in 1892. He pursued his higher studies in Valkenburg, Milltown Park and Belgium. He was ordained in 1908. Father White was a member of the Crescent community from 1909 to 1914 during which time he was prefect of studies. Most of his teaching career was spent at Belvedere College.

Whitaker, James, 1865-1952, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/441
  • Person
  • 12 May 1865-13 August 1952

Born: 12 May 1865, Mooresfort, County Tipperary
Entered: 24 October 1882, Milltown Park, Dublin
Ordained: 02 August 1896, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows:15 August 1901
Died: 13 August 1952, Clongowes Wood College SJ, Naas, County Kildare

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

by 1900 at Drongen Belgium (BELG) making Tertianship

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 27th Year No 4 1952
Obituary :
Father James Whitaker (1865-1952)

Clongowes suffered a great loss in the death, on August 13th, of Fr. Whitaker. R.I.P.
Born at Mooresfort, Co. Tipperary, on May 12th, 1865, he was baptised in Lattin Chapel two days later, received the Sacrament of Confirmation in Galbally Chapel in June, 1874, and made his First Holy Communion in October, 1877. This reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation before making one's first Holy Communion seems to have been the regular procedere in those days. He was a pupil of Galbally National School from September, 1874 to September, 1878, when he went to Tullabeg. Here he spent the four happiest years of his life, memories of which he frequently loved to recall and, in October, 1882, he entered the Society. He did one year's juniorate (1884-85) and three year's Philosophy (1885-88) in Milltown Park, and was then sent to the Crescent, where he spent five years on the teaching staff. From the Crescent be returned in 1893, to Milltown Park where he followed the Long Course in Theology, and was ordained Priest in 1896. Before going to his Tertianship, he spent two years (1897-99) on the teaching staff of Mungret, did his Tertianship at Tronchiennes and took the four Vows of the Professed on August 15th, 1901. The years 1900-13 were spent in Belvedere. For eleven of those years he was engaged in teaching the Matriculation class, he was Minister for one year, and spent one year giving retreats. In 1913 he went to Clongowes and was an active member of the teaching staff until 1943, when he retired on pension. Though severely handicapped in his power of movement by arthritis, he continued to say daily Mass up to the end of March, 1947. From that date until he met with the unfortunate accident in May, 1951, he attended daily Mass in the Domestic Chapel and was able to go to the Community Refectory and Library, to be present at Litanies, Domestic Exhortations and other public Community duties.
During the last fourteen months of his life he was confined to his room in the N.W. tower of the Castle, a room in which he had spent 39 long years, a room which, to those who know Clongowes, is so constructed that it was possible for him to attend Mass, offered daily up to the very end, in the “Ante-room” (as it is commonly called). In that room, though no longer able to be present at the Community duties, he still observed the routine of Common Life. He would allow no exceptions to be made for him in the hour or quality of his meals. They must be what the rest of the Community were enjoying or condemned to. He heard Mass, made his meditation and Examens and şaid his Divine office daily up to the end, and so with perfect peace and thanking his Maker that he had been spared all physical suffering he went to his reward.
The internment took place in the College cemetery on Saturday, August 16th, following Solemn Requiem Mass in the Boys' Chapel, at which Right Rev. Monsignor Kissane, President Maynooth College, presided.
The Celebrant of the Mass was Fr. McGlade; Deacon, Fr. Dennehy; Sub-deacon, Fr. Meagher; M.O., Rev. J. Foley, Milltown Park. The sacred music was very beautifully rendered by the choir of Milltown Park, The prayers at the graveside were recited by Very Rev. Fr. Provincial.
As will be seen from the sketch of his life given above, Fr. Whitaker's priestly Office brought him very little into contact with the outer world, Apart from the one year spent in giving retreats, and apart from those retreats (one hundred in number) which he gave during school vacations, his whole life was spent in the classroom and among his own Community, and so his virtues were chiefly the characteristic virtues of charity and good-fellowship which are so essential to the smooth and harmonious working together of a limited group of men who are thrown into daily contact with one another, year in, year out. I remember the late Fr. Charlie Barrett remarking to me one evening as we were leaving the Library after recreation “Would not Fr. Whit. be a great loss to the Community if he were to be taken from us?” I readily agreed. For on that particular evening he had been at his best. The time passed swiftly and enjoyably as he carried the conversation with a general fund of information and anecdote that held us all. In general he simply flooded the room with an exuberance and zest of good nature and wit that made the ordinary raconteur seem a trifle pallid in comparison. He had a prodigious memory for persons and places and incidents a faculty which he preserved to the very end. As one listened to him one became convinced that he knew everything about everything in the Province and that he had been everywhere in Ireland. Younger men going for the first time to some seaside resort, or to some convent to give a retreat, would consult Fr. Whitaker beforehand as to the principal attractions or drawbacks of the locality. He would then produce one of the many sectional maps of the country which he possessed, and would launch forth into vivid detail of what must be avoided and what must not be missed.
This faculty of minute observation of men and things was fostered and kept alive by the habit which he had long cultivated of keeping a diary. There is much in the diary, it is true, of little interest to any but himself, and it is to be regretted that he wrote so impersonally. His judgment was sound, his foresight keen, One felt, when one consulted him on any problem, that his decision would be correct, human and intelligent.
For one who had been so regular all his life in punctual attendance at every Community duty and festivity, the tedium and loneliness of the last two years of his life must have often been hard to bear. Yet he never complained. He derived great pleasure from even a short visit of one of the Community, and spoke very feelingly and generously of the kindness and efficiency of the Br. Infirmarian and of the servants who saw to his wants.
To Saint John Berchmans is attributed the saying: “Mea maxima mortificatio est vita communis”, and for that very reason Berchmans was canonised. His canonisation was a canonisation of the Rule Book. So, well may we imagine Fr. Whitaker saying, not in any sense of boastfulness but in sheer literal truth: “Mea maxima delectatio est vita communis” and that, we feel certain, is sufficient reason for believing that his lot is with the saints. May he rest in peace.

◆ The Clongownian, 1953

Obituary

Father James Whitaker SJ

Father Whitaker was born at Mooresfort, Co Tipperary on May 12, 1865, was baptised in Lattin Chapel two days afterwards, received the Sacrament of Confirmation in June 1874, and made his first Holy Communion in 1877. This reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation before making one's first Holy Communion seems to have been the regular procedure in those days. He was a pupil of Galbally National School from 1874 to 1878, when he went to Tullabeg. Here he spent the four happiest years of his life, memories of which he frequently loved to recall and, in October 1882, he entered the Society. After the usual course of studies in humanities and philosophy at Milltown Park, he was a member of the teaching staff at the Sacred Heart College, Limerick, from 1888 to 1893. He then returned to Miltown Park for his theological studies and was ordained priest in 1896. His studies completed, he took the Solemn Vows of Profession on August 15th, 1901. The years 1900-13 were spent in Belvedere College. For eleven of those years he was engaged in teaching the Matriculation class; he was Minister for one year, and spent one year giving retreats. In 1913 he went to Clongowes and was an active member of the teaching staff until 1943, when he retired from the classroom. Though severely handicapped by arthritis, he continued to say daily Mass up to the end of March 1947. From that date until he met with the unfortunate accident in 1951, he attended daily Mass and other community duties. During the last fourteen months of his life he was confined to his room in the NW tower of the Castle, a room in which he had spent 39 long years, and from which he passed painlessly and peacefully to his Maker on August 13th, 1952.

As will be seen from the sketch of his life given above, Fr Whitaker's priestly duties brought him very little into contact with the outside world. Apart from the one year spent in giving retreats, and apart from those retreats - one hundred in number - which he gave during School Vacations, his whole life was spent in the Colleges and among his own community. Many old Clongownians will remember him with gratitude for all he did for them in the class room and out of it during those thirty continuous years. In the classroom nothing was taken for granted or left to chance. The prescribed course was gone into thoroughly and most methodically. A very definite scheme was care fully prepared so that each section of the course received due attention, and for any luckless candidate who found himself on the eve of Examination without a thorough knowledge of his texts, Fr Whitaker had scant sympathy. Indeed I have sometimes heard it said that he was too methodical to be a really great teacher. Outside the class room he spent much valuable time catering for the amusements and recreation of the boys. To him was assigned the task of choosing a suitable motion picture for Play-day evenings. Many an hour was spent in a preview of these films, and during thie actual presentation of the picture some of the comments overheard coming from the operator's box were more amusing than what was actually taking place on the screen. He had good taste in music and drama and fostered a love for these among his pupils. Gifted with a keen sense of humour and a retentive memory, and being an unusually shrewd observer of men and things, he was a brilliant story-teller and on many an occasion kept his listeners entranced.

In conclusion we may say that his was it singularly happy, peaceful life, with no great ambitions, no great enthusiasms, simply contented to fulfil with utmost fidelity the duties to which he was called. May he rest in peace.

◆ The Crescent : Limerick Jesuit Centenary Record 1859-1959

Bonum Certamen ... A Biographical Index of Former Members of the Limerick Jesuit Community

Father James Whitaker (1865-1952)

A native of Mooresfort, Co Tipperary and educated at Tullabeg College, entered the Society in 1882. He spent his regency at the Crescent, 1888-1893. With the exception of a short period at Belvedere College, Father Whitaker's long teaching career after his ordination was spent at Clongowes. (Cf The Clongownian, 1953, “An Old Tipperary Family”.)

Wheeler, Thomas, 1848-1913, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/440
  • Person
  • 17 January 1848-28 October 1913

Born: 17 January 1848, Mullingar, County Westmeath
Entered: 07 September 1866, Milltown Park, Dublin
Ordained: 1883, Tortosa, Spain
Final Vows: 02 February 1888
Died: 28 October 1913, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin

Early education at St Stanislaus College SJ, Tullabeg

by 1869 at Amiens France (CAMP) studying
by 1870 at Leuven Belgium (BELG) studying
by 1872 at Toulouse College (TOLO) health
by 1877 at Laval France (FRA) studying
by 1880 at Aix-en-Provence, France (LUGD) studying
by 1881 at Dertusanum College Spain (ARA) studying

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Account from Freeman’s Journal of 29 October 1913 "
“The hand of death has been severely felt of late within the ranks of the Society of Jesus in Dublin. During a period of slightly over twelve months a number of the best known and most distinguished members of that body have passed to their reward after long service in the sacred cause of religion and Christian charity. The list includes such revered names as Matt Russell, Nicholas Walsh, James Walshe, and more recently John Bannon and Henry Lynch. It is now our duty to record the death of another well-known member of the Order in the person of Rev Thomas Wheeler SJ, who died after a long and tedious illness at Gardiner St.
He was born in Mullingar 17 January 1848. His elder brother, Rev James Wheeler, was PP of Stamullen. His younger brother was the lamented Dominican Joseph Wheeler, who predeceased him some years. His uncle was the Most Rev Dr James Carbery OP, at one time Bishop of Hamilton, Canada. His cousin Most Rev Dr James Murray OSA, is the present Bishop of Cookstown, Australia.
Educated at Mullingar and Tullabeg, he entered the Society at a young age. his higher studies were carried on in France - Philosophy at Louvain, and Theology at Tortosa in Spain. he completed his studies in Belgium. On returning to Ireland he was put to the field of education, and taught the higher classes at Clongowes, Tullabeg, Belvedere and Crescent. During these years he was rector of Belvedere, and Vice-President of UCD. In addition to his marked qualities as an educator, he had a facile pen, and gave many valuable contributions to the literature of his day. When Matt Russell died, he was chosen to succeed him as Editor of the “Irish Monthly” - a publication dear to the heart of its founder and to a circle of close personal friends and literary admirers. Under Thomas’ guidance it continued to fulfill worthily the aims and ideas for the propagation of which it was started, and continued to be in the fullest sense a high-class, well-written periodical full of information on subjects of deep interest to Irish Catholic readers.
Latterly, however, Father Wheeler’s health had begun to give way, and during the last few months he had been suffering from a rather severe breakdown.”

Note from Charles O’Connell Sr Entry
William E Kelly, Superior at Hawthorn, says in a letter 09 April 1912 to Thomas Wheeler “Poor Father Charlie was on his way from his room to say the 8 o’clock Mass, when a few yards from his room he felt faint and had a chair brought to him. Thomas Claffey, who had just returned from saying Mass at the Convent gave him Extreme Unction. Thomas Gartlan and I arrived, and within twenty minutes he had died without a struggle. The evening before he had been seeing some sick people, and we have since learned complained of some heart pain. Up to the last he did his usual work, taking everything in his turn, two Masses on Sundays, sermons etc, as the rest of us. We shall miss him very much as he was a charming community man.

Note from Henry M Lynch Entry
Note his obituary of Henry M Lynch in that Entry. Henry Lynch accompanied Thomas Wheeler when the latter was going for a severe operation to Leeds. When he returned before Thomas, he became unwell himself.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father Thomas Wheeler SJ 1848-1913
Fr Thomas Wheeler was born near Mullingar on 17th January 1848.

He came of a very distinguished ecclesiastical family. His older brother was a Parish priest in Stamullen, a younger brother was a Dominican, an uncle was Dr Carbery, Bishop of Hamilton, Canada, while his cousin was Dr Murphy, Bishop of Cookstown Australia.

Fr Thomas entered the Society at an early age and taught the higher classes in Clongowes, Tullabeg, Belvedere and Limerick. He was rector of Belvedere and Vice-President of University College, St Stephen’s Green.

Having done some of his early studies in Spain, he was a good Spanish scholar, and was appointed Spanish examiner in the Royal University. He succeeded Fr Matt Russell as editor of “The Irish Monthly”. Under his guidance it continued to fulfil the aims and ideas for which it was founded.

He died after a long and tedious illness, cheerfully borne, on October 29th 1913.

◆ The Belvederian, Dublin, 1914

Obituary

Father Thomas Wheeler SJ

It is our painful duty to record the death of the Rev Thomas Wlieeler, which took place at the Presbytery, Upper Gardiner Street, some time ago.

The deceased was born near Mullingar in 1848, and joined the Society of Jesus at an early age. His course of studies was a long one, during which he travelled much in France, Belgium, and Spain. A man of marked ability, a distinguished scholar, an able linguist, he taught the higher classes in Clongowes, Tullabeg and Limerick. He was at one time Rector of Belvedere, and for many years Vice-President of University College, St. Stephen's Green. Notwithstanding his poor health during the last twelve months of his life, he continued to devote himself to his confessional, and was always eager to help and befriend others. A convincing preacher, he also had a facile pen, and succeeded Fr Father Russell as editor of The Irish Monthly. RIP

◆ The Clongownian, 1914

Obituary

Father Thomas Wheeler SJ

It is our painful duty to record the death of another well-known member of the Society Jesus in the person of the Rev Thoma Wheeler, who died yesterday (October 28th) after a long and tedious illness, at the Presbytery, Upper Gardiner Street. Father Wheeler was born near Mullingar, Co Westmeath, the 17th January, 1848. His elder broth Very Rev James Wheeler, was PP of Stamullen; his younger brother was the lamented Father Joseph Wheeler, of the Order of Preachers, who predeceased him some years ago. His uncle was the Most Rev Dr Carbery OP, at one time Bishop of Hamilton, Canada. His cousin, Most Rev Dr Murray OSA, is the present Bishop of Cooktown, Australia.

Educated at Mullingar and at Tullabeg College, he entered the Society of Jesus at an early age. His higher studies were carried on in France - his Philosophy course being studied at Louvain, and his course in Theology at Tortosa, in Spain. He completed his training in the House of the Order in Belgium, at the close of a brilliant scholastic career. On his return to his native land he was, by direction his Superiors, almost at once placed in close touch with the educational interests which the members of the Society of Jesus are known to have so much at heart in Ireland, as in the other countries where their Missions flourish. In pursuance of his duties in his new sphere of activity Father Wheeler taught for any years the higher classes in Clongowes, in Tullabeg, in Belvedere, and in Limerick Colleges, filling during that period of his career many important offices--amongst them, those of Rector of Belvedere College, and Vice-President of University College, St Stephen's Green. In addition to his marked qualities as an educationalist he had a facile pen, and gave many valuable contributions to the literature of his day.

When Father : Matt Russell died, Father Wheeler was chosen to succeed him in the editorship of the “Irish Monthly” - a publication which was dear to the heart of its sainted founder and long time editor, as it was also to the hearts of a wide circle of close personal friends and literary admirers. Under the guidance of Father Wheeler the “Irish Monthly” continued to fulfil worthily the aims and ideas for the propagation of what it was started, and continued to be in the fullest sense a high-class, well-written periodical full of informative matter on subjects of deep interest to Irish Catholic readers.

Latterly, however, Father Wheeler's health had begun to give way, and during the last few months he had been suffering from a rather severe breakdown.

“Freeman's Journal”, Oct. 29th, 1913.

◆ The Crescent : Limerick Jesuit Centenary Record 1859-1959

Bonum Certamen ... A Biographical Index of Former Members of the Limerick Jesuit Community

Father Thomas Wheeler (1848-1913)

A native of Mullingar, was educated at Tullabeg College and entered the Society in 1866. He pursued all his higher studies abroad: in France, Belgium and Spain, in which latter country he was ordained. Father Wheeler was one of the Irish Province's most gifted masters of the last century, but his association with the Crescent was limited to the years 1887-88 and 1894-95. He was sometime rector of Belvedere College and vice-rector of UCD. He was also widely known in literary circles and succeeded Father Matthew Russell in the editorship of the “Irish Monthly”.

Weston, John, 1793-1837, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2239
  • Person
  • 01 August, 1793-03 January 1837

Born: 01 August, 1793, Chudleigh, Devon, England
Entered: 07 September 1812, Hodder, Lancashire, England - Angliae Province (ANG)
Ordained: 23 September 1820
Died: 03 January 1837, St Helens, Lancashire, England - Angliae Province (ANG)

Half brother of Thomas Weston SJ, Ent 07/09/1824; RIP 14/11/1867 (ANG)

in Clongowes 1818/9 - Theol 2 - gone by 1821

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
WESTON, JOHN, born at Chudleigh,4th August 1793 : educated at Stonyhurst and Clongowes : ordained in the Church of the latter College by Archbishop Murray, Sub-dean on the 21st of September, 1820 : Deacon on the 22nd of September, 1820, and Priest on the day following : said his first Mass on the 1st of October that year. A twelvemonth later, his Superiors appointed him to the Mission of South Hill, near Chorley, where for seven years he laboured with indefatigable zeal. He was then transferred to Stockheld Park; but on the 9th of Nov. 1833, was entrusted with the Charge of the Congregation at Lowe House, near St. Helens. Here he consummated his course, (as he had long and fervently prayed to do, by dying a victim of charity in attending the sick) the 3rd of January, 1837, and was buried at Windleshaw. The accompanying letter to his Rev. Brother Thomas, will edify and comfort the pious reader :
Lowe House, Jan. 3d.
Rev. Fr. in Xt.
Your excellent Brother expired this afternoon at 2.45. He retained his senses to the last, dying the death of the just. May my end be like unto his. People of every religious denomination sincerely regret his loss. No man was ever more respected in this town, and no one deserves to be more regretted. I never left his bedside, except when unavoidable duties called me away, and I can say, that never a syllable escaped his lips which betrayed the least sign of impatience; indeed he never asked for any drink to cool his parched mouth, but always took whatever was offered him. Almost his last words were, “I am going to enjoy God for ever, for ever, for ever”. During the last hour of his life, though his power of speech was gone, I could see that his lips were moving in prayer may my soul die the death of the Just.
Your s &c. CHS. IRVINE.

Weafer, Michael, 1851-1922, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2234
  • Person
  • 16 August 1851-26 March 1922

Born: 16 August 1851, Galway City, County Galway
Entered: 06 September 1866, Milltown Park
Ordained: 1883
Final Vows: 22 February 1887
Died: 26 March 1922, St Francis Xavier, Gardiner St, Dublin

by 1869 at Amiens France (CAMP) studying
by 1870 at Rome Italy (ROM) studying
by 1871 at Maria Laach College Germany (GER) Studying
by 1881 at Oña Spain (ARA) studying
by 1886 at Drongen Belgium (BELG) making Tertianship

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
He made his Noviceship at Milltown under Luigi Sturso.
After his Novitiate he was sent to France for Rhetoric and Rome for Philosophy.
He had to leave Rome due to political troubles and finished his Philosophy at Maria Laach.
He was sent first to Clongowes and then as Prefect to Tullabeg for Regency.
He was sent to Oña for Theology.
After Ordination he was sent teaching for several years at Crescent and Galway. He was rector for three years in Galway and then joined the Missionary Staff.
1904 He was sent to Gardiner St and lived there until his happy death 26 March 1922. He was six years Superior there 1912-1919.
He was a very fluent and ready speaker with good knowledge of French, Italian, German and Spanish. He was very kind to the sick and dying

Note from James Redmond Entry :
He studied Rhetoric at St Acheul, Amiens with Michael Weafer, Thomas Finlay and Peter Finlay, Robert Kane and Vincent Byrne, among others.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father Michael Weafer 1861-1922
Fr Michael Weafer was born in Galway on August 29th 1861, and he was educated at St Ignatius Galway. He was one of those who made their noviceship under Fr Sturzo at Milltown Park in 1866.

He was present in Rome studying Philosophy during the Revolution of 1870, and with Fr Patrick Keating had to finish his studied at Maria-Laach.
Fr Weafer was Rector of Galway from 1901-1904. The rest of his life was spent mainly in Gardiner Street, of which he was Superior from 1912-1919.
He was a very fluent and ready speaker, with a good knowledge of French, Italian, German and Spanish. He was renowned for his kindness to the sick and dying.
He died on March 25th 1922.

◆ The Crescent : Limerick Jesuit Centenary Record 1859-1959

Bonum Certamen ... A Biographical Index of Former Members of the Limerick Jesuit Commnnity

Father Michael Weafer (1851-1922)

Was born in Galway and entered the Society in 1866. His first association with the Crescent was during his regency, 1878-80. He spent two more year on the teaching staff after his ordination and later completed his higher studies in Belgium. In 1889, the annua mirabilis of the Crescent in the last century, Father Weafer returned as prefect of studies and remained on the Crescent staff until 1900, when he was appointed rector of St Ignatius, Galway. At the end of his rectorship at St Ignatius, Father Weafer was transferred to Gardiner St., Dublin, where he laboured at the church until his death. He was superior of the Gardiner St community from 1912 to 1919.a

Ward, Séamus, 1935-2011, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/799
  • Person
  • 31 May 1935-22 February 2011

Born: 31 May 1935, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 07 September 1953, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Ordained: 10 July 1968, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1975, St Francis Xavier's, Gardiner Street
Died: 22 February 2011, St Mary Star of the Sea, Key West, Florida, USA

Part of the Milltown Park, Dublin community at the time of death

Nephew of Eugene - RIP 1976

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

by 1971 at USF San Francisco, USA (CAL) studying
by 1972 at St Michael’s Bronx NY, USA (NEB) studying

◆ Jesuits in Ireland : https://www.jesuit.ie/news/seamus-ward-rip/

Seamus Ward RIP
Seamus Ward SJ passed away in Florida yesterday, 22 February. He was staying at St. Mary, Star of The Sea Church, Florida. Earlier, he had had a fall away from the house on 18th February and broken his femur. He was badly shaken and was hospitalised. The doctors advised that he was unlikely to recover. He needed a breathing machine. Fr Conall O’Cuinn, Rector of Milltown Park, and Eoghan, a nephew of Seamus, travelled to the USA on Tuesday 22nd and were met at the airport and taken straight to the hospital. They were waiting for them before removing the breathing machine. There was time for prayers and singing Ag Criost an Siol and Soul of My Saviour. Seamus died very quietly and peacefully about 15 minutes later. May he rest in Christ’s Peace!

https://www.jesuit.ie/news/burying-seamie-2/

Burying Seamie
There was something astonishing about the obsequies of Fr Seamus Ward, whose death was reported in the last AMDG Express. Within the Irish Province he had a low profile,
partly because of his wretched health. He had taught in Bolton Street DIT, and served the Jesuit Refugee Service in Africa. Fr Tom Layden wrote of his “pioneering spirit, inquiring mind and independence of outlook”: a kind man, with an attitude of welcome and encouragement for those around him. He worked out of weakness, a real pastoral asset with which people could identify. His two funerals, one in Florida where he served a parish, the other in Gonzaga chapel, were memorable events, crowded with his kith and kin and friends who loved him and grieved deeply. In death as in life Seamus could spring a surprise.

◆ Interfuse No 145 : Summer 2011 & ◆ The Clongownian, 2011

Obituary

Fr Séamus (Seamie) Ward (1935-2011)

31st May 1935: Born in Dublin
Early education at Clongowes Wood College
7th Sept. 1953: Entered the Society at Emo
8th September 1955: First Vows at Emo
1955 - 1958: Rathfarnham - Studied Arts at UCD
1958 - 1961: Tullabeg - Studied Philosophy
1961 - 1964: Belvedere College - Teacher
1964 - 1968: Milltown Park - Studied Theology
10th July 1968: Ordained at Milltown Park, Dublin
1968 - 1969: Tertianship at Rathfarnham
1969 - 1970: Rathfarnham - Chaplain in DIT Bolton Street
1970 - 1972: Fordham, USA-Studied Sociology; Assisted in Holy Family Parish, NY
1972 - 1974: Rathfarnham - Chaplain in DIT Bolton Street
1974 - 1978: John Austin House - Chaplain in DIT Bolton Street
2nd February 1975: Final Vows
1978 - 1979: Campion House - Chaplain in DIT
1979 - 1982: Rathfarnham - Curate in Wicklow parish
1982 - 1985: Dolphin's Barn - Parish Curate
1985 - 1986: Clongowes - Sabbatical year
1986 - 1988: Clongowes - Assistant Librarian
1988 - 1989: Ethiopia - Jesuit Refugee Service
1989 - 1991: Belvedere College - Refugee work: Cairo, JRS Rome and Ethiopia
1991 - 1992: Working with refugees in Sierra Leone and Somalila
1992 - 1994: Working with refugees in Mali
1994 - 2005: Belvedere College - Pastoral care of refugees.
2005 - 2011: Milltown Park - Parish Chaplaincy, USA
22nd February 2011: Died in Florida USA

Fr Seamus was at St. Mary, Star of The Sea Church, Florida. He had a fall away from the house on 18th February and broke his femur. He was badly shaken and was hospitalised. The doctors advised that he was unlikely to recover. He needed a breathing machine. Fr Conall O Cuinn, Rector of Milltown Park, and a nephew of Seamus’, Eoghan, travelled to the USA on Tuesday 22nd and were met at the airport and taken straight to the hospital. They were waiting for them before removing the breathing machine. There was time for prayers and singing Ag Críost an Siol and Soul of My Saviour. Seamus died very quietly and peacefully about 15 minutes later. May he rest in the Peace of Christ.

Obituary by Brendan Duddy and Noel Barber
Seamie Ward was one of 8 children. He had 5 brothers and 2 sisters who were at the heart of his life. He had a marvellous relationship with his siblings and with their children. I got to know him during our time in UCD. When I arrived in Rathfarnham, he took me under his wing and showed me the ropes. The regime was tight and he found the rules of the house somewhat oppressive but he did not take them too seriously. We all felt that we did not have enough time for study; most of us accepted this state of affairs but he did not. He would put his umbrella over his bedside lamp and read through Troilus and Cressida into the night. Serious would have been his fate had he been caught. While others dutifully made off on bikes on special free days, he usually had other ideas, bringing me on one occasion to the Shelbourne Hotel where his father awaited us and ordered toast in a magnificent silver bowl and coffee laced with brandy.

In days when it was presumed that one had to avoid any reading of material that was not 'wholesome', he had the nerve to borrow Joyce's Ulysses in the ritual brown paper bag which the kind librarian passed surreptitiously under the counter, On more regular lines he introduced me to O'Casey's plays and to Swinburne's Atalanta in Calydon. He took a good degree in English, enjoyed the literary delights that were on offer and ignored what was not to his taste. There was an iconoclastic side to him which to some looked as if he saw all authority as authoritarian. There was a shyness which he concealed with a brusqueness that could be disconcerting but he was true gold as a friend. Philosophy in Tullabeg followed where the isolated life did not entirely suit him and literature rather than philosophy captured his interest but doing what was necessary he got through without much effort albeit with little joy but used his time to indulge his literary tastes and to make many excursions, licit and illicit. I then went to Zambia and he to Belvedere where an observer noted that he showed remarkable administrative talents as an assistant to the Prefect of Studies, the formidable Jack Leonard, whose approval and fulsome praise he won. He proved to be a severe disciplinarian and an exacting task master who exercised his authority with a firm hand. However, he won the admiration of the pupils if not their lasting affection. It was noticeable that a number of middle aged men turned up to his funeral – his former pupils from his Belvedere days; they remembered him with something approaching reverence.

His years in Theology were not entirely happy and a contemporary of his considered that his attitude towards authority hardened and he ended up asking to have his ordination postponed to the end of his fourth year. Following his Tertianship in 1968-69 he spent one year in the Dublin Institute of Theology, Bolton Street, before going to Fordham where he took an MA in Sociology. He then returned to Bolton Street where he remained until 1979. I worked with him there and once again he was my mentor and guide. He introduced me to all sorts of people: porters, sweepers, electricians, cooks, his friends in Sean Mc Dermot Street where I became life-long friends with his friends. With these people he was Newman's Perfect Gentleman at ease with all and generous with his time and energy to a fault. He took particular care of foreign students helping them to find their feet. He then spent 3 years (1979-82) as a curate in Wicklow. There he was wonderful with the children, the old folks and with pre-marriage couples. For recreation he took to the joys of sailing, most often with his brother. He moved to Dolphin's Barn in 1982 where he had three not very happy years. He became somewhat restless and spent a few years in Clongowes during which he was unfocused and dispirited.

Then he opened up a new life for himself with the Jesuit Refugee Service from 1988 to 1994. He served in Cairo, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Mali. A person who knew him well in his JRS days commented on his remarkable ability to live in the most austere circumstances, and to accept the hardship and isolation of his assignments without complaint, his great love and devotion to the poor and the weak and the excessive physical demands he made on himself. On the other hand it was noted that for one of his ability and sterling work he lacked self-confidence to a surprising degree and showed that below the surface there could be strong anger which would occasionally flare.

In 1994 he returned to live in Belvedere as a sick man in the grip of severe emphysema but he found a modus vivendi. To avoid the wet, cold Irish winter he began to do supply parish work in California and then Florida where he flourished as he did in Wicklow years before. He devoted himself to the poor and the weak; he gave of his time and people took the chance to pour out their hearts to him and he listened, gave sound advice and became the wise old man.

In the midst of his successful apostolate, he had a fall, went into hospital where, because of his underlying condition, an operation was out of the question. Inevitably he took a bad turn and died quietly and peacefully. As a Jesuit, he was not prominent and was never well known in the Province but despite his difficult middle years and the poor health of his later years he achieved a great deal at the frontiers.

Ward, Kieran J, 1893-1972, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/274
  • Person
  • 02 September 1893-12 June 1972

Born: 02 September 1893, Belfast, County Antrim
Entered: 07 September 1912, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 31 July 1926, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 2 February 1929. Clongowes Wood College SJ
Died: 12 June 1972, Galway Regional Hospital, Galway

Part of the Coláiste Iognáid, Galway community at the time of death

by 1917 at St Aloysius, Jersey Channel Islands (FRA) studying
by 1928 at St Beuno’s, St Asaph, Wales (ANG) making Tertianship

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 47th Year No 3 1972

St Ignatius College, Galway
News has just come of Father Ward's death, after a very short illness, in the Regional Hospital, on the morning of June 12th. He was on the threshold of celebrating his 60th year in the Society.
The Concelebrated Requiem Mass on 14th June was in Irish. Fr O'Shea (nephew) was the First Concelebrant, assisted by Fr Provincial and Fr Rector, Fourteen priests took part in the Concelebrated Mass, many of them old friends of Fr Ward from other houses. Ar láimh dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Obituary :
Fr Ciarán Mac an Bháird SJ (1893-1972)
Fr Ward died in Galway Regional Hospital after a brief illness on Monday, the 12th June, in his 79th year.
His father, Timothy, was a Galway man, but Fr Ward was born in Belfast, where he attended St. Patrick's Christian Brothers School. He completed his secondary education at Belvedere College, Dublin, and entered the Noviceship in Rahan, Tullamore, just sixty years ago in the 7th September, 1912.
After his studies in Rathfarnham he went to Jersey for Philosophy. Owing to the war and danger of conscription he was transferred to Milltown Park to complete the last year of Philosophy, after which he taught in Clongowes from 1919 to 1923. He then returned to Milltown Park for theology and was ordained in 1926. He finished his studies in St Beuno's College, North Wales, and then returned to Clongowes to teach there for three years.
In 1931 he was transferred to the Sacred Heart College, Limerick. He proved himself a very efficient teacher especially in Irish, French and Latin. In addition to this he was Assistant Prefect of Studies, Master of Ceremonies and Minister. As Master of Ceremonies he had charge of the Mass Servers whom he trained with very special care and attention. Many of the congregation commented on the devotion and reverence of the boys under his care.
He was also keenly interested in Drama and produced operettas each year in Irish for Prize Day. He had a special gift of being able to communicate his own personal talent as an actor to the boys he chose for his plays. In addition to all this work he organised each summer groups of boys to spend Irish-speaking holidays in the Kerry Gaeltacht at Ballyferriter and Baile na nGall. In all these activities Fr E Andrews was his ever faithful associate as later in Galway where they again combined energies.
He came to Galway in September 1941 and for 21 years, in addition to full teaching work, he was Adj Pref Studies and Master of Ceremonies in the Church. In this latter work he maintained the high standard of training of Mass Servers which he had reached in the Crescent.
He also continued his former interest in Musical Drama and produced Operettas in Irish each year for prize day. His Drama Groups won many first places at the Féile Drámaíochta in the Taibhdhearc. Many of those dramas he translated from French into Irish.
He carried on Fr Ó Brolcháin's work of training the boys in Irish dancing and his groups won prizes for their four-hand reels,
He was marked down in the Catalogue as “Doc an. 48” and all these years he was completely dedicated to this work. With his great gifts he was a man of singular reserve and self-effacement.
His special interest in promoting the use of Irish as a spoken language in the College had remarkable results and an Inspector from the Department commented on this as a remarkable achievement.
Fr Ward, despite the reserve alluded to, was a very pleasant companion and excellent Community man; a ripe sense of humour enabled him to enter into the cajolery of recreation and with such company as Fr C Perrott, Fr A O'Reilly, Fr Fitzgibbon and Fr Cashman the time passed regularly in even an hilarious fashion. This same bonhomie entered into his dealings with the boys, pupils and altar-servers. He gained their confidence and would recount on occasions quiz-questions and stories he had picked up in their company. He was devoted to his work and could not suffer it to be scamped but even then he would have a laughable encounter to tell about, something he had wormed out of an uncommunicative culprit who was awed by the mock-severity of his teacher's approach.
During the last few years of his life he suffered much from arthritis, but he bore it all in heroic fashion without complaint. Such was his devotion to his work that he won the admiration of parents and boys, who will remember for many years his unselfish devotion to their interests.
The Mayor and Corporation of Galway sent a letter of sympathy to Fr Rector and Community on his death. Ar dheis Dé go raibh & anam.

◆ The Belvederian, Dublin, 1972

Obituary

Father Kyran Ward SJ :

The death occured in Galway in mid-June of Father Kyran Ward, S.J., after a short illness,

Father Ward, who was 78, had been a member of the teaching staff of Coláiste Iognáid since 1941 and had continued to teach there right up to his last illness. He was a talented and devoted teacher of Latin and French. In all, he had been teaching for 48 years, at Clongowes Wood College, Cresent College, Limerick, and Galway,

In Limerick and Galway he produced many school operattas and plays. His drama groups carried off many prizes at the Féile Dramaíochta at the Taibhdhearc in Galway. Several plays had been translated into Irish from the French by himself.

Fr Ward had been in Belfast, where he attended St Patrick's Christian Brother School. The family having moved to Dublin, he came to Belvedere, finishing here in 1912. In September of that year he entered the Jesuits at St Stanislaus' College, Rahan, He studies at Rathfarnham Castle from 1914 till 1916 before travelling to Jersey to study philosophy. On completing his course of philosophy at Milltown Park, he taught at Clongowes from 1919 till 1923. He then returned to Milltown Park for theology and was ordained there in 1926. Fr Ward finished his studies at St Beuno's College, North Wales.

He returned to Clongowes to teach there for three years before being appointed in 1931 to Crescent College, Limerick, where he was Vice-Rector. He remained at the Crescent for ten years before his final appointment to Galway

To his sister, Mrs J B O'Shea; his neice, Mrs Tony Byrne; and his nephew, Fr Maurice O'Shea CC, Artane, Dublin, we offer our sincere sympathy.

Walshe, Charles, 1824-1901, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/447
  • Person
  • 31 October 1824-20 October 1901

Born: 31 October 1824, Naas, County Kildare
Entered: 26 October 1847, Toulouse, France - Lugdunensis Province (LUGD)
Ordained: 1859
Final Vows: 02 February 1868
Died: 20 October 1901, Mungret College, County Limerick

by 1857 at St Beuno’s, Wales (ANG) Studying Theology
by 1859 at Vals, France (TOLO) Studying Theology
by 1864 at Tournai, Belgium (BELG) making Tertianship
by 1865 in East Hardwick, Yorkshire, England - St Michael’s Leeds (ANG)
by 1866 at Church of the Assumption, Chesterfield, England - Mount St Mary’s (ANG)
by 1872 at St Ignatius, Bournemouth (ANG) working
by 1873 at Skipton, Yorkshire - St Michaels (ANG) studying
by 1875 at St Beuno’s Wales, Rhyl Parish (ANG) working
by 1882 at Beaumont (ANG) studying

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
After First Vows he was sent to Clongowes for Regency as Prefect of Discipline. He seems to have been a great success. He was a strong man, and was both liked and feared.
1856 He was sent to the South of France.
1857 He did First year Theology at St Beuno’s, 2nd at Nth Frederick St Dublin, and his 3rd at Vals. He told many funny stories about his living experiences in Dublin and Vals.
After Ordination he was sent to teach at Clongowes.
1862-1864 He was sent to teach at Belvedere, and then made his Tertianship the following year.
1865-1867 He was sent on the Scottish Mission, and also on the Preston Mission.
1867-1872 He was sent as Minister to Tullabeg.
1872 He was sent back on the English Mission, first to Skipton, Yorks, and then to Rhyl in Wales, where he took charge of a Jesuit Church and Parish for 10 years (1873-1883). He did a good job in Rhyl, and was engaged with Catholics and Protestants alike there, with a genial and cheerful disposition.
1883 The latter years of his life were spent at Tullabeg, Dromore, Gardiner St and finally Mungret until his death there 20 October 1901. Though only a short time confined to bed, he seemed convinced of his impending death. he suffered a lot in his final hours, bot bore it with great patience. The night before he died he said “Do you know, I am not a bit afraid of death”. In his last hours, though in pain, he prayed continuously. After he received the Last Rites on the morning of 20/10, he immediately became unconscious, and the he died peacefully.
Those who knew “Charlie” never forgot the sudden “flashes of merriment” that would have any gathering in fits of laughter. “He possessed the keenest good humour and greatest good nature”. Even at his last, his humour did not fail him, even as he lay suffering. I translating the old French Ballad “Griselidis et Sire Gaultier”, critics considered the far-famed Father Prout. He was an accomplished French Scholar, with an almost perfect accent, drawing praise from no less a French Jesuit Preacher Père Gustave Delacroix de Ravignan. he was also considered to have an old world charm which complemented his sense of humour.

Underneath the sophistication, he was a simple man of deep piety, who suffered at times from little depressive bouts.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father Charles Walshe 1826-1901
On October 20th 1901 died Fr Charles Walshe, aged 75 and having lived 54 years in the Society. Born in 1826 he was educated at Clongowes, and entered the Society in 1847.

His early years as a Jesuit were spent in Clongowes, both as a Prefect and Master. He was one of those who studied Theology at the short-lived House of Studies in North Frederick Street Dublin.

He spent many years on the missions in Scotland and England, in Preston, Skipton and Rhyl. He spent the closing years of his life in Mungret.

“He possessed” writes one who knew him well “the keenest humour and the greatest good nature”. His taste in literary matters was most refined. His translation of the old French ballad “Griselidis at Sire Gaultier” not merely rivalled, but surpassed in beauty and elegance of diction, that of the far-famed “Father Prout”. He was an accomplished French scholar and was congratulated on his perfect pronunciation in that language by the famous preacher Père de Ravignan.

The hours immediately preceding his death were hours of intense pain, which he bore with patient fortitude and resignation. The night before he died, speaking to one of the Fathers, he remarked “Do you know, I do not feel a bit afraid of death”. Having received the Extreme Unction, he became unconscious, and shortly afterwards passed peacefully to his eternal rest, having spent his last hours in close and fervent union with God.

◆ The Clongownian, 1902

Obituary

On October 20th, at Mungret College, Limerick, the holy and happy death of Father Charles Walshe SJ, took place. He had just completed his Seventy-fifth year, and had spent fifty-four years in religion.

Fr Walshe vas the son of an army surgeon, who, when he retired from the service, enjoyed a large practice at Naas, and became one of the most popular and best known men in the County Kildare. At the age of fourteen Father Walshe came to Clongowes as a boy, and in 1847, when he had completed his course of studies, he entered the Society. Before his Theological studies, which he went through in the south of France, and at St Bueno's in Wales, he had been Prefect and Master in his Alma Mater. After his ordination he again returned to Clongowes, but does not appear to have been stationed long there as in 1862 he was on the staff at Belvedere College, and in 1865 and 1866 he was on the missions in England. The next year he returned to Ireland and was appointed Minister at Tullabeg.

For ten years (1873-83) Father Walshe was in charge of the church and residence of the Society at Rhyl, North Wales, where he did much good work. His genial disposition and kindly good nature won for him a host of friends, and enabled him to exercise an influence for good over the somewhat floating population of the town, both Catholic and Protestant, that few could hope to have attained. He was subsequently stationed at Tullabeg, Dromore and Limerick, and in 1894 he went to .Mungret, where he spent the closing years of his career. God tried him towards the end with many sufferings that served, no doubt, to purify his soul and prepare him for the happy, holy death, that put the seal upon a life of fifty-four years spent in the Society.

◆ The Mungret Annual, 1901

Obituary

Fr Charles Walshe SJ

On the 20th October the holy and happy death of Fr Charles Walshe took place. He had just completed the seventy-fifth year of his age and the fifty-fourth of his religious life; having been born, been received into the Society, and died in the month of October. Though he was for only a comparatively short time confined to his bed before his death, he seems to have been convinced of his approaching end. The hours immediately preceding it were hours of great, pain which he bore with patient fortitude and resignation. The night before he died, speaking to one of the fathers, he remarked, “Do you know, I do not feel a bit afraid of death”. As the hours of darkness wore slowly on, and the intensity of his pain increased, he prayed continually, in a manner, that, says one who was present, “was most touching and edifying”, repeating the Sacred Names with a continuity, and an intensity of feeling, that bespoke the fervour of the heart within. In the early grey of the October morning he received the Extreme Unction, and almost immediately became unconscious. A little afterwards he passed calmly and peacefully to his eternal rest, having spent his last hours in close and fervent union with God.

In Father Walshe, or “Father Charlie”, as we loved to call him, we have lost as kindly, and as genial a spirit as ever lived. Who is there that knew him, that can ever forget what Shakespeare calls the sudden “flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table in a roar”? To few indeed, may Hamlet's description more justly be applied, He was, in truth, a man of “infinite wit, of most excellent fancy”. “He possessed", writes one who knew him well, “the keenest humour, and the greatest good nature”. Even to the last his fund of humour never failed him, Despite the grim approach of death, and the grievous sufferings that so sorely tried him, the witty word would drop at times, one would almost say. unwittingly, from his lips.

Yet, underneath it all there was the simple, child-like piety, and the solid virtue deeply seated in the heart, that marks the genuine son of St Ignatius. For many years before his death he was, like most men of remarkably keen humour, a victim to occasional depression of spirits, and this, together with the physical suffering arising from extremely feeble health, afforded him no trifling occasion of practising patience and amassing merit.

Father Walshe was born on the 13th Oct., 1826. His father, who had been an army Surgeon, settled later on in Naas, in the County Kildare, where he had a large practice, and was one of the most popular and best known men in the county, On leaving Clongowes, where he was educated, young Charles Walshe entered the Society in October, 1847, at the age of twenty-one.

Shortly after finishing his novitiate he was, in 1851, appointed Prefect of Discipline in his Alma Mater. As Prefect he seems to have been a great success. He was pre-eminently a strong man, and the boys liked as well as feared him. The year 1856 he spent in the South of France. His Theological studies seem to have been rather interrupted. The first year (1857) was spent at St Beuno's in North Wales, the second in the House of Studies at Frederick Street, Dublin, and the rest in Vals. Many were the witty anecdotes and laughable adventures that he had to tell about his residence in these two latter places.

On the completion of his Theology, Father Walshe went, first as Prefect and then as Master, to Clongowes. In the summer of 1862 he was transferred to Belvedere, where he remained as Professor till his Tertianship. The years 1865 and 1866, following his years of Third Probation, found him on the mission in Scotland, and then in Preston. In 1867 he was Minister in Tullabeg. In 1872 he returned to the English missions, first in Skipton, and then the following year in Rhyl, where he remained in charge of the handsome little church and residence of the Jesuit Fathers of the English Province for the next ten years (1873-'83). In Rhyl Father Walshe did excellent work. His genial disposition and kindly good nature won for him a host of friends, and enabled him to exercise an influence for good over the somewhat floating population of the town, both Catholic and Protestant, that few could hope to have attained. The latter years of his life were spent between Tullabeg, Dromore, and Gardiner Street, till finally he came to Mungret in the year 1894. Here, as has been seen, he spent the closing years of his career. God tried him towards the end with many sufferings, that served, no doubt, to purify his soul and prepare him for the happy, holy death that put the seal upon a life of fifty-four years spent in the Society.

Father Walshe possessed intellectual qualifications of a high order. His taste in literary matters was most refined. His translation of the old French Ballad of “Griselidis et Sir Gaultier”, not merely rivalled, but, in the opinion of competent critics, much surpassed in beauty and elegance of diction that of the far-famed “Father Prout”. He was an accomplished French scholar, and was congratulated on his perfect pronunciation of that language by a critic no less exacting than the famous Jesuit preacher, Père de Ravignan. To refinement of intellect he added in a rather remarkable degree refinement and elegance of manner. The old world courtesy of manner, that adds such a charm to social life, sat so naturally upon him that it seemed inherent in his nature. With “Father Charlie” has passed away one of the few survivors of another age, and of another order of ideas, whose lives are as a precious link between us : and the past. May he rest in everlasting peace!

J McD

Walsh, Thomas Anthony, 1877-1952, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2225
  • Person
  • 25 July 1877-28 January1952

Born: 25 July 1877, South Melbourne, Australia
Entered: 07 September 1897, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 30 July 1911, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1913, St Mary’s, Miller Street, Sydney, Australia
Died: 28 January 1952, Mater Hospital Sydney - Australiae Province (ASL)

Part of the St Mary’s, Miller St, Sydney, Australia community at the time of death

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

Transcribed HIB to ASL : 05 April 1931

by 1902 at Leuven Belgium (BELG) studying
Came to Australia for Regency 1904

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
Universally known as 'Tommy', Thomas Anthony Walsh was educated at Loreto Convent, Albert Park, Xavier College, and Clongowes, 1884-96. He entered the Society at Tullamore, 7 August, 1897, was a junior there and studied one year of philosophy at Louvain, 1901-02, before teaching at Xavier College in 1902. He went to Riverview, 1903-08, teaching and directing the choir. He was at various times second and third prefect and directed junior debating. He also produced Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Theology was studied at Milltown Park, Dublin, 1908-11, and tertianship at Tullabeg, 1911-12.
Walsh returned to Australia, spending a short time in the parish of Hawthorn and Richmond, and teaching at Riverview, St Patrick's College, and St Aloysius' College. However, he finally settled down and spent many years in the parish of North Sydney, 1920-51, were he was sometime minister. From 1943 he was also professor of sacred eloquence at the theologate, Canisius College, Pymble.
He always had a very beautiful singing voice, which he later trained into being a very mature and fine adult speaking voice. He was a very good amateur actor, and was a master of the art of elocution. His theatrical performances at Riverview gave him a fine reputation for dramatic directing. He loved Gilbert and Sullivan operas. However, he was not a good teacher.
His best years were in parish work, and he was much loved by the parishioners of North Sydney He was an excellent public speaker and much in demand as a preacher and a lecturer on Shakespeare. He was vice-president of the Shakespearean society. His sermons were solid, brief and clear. He had a one command of language, but would never use two words where one was sufficient. Microphones were not available to him, but he did not need them. He could fill a large hall with his voice, and yet seem to be speaking effortlessly.
Fellow Jesuits particularly valued him for his humor. When he was in company, laughter was never far away The slightly theatrical manner which he cultivated set off his wit, and he could tell a good story, not in itself very funny, but told in such a way as to convulse his hearers. On one occasion he cut his hand rather badly, and his narration of the doctor's ministrations and his reactions to them was worthy of Wodehouse. He could certainly turn the little misfortunes of life into occasions of laughter. When he died a spring of joy was taken from the Society.

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 27th Year No 2 1952
Obituary :
Father Thomas Anthony Walsh (Australian Province)
Died January 28th, 1952
Fr. Thomas Anthony Walsh was born of Irish parents in South Melbourne, Australia, in 1877. His school days were spent at Xavier College, Kew, and at Clongowes Wood College. It was during his long vacations in Ireland that he was first introduced to the artistic, music and theatre-loving world of Dublin. The sparkling fun and merriment of those days he was never to lose. At the age of 20 he entered the Novitiate at Tullabeg, where he spent four years before going to Louvain to study philosophy. In 1902 he returned to Australia where he taught for five years at Riverview. In 1908 he came to Milltown Park for Theology and was ordained there in 1911. Returning to Australia in 1912 he worked for some years in Melbourne and in Sydney, until he went to North Sydney in 1921, where he remained until his death.
Fr. Walsh was one of the most distinguished preachers in Australia. He brought to his sermons a practical common-sense, a lightness of touch, the fruits of his travels, his great experience of men and women. and his wide reading.
There was one gift, however, that outshone all his talents and made him welcome everywhere, and that was his sense of humour and his ready wit. No one could be sad or sorry long while in his company. Humour lightened his sermons, yet brought home their lessons more vividly. His fund of stories for after-dinner or for public appeals was always at hand to draw upon, when conversation lagged or meetings were becoming dull.
It is no wonder then that Fr. Walsh during the long years of his apostolic ministry was invited to every corner of Australia to preach or to give retreats. Priests' retreats especially had he given in every diocese from Perth to Northern Queensland; and his occasional sermons were distinguished by magnificent elocution and choice of language modelled on the great preachers of his youth, Fr. Tom Burke, O.P., and Fr. Bernard Vaughan, S.J.
Fr. Walsh died at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, North Sydney, on January 28th, after an illness of but a few days, in his 75th year. For 30 years he had been attached to the Jesuit parish of St. Mary's, North Sydney, where rich and poor, saint and sinner, respected and loved him as a great priest and a wise friend.

◆ The Clongownian, 1948

Jubilee

Father Thomas A Walsh SJ

Those whose memories can travel back over fifty years to schoolboy associations with “Tommy” Walsh may conjure up an image suggested by Goldsmith's line “Twas only when off the stage he was acting”, and recall the stern frown of Fr James Daly, whose only theatre was the Intermediate Examination hall. Prefects of Studies may sometimes err, and the stage may, at times, be more effectively listed for the service of God than the paradigm of Greek verbs. The life of Fr Walsh is a good illustration.

Born in Australia, but born of Irish parents, the double strain of Irish geniality and “Advance Australia” was happily mingled in his blood. Early education in Xavier College, Melbourne, fostered the one : later years in Clongowes, and theological studies in Ireland enriched the other.

After matriculation in 1897 he entered the Jesuit novitiate in Tullamore. Almost from the very start various exercises in sermon practice give some inkling of a novice's possibilities in a pulpit. In the case of Tommy Walsh there could be no doubt : his powers of acting promised a preacher and lecturer of no mean calibre. In his priestly life he has richly fulfilled the promise.

In Jesuit land, however, the road leading to the pulpit is a long one. It may have detours pointing in other directions. Here much depends on the individual; he may keep in view a fixed goal, which will shape the issue of scholastic activities. Father Walsh did so. “Go teach all nations”, AMDG was the fingerpost for him. He followed ti conscientiously with the labour - and there is labour - entailed.

He read Philosophy at Louvain, in Belgium and on the completion of these studies, he returned to Australia, where he served his time as Lower Line Prefect, in Riverview, Sydney. He made full use of the opportunity to exercise his talent for the culture of the boys whom he guided, introducing them to Shakespeare and to Gilbert and Sullivan. He was the first to popularise Gilbert and Sullivan in Australia. For both audience and actors is staging of the plays was an object lesson.

After his ordination in Milltown Park, in 1911, when his mother presented as a memento the stained glass window over the Clongowes High Altar, Fr Walsh returned to Australia, in 1913. He laboured in Richmond, Melbourne; but for the past twenty-eight years he has worked in St Mary's parish, N Sydney. He has been a prominent preacher, lecturer, Radio broadcaster. By many he is regarded the foremost authority on Shakespeare in Australia. He has given many Retreats to Clergy, Religious, Laymen. All have been marked with the success merited by the diligent cultivation of a talent great for a Priest of God, when wholeheartedly used for God's glory. His old Clongowes friends wish him aany more years in this harvest field,

G B

◆ The Clongownian, 1952

Obituary

Father Thomas Anthony Walsh SJ

Father Thomas Walsh died last January. He was one of the most distinguished priests in the Southern Hemisphere, and a most loyal son of Clongowes, always interested in all that concerned her. The stained glass windows over the High. Altar of the Boys' Chapel were a gift to the school from his mother on the occasion of his ordination to the priesthood. His sudden death caused great sorrow among his innumerable friends all over Australia and at his obsequies the Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney, the Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop O'Brien, and over two hundred priests were present. We print below a notice by Father Richard Murphy, and an impression kindly communicated to us by Father Bodki.

I

On Monday, January 28th at five o'clock in the afternoon death came suddenly to Father T A Walsh - Father Tommy Walsh to so many. He had been ill for some days. The doctor had sent him to hospital on the previous Thursday. During the following days he seemed to be doing well and no one expected the coronary occlusion which took him from us with such tragic suddenness. On Monday his condition did not cause anxiety. He chatted cheerfully with two of his Jesuit colleagues who visited him during the forenoon. About five o'clock his tea was brought to him and he partook of it. A few minutes after his tea a nurse entered and noticed a change in him. She at once called a senior nurse. It was now evident that he was dying. The matron was hurriedly sent for and a priest who was at hand anointed him, By then it was all over. Father Walsh had gone to God.

Father Walsh was born in Melbourne on January 27th, 1877. His first schooling took place at the Kindergarten School belonging to the Loreto Nuns at Albert Park, South Melbourne. When old enough he was sent to Xavier College, Kew. He was noted in those early days for a very beautiful singing voice to be developed in the years to come into that wonderful speaking voice which held spellbound his hearers throughout all parts of Australia.

From Xavier College he was sent to Ireland and entered at Clongowes Wood College the leading Jesuit College in that country.

Having completed his studies at Clongowes he returned for a short visit to Australia. He had already made up his mind to join the Society of Jesus. He returned to Ireland and entered the novitiate at Tullabeg on 7th September, 1899. Having finished his noviceship and his university course he came back to Australia where he joined the staff at St Ignatius College, Riverview. His years there are still remembered for the excellent productions of the Gilbert and Sullivan Operas under the direction of Father Walsh.

From his early years Father Walsh had a noted love for both Shakespeare and for Gilbert and Sullivan. He had attained a wonderful knowledge of Shakespeare and became one of the best interpreters of the great poet in this country. He was vice president of the Shakespearean Society at the time of his death.

After five years work at Riverview he returned to Europe. He did his higher studies partly at Louvain and partly at Milltown Park, Dublin, where he was ordained in 1911.

Back in Australia after ordination he was stationed for a short time at Riverview. He was transferred from there to the Parish of St Ignatius, Melbourne. Already he was marked out as a preacher gifted above the ordinary.

In January, 1920, he was appointed to St Mary's, North Sydney. This proved to be his last appointment. Except to give retreats, lectures or occasional sermons, Father Walsh never left North Sydney till God called him thirty-two years later.

And how he endeared himself to aļl during those years and what a tower of strength he was to St Mary's! Older members of the parish can recall the great nights when Manresa Hall was packed to hear Father Walsh on Joan of Arc, or Irish wit and humour, or some other subject,

Many more will recall the spontaneous outburst of regard and affection with which the parishioners greeted Father Walsh in the same hall on the occasion of his Golden Jubilee a few years ago.

How greatly he edified the people of this parish and how deeply they loved him was borne out by the universal sorrow and sense of loss felt by everyone when the news of his death became public.

Father Walsh was a holy Jesuit, a devoted priest and an outstanding preacher. He was also a staunch friend. Always bright, cheerful and often humourous he had a kindly greeting for everyone and never held back the helping hand when appealed to. Many there are who could bear witness to acts of kindness done in secret and to a friendship that was as : sincere as it was unostentatious.

Father Walsh died beloved of all and his years were full of labours for God and the souls of men. We have no doubt he heard the welcome of Christ His Master when his eyes closed upon this world at the Mater Hospital on January 28th. R.I.P.

R J Murphy SJ

II

Whatever the Calendar said, Father Tommy Walsh was not an old man when the writer of these words first met him in Australia six or seven years ago. Rather short of stature he had nevertheless so handsome and vital an expression, the snowy white hair lent such dignity to a fresh complexion, that he had beyond question a commanding presence. One was not surprised to hear from the very highest authority that he was considered the best preacher on the continent. But it was rather his genial and kindly welcome that the stranger will remember. However long it was since Fr Tommy Walsh had left our shores he had in his blood something of that quality which has won us the title Ireland of the welcomes. All Australians are hospitable. Fr Walsh was as it were hospitable in double measure.

Born an Australian and remaining a perfect type of that friendly people Fr Tommy Walsh had parents so strongly Irish that though they acknowledged that Australia had excellent schools they preferred to sent their small son half round the world to make him a Clongownian.

A Clongownian he certainly became for he succeeded without effort in combining that loyalty to the home land and the country of his birth which is the pride of Irishmen of the diaspora. That very day of our meeting he took me, with two good cigars for the big occasion, to the balcony of the Jesuit house of St Mary's, North Sydney and settled down contentedly to hear the news of old friends, Fr Frank Browne, Fr O'Connor, Fr Jimmie McCann. It delighted him that as a boy I had met his heroes Fr Willie Delaney, Fr John Conmee, Fr Tom Nolan, and of course before all names Fr “Tim” Fegan's was in honour. When we had chatted for a bit he left the veranda and returned with a precious possession, the diary he had kept as a schoolboy in Clongowes. The stranger, but how friendly a one, among us had been keeping notes. It was not to be expected that the schoolboy's pages would adumbrate the wit and culture of the mature man. Rather he ruffled its pages to excite his memory with name and date. It was clear the memories were all happy ones. He closed it reluctantly. He was a very busy man, To all the work that fell on his shoulders as one of a small group of priests who staffed the lovely church of St Mary's he added many services to the archdiocese of Sydney and beyond.

He was then a well-known man. But I think he was even more a well-loved one. Partly it was his wit, we should like to say his Irish wit, that quality it is so hard to catch on paper. It stayed with him even in the pulpit. Denouncing one day the silliness of Catholics who forgot the saints and named their daughters for jewels and fiowers and the calendar, the silver-haired orator paused for a devastating rhetorical question. “Pearl, Ruby, April, June”, he said with rising contempt, “how do you think I should feel if my mother had called me October Walsh?”

It is hard to believe he is gone, he was so full of life and vitality. I can remember that as we parted at the little wicket gate of the presbytery garden, I drew myself up and saluted him naval fashion, and with twinkling eyes he returned the salute as smartly as any rear-admiral. I only wish as a Clongownian to salute once more in these pages a very noble and kindly priest and a very loyal son of Clongowes,

MB

Walsh, Nicholas, 1826-1912, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/446
  • Person
  • 22 June 1826-18 October 1912

Born: 22 June 1826, Enniscorthy, County Wexford
Entered: 21 February 1858, St Andrea, Rome, Italy (ROM)
Ordained: - pre Entry
Final vows: 02 February 1870
Died: 18 October 1912, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin

Father Provincial of the Irish Province of the Society of Jesus: 20 April 1870-17 March 1877

by 1859 at Roman College Italy (ROM) studying Theology
by 1870 at Rome Italy (ROM) making Tertianship

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
He was already Ordained a Priest for the Ferns Diocese before Ent. It was said he would have become a Bishop there had he not joined the Society. He had studied under Cardinal Johannes Baptist Franzelin, the Austrian Jesuit Theologian, and whose life he wrote in later years.

He did his Regency at Tullabeg (1861-1863), Galway (1864-1865) Clongowes, being Minister there as well (1866-1869).
1869-1870 Tertianship in Rome
1870-1877 After Tertianship in Rome he was sent to HIB as Provincial.
1877-1883/4 He went to Gardiner St as Superior
1884-1889 Operarius at Gardiner St
1889-1895 He was appointed Rector of the newly opened Milltown Theologate.
He suffered from a lingering illness and died in Gardiner St 18 October 1912

Henry Lynch SJ writes of him :
“Nicholas Walsh did not get the Obituary notice his memory deserved. This was ‘our’ fault, of course. Had he died 10 or 15 years earlier, the papers would have been full of him, but he lived too long and was forgotten. In his day, however, he was really one of our great men in the public eye, though he was never popular with “Ours”, especially in the days of his authority. A certain natural pomposity and autocratic manner accounts for this, though he really was quite simple and good-natured at heart. But in his day he was in the very first rank of Preachers and the Bishops and Priests held him in great estimation. He Preached at the Consecration of Sligo Cathedral in 1874, and at the installation of Dr William Walshe as Archbishop of Dublin. His retreats and Lectures were very fine, impressive and solid, and were very much sought after and appreciated. His speech a the Maynooth Centenary (1896) was said t have been one of the best delivered on that historic occasion. He was a favourite Confessor with men, and even in his declining years heard many in the parlour.
He mellowed much in old age and “Ours” came to know and like him better and even poke fun at him which he took very well. He had many influential friends who helped him in his good works.
When Superior of Gardiner St, he put up those four magnificent pictures of Ignatius in the transept of the Church. When Rector at Milltown he built the fine Collegiate Church there. When he ceased to preach, like Matthew Russell, he took to writing books, and published four - “Life of Franzelin”; “Old and New”; “The Saved and the Lost” and “Woman”. In these four books he gathered and published all the matter of his many famous retreats, Sermons, Lectures, and domestic exhortations. The books had poor sales.
All through his life he enjoyed splendid health and rarely had a pain or ache, not even in his last days. He died of senile decay. During the last 10 years of his life he lived in complete retirement at Gardiner St, except for just one year at Clongowes as Spiritual Father. For the last three or four years he was confined to his room altogether and there were signs of dementia towards the end.
He was a man who always upheld a very high standard of piety and conduct to all, and was, himself, most devout. He died in the end room of Bannon’s corridor, and the Provincial William Delaney and Minister Joseph Wrafter were with him at the end.”

Note from John Bannon Entry :
On the evening of his death the Telegraphy published an article on him headed “A Famous Irish Jesuit - Chaplain in American War” : “The Community of the Jesuit Fathers in Gardiner St have lost within a comparatively short time some of their best known and most distinguished members. They had to deplore the deaths of Nicholas Walsh, John Naughton, John Hughes and Matthew Russell, four men of great eminence and distinction, each in his own sphere, who added lustre to their Order, and whose services to the Church and their country in their varied lines of apostolic activity cannot son be forgotten. And now another name as illustrious is added to the list. The Rev John Bannon....

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father Nicholas Walsh 1826-1912
Fr Nicholas Walsh was born in Wexford on June 22nd 1826. He joined the Society as a priest in 1858.

He studied under Cardinal Franzelin whose life he wrote in later years. From his tertianship in Rome he was sent back to Ireland as Provincial, a post he filled for seven years.

He was a magnificent preacher and lecturer, His speech at the Maynooth Centenary in 1896, was adjudged the best delivered on that occasion.

When Rector of Milltown Park in 1889, when that house was opened as a Theologate, he was responsible for the building of the fine collegiate chapel there.

In his retirement in Gardiner Street, he took to his pen and published four books : “The Life of Cardinal Franzelin”; “Old and New”; “The Saved and the Lost” and “Woman”.

He died of a lingering illness in Gardiner Street on October 18th 1912.

Wade, Thomas, 1790-1855, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/2212
  • Person
  • 31 July 1790-20 December 1855

Born: 31 July 1790, Cork City, County Cork
Entered: 09 October 1821, Clongowes Wood College, Naas, Co Kildare
Final Vows: 02 February 1838
Died: 20 December 1855, Clongowes Wood College, Naas, Co Kildare

Disappears from Cat from 1847 till death when it is said age is 70;

◆ Fr John MacErlean SJ :
Received into the Society by Peter Kenney.
It seems he spent his entire religious life in Clongowes, apart from a few years at Tullabeg.
He suffered many trials and crosses. His death resulted from an accident, where he had a severe fall in the Chapel.
Renewing his vows he died piously 20 December 1855 and is buried at Mainham.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Brother Thomas Wade 1790-1855
Br Thomas Wade was a Corkman born on July 31st 1790.

He spent his entire religious life in Clongowes, with the exception of a few years at Tullabeg. He suffered many crosses and trials. His death was the result of an accident – a fall in the chapel. Renewing his Vows with the Holy Name on his lips, he expired peacefully on December 20th 1855, and he is buried in Mainham Cemetery.

Verdon, John, 1846-1918, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2205
  • Person
  • 18 July 1846-02 January 1918

Born: 18 July 1846, Drogheda, County Louth
Entered: 11 September 1865, Milltown Park, Dublin
Ordained: 1879
Final vows: 02 February 1886
Died: 02 January 1918, St Francis Xavier's, Gardiner Street, Dublin

Early education at St Stanislaus College SJ, Tullabeg

by 1868 at Amiens France (CAMP) studying
by 1873 at Laval France (FRA) studying
by 1872 at Laval France (FRA) studying
by 1875 at Antwerp Institute Belgium (BELG) Regency
by 1877 at Innsbruck Austria (ASR-HUN) studying
by 1885 at Roehampton London (ANG) making Tertianship

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
After his Noviceship he made studies at Laval, did Regency teaching and Prefecting at Tullabeg and Clongowes, and taught English in Antwerp for two years.
1876 He was sent to Innsbruck for Theology.
1879-1884 He was sent as Prefect and Minister to Clongowes.
1886 He was sent to Gardiner St as Minister, and then at the urgent request of the then Rector of Clongowes, returned there as Minister. He returned to Gardiner as Minister and remained in that job for some years. Later he was sent to Galway, but returned again to Gardiner St as Minister. This time he was also a very useful Operarius and Prefect of the Church. He was a very forcible Preacher with a fine voice and presence.
1911 He had a stroke, and for six years led a most patient life, edifying everybody. He was very neat about his room and person.
He was one of the best known Jesuits in the Diocese, and greatly esteemed by the Archbishop and the clergy.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father John Verdon 1846-1918
Fr John Verdon was born at Drogheda on July 18th 1846. He received his early education in our College at Tullabeg. He entered the Society in 1865 at Milltown where he did his noviceship under Fr Sturzo.

His philosophical studies were carried out at Laval, after which he did his Colleges at Tullabeg and Clongowes, and also at Antwerp, where he taught English for some years. Having completed his Theological studies at Innsbruck, he was ordained in 1879.

After his return to Ireland he was a master at Clongowes and then at Gardiner Street. Except for a short spell at Galway, all his priestly life was spent at Gardiner Street, both as Minister and Operarius.

He was one of the best known and esteemed Jesuits of the Dublin diocese, beloved of the people and clergy, from the Archbishop down. As a preacher he was forcible with a fine voice and presence.

In 1911 he had a stroke, and for six years he led a most patient life of suffering, to the great edification of everybody. He died a most peaceful and happy death, surrounded by his brethren, on January 2nd 1918.

◆ The Clongownian, 1918

Obituary

Father John Verdon SJ

An Appreciation by Joseph I Donaghy

It was with feelings of the most poignant regret that old Clon gownians and particularly those of the Amalgamation period - read the announcement in the public press of the death of the late Father John Verdon SJ, at St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street.

This sentiment was not by any means confined to old Jesuit pupils, but was shared, not alone by the Catholic citizens of Dublin, but by everyone in any part of Ireland who had at any time come under the magnetic influ ence of the genial personality of the deceased clergyman.

Father Verdon might have been described as the living exponent of the doctrine of good. hearted cheerfulness. He carried this into everyday life, and won all hearts no less by his spontaneous kindness than by the un affected good humour and bonhomie that formed part of his nature.

Reference has been made to the Amalgamation in 1885-87 of the College of old St Stanislaus' with that of Clongowes Wood, For those who were acquainted with the special circumstances connected with the two colleges - the old time rivalry and the more than keen spirit of emulation or something more that existed between the respective alumni - the experiment was not devoid of anxiety nor unattended with a certain amount of risk.

Happily for all concerned the carrying of it into effect devolved upon a worthy Triumvirate than whom it would not have been possible to find any better suited in every way to the task.

With the late Father John S Conmee as Father Rector, Father H Fegan as Higher Line Prefect, and Father John Verdon as Minister, the success of the undertaking might well have been pronounced a foregone conclusion; and so, with God's blessing, it proved to be beyond the expectation of even the most sanguine.

How ably Father Conmee, of happy memory, discharged his onerous duties as Rector let those attest who still recall his eloquent and impressive sermons - each a literary treat - his genial manner, which added to rather than detracted from the dignity of his bearing, and the highly capable and efficient manner in which he administered the affairs of the College.

As for Father Fegan (whom God preserve), surely no more ideal Higher Line Prefect than he ever held the keys of office, and certainly none more deservedly beloved of his boys. Witness the address with which they presented him on the occasion of his ordination and his reply-in its way, a living classic.

But it is with the third member of this distinguished group that we are presently concerned. To say that Father Verdon was “a born Minister” was to express a truth that everyone realised who came within the radius of his gentle ministration. While he was seldom if ever called upon to “press his bashful charges to their food” (if the paraphrase may be pardoned), he certainly did enjoy “the luxury of doing good” to them in a thousand and one little ways that, highly appreciated as they were at the time, would now seem trivial in the enumeration.

Big-hearted and generous to a degree, he nobly upheld the high traditions of Clongowes hospitality. Anything small or petty was altogether foreign to his nature.

Ever considerate of the feelings of others, he avoided anything that could give offence tu the most susceptible. At the same time, when duty or principle required it, he could express himself in a manner that never failed to carry conviction to the minds of his hearers. Endowed with a keen sense of the ludicrous, his light and playful humour touched nothing which it did not embellish, and none of his sallies ever contained the slightest sting either for those of whom they were spoken or to whom they were uttered.

It is not to be wondered at that his fatherly solicitude for each individual boy made Clongowes in very truth “a home from home”, and gained for Father Verdon - not that he sought popularity - that affection and esteem in which he was universally held.

During the many subsequent years he resided at Gardiner Street he often used the influence he had acquired at Clongowes to bring back to the path of rectitude some wayward student in Dublin, or it might be some more advanced member of society who had fallen away from the teachings of the old Alma Mater. His wide experience of the ways of the world and his deep knowledge of human nature, com bined with his unfailing and resourceful tact, enabled him to heal many a domestic sore and put an end to many a long-standing feud.

In the pulpit he was convincing and eloquent. A master of his subject, he delivered his discourse with a zeal and earnestness and with a degree of histrionic ability that marked him out as a preacher of the first rank. His excellent qualities of head and heart, of intel lect and judgment, combined to make him what in fact he was-a distinguished member of a distinguished Order.

In such a brief sketch as this necessarily is ryuch must remain unisaid, and those who kaew and appreciated his many excellent qualities must each supply for himself what ever he finds missing.

It only remains for the writer to tender his most sincere thanks to the Editor of the “Clongownian” for having afforded him the treasured privilege of placing this humble chaplet of memories - rudely strung together though they be - on the grave of one who in his lifetime did so much to refine, to brighten, and to spiritualise the condition of his fellow men, and who, like a true son of Ignatius, made every word and action at all times and in all places subservient to the greater glory of God.

Tunney, Joseph, 1856-1923, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2194
  • Person
  • 15 August 1856-31 January 1923

Born: 15 August 1856, Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim
Entered: 08 September 1876, Milltown Park, Dublin
Ordained: 1892
Final Vows: 02 February 1897, St Francis Xavier, Gardiner St, Dublin
Died: 31 January 1923, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin

Younger Brother of Hugh Tunney - RIP 1934

Early education at St Stanislaus College SJ, Tullabeg
by 1896 at Cheri Italy (TAUR) making Tertianship

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Obituary Notice published
“The Jesuit Fathers in Ireland have sustained a serious loss in the death of Father Joseph Tunney SJ. He was born in Leitrim and Entered the Society in 1876. Even in his early days he gave promise of the erudition which characterised his later life. In the ancient Classics as well as Modern Literature, he was already deeply read. Within a year of two he had already perused throughout the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer, together with the greater of the orators and tragedians of ancient Greece. During his subsequent three years course of Philosophy and the Natural Sciences he was equally distinguished. Busy years of earnest and patient teaching in the Jesuit Colleges followed. In Clongowes his pupils won the highest distinctions in the Intermediate, one of them taking first place in the whole country in the Senior Grade, whilst in Mungret, his accurate and careful teaching of Philosophy won for the Apostolic students for the Priesthood the highest commendations at the Propaganda and in the Theological seminaries of Ireland and America in which they studied.
But it was in the Sacred Science of Theology itself that Father Tunney most excelled. Having completed his distinguished course in Theology, been Ordained and made Tertianship, as well as some preliminary courses of teaching, he was appointed Professor of Dogmatic Theology at Milltown. He continued to teach this for eleven years.
At the age of fifty five he entered on the continued work of sacred ministry. The last twelve years of his life were spent at Gardiner St, where, as an erudite Preacher, and especially as a Confessor, he won the respect and esteem of all classes of person. Many will miss the patient attention and wise and kindly advice which they so often received from this holy and learned Priest in the Confessional. The poor especially will miss him as he so often befriended them.
There are so many sides to his character. To an old world courtesy of manner he joined a very kindly, friendly and gentle disposition. Like the poet of old, he was a stranger to no human interest. His knowledge was encyclopaedic, and embraced with depth and accuracy not merely Philosophy and Theology, but Literature, Music, Art and nearly every field of human activity. In later years he had become keenly interested in the works of the Old Masters, copies of whose remarkable paintings he was at pains to procure for many convents and religious houses through the country. His knowledge of books was very extensive and led him to spend many a half hour rooting in second-hand bookshops for undiscovered treasures of the past.
Dr Edward Byrne, Archbishop of Dublin presided at the Requiem, and there were over 70 Priests in the choir. “

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father Joseph Tunney 1856-1923
Fr Joseph Tunney was born in Leitrim on August 17th 1856 and entered the Society twenty years later.
Even in his early student days he gave promise of the erudition which characterised his later life. He was deeply versed in the ancient classics as well as modern literature. Within a year or two he had perused the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer together with the greater portion of the orators and tradegians of ancient Greece. He was equally distinguished in Sacred Sciences.

In Clongowes, his pupils won the highest distinctions in the Intermediate and one of them took first place in the Senior Grade. In Mungret College, his accurate teaching of philosophy won for the Apostolic students the highest commendations at the Propaganda and in the Seminaries of Ireland and America where they subsequently studied. He professed Theology at Milltown Park with great éclat for eleven years.

It was only at the age of 55 that Fr Joseph began direct work in ministry. The last twelve years of his life were spent in Gardiner Street, where as an erudite preacher and sympathetic confessor, he won the esteem of all classes.

He was a stranger to no human interest. His knowledge was encyclopaedic, embracing not merely literature, philosophy and Theology, but also music and art. In later years he had become keenly interested in the Old Masters, copies of whose paintings he was at pains to procure for many convents and religious houses throughout the country.

But first, and above all, Fr Tunney was a saintly and zealous priest and religious. His life may be summed up in three words, he was a gentleman, a scholar and a saint.

He died on January 31st 1923. Archbishop Byrne presided at his obsequies, and 70 priests attended in the choir.

◆ The Clongownian, 1924

Obituary

Father Joseph Tunney SJ

The late Father Joseph Tunney SJ, was born in Leitrim. Even as a Tullabeg boy he gave promise of the erudition which characterised his later life. In the ancient classics, as well as in modern literature, he was deeply read. Within a year or two he had perused throughout the Iliad and Odyssy of Homer, together with the greater portion of the orators and tragedians of ancient Greece. Busy years of earnest and patient teaching in the Jesuit Colleges followed. In Clongowes his pupils won the highest distinctions in the Intermediate, one of them taking first place in the whole country in the Senior Grade, whilst in Mungret College his accurate and careful teaching of Philosophy won for the Apostolic students for the priesthood the highest commendations at the Propaganda, and in the theological seminaries of Ireland and America in which they afterwards studied.

But it was in the sacred science of Theology itself that Father Tunney most excelled. Having completed his course with the highest distinction and been ordained, he spent a year in Italy, at the Tertianship, or third year of probation in which the Jesuit, after his long years of study and teaching, returns once more to the Novitiate to devote himself exclusively to the study and development of the interior spirit. On his return, after some preliminary years of further teaching, he was appointed Professor of Dogmatic Theology at Milltown Park, Dublin. This subject he continued to teach with distinguished ability for eleven years. It was only at the age of fifty-five that he entered, strictly speaking, on the continued work of the sacred ministry. The last twelve years of his life were spent at the residence of St Francis Xavier, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin, where, as an erudite preacher, and especially as a confessor, he won the respect and esteem of all classes of persons. Many will miss the patient attention and wise and kindly advice which they i so often received from this holv and learned priest in the sacred tribunal of penance? The poor, especially, will miss him, and many a prayer will go up from their lips for the kind-hearted pastor of souls who so often befriended them.

There were many sides to Father Tunney's character. To an old-world courtesy of manner he joined a very kindly, amiable, and gentle disposition. Like the poet of old, he was a stranger to no human interest. His knowledge was, in a manner, encyclopedic and embraced, with depth and accuracy, not merely Philosophy and Theology, but literature, music, and art, and nearly every field of human activity. In later years he had become keenly interested in the works of the Old Masters, copies of whose more remarkable paintings he was at pains to procure for many convents and religious houses throughout the country. His knowledge of books was very extensive and led him to spend many a half-hour “rooting” in secondhand book shops for undiscovered treasures of tne past.

But first, and above all, Father Tunney was a saintly and zealous priest and religious. His days were full of work for the Master, and his comparatively early death was largely the result of earnest, unremitting toil for God. In short, his life may be summed up in these three words: He was a gentleman, a scholar, and a saint.

Most Rev Dr Byme presided at the Solemn Requiem Office and Mass. RIP

Tunney, Hugh, 1850-1934, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/423
  • Person
  • 22 October 1850-03 March 1934

Born: 22 October 1850, Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim
Entered: 27 June 1874, Milltown Park, Dublin
Ordained: 09 September 1888
Final Vows: 02 February 1892, Dublin
Died: 03 March 1934, Milltown Park, Dublin

Older Brother of Joseph Tunney - RIP 1923

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

by 1877 at Roehampton, London (ANG) studying
by 1886 at Leuven, Belgium (BELG) Studying
by 1891 at Drongen (BELG) making Tertianship

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 9th Year No 3 1934
Milltown Park :
Death took two of our number within a week -
Father Tunney died on the 5rd of March. His death was not unexpected. Some heart attacks in recent weeks had prepared us for it.
Father Healy's death came as a great shock, for though he had long been a sick man, he was optimistic of becoming stronger, and worked away quietly as director of Retreats in the province for most of this year, censoring, and reviewing books. Few suspected how near death was. He was at Father Tunney's office in Gardiner Street the 6th of March. He said Mass as usual on Friday the 9th. While sitting down to lunch about 12,30 he felt ill and was helped to a chair in the Fathers' library. There a slight haemorrhage occurred and he lost consciousness, not before receiving Absolution, He was anointed, then borne to his room where he died at about 1.15. The doctor arrived before he died, but nothing could be done. Father S. MacMahon writes an obituary notice on Father Healy in this number.

Irish Province News 9th Year No 3 1934

Obituary :

Father Hugh Tunney

Some time ago a Father of the New York Province died in America. In the account of his death given in the January number of “Woodstock Letters”' we find the following :
Father will be remembered in the Province for what he was rather than for what he did for us. He held no post of distinction among us , he was neither a great preacher, nor a scholar, he erected no buildings, nor was he successful in soliciting “free-will offerings” from the faithful.
These words describe to the letter Father Hugh Tunney's life in the Society. He has not left behind him the reputation of a brilliant preacher, of a learned scholar, or a successful superior, but he has left what is just as good, or it may be in the sight of God what is better the record of a steady, painstaking, conscientious workman. He was certainly one of those
good and faithful servants that won such high praise, and such glorious reward from the supreme Master and infallible judge of men.
For nineteen years he was prefect or master of elementary classes, for eight years Confessor to the poor who attended the people's chapels in Tullabeg or Clongowes, for thirteen “Conf. ad Jan.” at Milltown. He did his work, year in, year out, with a faithfulness, a constancy, a devotion that won for him the high place in heaven that, please God, he now enjoys.
He was as faithful to his own prayers, and to all the duties of religious life as he was to his unpretending but meritorious work for others.
At recreation he was a gay, and as cheerful as the best of his companions, well able to hold his own against all-comers and many is the story told of some eminent theologian or brilliant scholar coming off very much second best after a harmless, good humoured, bantering passage of arms with Father Hugh.
Father Tunney was born in Carrick on Shannon, 22nd October 1850, and educated at the Seminary, Longford. He began his noviceship at Milltown on 7th June, 1874, made his juniorate at Roehampton, (he was amongst the last of the Irish juniors who regularly went to Roehampton for the juniorate, Fathers Henry and Guinee were with him), philosophy at Milltown theology at Louvain, tertianship at Tronchiennes, the latter ended in 1891.
He did good work in nearly all the Irish houses of the Province. He was in Milltown for twenty-two years, Tullabeg eleven years Belvedere ten, Clongowes four, Mungret and Galway
one each.
For the last eight years of his life broken health compelled him to join the ranks of the “cur vals,” but even then he was not idle. A very short time before his death the infirmarian found him struggling through his breviary, and ventured to make a few friendly suggestions. A pitying smile was all he got, and the struggle continued. It is the man who perseveres to the end that will be saved. And so it was with Father Hugh Tunney. May he rest in peace.

◆ The Belvederian, Dublin, 1934

Obituary

Father Hugo Tunney SJ

Belvederians of thirty years ago will remember a white-haired priest who taught in the “Little House”, as we called it then. Fr Hugo Tunney, with his quiet, pleasant manner, was well liked by the boys, and was a favourite confessor in the old chapel. When he left Belvedere, he took charge of the public church attached to Tullabeg, where he spent several years in the service of the people of the neighbouring countryside. Milltown Park claimed him then, and proved to be his last resort, though the day of his death did not come for many a year, and in the interval he found many opportunities to exercise his zeal still as Confessor, for he was in great demand by the men of the district, who used to flock to Milltown. Park, where at that well-known “side door” they could always find Fr Tunney ready to exercise his ministry, for them.

He kept always a clear memory of the boys of Belvedere whom he had known in earlier years, and all of them will say a prayer for this kindly old man, that his soul may rest in peace.

Tuite, Joseph, 1837-1909, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/715
  • Person
  • 11 November 1837-29 May 1909

Born: 11 November 1837, Mullingar, County Westmeath
Entered: 06 September 1859, Beaumont, England - Angliae Province (ANG)
Ordained: 22 September 1872, St Beuno's, St Asaph, Wales
Final vows: 02 February 1877
Died: 29 May 1909, Loyola, Greenwich, Australia

Part of the St Ignatius College, Riverview), Sydney Australia community at the time of death

2nd year Novitiate at Tullabeg;
by 1867 at Laval France (FRA) studying
by 1871 at St Beuno’s Wales (ANG) studying
by 1872 at Roehampton London (ANG) Studying
by 1876 at Drongen Belgium (BELG) making Tertianship
Came to Australia with James O’Connor, George Buckeridge and sch John O’Neill 1886

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
He had as his Novice Master Thomas Tracy Clarke at Beaumont, England.
After First Vows he studied Philosophy at Laval and then Theology at St Beuno’s and Roehampton.
He was mainly involved as a Prefect at Clongowes, Tullabeg and then also as a Teacher at Belvedere.
1886 After many years of hard work in Ireland he was sent to Australia. There he became Minister at Kew College and then a Teacher at Riverview.
He worked in these Australian Colleges for up to twelve years and was exceedingly popular among the students.
He died at Loyola Sydney 29 May 1909 as a result of a heart affection which he had suffered over time.
He was beloved by everyone on account of his friendly and kind hearted nature.

Note from Patrick Hughes Entry :
He was then sent to Drongen for Tertianship. along with Joseph Tuite and Daniel Clancy.

Note from James O’Connor Entry :
1886 He was sent to Australia, and sailed with Joseph Tuite, George Buckeridge and Scholastic John O’Neill.

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
Joseph Tuite entered the Society at Beaumont Lodge, Windsor, England, 6 September 1859, and from 1865-66 taught grammar and arithmetic at Clongowes College, Ireland. He went to Laval, France, for philosophy studies, 1866-69, and returned to teach writing at Tullabeg College, Ireland, from 1869-70, where he was also prefect of discipline.
From 1870-74 he studied theology at St Beuno's and Roehampton, England, taught French and arithmetic at Belvedere College, Dublin, 1874-75, and did tertianship at Tronchiennes, 1875 . He returned to Belvedere College, 1879-86, teaching French, arithmetic and writing, and was in charge of the preparatory school, 1881-85.
Tuite arrived in Australia in 1886, teaching at both Xavier College and Riverview for a few years before returning to Xavier, 1888-93, where he was minister, and in charge of the study.
He was again sent to Riverview, 1893-1903, and except for a year, 1904, when he worked in the parish of Richmond, he remained teaching at Riverview until his death. His subject was French, and he was well known for his teaching of deportment and courtesy: As minister, he showed every consideration for the material welfare of the boys. He was a generous, kind-hearted man, and finally died of a heart condition.

◆ Fr Francis Finegan : Admissions 1859-1948 - Went for second year novitiate at Tullabeg for a change of air

◆ The Xaverian, Xavier College, Melbourne, Australia, 1909

Obituary

Father Joseph Tuite SJ

On Saturday, May 29, of the present year, Father Tuite died at Loyola, North Sydney, Boys of the later eighties will remember him, as he succeeded Father Morrogh as minister, and was afterwards in charge of the Study.

His last years were spent at Riverview, which he left only a few weeks before his death.

He was a pupil of Beaumont School, Windsor, England, and studied at Laval; in France, and in North Wales. After a few years in Clongowes and other Colleges in Ireland, he came to Australia in - 1886..

Father Tuite was a generous; kind-hearted man, dividing his cares latterly between the flowers - for gardens were his delight - and the little fellows.. He was seventy-two when he died, and he lies in the Gore Hill Cemetery, North Sydney. RIP

◆ Our Alma Mater, St Ignatius Riverview, Sydney, Australia, 1909

Obituary

Father Joseph Tuite SJ

On Saturday, May 29, at Loyola, the Jesuit Fathers' Mission House, Greenwich, the Rev. Father Joseph Tuite, who had been ailing from heart disease, passed peacefully away at the age of 72 years, fifty of which were spent in the Society of Jesus. Father Tuite, a few. weeks before his death, asked to be removed to Loyola. During his long illness he several times received the last Sacraments. His first years as a Jesuit were spent at Beaumont College, near London, and Milltown Park, Dublin. He made his philosophical studies at Laval, in France, and entered upon his theological course at St. Beuno's, Wales, where he was ordained priest, Clongowes Wood, St. Stanislaus' and Belvedere Colleges, were the scenes of his first labours.

About seventeen years ago Father Tuite came to Australia, and was Vice-President at Xavier College, Melbourne, and subsequently at St. Ignatius College, Riverview. In the latter institution he worked for upwards of twelve years, and was exceedingly popular amongst the students. For many years the flower garden here was the favourite hobby of Father Tuite, and to him it owes much of its present perfection. The remains of the deceased priest were brought from Loyola to Riverview on Sunday. May 30, and on Monday there was a Solemn Office and Requiem Mass-the first celebrated in the new chapel -attended by nearly all the Jesuits of New South Wales. The Rector of the College (the Very Rev Father Gartlan SJ) presided at the Office, and afterwards officiated at the gravesdie. The chanters were the Rev. Fathers C Delaney SJ, and F X O'Brien SJ, the lessons being read by the Rector of the College, the Rev. Fathers Fay SJ, and G Kelly SJ. The Rev. Father C Nulty SJ, sang the Mass. The senior pupils carried the coffin from the church to the hearse, and afterwards from the hearse to the Jesuits' grave in Gore Hill Cemetery, where the “Benedictus” was sung by the College choir. Mr T J Dalton KCSG (Vice-Consul for Spain), occupied a seat within the sanctuary during the Office and Requiem Mass, and accompanied the funeral procession, which was composed of the entire College staff and students. Dr P Clifford (President of the Old Boys' Union), Messrs J Lentaigne, H Rorke, F Hughes, and many other old boys were present at the grave side. A touching feature at the burial was the presence of the children from the St Joseph's Orphanagė, Gore Hill, who sang hymns as the grave was being filled in, and afterwards recited the Rosary. One of the ex-students, writing a letter of sympathy to the Rector of Riverview, made use of the following words, which faithfully represent the feelings of all who knew Father Tuite : “It was with much regret that I heard of the death of dear old Father Tuite, and I wish to express to you my deep sorrow at the passing away of one for whom I always held a very warm corner in my heart. Father Tuite had a kindly and genial disposition that won him the affection of all who came in contact with him. His jovial and sunny countenance will be Much missed by all old Riverviewers,” RIP

◆ Our Alma Mater, St Ignatius Riverview, Sydney, Australia, Golden Jubilee 1880-1930

Riverview in the ‘Eighties - A McDonnell (OR 1866-1888)

Father Tuite used to teach French in the class in which I was, and the artful ones, very shortly after the opening of class, would entice him on to some side track of the subject, such as the correct pronunciation, and he would go into most elaborate explanations, phonetic and otherwise, and would give amusing instances, to illustrate the matter, having been much in France. The result was that the bell marking the end of the classzone hour - would sound before he had fairly opened the work. His surprise on such occasions was quite amusing, but he fell into the snares of the artful ones again, and again. In this respect he differed from Fr Leahy, who was too accomplished a student of human nature, as displayed in boys, to fall a victim. Fr Tuite was very careful to keep the boys up to a high standard of deportment, and anything in the shape of vulgarity of any kind was hateful to him. No boy opened or closed a door violently in his presence the second time, and in leaving a room in which a superior remained the boy faced the superior while he opened the door, and, practically backed out, closing the door softly after him. This may be considered “Frenchified” but it, at least, had this merit, as compared with the present customs, that it made life more pleasant for those other than the boy concerned, and he soon became accustomed to it. Woe betide the boy who went into the chapel, class rooms, study hall, or refectory, wearing his top coat (unless he were ill), and in a hundred other ways he imparted a good deportment, beginning where the drill sergeant left off. In those old days, a herb grew in the grounds, and especially in the bush at the rear of the boatshed, and this plant, and especially its leaves, when bruised or crushed gave off a most overpoweringly unpleasant smell. The boys used to smuggle this into the study hall, and drop small pieces of it in the passages, where it would be ground up by the boots of the boys passing over it. On a hot afternoon it soon made the place untenable, and even the veteran Sergt Hagney, who usually had the study in charge, was obliged to send for the Head Prefect. When Fr Tuite came in he did not notice the trouble complained of, and said he only noticed a close atmosphere. I was watching him as he advanced up the hall, when he suddenly halted, and al most staggered, as he reached “the danger zone”. He ordered the boys out into the playground for fresh air. This was just what they wanted, and they remained there until tea time. In the meantime, Fr Tuite had all the men employed about the place rummaging in a cellar at the end of the study hall, searching for dead rats. Fr Tuite took up the office of Minister of the House for the latter half of 1887, and he and the boys were quite satisfied with the condition resulting: He was said to be the best Minister of the House the college ever had. He always told us to report, if anything were not of the quality demanded, saying “We pay for the best, and I insist upon having it”.

Early in 1887 the two firework making firms Brock, and Pain, of London, came to Sydney, and for many months gave great displays in the best style of their art. For some time they had these displays in the Domain, and a small charge was made for admission. Later, some person protested against the Domain being used as a source of profit to individuals, and other arrangements had to be made. While the firing took place in the Domain, we of No. 2 dormitory, had a most perfect view. We hurried into bed as quickly as possible, so that “lights out” would come early. As soon as it was announced that Fr Tuite had left the building, we manned the three large windows which gave a south east view, and also the eastern window. The sills of these windows sloped in at an acute angle; but that did not discourage us, as we hung on like swallows on the side of a vertical wall. These windows were about three feet above the floor. Frosted glass extended up for another three feet, and above that the window swung on pivots, so that when open, this part of the window came to a horizontal position. We could, thus, look out of the windows without being observed from below, as the swinging position of the window placed us in shadow: From our perches we could see Fr Tuite pacing his “beat”, or wending his way to or from the cottage. One night our intelligence department failed us, for the signal was given that Fr Tuite had gone out, while he was actually in his room. At all events, he came into the dormitory, having heard our murmured applause. On hearing his footsteps there was a wild rush for “cover”. My brother rather overdid the business, and fell out of the other side of the bed, and Fr Tuite entered with a light at that instant, and saw him on the floor. He was invited to the Prefects' room; but an explanation satisfied Fr Tuite, who returned to the dormitory - and looked out at the eastern window. Shortly after, a flight of shells exploded, displaying the most magnificent green stars I have ever seen. This put Fr Tuite in good humour at once; he warned us of the danger of taking cold; but never after disturbed us, and the Domain displays ceased shortly after. The last time I saw Fr Tuite, he was again at Riverview; but his health was broken, and it was pathetic to see him creeping slowly about; whereas in earlier days, he was the personification of energy and celerity. He was suffering from heart trouble, and was subject to seizures of that agonizing condition, known as angina pectoris; but he was as bright and cheery as ever. He died not long after that. A long day's work well done

Tuite, James, 1831-1891, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/432
  • Person
  • 26 May 1831-30 November 1891

Born: 26 May 1831, Mullingar, County Westmeath
Entered: 29 September 1849, Amiens, France - Franciae Province (FRA)
Ordained: 22 September 1861, St Beuno's, St Asaph, Wales
Final vows: 02 February 1868
Died: 30 November 1891, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin

Father Provincial of the Irish Province of the Society of Jesus, 31 July 1880-6 May 1883

by 1853 at St Marie, Toulouse (TOLO) for Regency
by 1861 at St Beuno’s, Wales (ANG) studying Theology
by 1867 at Drongen, Belgium (BELG) making Tertianship
Provincial 31 July 1880

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Studied for some years at Toulouse.
1854 Sent to Tullabeg for Regency.
1855-1859 Further Regency as a teacher in Clongowes.
1859 he was sent to Paderborn for Theology, but in failing health he came to England and did his studies at St Beuno’s, where he was Ordained by Dr Brown 22 September 1861.
After Ordination he was sent to Clongowes, and later to Limerick.
1866 He was sent to Drongen for Tertianship.
1867 He was appointed Vice-Rector at Galway.
He was then sent to Clongowes as Minister for two years, and then the same for two years at Limerick.
1873-1876 He was at Milltown.
1876-1877 He was Superior at UCD.
1878-1887 he was appointed Rector at Milltown January 1878, and continued living there when he came out of office in 1883.
1887 he was sent to Gardiner St as Operarius and lived there until he died after a very short illness 30 November 1891
He was a man of great literary culture, a good classical scholar and of a very retiring disposition.

◆ The Crescent : Limerick Jesuit Centenary Record 1859-1959

Bonum Certamen ... A Biographical Index of Former Members of the Limerick Jesuit Community

Father James Tuite (1831-1891)

Born at Mullingar and educated at Clongowes, was admitted into the Society in 1849. He pursued his higher studies at Toulouse, Paderborn and St Beuno's, Wales and was ordained in 1861. Father Tuite was master at the Crescent in the first decade of its foundation, 1864-66, and returned to the teaching staff in 1870. During the last year of his association with the Crescent he devoted himself entirely to church work, 1872-73. He was later rector of Milltown Park and appointed Provincial in 1880. His later years were spent in church work at Gardiner St, Dublin.

Troddyn, Peter M, 1916-1982, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/421
  • Person
  • 23 May 1916-27 November 1982

Born: 23 May 1916, Rathgar, Dublin
Entered: 30 September 1933, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Ordained: 19 October 1947, Clonliffe College, Dublin
Final Vows: 15 August 1951, St Francis Xavier, Gardiner Street, Dublin
Died: 27 November 1982, University Hall, Hatch Street Lower, Dublin

Older Brother of Billy Trodden - RIP 1984

by 1939 at St Aloysius Jersey Channel Islands (FRA) studying

◆ Irish Province News 58th Year No 2 1983 & ◆ The Belvederian, Dublin, 1984

Obituary

Fr Peter M Troddyn (1916-1933-1982)

Peter was born in Dublin on 23rd May. 1916. He was the eldest of six children, five boys and one girl. His father, a civil servant, was a native of Maghera in Derry; his mother, née Walsh, was from near Ballina in Mayo. All Peter's uncles, his mother's brothers, were boys at Clongowes in the early years of this century. His initial schooling was under the direction of a Miss Haynes, a devout Church of Ireland teacher, and her two Catholic assistants. This little school was about one hundred yards from Peter's home in Rathgar. There he met, for the first time, one who was to be a fellow-Jesuit and life long friend, the late Fr Dick Ingram.
For a few years after leaving Miss Haynes's Academy Peter continued his education under the Irish Christian Brothers in their schools in Synge street, then a penny tram-ride from his home. In the autumn of 1929 his parents made a decision which was to affect his whole life. Peter and his two brothers, Billy and Gerald, entered Belvedere College.
Athair Diarmuid Ó Laoghaire writes of Peter as a boy at Belvedere:
“While he did not play games, he was a faithful member of the Cycling Club and an enthusiastic, talented photographer. He was active, too, in the Debating Society and in An Cumann Gaelach, of which he was a founding member. One memory of him is abiding: from his arrival in the school, he was an inveterate “asker of questions”. In this the child was father of the man; to the end Peter's keen intellectual curiosity was a noted characteristic: Over the years I myself have frequently witnessed his struggles with abstruse mathematical, Theological and even historical problems. He was all his life a seeker and searcher for truth.
In February 1933, Peter's father died. This proved to be a turning point in Peter's life. It was decided that he should sit for the Civil Service Examinations for Junior Executive Grade and at the same time complete his Leaving Certificate Course at Belvedere. Shortly after his , 17th birthday he passed both examinations with honours. However, during the Summer months which followed, he made up his mind to become a Jesuit and he entered our Novitiate at St Mary's, Emo, on 30th September 1933. He was one of seven Belvederians to do so in that year.
His noviceship came to an end on 1st October, 1935, when he made his first vows. He spent the three following years in the Juniorate at Rathfarnham Castle. He graduated from the National University, receiving his BA (Hons) in Maths/Maths Physics. He was one of three to do so in 1938; the late Fr Dick Ingram and Fr Ted Collins of Hong Kong made up that distinguished trio.
While in the judgement of his contemporaries he would have benefited from further studies at the University, it was decided that he should start his philosophy course at the French House in Jersey. Here he spent one golden year, a year he often spoke of with affectionate appreciation. Everything appealed to him, the stimulating lectures of the Professors, the congenial company of the French scholastics, the climate, the diet and the all-round liberating régime. Here too, was kindled his love for France and things French. In later years he would return to France to carry on, for over twenty years, a hidden apostolate in a Paris suburb.
The outbreak of the Second World War on 3rd September, 1939, brought about the recall of Peter and his four fellow Irish Scholastics to Tullabeg. Philosophy as an academic discipline appealed to him and he excelled in it. And, as in the he played a full and useful part in all the activities of his fellow philosophers', games apart.
For two years, from 1941, he taught mathematics in Belvedere, edited the Belvederian and presided over the Senior Debating Society. He also obtained his Higher Diploma in Education. Then he spent one year at the Crescent teaching and prefecting and refereeing rugby matches for the very young boys! In addition, he was in charge of the new school hall, where his practical knowledge of electricity was a decided asset! In both Colleges he won the hearts of many a youth by his patience and his kindly interest in their boyish affairs.
He arrived in Milltown Park in Autumn of 1944 to commence his studies. Here his health began to deteriorate. He was rushed to hospital and underwent major surgery on 29th July, the eve of the Ordination Day 1947. He recovered slowly and was ordained privately at Clonliffe College by the late Archbishop John C. McQuaid on 19th October, 1947. He offered his first Mass in the Convent Chapel attached to Our Lady's Hospice, Harold's Cross.
But illness dogged him. He was unable to complete his Theology and retired to do light work in 35, Lower Leeson Street, and to Clongowes in the summer term of 1949. In the autumn of . that year he began his Tertianship. This final year of formation proved a trial for him, but he persevered until ill health forced him to retire once more, this time to Milltown Park where he took his final examinations successfully just before Christmas 1950.
Fr Peter arrived as a member of the Community attached to St Francis Xavier's church, Gardiner Street, in January 1951. On 15th August of that year Peter, he made his final profession. During the next eleven years Peter held posts of varying importance. He was for a time Assistant to the Province Treasurer, he preached frequently in the Church and during the Novena of Grace and always to appreciative audiences. Fr Daniel Shields takes up the story: “I was in the St Francis Xavier Community during the years when Fr Peter was in charge of the building of the present St Francis Xavier Hall. He was faced with many problems, not least, the financial problem, How was he to raise the large sums required to meet not only the building costs, but also the cost of installing modern theatre and stage equipment, seating, etc. Fr Peter with the expertise of a Rothschild banker came to the rescue. He devised a system of weekly “draws” which were so attractive and so widely supported, that the money so raised financed the entire undertaking. When the Hall was completed, Fr Peter recruited a group of voluntary helpers. These included skilled carpenters, painters, engineers, light and or sound experts and even a tailor! Fr Peter became the friend and Father of each. They came to him with all their problems, not least their religious problems. It is unbelievable the trouble he took in finding real solutions to a wide variety of such problems.
Fr Peter then turned is attention to providing accommodation for the members of the Pioneer Club, who had formerly been housed in the original Fr Cullen's Pioneer Hall in Sherrard street. He purchased a fine Georgian house on the East side of Mountjoy Square and had the entire building renovated, decorated and equipped to a high standard, The proceeds of his Weekly Draws' helped to finance this project also. The St Francis Xavier Hall and the Pioneer Club - Fr Cullen House - stand today }s monuments to Peter's financial genius, to his foresight and above all to his loyalty to his fellow co-operators and friends.
An tAthair Proinsias 0 Fionnagáin re- calls another activity of Peter's which, as has been mentioned, started in 1951: 'He undertook annually pastoral work at Gonesse, a parish north of Paris. There he won the trust and the approval of the Curé who invited him back year after year down to 1969. For two years he continued his summer pilgrimage, first at Milly-la-Forêt and then in Brittany, whither the Curé, for reasons of health, had retired. For the next three years, Fr Peter was too occupied with editorial problems to undertake any trips abroad. During his own time in France, Fr Frank met some of Peter's former fellow philosophers from his Jersey days. They all spoke of his gifts of mind and heart.
On the Status, 1962, Fr Peter found himself transferred to Clongowes as a teacher of Maths. He was then in his forty-seventh year, had been out of the classroom for seventeen years and was in very indifferent health. It proved to be a mistake. After two years it was my pleasure to welcome him as a member of the Jesuit team then manning the young College of Industrial Relations. He stayed with us until the Spring of 1966 when at the request of his old friend, Fr R Burke-Savage, he joined the Leeson Street Community as “Collaborator in Studies”. Incidentally, his religious Superior was none other than his erst- while companion at Miss Haynes's Academy forty years before - the late Fr Dick Ingram.
An tAthair Proinsias resumes: On his appointment in 1967 to the editorship of Studies - it might have been thought that he had neither sufficient experience nor. qualifications for that important position. His Provincial, Fr Brendan Barry, how ever, judged him to be eminently qualified and how splendidly justified was Fr Barry's judgement!
Peter proved to be an editor to the manor born. His was a fastidious sense of good English. The Autumn issue of Studies, 1968, left no doubt as to the accuracy of his judgement concerning the changes taking place in Ireland in the euphoria of the prosperous 'sixties. “Post-Primary education, now and in the future - A Symposium” - proved a brilliant success. Over 5,000 copies of this issue were sold. On this occasion Fr Peter showed himself to be a peritus among the periti.
For six more years, Studies under Peter's editorship maintained the highest standards of readable scholarship. In deed, the very excellence of succeeding issues concealed the nagging financial problems and worries and the wretched health that continued to affect the conscientious Editor. He continued the unequal struggle until the Spring of 1974, when he felt obliged to lay down his pen and vacate the Editor's chair.
His association with University Hall and with its students, which had begun in the Spring of 1966, now continued, Fr Jack Brennan writes: ‘Peter was happy in the Hall ... Surprisingly, perhaps, in such a private person, he enjoyed time spent with the students. He was extremely patient in listening to them. His advice was sure and often took pragmatic turns that sprang from his wide knowledge of fields in which they were concerned. His tolerance was of a high degree, and, occasionally he would inter cede in a caring way on behalf of a student who was in 'hot water'. For him the faults or failings of another were never the whole story. His sense of loyalty - often involving a considerable amount of work on his part - towards the students as well as towards his family being able to share some of his good and friends was striking. Confidentiality was also a key quality of his.
One very close to him all his life writes: “A thing that always struck me about Peter was his kindness to the domestic staff in the Houses in which he lived. I used to notice this whenever I came to visit him. They would speak of him very appreciatively and tell me about the many good turns he did them”. Fr Shields concurs with this: “The staff of St Francis Xavier's Hall looked on Peter as their friend. And when he left the Hall, they were lonely and upset, Meeting me, they would say, ‘Father, when is Fr Troddyn coming back?’" Such touching appreciation needs no comment. Nor did this characteristic escape Fr Jack Brennan's observation; “The domestic staff at the Hall held Fr Peter in high regard; they were glad to be able to attend to his simple wants with real affection”
There is one virtue which this very private person could not conceal from those few who knew him intimately. Peter was a genuinely humble man - a man who, with St Paul “in labours, in knowledge, in long suffering, in sweetness, in the Holy Spirit, in charity unfeigned, in the word of truth", showed himself a true Minister of God'. He had to carry the cross of poor health for most of his working life with the humiliations, misunderstandings and frustrations attached to it. His judgements and opinions did not always receive the consideration they deserved. Apart from St Francis Xavier's Hall and Fr Cullen House, his plans and dreams were seldom actualised. These apparent “failures' provided him with opportunities for the practice of humility and consequent self effacement. He was always more ready to blame himself than to question the wisdom of others.
Some final thoughts occur to me. Personal friendships meant a great deal to him, not for what he himself could get abut for the joy he felt at being able to share some of his good his advice or practical knowledge with someone, however lowly, in need. This must have helped him to a more correct appreciation of God's gifts to him self and of his duty as a Christian to help other members of the Body of Christ.
From his many serious illnesses, Peter grew in self knowledge and also in awareness of the care which the sick and convalescent needed. He demanded high standards of care for anyone ill and showed his concern and displeasure if he thought that those who were sick were neglected in even the smallest way. His genuine concern was shown clearly in daily visits, in all weathers, for three and a-half years until her death, to an aged aunt in Our Lady's Hospice. The staff and other patients admired his faithful kindness and concern for her welfare.
If I or other contributors to this obituary have said very little about Peter the Jesuit, it is because we have no reason to stress what was obvious to us all. As has been well said: “Peter was a Jesuit in the authentic lgnatian mould”. Ever an avid reader, he kept in touch with “Jesuitica” and like so many of his generation found it difficult to accept some manifestations of the new “pluralism”.
May the good Lord, who is gentle and lowly in heart, welcome Peter into the new home prepared with exquisite care for all who love and serve his heavenly Father.
Edmond Kent SJ

Toole, Laurence, 1794-1864, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/2189
  • Person
  • 10 August 1794-25 May 1864

Born: 10 August 1794, County Wexford
Entered: 12 November 1825, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Final vows: 08 September 1837
Died: 25 May 1864, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
His parents were good Catholics, and made many sacrifices for their faith in troubled times. He was very talented, and had he had better opportunities, he might have become a distinguished man of his day. It was said the he was brought up innocently and “free of the contagion of the world”. He was keen to become a religious, but his aged parents needed his help, and so he became a carpenter in order to support them. When they died, he sought admission as a postulant. He then Ent 12 November 1825 at Tullabeg.

He lived 40 years as a Jesuit, and always appeared the same no matter where he was asked to serve. Modesty, humility and fraternal charity were his favourite virtues. In advance aged he was released from responsibility, but continued to work. He had spent some few years at Clongowes, and a short time at the Dublin Residence. Most of his religious life was spent in Tullabeg, and this is where he died 25 May 1864. He is buried in the old Rahan Cemetery beside Brother Egan.

Note from John Nelson Entry :
He took his Final Vows 02 February 1838 along with eleven others, being the first to whom Final Vows were given since the Restoration in Ireland. The others were : Philip Reilly of “Palermo fame”; Nowlan, Cleary, Mulligan, Michael Gallagher, Pexton Sr, Toole, Egan, Ginivan, Patrick Doyle and Plunkett.

Tomkin, Nicholas J, 1859-1942, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/417
  • Person
  • 18 February 1859-15 November 1942

Born: 18 February 1859, Rathmines, Dublin
Entered: 07 September 1877, Milltown Park, Dublin
Ordained: 31 July 1892, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin
Final Vows: 15 August 1898, St Francis Xavier, Gardiner Street, Dublin
Died: 15 November 1942, Milltown Park, Dublin

Cousin of Nicholas A Tomkin - RIP 1923; James Tomkin - RIP 1950; Joseph Tomkin (ORE) - RIP 1942

by 1897 at Drongen Belgium (BELG) making Tertianship

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Cousin of Nicholas J Tomkin - RIP 1942 and James Tomkin - RIP 1950

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 18th Year No 1 1943
Obituary :
Father Nicholas J Tomkin SJ
Fr Tomkin died at Milltown Park, at 8.30 on Sunday morning, the 15th November. He had been very poorly for some weeks previous to his death, and had been anointed again before the end came.
Born at Rathmines, on 18th February, 1859, he was educated at Belvedere College, and entered the Novitiate, on 7th September, 1877, at Milltown Park, where, alter a year's Juniorate, he pursued his philosophical studies. Before beginning theology he spent six years teaching mathematics and physics at Belvedere, Clongowes and Tullabeg, and was also mathematical tutor at University College one of those years. He was ordained priest on St. Ignatius Day 1892, at Gardiner Street Church, by the late Archbishop Walsh. On the completion of his fourth year of theology he became Minister at Milltowvn, a post he held till 1896, when, in company with Frs. G. O'Neill, and Gleeson, and the late Frs. James O’Dwyer and T Murphy, he made his third year's probation at Tronchiennes. The Next three years of his life he spent at Belvedere as Minister, then in 1900 he became Rector of that College, a post he held for eight years of very fruitful activity. Belveclerians of that period will recall with affection his genial and attractive personality. Widening the scope of school life, he encouraged College societies, debates, music theatricals and athletics, brought about a closer association of the boys parents with the life, both religious and social, of the College, and was instrumental in founding the Belvedere Union of past students of which he remained a life-long friend and adviser. For the next twelve years he was Rector at Mungret (1908-1912) and Clongowes (1912-1919), and organised and carried through with great distinction the Centenary Celebrations of the latter College in June, 1914, promoting also, with outstanding success, its financial status during the difficult years of the World War.
In the summer of 1919 his long and uninterrupted. tenure of office as Rector for nineteen years in the three largest Colleges of the Province came to a close. For the next five years he was Minister and Procurator of Milltown Park, till in May, 1924, he was appointed to the office of Socius to the Provincial, Fr. John Fahy. Though then a man of sixty-five, Fr. Tomkin brought to his new responsibilities his customary buoyancy of manner, good humour and capacity for hard sustained work. In addition to the usual routine of a Socius' life he had to cope with a large volume of business as revisor of the temporal administration of the Province and the Houses, and was in this capacity of great assistance to the Provincials under whom he served, especially during the period of visitation of the Province. For some time, too he had charge of retreats, and appears to have given every satisfaction in that most delicate of tasks.
Towards the close of 1934 Fr. Tomkin's health broke down, and for the eight years of life that still remained, and which he spent at Milltown Park, he retained the varied interests of his earlier days. He even explored new avenues of activity in the domain of carpet-making and book-binding, whose intricacies he found a boyish enthusiasm in mastering. Graced with a delightful charm of manner he leaves behind him the memory of a life of unremitting toil and selfless dedication in the cause of God.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father Nicholas Tomkin 1859-1942
Fr Nicholas Tomkin was born in Rathmines Dublin on February 18th 1859. He was educated at Belvedere College and in 1877 he entered the novitiate at Milltown Park. After the usual course of studies, he was ordained in Gardiner Street Church by Archbishop Walsh.

In 1900 he became Rector of Belvedere for eight years, and his reign there will be long remembered as the Golden Age of Belvedere, when through his administrative ability and charming personality, he expanded the school in all its branches, both academic, cultural and social, and founded at this time the Union of Old Belvederians.

For the next 12 years he was successively Rector of Mungret and Clongowes. In n1924 he was appointed Socius to the Provincial Fr Fahy, though a man of 65 years of age.

He had a childlike cherubic countenance which did not reflect the keeness of mind behind it. But his childlike quality did display itself in a delight in striking a good bargain. Many jokes were told of this side of his character – for example, it was said that he offered to buy coffins on a large scale at a reduced price for quantity profit. However, such stories merely exaggerated a simple fondness for a bargain, which some folks took too seriously.

He died on May 15th 1942.

◆ The Belvederian, Dublin, 1943

Obituary

Father Nicholas J Tomkin SJ
Belvedere (1873-77); Entered Society of Jesus (1877); Ordained Priest 1892; Minister, Belvedere (1897-1900;: Rector (1900-1908); Died, Milltown Park, 15th Nov., 1942.

I esteem it an honour to be allowed to pay a tribute to the memory of the late Father Nicholas Tomkin, a distinguished Rector of Belvedere, and, I believe, one of the greatest headmasters of any school of his day, I shall always remember his fine physical presence, his dominant personality, his dignity and power of command, and his rigid justice and discipline, with which his kindliness, humanity, and sense of humour were in no way incompatible.

Becoming Rector, as he did, at the turn of the century and when the world was only just emerging from the narrowness, tyranny, and stuffiness of the Victorian era, he was in many ways a quarter of a century ahead of his time. He at once envisaged clearly and put into operation principles of moral and material reform which even to-day are still being blindly sought after as the expression of a new age. Looking back, it would seem that he achieved the ideal, because he took from the past stern rules of discipline and a tendency to aspire for all standards of conduct, and on this he superimposed a conception of humanity and justice which had been lacking in that past.

His cardinal principle was that there is good in every boy and that if he is instructed with sympathy and understanding his own sense of propriety will prove a better taskmaster than any exterior rule. He did away with corporal punishment, taught that to play was legitimate but that to work was manly and honourable and not the mark of a milksop or a toady. He inculcated the idea that “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam” could cover our games, our relaxations, and every activity of our lives, as well as a Latin exercise. He made Belvedere pre-eminent in gymnastics, introduced it to the Rugby Schools' Cup and Cricket competitions, made it the nursery of Irish Swimming, brought Theatrical productions to a pitch of intrinsic merit which has never been excelled, and even encouraged Dancing, Elocution and Manual Instruction. In study he deplored cramming or prize-hunting and aimed at encouraging the mediocre and backward, so that no boy of his time who was not a hopeless recalcitrant ever failed to realise the full potentialities that were in him. He restored and enhanced the historic beauties of Belvedere House, and into the School Buildings he introduced every modern amenity of sanitation and hygiene.. When the Old Boys' Union was. formed through the efforts of distinguished members of the Past, it was his dynamic personality and intense love of the School which made it not merely an Association of Old Boys, but a corporate union of the Past, taking a live interest in the Present, and the boys, sharing with pride in the notable achievements of the Past.

Truly there was nothing that he did not touch; there was nothing he touched that he did not adorn.

In his official capacity of Rector he could preserve a dignity and aloofness which made his authority most impressive, but outside school hours he remained a friend and charming companion, always easy of approach, always full of interesting information on a host of subjects dear to the heart of boys. He made Belvedere such an epitome of what life ought to be that, I think, most boys experienced, for years after they left, a kind of nostalgia which led them to revisit the school at frequent intervals, and in particular to seek to renew contact with Father Tomkin.

He has passed from our physical sight, but as long as boys of his time remain, his memory will linger and his spirit will continue to direct them in every problem of life.

V J O'HARE.

◆ The Clongownian, 1943

Obituary

Father Nicholas J Tomkin SJ

Rector of Clongowes (1911-1919)

Though Fr Tomkin was not at school either here or in Tullabeg, he was associated with both places. He came here from Tullabeg, where he had been on the teaching staff, at the amalgamation, and taught mathematics and physics for three years before going to Milltown Park for his theological studies. In 1911 he came here as Rector in succession to Fr T V Nolan who had been appointed Provincial. It was during the period of his Rectorship, in 1914, that Clongowes celebrated the century of its existence as a school, and very much of the success of the three days of those celebrations was due to the energy and organising powers of the Rector. Almost immediately after these celebrations came the European war which called for qualities of another order: Again Fr Tomkin rose to the occasion, and, mainly as a result of more intensive farming, the conclusion of the war and of Fr Tomkin's Rectorship found the College practically self-supporting.

◆ Mungret Annual, 1943

Obituary

Father Nicholas J Tomkin SJ

We regret we announce the death of Father Tomkin who was our Rector here from 1908-1912 and to whose energy the house owes much. He was in his prime during his period of office here and was active in every part of the life of the house - class-work, debates, plays, games, all were of interest to him and he attended and followed all appearances of the boys with great keenness. To him we owe the Communion rail in the chapel and the final decoration of the chapel. He equipped and opened the infirmary and appointed the first resident matron. As one might expect from his enquiring and scientific turn his day saw the end of oil lamps and gas plant here with his introduction of electric lighting. Old boys will remember him with affection and even very young old boys will recall his annual visit here as socius to Father Provincial.

All will pray for the happy repose of the soul of Father Tomkin.

Father Tomkin was born at Rathmines in 1859. Educated at Belvedere College, he entered the Society of Jesus in 1877, and a before pursuing his higher studies at Milltown Park, was mathematical tutor at University College, and taught physics and mathematics at Belvedere, Clongowes and Tullabeg. He was ordained priest in 1892 by the late Most Rev Dr Walsh, Archbishop of Dublin.

Father Tomkin's exceptional gifts of administration were fully tested by the posts of trust and responsibility he held for about forty years in the various Houses of the Order in Ireland, and notably at Milltown Park, and as Rector for twenty years of Belvedere, Mungret and Clongowes Wood. He was Assistant Provincial during the years 1925- 35.

Graced with a delightful charm of manner, he retained to the end the various interests of his earlier days amid the deepening affection of the many whom he helped or influenced during a long life of laborious service.

Tomkin, Nicholas A, 1863-1923, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2187
  • Person
  • 21 April 1863-10 April 1923

Born: 21 April 1863, Munny, County Wexford
Entered: 29 August 1882, Milltown Park, Dublin
Ordained: 1894
Final vows: 15 August 1900
Died 10 April 1923, St Vincent’s Hospital Dublin

Part of the Coláiste Iognáid, Galway community at the time of death

Older brother of James Tomkin - Ent RIP 1950; Joseph Tomkin (ORE) - Ent 03/11/1892; RIP 04/10/1936; Cousin of Nicholas J Tomkin - RIP 1942

by 1890 at St Joseph's Seminary, Mangalore, Karnataka, India (VEM)
by 1899 at Leuven Belgium (BELG) making Tertianship

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Older brother of James Tomkin - RIP 1950; Cousin of Nicholas J Tomkin - RIP 1942

After his Novitiate he studied Philosophy an Milltown.
1885 He was sent as Prefect to Clongowes for Regency. He returned to Milltown for a year and then back to Clongowes.
1889 He was sent to teach at the Jesuit College in Mangalore, India (VEM). he spent seven years there until severe illness forced him to come home to Milltown for Theology.
1896 He was sent to Clongowes and the following years he was at Galway as Minister and spent some years there.
1899 He was sent to Drongen for Tertianship at the end of which he was back in Galway as Minister, and also as a Teacher and an excellent Operarius. He distinguished himself as a Preacher, always making great preparations for his sermons.
1909 He became an Assistant Editor of the Irish Messenger, and continued in this for many years.
He died at St Vincent’s Hospital Dublin 10 April 1923

Tomkin, James, 1866-1950, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/418
  • Person
  • 09 November 1866-07 August 1950

Born: 09 November 1866, Munny, County Wexford
Entered: 07 September 1897, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 29 July 1906, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1914, Mungret College SJ, Limerick
Died: 07 August 1950, Tullabeg, County Offaly

Older brother of Joseph Tomkin (ORE) - RIP 1936; Younger brother of Nicholas A Tomkin - RIP 1923; Cousin of Nicholas J Tomkin - RIP 1942

by 1899 at Stonyhurst England (ANG) studying

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Younger brother of Nicholas A Tomkin - RIP 1923; Cousin of Nicholas J Tomkin - RIP 1942

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 25th Year No 4 1950
Obituary
Fr. James Tomkin (1866-1897-1950)

Father James Tomkin died in the forenoon of Monday, 7th August, 1950, after an illness of some months. He was in his eighty-fifth year and had been a Jesuit for fifty-three years. His vocation was a late one. Born at Munny, Carnew, Co. Wexford, he forsook farming at the age of twenty-six to study for the priesthood. Even his Jesuit training did not obliterate all traces of his former calling. To the end he retained the slow caution, the shrewdness mingled with simplicity, the occasional quaint turn of speech so characteristic of the Irish farmer. Secondary studies, first at Patrician College, Mountrath, and then at Mungret, cannot have been easy for him, Yet he pursued them with the same dogged perseverance and reasonable degree of success which were remarked in his later Jesuit philosophical and theological courses.
James Tomkin's novice-master from 1897 to 1899 was Father James Murphy, for whom ever afterwards he entertained an admiration amounting to hero-worship. Fr. Murphy, for his part, thought highly of the novice and nine years later, when dying as Rector of Tullabeg, is said to have (uncanonically) appointed Fr, Tomkin his successor. In Stonyhurst, whither F'r. Tomkin went for philosophy after his noticeship, he took part in cricket matches played by the Community against extern teams and earned something of a reputation as a bowler. A year's teaching in Clongowes followed Stonyhurst and then four years' theology in Milltown Park, where he was ordained in 1906. It was here that Fr. Tomkin's friendship and reverence for Fr. John Sullivan began. He shared the same room on Villa as Fr. Sullivan and admired his companion's kindness and unselfish ways. The great pre-occupation of Fr. Tomkin's last years was to further the Cause of Beatification of his old friend. He gave evidence at the Tribunal in Gardiner Street and was tireless in spreading devotion to Fr. Sullivan and collecting evidence of possible miracles. In 1907 Fr. Tomkin went to Tullabeg as minister and socius to the master of novices, His kindness soon endeared him to the novices of that generation, while his sagacity as a consultant about vocation became something of a legend. After his tertianship in Tullabeg (1912-1913) he went to Mungret and remained there until 1919, being Moderator of the Apostolic School for most of that time. There followed a further period in Tullabeg (1919-1924) as operarius in the People's Church. In this position he became the trusted friend and spiritual counsellor of scores of young men who were fighting in Ireland's War of Independence and later in the Civil War. He was often sent-for to secret rendezvous in order to give absolution and spiritual consolation to those about to go into battle. The theme of his exhortations on such occasions was twofold : to avoid intoxicating drink, and not to run risk of death while in the state of sin. The succour he gave them in those dark days made Fr. Tomkin's name revered by veterans of the Troubled Times. They came in large numbers to his funeral and had to be dissuaded from firing a volley over his grave. This period in Tullabeg was followed by one in Clongowes as procurator (1924-1928) and a period in Galway as Operarius. In Galway he had charge of the Pioneers. This was a ministry very much to his liking. He was a lifelong advocate of total abstinence, having received his first pledge from the hands of Fr. James Cullen when the founder of the Pioneer's was still a secular priest. In addition to directing the Galway centre, Fr. Tomkin had printed a small pamphlet written by himself and intended to set forth unequivocally the obligations of Pioneers.
In 1937 Fr. Tomkin returned to Tullabeg, where he was destined to spend the remainder of his life. Never a hustler, he yet had a fund of quiet, tenacious energy, and a skill at enlisting the co-operation of suitable adjutants in his various enterprises. These qualities helped him in re-organising and re-vivifying the Men's Sodality at Tullabeg in accordance with Fr, General's and Fr, Provincial's wishes and instructions concerning sodalities. In many ways he was an ideal pastor for the rural congregation which frequents the People's Church. He understood country life and the country people. During his Sunday sermons, as he leaned back against the altar, joined his hands and fixed a steady eye on the congregation, there was profound silence and close attention. He seemed to have more fluency and coherence in his sermons than in his ordinary conversation and his occasional references to current political happenings were much appreciated. At this time he was greatly sought after as a conductor of nuns retreats and as their extraordinary confessor. I think it was his kindness and unhurried patience in the confessional which made him so successful in this ministry. A few years before his death he gave up all active apostolate and seemed to turn more and more to prayer and contemplation. He was a great admirer of St. John of the Cross, whose works he read slowly and meditatively and often quoted. Those who knew him at this time retain as their most abiding impression of him his immense kindness and deep humility. I have never known him say a harsh word to or about anyone. At table his attention to his neighbour's wants could become at times embarrassing. In recreation he came in for more than his share of banter and “leg-pulling”, but never did he display the slightest anger or ill-feeling. He would ward off the shafts with a chuckle or a hearty laugh, or take evasive action with those who sought to trap him into awkward admissions. He had an entertaining way of perpetrating malapropisms of a variety all his own, as when he seriously referred to the doings of disembowelled spirits or observed that there was a peculiar twang on the soup. Fr Tomkin's foibles (for, like all of us, he had his share) were of that happy kind which gave no reasonable cause for annoyance and much for entertainment. His care of his health was exquisite, showing itself in the multitude of ingenious devices and practices with which he strove to ward off the ills which threaten our mortal frame. He was a firm believer in ghosts and was quick to discern diabolical intervention in even the most ordinary happenings. But such little peculiarities are completely overshadowed by his sterling religious virtues, his vivid faith, his edifying observance of religious discipline, his amiable charity and meticulous poverty, above all by his prayer, which towards the close of his life appeared to be almost continuous. He made no secret of the fact that God had specially favoured him, though, like many another adept in the life of prayer, he could give no very coherent account of the divine visitation. Tullabeg will miss his tall, familiar figure, pacing up and down the Spiritual Meadow, well wrapped against the treacherous blasts, and absorbed not, I believe, in idle dreams or memories, but in communing with God and His Saints.

◆ The Mungret Annual, 1951

Obituary

Father James Tomkin SJ

Father James Tomkin SJ an eminent spiritual director and Superior of the Apostolic School from 1913 to 1919, died at St Stanislaus College, Tullamore, on August 7th last after an illness of some months.

James Tomkin, born at Munny, Co. Wexford, in 1866, was already a practising farmier, and twenty-six years old when he first became conscious of his religious vocation. With the example of St Ignatius, however, to encourage him, he undertook at once secondary and university studies at the Patrician Brothers' School, Mountrath, and Mungret. He left an impression of unbending seriousness and deep maturity on his fellow students in the Lay-school at Mungret. On one occasion he had distinguished himself in a cricket match against the Past by scoring 71 runs. Quite unexcited, however, he retired to a clump of grass, and spent the time poring over Ueberweg's “History of Philosophy”, until it was time to take his place among the fielders. James was in his time Prefect of the Sodality, and played also on the Soccer XI. He obtained his BA degree in the Summer of 1897 (Mungret at that time prepared students for the examinations of the old Royal University). Having graduated successfully, James Tomkin, already thirty-one years old, entered the Jesuit Novitiate at St Stanislaus' College, Tullamore, after which he studied philosophy at Stonyhurst, taught for a year at Clongowes and then began theology at Milltown Park, Dublin, where he was ordained in 1906.

In 1912 Father Tomkin joined the staff of Mungret, succeeding Father Cahill, the following year, as Superior of the Apostolic School. Having held this responsible post till 1919, he went back again to the scenes of his noviceship; this time to take charge of the Public Church. During the years that followed (1919-24) he became the trusted friend and spiritual counsellor of many of the young men who were then fighting in Ireland's War of Independence and later in the Civil War. The help he gave them in those days made his name revered by veterans of the troubled times; they came in numbers to his funeral. From Tullabeg, Father Tomkin was changed to Clongowes, and from there to Galway. Finally, in 1937, he returned to Tullabeg, there to spend the remainder of his life. Once again he had charge of the Public Church with the direction of the Men's Sodality, and once again he established himself in the hearts of the people. At this time, also, he was widely sought after as a director of nuns' retreats and as their extraordinary confessor. A few years, however, before his death, being already in his eighties, he was forced to retire altogether from the active apostolate. He then devoted him self entirely to the life of prayer, and those who lived with him can testify abundantly to the simplicity and humility and evident holiness of all his ways. RIP

Thompson, Robert J, 1918-1995, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/545
  • Person
  • 25 April 1918-09 September 1995

Born: 25 April 1918, Mallow, County Cork
Entered: 07 September 1936, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Ordained: 31 July 1949, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1952, Canisius College, Chikuni, Zambia
Died: 09 September 1995, St Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin

Part of the Clongowes Wood College, Naas, County Kildare community at the time of death.

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

by 1952 at Chikuni, Chisekesi, N Rhodesia (POL Mi) working - fourth wave of Zambian Missioners
by 1962 at Loyola, Lusaka, N Rhodesia (POL Mi) working

◆ Companions in Mission1880- Zambia-Malawi (ZAM) Obituaries :
‘He was radical, he had vision and he made things happen. He was single-minded and, not least, he was stubborn as a donkey’. These words were spoken by Mr P J Kirby, chairman of Clane Community Council at the graveside of Fr Thompson on 12 September 1995.

Fr Bob was born in Mallow, Co Cork in 1918, went to school with the Patrician Brothers and then on to Clongowes Wood College. He entered the Society at Emo Park in 1936 and after studies and ordination in 1949 and then tertianship, he straightaway went to Northern Rhodesia where he stayed for 12 years. While there at Chikuni, he was involved in general teaching, in teacher training, scouting and teaching of religion. He moved to Lusaka and was editor of a newspaper "The Leader" which advocated independence, was very pro-UNIP and was critical of the colonial government. With Fr Paddy Walsh he became friends with Dr Kenneth Kaunda and other leaders at the Interracial Club. This was all during Federation days. In fact, the then Federal Prime Minister Roy Welensky wrote to Fr Bob's brother who was a doctor in Rhodesia, ‘Tell that Jesuit brother of yours he is causing me a lot of trouble’. At Independence in 1964, Kaunda brought Fr Bob back from Ireland for the occasion.

Fr Bob was very intelligent, had plenty of ideas in a very active mind and would 'take up the cudgels' as it were, for worthy causes. Many did not see eye to eye with him and often it was mutual, yet he got things done and was never shy of speaking out.

When he returned to Ireland in 1963, he was on the Mission circuits for five years, traveling throughout Ireland and then stayed on retreat work at Rathfarnham and Tullabeg for seven years. In 1977, he was transferred to Clongowes Wood College and became assistant curate in the parish of Clane, a nearby village. For ten years he took part in the life of the parish and the local community: primary schools, the restoration of the old Abbey, renovation of Mainham cemetery, projects for tidy towns, negotiation for a site for a new business enterprise centre and a memorial to Fr John Sullivan S.J. ‘He made things happen’. After leaving Clane for Moycullen in Co Galway, he was called back for the unveiling of a plaque at the restored Abbey which read: “This plaque is erected to the tremendous contribution of life in the locality by Rev R Thompson S.J. during the years 1977 to 1987”.

Bob's remark about this tribute was that he was the first Irishman to have a plaque erected to him before he died. A business centre was built and opened in 1996 after Bob's death and is called the Thompson Business and Enterprise Centre.

In 1987 he retired to Moycullen, Co Galway, for the quiet life as assistant curate and a bit of fishing. The word 'retire' does not really apply to him as his active mind soon saw him involved with concern for the environment, the collapse of the sea trout stocks and the rod license dispute, being on the side of the fishermen. He helped in the Church and stayed there for four years up to 1991. He returned to Clongowes and Clane and four years later he died in Dublin on 9 of September 1995.

He was a man of big ideas he had ‘a remarkable ability of having a new idea every day’ yet he never praised himself for his achievements. He was a devoted confessor. There was nothing artificial in his dealings with parishioners and he was always so sympathetic to those going through hard times. He looked after poor people in a sensitive and low key way that protected their dignity. He had an abiding interest in encouraging young people to use their talents and had total confidence in their ability to improve on what the last generation had done. He motivated those around him, especially the young people. Nobody got preferential treatment, least of all those who believed they deserved it!

‘He was single-minded and tireless’.

◆ Interfuse

Interfuse No 86 : July 1996

Obituary

Fr Robert (Bob) Thompson (1918-1995)

25th April 1918: Born at Mallow, Co. Cork
Education; Clongowes Wood College
7th Sept. 1936: Entered Society at Emo
8th Sept. 1938: First Vows at Emo
1938 - 1941: Rathfarnham, Arts at UCD
1941 - 1944: Tullabeg, Philosophy
1944 - 1946: Clongowes Wood College, Regency
1946 - 1950; Milltown Park, Theology
31st July 1949; Ordained Priest at Milltown Park
1950 - 1951: Tertianship, Rathfarnham
1951 - 1963: Zambia: Learning the language, Teaching in Chikuni Boarding School, Secretary to Bishops Conference, Teacher of Religion, Scouts Trainer, Minor Seminary teacher, Editor, “The Leader” magazine
2nd Feb. 1952: Final Vows, Chikuni College
1964 - 1969: Crescent College, Limerick, Teacher
1969 - 1970; Tullabeg - Missioner Rathfarnham - Assistant Director, Retreat House
1970 - 1976: Tullabeg - Director of Retreat House
1976 - 1977; Tullabeg - Superior
1977 - 1987: Clongowes - Assistant Curate, Clane Parish
1987 - 1991: Galway - Assistant Curate, Moycullen
1991 - 1995: Clongowes - Coordinator EC Leader Programme, Clane Community Council
9th Sept. 1995: Died unexpectedly at St. Vincent's Private Nursing Home

When leaving Clongowes in his last year Bob Thompson proved himself a very good all rounder, academically as well. Seldom if ever did he praise himself, for example, as a member of the Irish Mission staff doing the length and breadth of Ireland. He was never heard to criticise others on a mission or quietly hint that he was really the number one on the team.

In many ways he was lucky in having Fr. Donal O'Sullivan as Rector of Scholastics in Tullabeg. Bob had little time for piffling matters and could take a hard knock when it was just and due. As a Junior at UCD and Philosopher he had a good sense of humour and greatly benefited from a full house of scholastics. Having six men about the home in Mallow had its own advantage in growth points which no doubt was a definite help in his life.

His years as a young priest in Africa gave him a good deal of experience which he used with amazing courage and which sometimes might have benefited with just that touch of a little prudence and patience. He was always proud of Kenneth Kaunda, especially when Zambia came of age. On the occasion when the country was officially opened, Bob received an invitation here in Ireland to the real opening ceremony out in Zambia, so many miles away. It showed an appreciation and gratitude on the part of the New President of the time when Kaunda, his wife and eight children needed and received practical assistance while he waited in the wings in gaol for many a long day.

When Bob was sent to Tullabeg for a few years, he proved to be a man with big ideas, when finances were a serious matter for the running of retreats. He initiated an annual "Field Day" for Co. Offaly on such a gigantic scale, one wonders now at those vast undertakings. He had a huge army of backers, reminding us of things to come in Clane that was beyond ordinary Jesuit reckoning.

The ten years when Bob acted as assistant curate in Clane parish were blessed for him by having local priests who encouraged him and gave him his head. The seeds that started to grow in Africa now came into fruition due to his intellectual capacity. The next three qualities he had, are seldom seen in the one person, he was radical, he had vision and he made things happen. Not everyone grasped the deep compassion in his make up for those in trouble. They certainly saw how he motivated those around him and especially young people. We were all made aware at some stage that nobody got preferential treatment, least of all those who believed they deserved it! He was single-minded and tireless.

Today we see for ourselves the results of his achievements: the modern primary schools with their lovely run in to the village; the restored Abbey; a work of genuine artistic beauty obviously influenced by expert professional advice; the renovation of Mainham Cemetery, the various tidy town and amenity projects, the memorial to Fr. John Sullivan and finally the site for the new Enterprise Centre.

His health deteriorated for a year or so, prior to his sudden death. This was shown in his step slowing down and the energy slackening. He himself very wisely prepared to hand over to others what needed to be continued and often completed. This is a sign of a real leader who can pass on jobs to others that he would normally do himself. We Jesuits who lived with him admired the way the Lord blessed him with a magnificent base speaking voice, clear diction, so natural in delivery. He was a devoted confessor, nothing artificial in his dealings with parishioners and so sympathetic to those going through hard times. He had a big heart.

His sudden death came as a shock to his family, the Jesuits in Clongowes and to the people of Clane and neighbourhood. Seldom have we seen such a fitting farewell to any Jesuit. The last line was said at his graveside by Mr PJ Kirby in a truly wonderful oration. “The best tribute we can pay Fr. Bob is to try to emulate his example and continue the strong tradition of community and voluntary work. I know the people of Clane will not disappoint him!”

Kieran Hanley SJ

Oration at the graveside of Fr. Bob Thompson S.J. Delivered by Mr. P.J. Kirby, Chairman of Clane Community Council 12th September 1995.

Friends and neighbours,

May I thank Fr. Bob's family and the Jesuit community for providing this opportunity to the people of Clane to honour someone we loved.

I know that some of Fr. Bob's friends from Moycullen are also here today and I hope that what we want to say also reflects how the people of Galway felt about Fr Bob.

Today we are celebrating the life of someone who made an immense contribution to Clane as a priest and a community worker. This happened because Fr. Bob had a number of outstanding personal qualities:

  • He had an intellectual capacity second to none
  • He was radical
  • He had vision
  • He made things happen
  • He was compassionate
  • He motivated those around him
  • He was even-handed; nobody got preferential treatment least of all those who believed they deserved it
  • He was single-minded and tireless and, not least,
  • He was stubborn as a donkey!

These qualities enabled Fr. Bob to achieve things that we can see with our own eyes in Clane today:

  • The modern primary schools
  • The restored Abbey
  • The renovation of Mainham Cemetery
  • Various tidy town and amenity projects
  • The memorial to Fr. John Sullivan; (I will refer again to this later)
  • The site for the new Enterprise Centre

These are all tangible examples of the practical contribution Fr. Bob made to Clane. However, he also made other contributions that were less obvious but are probably of more value than we realise:

  1. He looked after poor people (this was done in a sensitive, low-key way that protected the dignity of the people concerned)

  2. He had an abiding interest in encouraging young people to use their talents and he had total confidence in their ability to improve on what the last generation had done.

  3. He left a legacy of committed community workers to carry on the work; the anticipation of his own departure is always the mark of a great leader.

Each of us will have our own special memories of Fr. Bob. On a personal note, he had a profound influence on my continuing adult education - you could not get this type of learning at any school or university. Some of the community projects I mentioned earlier were concocted late at night in Fr. Bob's house here in Clongowes, very often with spiritual help of the liquid kind.

He had particular insights into the creative and positive use of alcohol. For example, he did not agree with people giving up drink for Lent. I discovered this to my cost one day years ago when he took an abrupt turn in his Fiesta into Manzor's pub car park. The fact that I also came from the Blackwater valley in North Cork did not spare me from a stern lecture on the opportunity for doing good through buying a drink for a friend, a neighbour or a stranger.

I mentioned the memorial to Fr. John Sullivan earlier. Many people in Clane genuinely believe that history has repeated itself. It is remarkable, in the space of two generations, two people of the calibre of Fr. John Sullivan and Fr. Bob Thompson should emerge from the Jesuit order and contribute so much to the welfare of the people of Clane and the surrounding districts. It is a class double act that will be very hard to follow.

Now it's time to say farewell. Someone remarked at the week-end that the last time the people of Clane bid farewell to Fr, Bob he came back! Nothing should be ruled out and I'm sure that he is not gone far away.

The best tribute we can pay Fr. Bob is to try to emulate his example and continue the strong tradition of community and voluntary work. I know the people of Clane will not disappoint him.

◆ The Clongownian, 1996

Obituary

Father Robert Thompson SJ

Bob Thompson was born in Mallow in 1918. After school, he entered the Jesuits at Emo. Having completed his noviceship in 1938, he followed the conventional course of studies - a degree in Arts at UCD, philosophy in Tullabeg and theology in Milltown Park. Bob - spent two years as a scholastic between philosophy and theology - the period known as “regency” - in Clongowes. He was ordained on 31 July 1949 and when he had finished tertianship, back in Rathfarnham Castle, where he had studied for the BA, he was among the first Jesuits to go to what was then Northern Rhodesia in 1951.

Over the next twelve years he studied the language, taught in the boarding school at Chikuni, served as secretary to the Bishops' Conference, taught Religion, trained scouts, taught in the Minor Seminary and edited “The Leader”, a magazine advocating independent statehood for the country. He taught Kenneth Kaunda, later the first president of Zambia, and his influence was something President Kaunda never forgot. Although Bob was by then back in Ireland, the President invited him to attend the celebrations marking Zambian independence.

In 1963, a thorn in the side of the colonial authorities, Bob returned home. After a year in the Crescent as a teacher, he joined the mission staff based at Tullabeg and was responsible for giving parish missions and retreats around the country. He did this for five years.

Then it was back to Rathfarnham Castle once more as Assistant Director of the Retreat House. The following year he returned to Tullabeg to direct the Retreat House there. After six years in this role, and one further memorable year as Superior of the commu nity, he came to Clongowes in 1977.

This marked the beginning of ten very fruitful years, acting as Assistant Curate - and much more! - in Clane Parish. Bob had an enormous impact on the locality, blessed, as Fr Kieran Hanley has written, “by having local priests who encouraged him and gave him his head”. His pressure on the Department of Education to get the new primary schools built is now a matter of legend.

A fuller sense of what Bob achieved in Clane is conveyed by the tribute from Mr P.J. Kirby, printed below.

He took a four year “sabbatical” from Clane and Clongowes from 1987-91, during which he worked in Moycullen, Co. Galway, again as Assistant Curate. A friend, who shared his passion for fishing, wrote of how Bob's enjoyment of this pastime never allowed him to disregard the environment. He worried about the collapse of seatrout stocks in Connemara; “Anyone knowing Fr Bob can be certain that he has already made approaches to St Peter on these serious matters and he would want to know whạt St Peter proposed to do about the situation! Playing the harp would not be his idea of heavenly bliss....”

He returned to Clongowes and resumed his work with the local community, this time promoting the Clane Community Council and coordinating a European Union funded pro gramme in the local area. His death on 9 September 1995 in St Vincent's Hospital, where he had gone for a check-up, came as a complete shock and his dynamic, creative presence is missed by all who knew him.

The boys in Clongowes hardly knew Bob, although they would occasionally have heard his uncompromising sermons at Mass in the People's Church. They were probably surprised at the large numbers who turned out for his funeral and would have been deeply struck - as we all were, not least his Jesuit brethren - by the remarkable tribute paid to him by P.J. Kirby, chairman of the Clane Community.

Temple, Patrick, 1818-1890, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/431
  • Person
  • 17 March 1818-29 March 1890

Born: 17 March 1818, Banagher, County Offaly
Entered: 01 June 1858, Clongowes Wood College SJ, Naas, County Kildare
Final Vows: 15 August 1868
Died: 29 March 1890, Clongowes Wood College SJ, Naas, County Kildare

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
He spent all his Jesuit life as a tailor at Clongowes. He was a holy old man.
He was one of Father Bracken’s eight Brother Novices who Ent 1858 and persevered to the end. He died at Clongowes 29 March 1890.

Note from Francis Hegarty Entry :
He did return after some months, and there he found in Father Bracken, a Postulant Master and Novice Master, and this was a man he cherished all his life with reverence and affection. His second Postulancy was very long and hard - four years. he took the strain and was admitted as a Novice with seven others which had not had so trying a time as himself. He liked to say that all seven along with him remained true to their vocation until death, and he was the last survivor. They were John Coffey, Christopher Freeman, David McEvoy, James Maguire, John Hanly, James Rorke and Patrick Temple.

Sweetman, Michael J, 1914-1996, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/558
  • Person
  • 20 March 1914-23 October 1996

Born: 20 March 1914, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 12 September 1931, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Ordained: 31 July 1945, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 03 April 1983, Loyola, Eglinton Road, Dublin
Died: 23 October 1996, Glengara Nursing, Glenageary, County Dublin

Part of the St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin community at the time of death.

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

https://www.dib.ie/biography/sweetman-michael-a8409

Sutton, William A, 1847-1922, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/18
  • Person
  • 26 July 1847-14 April 1922

Born: 26 July 1847, Cork City, County Cork
Entered: 18 January 1868, Milltown Park, Dublin
Ordained: 1881, St Beuno’s, Wales
Final Vows: 02 February 1888, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Died: 14 April 1922, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly

His brother Abraham (later Sir Abraham Sutton) was in the Noviceship for a short time. (Ent 05/07/1869; LEFT 27/12/1871; RIP 1886)

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

by 1870 at Aix-les-Bains France (LUGD) studying
by 1871 at Roehampton London (ANG) studying
by 1872 at Stonyhurst England (ANG) studying
by 1879 at St Beuno’s Wales (ANG) studying

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
His brother Abraham (later Sir Abraham Sutton) was in the Noviceship for a short time. (Entered 05 July 1869; left 27 December 1871; RIP 1886) (Mayor of Cork. The Rochestown Park Hotel in Cork was built as his home).

Early Education at Clongowes. Had studied Medicine at Trinity before entered.

He was sent to Stonyhurst for Philosophy and did his Regency as a teacher first in Galway and then Tullabeg.
He was then sent to St Beuno’s for Theology.
After Ordination he made Tertianship at Dromore.
Later he taught Juniors and was a Teacher at Belvedere and Mungret.
1890 He was appointed Rector and Master of Novices at Tullabeg.
After that he was sent as Vice-Rector to Milltown, and then Rector or Vice-Rector at Mungret.
1912 He returned to Tullabeg and did some teaching of Scholastics there. He was in bad health for a number of years and he died there 14 April 1922.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father William Sutton 1847-1922
Fr William Sutton was born in Cork on July 26th 1847. Before entering the Society he studied medicine at Trinity College. Not for long however, for he became a Jesuit in 1868.

He was one of those who made their tertianship in Dromore. He became Master of Novices and Rector at Tullabeg in 1890. He was after Vice-Rector at Milltown and Rector of Mungret.

He had a great interest in the Bacon-Shakespeare controversy and collected a fine libraery on this topic, which is still in existence in Mungret.

A man of the deepest spirituality and ascetic character, he was also a great humorist, splendid at recreation, most kindly in disposition and paternal to his brethren as Superior.

He was in bad health for many years and died in Tullabeg on April 14th 1922.

◆ The Clongownian, 1922

Obituary

Father William Sutton SJ

The narrative of Fr Sutton's life is simple. Son of a well-known business family in Cork, he was born in 1847. After some years schooling in his native city, he was sent to Clongowes, where he remained for about two years. At Clongowes he was a steady student, but took little interest in the games. When he had finished Rhetoric, he went to Dublin to study medicine. This period of his life appears to have been less satisfactory. He took more interest in amusement than in medicine, and ever afterwards he spoke bitterly of himself as having been supremely idle. Finally, he fell very dangerously ill of typhoid fever, . His life was only saved by the devoted care of a Bon Secour nun. To her he owed more than his life. To her he owed his vocation to religion, and all his life after he entertained for her, not only the warmest gratitude, but also the deepest veneration. In 1868 he entered the Jesuit Noviceship at Milltown Park. He was then a little over twenty years of age. There was some quiet fun amongst the novices when Mr Sutton arrived. He was dressed in the very latest and choicest fashion. One article of his attire especially attracted their attention. It was an overcoat of dark green stuff, then quite in vogue. Soon, however, the brilliant overcoat paid a visit to the dye-works, and returned in very clerical black. After his noviceship, Mr Sutton made his studies of Rhetoric, Philosophy and Theology, almost exclusively in Our English houses of study. He was ordained priest at St Beuno's, North Wales, in 1882. Towards the end of that year he was sent to Mungret College, which was just then opened. After two years' teaching there he was sent to Dromore as Assistant Master of Novices. In 1888 he returned to Mungret as Prefect of Studies and Master. In 1890 he was appointed Master of Novices until 1895, when he was made Rector of Milltown Park and Professor of Theology. This latter position he held for two years, when he was devoted exclusively to his duties as Rector. In 1903 he was sent back to Mungret as Vice-Rector, but this post he had to resign after two years owing to failing health, and he was occupied exclusively in teaching until 1910, when he was sent to Tullabeg. By this time his health had become so broken down that he was unable to undertake active work. Gradually, but very steadily, his infirmities increased, although his courage, resignation and robust cheerfulness, seemed rather to increase than to fail, until after some months of intense suffering he slept in the peace of Christ on the 14th April, 1922, in his 76th year,

It is no easy task to attempt to write a memoir of Fr Sutton. It is not indeed that his life was not one of high distinction and remarkable results. He was a man of great talent, great character, and his work was fruitful in rich and blessed harvest. But, while all this was thoroughly appreciated and honoured by the Jesuits who knew him, his career led him along quiet paths where no great events of public importance startled the attention of the outside world and where no flashes of unwonted splendour or no achievements of historic note dazzled or delighted the mind or soul of the stranger or of the passerby. His was always a student's life. It was also, after his early years spent in learning Literature, Philosophy and Theology, the life of a teacher. He was always a constant and most thoughtful reader, nor was he ever satisfied to live on the capital of knowledge which he had amassed. After that he had been Professor of English and Classic Literature, of Philosophy and Theology, he was a student still. Nor yet again was his labour confined to the limits of human and sacred learning. He entered into the wide and exalted sphere of the science of the soul itself. As Master of Novices for many years he was a devout student of asceticism, and a wise ex pounder of the principles, as well as an experienced guide in the exercises of the science of spiritual life.

In Holy Scripture his favourite study was the Book of Wisdom, which he almost knew by heart, and which he quoted constantly and very appropriately applied. On one occasion a Jesuit Father was passing through Thurles and called on Dr Croke to present his respects. As they were chatting together in the great Archbishop's study, the latter said to him: “Your Father William Sutton has been giving their eight day Retreat to the Nuns next door. Each evening he came in to pay me a visit, and for an hour or two he would sit in that armchair distilling wisdom”.

Amongst profane authors, Father Sutton loved Shakespeare most. He knew innumerable long passages perfectly by heart, and during the long walks which he frequently took while at Mungret, Tullabeg or Milltown Park, he used to brighten and refresh himself by repeating some of them aloud. Yet he was a convinced and redoubtable Baconian. On the occasion of the great Centenary at Stonyhurst, Father Sutton, who was then Rectorat Milltown Park, was a welcome and honoured guest. One day at Recreation a number of eminent English Fathers, devout worshippers of William Shakespeare, knowing that Father Sutton held that Bacon was the real Author of the Plays, subjected himn to a fierce bombardment. An Irish Father present suggested that it was a matter not for eloquent denunciation but for argument. Whether Father Sutton's view was right or wrong, he had so thoroughly mastered both sides of the question that he succeeded in completely silencing the enemies batteries.

There are many who only knew one side of Father Sutton's character. He had an intense and delightful sense of humour. He could be most genial in conversation, and very few could tell a quaint or witty story or bring out the real point of a witticism as well as he could. He was most good humoured, and he had a deep natural fund of sympathy. He was also delightfully and unswervingly straight and just, and a most loyal champion of fair play. But there was another aspect of his character not known to all, even of those friends who had lived long with him. Underneath it all there was a deep, dark and almost constant feeling of depression. He had his dismal moments, and they were both frequent and enduring. He was able, with the aid of a sort of philosophic cynicism, to battle with them but not to brighten them. The only sunshine that brought brightness and joy into his life was his child-like Faith and his “indomitable” trust in the truth and love of the Supernatural. Amongst many articles which he contributed to the Irish Monthly, there was one on “Looking on the Bright Side”. To one very great friend of his who had known himn intimately from boyhood until his death, this essay was sadly amusing. It came to this: “Life at the very best is a bad job. Try to make the best of it”.

Father Sutton was not an orator. He could speak with great emphasis and impressiveness. The intensity of his conviction exercised its magnetism upon his hearers, but his style was rough, frequently out of joint and jerky, It is strange that one who so thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed the great Classic and English Authors should not have gained from the reading of them more sense of smoothness, rhythm and beauty. Yet, after all, there is room not merely for varieties, but even for vast differences in style, and what to one may seemn uncouth, ponderous, or even discordant, may by that very fact gain an entry into minds that would be made suspicious, or per haps hostile, if the meaning were clothed in a literary garb of exquisite taste and faultless loveliness.

In spite of the intense pain and unnerving exhaustion from dropsy and heart disease, Father Sutton's death was a very happy one. For months he had looked forward with unclouded calm of mind and deep longing of the soul to his death. It was a sunset which lit up with supernatural radiance and super natural anticipation of the great day to dawn, the long and meritorious life which he was giving through his death-sleep unto God. RIP

Robert Kane SJ

◆ The Mungret Annual, 1922

Obituary

Father William Sutton SJ

Rev W Sutton, a native of Cork, was but a little over twenty years of age, and at the time a medical student in Dublin, when, in 1868, he entered the Society of Jesus. He made most of his studies at St Bueno's Theological Seminary, Wales. Having been ordained priest, he was sent by his superiors to Mungret College in 1882. The College was being opened by the Jesuit Fathers for the first time in the September of that year. Fr Sutton at the time of his death was almost the last survivor of the community that took part in the opening. Only the Rev Joseph de Maistre SJ, now remains of the Mungret community of that year. Fr de Maistre was then a young scholastic, and happily is still alive and working as a priest of the Society of Jesus in Paris. Fr Sutton remained in Mungtet for two years as Master, and Prefect of Studies. In 1884 he went to Dromore, where the Noviceship of the Irish Province then was, to do his third year probation and act as assistant to the Master of Novices. He returned to Mungret in 1888 to resume his former post, which he retained till he was appointed to the important position of Master of Novices at Tullabeg in 1890.

Of the students who were in Mungret under Fr Sutton's direction the greater number are now priests, some working in the diocese of Limerick; many in different dioceses of the United States, while not a few are members of the Society of Jesus, or other religious orders. All probably without exception, would gladly acknowledge the great influence Fr Sutton exercised on their carly formation. As teacher and Prefect of Studies he was exceptionally kind and genial. He rarely if ever exercised or tried to exercise any coercive force. But his great store of common sense, his well-balanced judgment, his pre-eminent sense of justice and fair play, and his love of straight and manly dealing gave him great influence with all those under his care, and tended strongly to evoke and develop these same qualities in them. Above all, his wide and varied culture and his scholarly mind had a deep and lasting influence on his pupils, Several of these have since become distinguished as writers and preachers, and have always been ready to acknowledge their indebtedness to Fr Sutton's early training. He did much to encourage independent literary composition in the students, and owing in no small measure to his kindly encouragement and direction, many of the pupils of those years laid the foundation of literary tastes and conceived intellectual ambitions which in some cases have since borne remarkable fruit.

In the Mungret Annual of Christmas, 1897 (p. 22) occurs an interesting reference to Fr Sutton by one of his pupils. The latter, then a secular priest, working on the American mission, sends to the Mungret Annual for publication a beautiful English translation of Horace's well-known ode, “Exegi Monumentum”, etc., and adds: “This ode always commended itself to me, both for the sentiment and the form ever since the time our attention was called to it by the dear old party. (sit venia nomini) to whose quiet, human and sympathetic treatment of the classics I for one can trace a large share of the happiness of my life”.

During all these years Fr Sutton was a frequent contributor to “The Irish Monthly”. Some of his article were on purely literary subjects. Many were very humorous. Several were more or less the meditations of a philosophic thinker on the problems of life, in culcating a broad, genial and hopeful view of its difficulties. In the “Mungret Annual” of June, 100 (pp. 48-49) (Jubilee Number) are found some interestin extracts from a historical poem* of his on “The Irish Education Question”, in which he humorously depicts Gladstone striving to hew down the “upas tree of British anti-Catholic bigotry”.

In 1895 Fr. Sutton was appointed Rector of Milltown Park and Professor of Dogmatic Theology. The latter function he retained only for a couple of years but he remained Rector of the College till 1903, when he again returned to Mungret as Vice-Rector. It was during his last years in Milltown Park that he began to take an enthusiastic interest in the Shakespeare-Bacon controversy, and contributed several articles to reviews in support of the opinion which identified the writer of the Shakespearian plays with Lord Bacon, the author of the Nouvm Organum. In 1903 Fr. Sutton published on this subject a book called “The Shakespearian Enigma”, which had only a limited success. To the end, however, he remained a convinced Baconian.

In 1905 Fr Sutton, whose health had begun to decline, was relieved of his duties as Vice-Rector when Fr T V Nolan was appointed Rector of the College. But Fr. Sutton remained in Mungret as a member of the College teaching staff till 1910. Being then no longer able to continue his work as master, he was transferred to St Stanislaus' College, Tullabeg. Here he spent the last eleven years of his life, happy and cheerful, remaining to the end a model of religious observance, and always maintaining a lively interest in his literary studies. During these years he continued to contribute to the “Irish Monthly”, “The Irish Ecclesiastical Record”, etc, articles mainly on literary and philosophical or theological subjects.

Fr Sutton was exceptionally interesting in conversation. He was widely read, and had a very retentive and accurate memory. In discussions during recreation with his own community he was looked upon as a kind of Samuel Johnson, whose opinion was constantly asked for and usually carried much weight; but he was entirely free from Johnson's dogmatism. His fund of anecdote was inexhaustible and his sense of humour and power of narrating personal experiences with humorous flavour were remarkable. His views of human life were very consoling and helpful. “God's wonderful plan in the world”, he used to say, “is like a piece of exquisite and perfect embroidery; but often we see only the seamy side of the pattern”. Hisconstant advice was: “Look on the bright side of things”. “It is a great act of charity to others”, he would say, “to look cheerful even when you cannot feel so!” In his spiritual life he had a specially strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin, and did much to instil the same into those with whose spiritual and religious formation he was entrusted. His humility and obedience were very remarkable, and the candour and honesty of his whole character were quite refreshing.

Fr. Sutton's pupils will sincerely regret his loss, and many others will cherish a respectful and affectionate recollection of him as a kindly, cultured and sympathetic teacher and a very sincere friend,

His happy death, the approach of which he often spoke of with peaceful longing, took place on Holy Saturday, April 15th, 1922, after a painful illness of some months. RIP

Sullivan, Patrick, 1818-1893, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/429
  • Person
  • 12 March 1818-14 January 1893

Born: 12 March 1818, Killarney, County Kerry
Entered: 23 January 1851, Clongowes Wood College SJ, Naas, County Kildare
Final vows: 02 February 1862
Died: 14 January 1893, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
He spent almost all his Jesuit life at Clongowes as Horticulturalist. He had charge of the Farm for many years.
1866 He was sent to care for his own health to Tullabeg, where he led a most saintly life. He was a model Brother all through his hard life. He died at Tullabeg 14 January 1893.

Sullivan, Blessed John, 1861-1933, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/415
  • Person
  • 08 May 1861-19 February 1933

Born: 08 May 1861, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 07 September 1900, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 28 July 1907, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1915, Clongowes, Wood College SJ
Died: 19 February 1933, St Vincent’s Nursing Home, Dublin

Part of the Clongowes Wood College, Naas, Co Kildare community at the time of death.

by 1903 at Stonyhurst England (ANG) studying

◆ Royal Irish Academy : Dictionary of Irish Biography, Cambridge University Press online :
Sullivan, John
by Conor Harper

Sullivan, John (1861–1933), Jesuit priest, was born 8 May 1861 at 41 Eccles Street, Dublin, the youngest child in a family of four sons and one daughter of Edward Sullivan (qv), barrister, and his wife Elizabeth (Bessie) Josephine (née Baily) of Passage West, Co. Cork. There is an impressive perspective from the doorstep of the old Sullivan home sweeping down to the elegant and noble dimensions of St George's church, Hardwicke Place, where John was baptised into the Church of Ireland on 15 July 1861. Soon after John's birth, the Sullivan family moved to the more fashionable south side of Dublin where they settled at 32 Fitzwilliam Place. This was to be the Sullivan home for more than forty years. John had one sister, Annie, and three brothers, Edward (qv), Robert (who drowned in a boating accident in Killiney Bay), and William, a resident magistrate. According to the tradition of the time the Sullivan boys were brought up in their father's protestant faith and their sister Annie followed her mother and was raised a catholic.

In 1873 John and his brother William were sent to Portora Royal School, Enniskillen, as their older brothers had been before them. Portora's reputation had grown considerably under Dr William Steele (qv), an enlightened and progressive headmaster. John's years at Portora were happy. In one of his few published writings he gives an insight into his school life, writing of his first arrival at Portora ‘bathed in tears’, but when, five years later, the time came for him to leave he wept ‘more plentiful tears’. After Portora he became an undergraduate at TCD, where in 1883 he was awarded the gold medal in classics. Having achieved a junior moderatorship in classics, he started to study law. But in 1885 he was devastated by the sudden death of his father, then lord chancellor of Ireland. He subsequently continued his studies at Lincoln's Inn, where he was called to the English bar in 1888. Due to his inheritance, he was financially comfortable, and was noted for his fashionable dress and good looks. He travelled a great deal throughout Europe and was a cycling enthusiast. While in Greece he visited the monastery of Mount Athos and was deeply marked by the experience.

In December 1896, to the utter surprise of his family, he became a catholic and was received into the church at Farm Street Jesuit church in London. His family was ‘shell shocked’ when the news reached Dublin, according to Nedda Davis, granddaughter of his brother William. Not that the members of his family were hostile to his decision. His mother was a devout catholic but John had never shown any particular interest in religion. More surprises were to follow when his manner of life changed sharply. He adopted a simple style of living that was also reflected in his manner of dress. From this time he was a regular visitor to the Hospice for the Dying in Harold's Cross in south Dublin, and helped the poor in many ways. Then in September 1900 he entered the Jesuit noviciate at Rahan, which was known as Tullabeg, near Tullamore, Co. Offaly. In September 1902 he took his vows for life as a member of the Society of Jesus. Having studied philosophy at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, he returned to study theology at Milltown Park, where he was ordained on Sunday 28 July 1907. He was then sent to teach in Clongowes Wood College in Co. Kildare. From that time, with the exception of the period 1919–24, when he was rector of the Jesuit house at Rathfarnham Castle, he was a member of the Clongowes community. Most of the boys whom he taught considered him to be different to other Jesuits. He was regarded as a holy man but, like many a good scholar, was a poor teacher.

His reputation for holiness went far beyond the classroom at Clongowes. He also ministered from the People's Church, which served as a chapel of ease to people who lived in the environs of Clongowes. He was much sought after as a confessor and spiritual guide. The poor and the needy found him to be a reliable friend, and he was a constant visitor of the sick. Stories of his care of the sick are legion, as are claims to have been cured by his prayers (detailed by Fergal McGrath in his biography). His reputation as a healer continues, and his cause for canonisation has been pursued.

Sullivan lived a rugged and ascetic life. His meals were simple, mainly a diet of dry bread, porridge, rice and cold tea. He slept little, spending most of the night in prayer. His room at Clongowes lacked even simple comforts. The fire in winter was lit only when he was expecting a visitor. His life of austerity and prayer reflected the hardship and simplicities of the early Desert Fathers. He wore the worn patched clothing of the very poor. To the time of his death he was in demand as a preacher of retreats to religious communities of men and women, which again provided an experience of holiness rather than eloquence. One interest from the past which he maintained was an interest in cycling. His old-fashioned bicycle was a familiar sight on the roads around Clane, and he was known to have cycled to Dublin on more than one occasion to visit the sick. When not travelling by bicycle, he usually walked, a stooped, shuffling figure.

Nothing is known of his political views at a time of political upheaval in Ireland. He always maintained close contact with his protestant family who reciprocated his warm affection and concern. His brother Sir William (d. 1937) travelled from England to be with him when he was dying.

He enjoyed good health until shortly before his death, maintaining his rigorous round of visits to the sick, giving retreats and working in Clongowes. On the morning of 17 February 1933 he suffered violent internal pain and was brought to St Vincent's nursing home on Leeson Street where he died 19 February 1933. He was buried at Clongowes but his remains were exhumed in 1960 and transferred to the Jesuit church of St Francis Xavier on Gardiner Street. The popular novelist, Ethel Mannin, based her novel Late have I loved thee (1948) on Sullivan's life.

Fergal McGrath, Father John Sullivan (1941); Mathias Bodkin, The port of tears: the life of Father John Sullivan, S. J. (1954); Morgan Costello, The saintly Father John: John Sullivan S. J. (1963); Fergal McGrath, More memories of Father John Sullivan (1976); Peter Costello, Clongowes Wood. A history of Clongowes Wood College 1814–1989 (1989); McRedmond; Conor Harper, ‘Father John Sullivan – a man for others’, The Clongowes Union centenary chronicle (1997)

◆ Jesuits in Ireland : https://www.jesuit.ie/fr-john-sullivan-sj/fr-john-sullivan-sj-portrait/

Fr John Sullivan SJ: A short biography
John Sullivan was born in Dublin on 8 May 1861. His father, the future Lord Chancellor of Ireland Sir Edward Sullivan was a Protestant. His mother, Lady Bessie Josephine Sullivan was a Catholic. John was baptised in St. George’s Protestant Church on 15 June 1861 and brought up in the Protestant tradition of his father. From his earliest years John enjoyed the benefits of a home which radiated warm affection, high culture and sound scholarship.
In 1873 John followed in the footsteps of his brothers and went to Portora Royal School, Enniskillen in Northern Ireland which had the reputation of being the most eminent Protestant school of the day. He spent happy years at Portora and in later years admitted that he went to Portora “bathed in tears” but when the time came to leave he “wept more plentiful tears”.
After Portora, John went to Trinity College Dublin. He distinguished himself in his university studies and in 1885 he was awarded the Gold Medal in Classics. After gaining a Senior Moderatorship in Classics, John started to study law. It was at this time that his father, the Lord Chancellor of Ireland Sir Edward Sullivan, died suddenly. The shock had a devastating effect on John.
The promising young scholar left Ireland and continued his legal studies at Lincoln’s Inn in London where he was called to the Bar in 1888. At this time, due to his inheritance, he was very comfortable in financial terms, noted for his fashionable dress and handsome appearance. He travelled extensively around Europe and was a keen cycling enthusiast. He stayed at the Orthodox monastery of Mount Athos in Greece and was friendly with the monks.
Then, in December 1896 at the age of 35, he made a momentous decision. He was received into the Catholic Church at the Jesuit Church, Farm Street, London. From this time onward a marked changed was noted in his manner of living. On returning to the family home in Dublin, he stripped his room of anything that was superfluous, satisfying himself with the simplest of furniture on a carpetless floor. The young man, who was formerly noted for his fashionable dress, contented himself with the plainest of clothes.
He became a regular visitor to Dublin hospitals and convents where he was a welcome visitor. He had a remarkable gift for putting patients in good humour and showed special sympathy toward the old, bringing them gifts of snuff or packages of tea and reading for them from religious books.
In September 1900 John Sullivan decided to enter the Society of Jesus. The two years of novitiate in St. Stanislaus College, Tullamore, were followed by studies in philosophy at Stonyhurst College in England. From the beginning, he was clearly different to other Jesuits. He gave himself completely to his new way of life. All who lived with him were struck by his dedication to prayer and to religious life. Despite his outstanding gifts, he never paraded his knowledge but was always careful to help others whenever possible.
In 1904 he came to Milltown Park to study theology and he was ordained a priest on 28 July 1907. He was then appointed to the staff in Clongowes Wood College, Co. Kildare where he was to spend the greater part of his life as a Jesuit, apart from the period 1919-1924 when he was Rector of Rathfarnham Castle, the Jesuit House of Studies in Dublin.
Fr. John’s reputation for holiness spread rapidly around Clongowes and the neighbourhood. Despite his brilliant mind and academic achievements it was his holiness that was recognised. Many revered him as a saint. He prayed constantly – he walked with God continually – he listened to Him and he found Him and God worked through him. Many who were in need of spiritual or physical healing flocked to him and asked his prayers – and strange things happened. The power of God seemed to work through him and many were cured.
He was always available to the sick, the poor, anyone in need. The call to serve God in serving those who suffered in any way was a driving force for the rest of his life. He was always caring for others – a source of comfort and peace to anyone in trouble. He brought many to God by pointing out the way that leads to the deepest and ultimate peace. He was always at prayer whenever possible. Every available moment was spent in the chapel.
He walked with God and lived every conscious moment in his nearer presence. At times he hardly seemed to notice the ordinary world around him. He was in constant union with his Maker and cared little for the material things of life. One old lady who lived near Clongowes managed to penetrate the secret of his extraordinary holiness: “Fr. Sullivan is very hard on himself – but he is never hard on others”. He ate the plainest of food and lived a life of severe penance. He left everything in order to follow the call of his Lord and Master and he found the riches of a different order. What a contrast with the rich young man of his earlier years!
Fr John Sullivan died in the old St. Vincent’s Nursing Home in Leeson Street, a short distance from the Sullivan family home on 19 February 1933. Since that time, he has been revered by many as a saint. During his lifetime many flocked to him in times of trouble and anxiety, confident of the power of his prayers – and that confidence continues. He is still loved and remembered.
Declared:
Servant of God in September 1960; Venerable November 2014; Beatified 13 May 2017

https://www.jesuit.ie/blog/gavin-t-murphy/blessedly-funny/

Blessedly funny
Blessed Elect John Sullivan once asked a student what the ladies were like in his Latin class, to which the student replied ‘Rather plain.’ A gleam of amusement came into Father John’s eyes as he exclaimed: “In God’s name, there, I didn’t mean that. What are they like in Latin?”
It is in this light that I look into the personality of probably the holiest Irish Jesuit in tangible memory (1861-1933). So much of our lives are influenced by early days. John came from a blessed childhood in a happy, loving home. He had three brothers and one sister to play with as he grew up in Dublin and his parents invested in his education at Portora Royal School in County Fermanagh.
John won the college gold medal in Classics at Trinity College Dublin and later pursued law. Through a long, slow process of conversion, John’s protestant viewpoint became a Catholic one, and he entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1900. A fellow-novice Mgr. John Morris stated, ‘Were it not for his sense of humour, he might have awed us, as all were conscious that he was very holy.’
He was fast-tracked to the priesthood and sent to Clongowes Wood College, the Jesuit boarding school in County Kildare. Schoolboy John Fitzgerald remembered him fondly: “Meeting you on a stone corridor on a bleak cold winter’s evening he would clap those hands and say, ‘Cheer up, cheer up’. Yes, we loved Father John, or Father Johnny O as we used to call him.”
Moreover, Father Sullivan expressed himself through his physical appearance. “His boots were mended and mended again and again until they became a joke, but when people tried to get him a new pair he would have none of it.” For someone who was once dubbed the best dressed man in Dublin, his old friends and family must have been stirred by this drastic change, in line with the ruggedness of St. Francis of Assisi, one of his favourite saints.
Father John was not dependent on external conditions to make him happy. He beamed with the inner joy of faith and tried to guide others along their paths. He once recounted to a fellow-Jesuit, with an appreciative smile, his efforts to get an old man to take the pledge. “Ah Father,” was the reply, “you never saw a jolly party round a pump.”
I am inspired to follow in Father John’s footsteps; it is delightful to see how his wit was compatible with his holiness. Like him, I pledge to embrace the cheerfulness of our Church.

◆ Irish Jesuit Missions : https://www.jesuit.ie/news/fr-sullivan-the-last-witness/

Fr Sullivan: the last witness
Fr John Fitzgerald SJ, the last surviving Jesuit to have been taught in Clongowes by Fr John Sullivan, shared some precious memories at the commemorative Mass :

The bones of Fr John Sullivan are your precious possession. They draw his clients from near and far. If John is beatified, St Francis Xavier’s will be a place of pilgrimage like St Thomas a’Becket is at Canterbury, Blessed Pope John XXIII at St Peter’s, Bl. Mother Teresa at Calcutta, and as Cardinal Newman will be at the Oratory in Birmingham. The people in a quiet corner of County Kildare still keep such fond memories of John. They were greatly saddened when his bones were taken away from them for Gardiner Street in 1961. It is a sad separation they will always feel. In fact his grave has been visited ever since.
The relocation of Father’s bones is as good for his cause as it is for you who give them this new home. You have always by your devotion shown how grateful you are to have him. You bring him day by day the stories of your needs – they are always pressing and often sad. John listens – he was always a ready and eager listener to others’ worries.
Coming to St Francis Xavier’s was in a sense a homecoming. John had been baptised in Temple Street (St George’s), and Dublin was his home until he joined the Jesuits. During the years in Clongowes, the City’s hospitals, the Mater included, were within range of his trusty old bicycle.
Sometimes people have asked me what was he really like. Some have a nagging impression that he must have been an ascendancy type, as his father was a baronet and he had passed through Portora Royal School to Trinity College. My own memory of him – clear and vivid – is of a humble, entirely self-effacing person, riveted on the one thing necessary, the commandment of love. He was completely focussed on the needs of others, particularly of the poor and suffering. For him the face of the Lord was there. Gardiner Street would have been an ideal assignment with so much sickness, suffering and poverty all around in the hungry years between the wars.
Clongowes in its rural isolation does not seem an ideal place for one so drawn to the poor and suffering. I knew John in the last three years of his life – my memories are boy’s memories – a child’s impressions – but still so vivid. His appearance so well captured in Sean Keating’s drawing – the sunken cheeks, the fine crop of brown hair, the bowed head, the penetrating eyes – a true man of God. I remember his wrinkled leathery hands. Meeting you on a stone corridor on a bleak cold winter’s evening he would clap those hands and say “Cheer up, cheer up, cheer up”. He well knew the mood of small boys – short of funds, nursing chilblains and facing into two hours’ study. I have a memory of Johnny O shuffling quickly from the sacristy, head bowed, halting at the altar rails – a welcome interruption to the evening rosary. Always he would describe a visit he had made to some sick or dying person. He was no gifted story-teller, no gifted preacher. There were no embellishments; sincerity shone through, telling of his complete devotion to the sick and needy.
John was occupied with the People’s Church and the boys’ spiritual needs with very little teaching. He took the smallest ones for Religion classes. Often we delighted to annoy him by rowdiness and irreverence. This drew the condemnation we intended: “Audacious fellow – pugnacious fellow!” Deep down we revered him, but we played on him.
If some day you visit the Boys’ Chapel, you see at the back on your left Fr John’s Confessional. The “toughs” – the ones never selected as prefects and who won no prizes – were most often there. The smaller boys would crowd into his very bare room after supper. We would come away with rosaries and Agnus Deis which John got from convents he knew. The People’s Church is the easiest place for a visitor to find. There is where John spent long hours and helped so many in times of trial. There he prayed long after the boys were tucked in bed.
Father John was our Spiritual Father. His life and interests revolved round the boys’ spiritual needs. He took no part and had no interest in our games – never appeared at matches, debates, concerts or plays. Free time meant time for prayer or the sick. No use asking Johnny O to pray for victory at Croke Park today, but he will listen to your sorrows, he will pray for your sick and departed ones.
The day of Fr John’s funeral in 1933 comes back clearly. I was in the youngest group and so was up front in the Chapel, and near the coffin. I tried without success to cut off a splinter – as a keepsake, a relic. We had been privileged to know Fr John for three years. Not everyone is so blessed – perhaps only a few have been close to saintliness in one who so well mirrored the Lord Jesus, the Suffering Servant. It is a joy to be here in St Francis Xavier’s and to share your treasure – the Venerable John Sullivan.

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 8th Year No 2 1933

Obituary :

Fr John Sullivan

Needless to say the entire Irish Province keenly feels the loss of one of its holiest and most esteemed members, Father John Sullivan. He died at St; Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, Sunday, 19th February, 1933.
The Father Rector of Clongowes has very kindly sent us the following appreciation, written by Father Mulcahy :
It was in Clongowes that Father John spent twenty of the thirty-three years of his religious life. Thirty-three years in the Society is a comparatively short time. but these years were so full that one must truly say that Father Sullivan explevit tempera multa. The impression left on us all is that he has left a blank that bewilders us with its greatness. One does not feel that he is gone from us. One half expects to and him going about his multitudinous spiritual activities as usual. Death, especially in a college full of young life, is usually associated with an uncanny feeling , but, for us in Clongowes for the boys as well as for the community the effect of his death is rather one of triumph, of pride in having possessed such a man of God, of still possessing him but with greater power to help, with a wider sympathy for our weaknesses and our needs, with a truer interest in us in those things that matter.
Last evening two Lower Liners were talking to me about him and the remark came quite simply from one of them, a very ordinary lad in a low class, “Sir, is it not a great thing to be able to say .that you were taught by a saint?, and the funny thing is that we knew it even when we ragged him a bit.” And the other chimed in in the patois of the Line. “Sir, you never hear of a man they knew was a saint while he was dodging about”.
Born in Dublin, 8th May, 1861, the third son of the late Sir Edward Sullivan, Bart., formerly Master of the Rolls and Lord Chancellor of Ireland. he was educated at Portora School. In the Clongowes Museum are three large silver medals won there:; for English Literature in 1877, the Steele Memorial Prize, July, 1879 and another Midsummer 1879 " In Classics." . He graduated at T,C.D., where he won several medals. We. have one 1883, “Literis Humanioribus feliciter excultis. His classical attainments were of a very high order and not of the dry-as-dust kind, for he made several walking tours in Greece, Macedonia and Asia Minor to trace out in stone and dust the lore he loved.
1898 saw him received into the Church and on September 7th, 1900, we find him in Tullabeg. He did Philosophy at Stonyhurst, 1902-04 , Theology at Milltown Park, 1904-07. The rest of his life he spent in Clongowes, except 1913-14 when he was in the Tertianship at Tullabeg, and 1919-24 when he was Rector of Rathfarnham Castle - twenty years of unceasing care for the souls of the boys in the college, which care did not stop when they had left for the bigger world of life. A large sheaf of telegrams and letters received by the Rector expressing sympathy on the news of his death shows how this care was appreciated.
In charge of the public church attached to the college, he came into touch With an ever-growing circle of the faithful. His life, already more than fully occupied, was invaded by those who came long distances to ask his advice, to avail of his ministrations as Confessor, to ask for his blessing on the sick and, as they insisted, to hope for a cure even of cases despaired of by doctors. The poor and the sick and above all the dying were, one is hardly afraid to say, his “joy”. The reverence in which he was held and the confidence in him was shown very simply the morning of his funeral. Father Rector had said Mass at 9 o'clock in the public church, the old boys' chapel. When the Mass was over the congregation moved up quietly to the coffin and all, many kneeling, blessed the coffin repeatedly, placing on it objects of piety, rosaries, crosses prayer-books, etc, Later when the grave, was filled in and bishop and priests and boys had moved away, the people who felt that now his power was greater than ever, came to carry to their homes some of the earth that covered him. “O Grave, where is thy victory”.
So our loss to the eye is a gain to our faith.
"One example, out of many that might be given, of the power of his prayers may be cited : A man was dying in a neighbouring town. He had refused to see a priest though urged to do so by the nurse who was nursing him and by the doctor. Word was sent to Father Sullivan to come to see him. Father Sullivan, however, was not able to go, but sent word that he would say Mass for him at 9 o'clock the following morning. At 9.30 on that morning the man of his own accord asked for a priest and was prepared for death which took place on that day.
Father Sullivan's last illness was very brief. On Monday, 6th February, the doctor ordered him to the infirmary, as, amongst other things, one of his arms was showing nasty signs.
This did not appear to be serious and the arm was practically healed on Thursday the 16th when he was allowed up. He said that he had not felt better for fifty years. About 11am on Friday he complained of very severe pains. The doctor was sent for immediately, and as he was not satisfied sent for a surgeon who declared that an immediate operation was necessary. At 3 p.m Father Sullivan was removed in ambulance to Dublin, and was operated on about 5 pm. This revealed a very serious state of affairs, and the doctors could
hold out no hope of recovery. Father Sullivan lingered on until Sunday night, and died at 10.55. He had been conscious all Friday and Saturday, and had received Holy Communion
on each day. When asked how he felt his invariable answer was “' Wonderfully well, thank God”. After the operation he suffered very little pain.
Father G. Roche has been good enough to send the following extract from a letter :
Although never having met him, I know him well through the boys. I think the way they expressed themselves in their weekly letters home plainly tells what they thought of him. “Father Sullivan (we call him the Saint, Mum) is dying, you will be sorry to hear. By the time this letter arrives he will probably be in heaven. A strange coincidence, the night, Sunday and Monday, Jim (an elder brother who has left school) could not sleep thinking of Father Sullivan and his devotion to the Sodality, and he told me that he felt he must keep on repeating whatever prayers were usual, seeing all the time Father Sullivan. He was shocked when a friend passed him on a paper yesterday and asked : Did you know him?”
Father Roche adds : " Father Sullivan died at 11pm on Sunday, the very night that Jim saw him. A great many requests for relics have come to us.

Irish Province News 23rd Year No 1 1948

The Tribunal for the Informative Process in Fr. John Sullivan's Cause was set up by Dr. McQuaid, Archbishop of Dublin, on the 24th October, 1947. The first Session was held at Archbishop's House on 30th October ; subsequent Meetings will take place at the Presbytery, Upper Gardiner Street. Fr. Charles O'Conor is Vicepostulator. The following letter was addressed to the Province by Rev. Fr. Provincial on the occasion of the setting up of the Tribunal :

28th October, 1947 :
Reverend and dear Fr. Rector,
PX. In a letter dated 24th October, 1947, His Grace the Archbishop of Dublin, writes :
“I have great pleasure in informing you that I have this day instituted the Tribunal for the Ordinary Informative Process in the Cause of the Beatification and Canonization of the Servant of God, John Sullivan, Priest of your Society”.
The first session of the Tribunal, appointed by His Grace, will take place at Archbishop's House next Thursday at 12 noon. It is the first stage in a very long process which we hope and pray may one day have its happy issue in one of our own Province being raised to the honours of the Altar. I commend the Cause, now about to be opened, to the prayers of all ; and I ask each priest to say a Mass (first intention) and those who are not priests to offer Mass, Holy Communion and the Beads once for the success of the Informative Process which begins on Thursday.
May God, who glorifies those who glorify Him, be ever increasingly honoured in the honours given to His servant ; may Ours be more powerfully and effectively incited to strive for that sanctity proper to the Society by considering this new and contemporary example of virtue ; may our Province in its present necessities have in Father John Sullivan a powerful intercessor with God.
Commending myself to Your Reverence's holy Sacrifices and prayers.
I remain,
Yours Sincerely in Xto.,
THOMAS BYRNE, S.J.

Irish Province News 24th Year No 1 1949

On 6th November Fr. Daniel O'Connell, of the Viceprovince, who during his stay in Ireland gave evidence in Fr. Sullivan's cause, left Southampton for U.S.A. on 6th November.

Irish Province News 27th Year No 1 1952

FR. JOHN SULLIVAN'S CAUSE :
As the result of close upon seven years of fairly constant work, official registration of evidence in the two preliminary processes De Fama Sanctitatis et de non-cultu, in connection with Fr. Sullivan's Cause, has now been completed. These processes provide the evidence that must enable the Congregation of Rites to determine whether the matter of the Cause is one deserving of the official sanction of the Church or not.
In all something over fifty witnesses have been examined: roughly about two thirds of whom were from the Province—the rest externs. Except for certain inaugural meetings of the Ecclesiastical Court at which his Grace had to preside (which were held at Archbishop's House) all but one of the meetings for registration of evidence have been held at Gardiner St.
At an early date in the proceedings Fr. Curtin who was acting Notary of the Court was replaced by Fr. Michael Brown, Archbishop's House, and somewhat later the first President of the Court, the late Archdeacon MacMahon, took ill and died. Very Rev. Canon Neary, already a member of the Court, was appointed new President and Dr. O’Halloran of City Quay was added to complete the requisite number of judges. Mgr. Dargan and Fr. Barry of High Street have been all the time attached to the Court. At all times the members of the Court have showed great interest in the Cause and have manifested a graciousness and generosity that has been most striking. They have had more than a hundred sessions involving their presence at Gardiner St. from 11 a.m. till about 4 p.m.
The next stage in the proceedings is to have all the evidence transcribed and collated with the original record after which al will be ready for transmission to Rome.
Great help has been given by many in the Province by the distribution of leaflets and relic cards. A considerable number of records of favours of most varied kinds has also been accumulated. From letters received it is clear too that a great many Masses and prayers are being constantly offered for the success of the Cause.

Irish Province News 28th Year No 2 1953

A further stage in the Cause of Beatification and Canonisation of Fr. John Sullivan was reached in the New Year : edicts concerning his Writings were simultaneously issued by the Archbishop of Dublin and by the Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin in their respective dioceses.

The following is the text of Dr. McQuaid's edict :

To the Clergy and the Faithful of the Diocese of Dublin.
In accordance with the Instructions of the Holy See, which requires that writings (if any) attributed to Servants of God whose Causes of Beatification and Canonization are being canonically investigated should be collected and examined we hereby command the Clergy and Faithful of this City and Diocese who possess any writings of the Servant of God, Father John Sullivan, S.J., such as sermons, letters, diaries, autobiographies, whether written by him in his own hand or by others at his dictation, to present themselves within the space of one month from this date at Archbishop's House, Dublin, for the purpose of handing over such writings or properly authenticated copies thereof. Any person knowing that writings of the above-mentioned Servant of God are held by others is bound to communicate his information to Archbishop's House, Dublin.

John Charles,

Archbishop of Dublin,
Primate of Ireland. Given at Dublin, this 1st day of January, 1953.

Irish Province News 35th Year No 4 1960

The final session of the Ordinary or Informative Process in the Cause of Beatification of the Servant of God, Father John Sullivan, S.J., was held at Archbishop's House, Dublin, on 4th July. His Grace the Arch bishop, Index Ordinarius in the Process, presided.
In the lengthy final session, the Acta were read and signed by all present, after they had been formally authenticated by the Archbishop. The evidence of the sanctity and heroicity of virtue of Father John Sullivan, evidence in regard to his writings and non cultus, which had been collected during the course of the Process and transcribed into ten bound volumes, was placed in a specially-made oak container, sealed in eight places, inside and outside, by His Grace in the presence of the Delegate Judge, the Assistant Judges and the Officials of the Process. Six additional seals were then set on the container and it was entrusted, together with a sealed letter of His Grace, to the Vice-Postulator of the Cause, Very Reverend Fr. Charles O'Conor, S.J., Provincial, for personal transmission to the Sacred Congregation of Rites in Rome.
This evidence will be examined by the Sacred Congregation of Rites, which will then decide in regard to the holding of a further Process, known as the Apostolic Process, in the Cause.
The authentic copies of all the original documents in the case were then sealed by His Grace the Archbishop and placed in the Archives at Arch bishop's House, until such time as the Holy See may direct that they be reopened.
The case containing the evidence was brought to Rome in August by Mr. Seán Ó hÉideáin, Secretary at the Irish Embassy to the Holy See. It was given diplomatic coverage through the courtesy of the Department of External Affairs.

Irish Province News 36th Year No 1 1961

EXHUMATION AND TRANSFERENCE OF REMAINS OF FR. JOHN SULLIVAN
The exhumation of the remains of the Servant of God, Fr. John Sullivan, S.J., and their transference to St. Francis Xavier's Church, Upper Gardiner St., Dublin, took place on 27th-29th September. This step was taken by the Vice-Postulator of the Cause of Fr. Sullivan, Very Rev. Fr. Provincial, on the advice of Fr. Paul Molinari, the Postulator, and with the approval of Very Rev. Fr. General and the Ordinaries of the archdiocese of Dublin and the diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, and the permission of the respective public authorities.
The proceedings at Clongowes were presided over by Right Rev. Mgr. James J. Conway, P.P., V.G., appointed Judex Delegatus by His Lordship the Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, assisted by Right Rev. William Miller, P.P., V.G., Promotor Fidei. His Grace the Archbishop of Dublin was represented by Rev. Michael Browne, D.D., Notarius. Witnesses to the identity of the grave were Fr. P. Kenny, S.J. (who was Minister of Clongowes at the time of the burial in 1933) and two employees of Clongowes, John Cribben and Frank Smyth. Fr. Molinari, the Postulator, who had come from Rome, remained until a late stage in the exhumation; Fr. Provincial, Fr. B. Barry, Fr. Socius, and Fr. H. Lawton Rector of Clongowes, were present throughout. The doctors charged with the examination of the remains were Dr. Edward T. Freeman, Dublin, and Dr. George O'Reilly, Kilcock, Dr. Brendan O'Donnell, Medical Officer, Co. Kildare, Mr. Joseph Reynolds, Inspector, Public Health Department, Naas, and Mr. Patrick Coen, Chief Health Inspector, Dublin Corporation, represented the public authorities. The actual exhumation was carried out by two gravediggers from Glasnevin Cemetery, under the direction of Mr. John Doyle, Superintendent. Half-a-dozen members of the Garda Siochana, under the direction of Chief Superintendent O'Driscoll, Naas, were on duty to secure complete privacy for the proceedings.
At 10 a.m, on 27th September, the clergy, witnesses to the identity of the grave and gravediggers assembled in the Castle, and took the required oath not to remove anything from the coffin or to place anything in it which might be regarded as a relic. At the graveside all present were warned by the Notarius that the same obligation applied to them under pain of excommunication reserved to the Holy See. The exhumation commenced at 10.30 a.m. The day was fortunately fine, though very cold. At a few minutes before twelve, when the excavation had reached a depth of about four feet six inches, the breastplate of the coffin was found, and just as the Angelus was ringing, the outline of the coffin became visible. It was apparent that the headstone and cross had not been placed exactly over the coffin, so that what now appeared was one side of the coffin, This necessitated further excavation to remove the earth from the other side. It was also apparent that the lid of the coffin had decayed. From now on, the excavation was very slow, trowels only being used for fear of damage to the remains. About an hour later, the feet of the remains were uncovered, the boots being intact, Finally, when the grave had been considerably widened and as much as possible of the earth removed, it was found that the sides and bottom of the coffin were intact, and that thus it could be raised completely from the grave. This was accomplished at 5.40, and the coffin was placed in the hearse - again just as the Angelus was ringing and brought in procession to the People's Church and thence to the adjoining classroom. The two doctors worked from 7.30 to 10.30 p.m, preparing the remains for re-burial. These were laid out on a pallett covered with white silk and then transferred to the inner oak coffin, into which was put a copper cylinder containing the authentication signed by various witnesses, clerical and lay. The leaden coffin surrounding the inner coffin was then closed and soldered and sealed in two places with the seal of the Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin. During this process, Dr. Freeman dictated to the Notarius a full account of the exhumation and the medical findings. Finally, at 1 a.m. the leaden coffin was placed in the outer oak coffin, which was transferred to a catafalque in the People's Church.
Next morning, Fr. Rector celebrated Mass in the presence of the remains, the church being filled with the senior boys and many of the faithful. Immediately after Mass, pilgrims from the surrounding country side and even from distant areas began to arrive in large numbers and continued all day. At 7 p.m. a queue of over a hundred was waiting outside to secure admittance to the church. At 9.30 p.m. the coffin was transferred to the Boys' Chapel. The following morning, 29th September, the stream of pilgrims began again. Their devotion on both days was most edifying, evidencing itself by their kissing the coffin and touching it with beads, prayer-books and other objects of devotion.
At 2 p.m. the Absolution was pronounced by Fr. Rector in the presence of the Community and boys. The funeral procession then proceeded up the avenue, preceded by the entire school and followed by a large crowd of the faithful and some fifty cars. At the front gate, the boys lined each side of the avenue. The procession then proceeded to Dublin. At almost every house and crossroad groups of people had gathered, and knelt as the hearse passed. At Clane and Celbridge, schoolchildren lined the route. At Lucan, two Garda patrol cars joined the procession, going in front to secure an uninterrupted passage. On arrival at the city, a Garda motor cyclist gave warning to the Gardai on duty on the quays, who stopped traffic from the side streets. As a result of this careful organisation, spontaneously arranged by the Garda authorities, the procession reached Gardiner Street punctually at a few minutes to 4 p.m.
It was received on the steps of the church by Most Rev. Dr. McQuaid, Archbishop of Dublin. With him were the Bishop of Nara, Most Rev. Dr. Dunne, the Archbishop of Malacca, Singapore, Most Rev. Dr. Olcomendy (who was visiting Dublin), Right Rev. Mgr. Boylan, Right Rev. Mgr. O'Reilly, Right Rev. Mgr. Glennon, Right Rev. Mgr. Deery and Right Rev. Mgr. O'Regan. The members of the Province paid a most worthy tribute to the saintly memory of Fr. Sullivan, some 250 of them being present. Though no publicity had been given to the proceedings, the church was crowded, Much credit is due to Fr. M. Meade, Superior, Fr. D. Mulcahy, Minister, and Fr. J. McAvoy, who acted as marshal, that the ceremony was conducted so smoothly and with such dignity. After the Absolution, the remains were brought to the vault which had been specially built, adjoining the Sacred Heart chapel. The vault was blessed by His Grace the Archbishop, who was assisted by Very Rev. Canon O'Donnell and Very Rev. M. Canon Boylan. The coffin was then deposited on two pillars of limestone, the ornamental grille was closed, and the ceremony concluded with the singing of the Benedictus by the Milltown Park choir. That evening, there was an uninterrupted stream of pilgrims to the vault, and the indications since then are that it has been accepted by the people of Dublin as one of their recognised places of pilgrimage.

The Roman Documents Referring to the Cause of Fr. Sullivan
956—1/960
DUBLINEN.
Beatificationis et Canonizationis
Servi Dei IOANNIS SULLIVAN, Sacerdotis Professi Societatis Iesu.
Instante Rev-mo P. Paulus Molinari, Generalis Postulator Societatis Iesu, Sacra Rituum Congregatio, vigore facultatum sibi a Ss-mo Domino nostro IOANNE PAPA XXTII tributarum, benigne indulget ut processus ordinarius informativus super fama sanctitas, vitae, virtutem et miraculorum in genere Servi Dei Ioannis Sullivan, Sacerdotis professi eiusdem Societatis Iesu, clausus sigillisque munitus in Actis eiusdem Sacrae Rituum Congregationis asservatus, aperire valeat : servatis omnibus de iure, stylo et consuetudine servandis.Contrariis non obstantibus quibuslibet.
Die 16 Septembris 1960.
+C. CARD. CICOGNANI,
S.R.C. Praef.

Prot. 956-2/960
DUBLINEN.
Beatificationis et Canonizationis
Servi Dei IOANNIS SULLIVAN, Sacerdotis Professi Societatis Iesu.
Clausus sigillisque munitus invenitur in Actis Sacrae Rituum Con gregationis processus ordinaria potestate in Curia Dublinensi instructus super CULTU NUNQUAM PRAESTITO Servo Dei Joanni Sullivan, Sacerdoti professo Societatis Jesu. Hinc Rev-mus P. Paulus Molinari, Postulator Generalis eiusdem Societatis, a Sanctitate sua humiliter postulavit ut dicti processus aperitionem indulgere benigne dignaretur. Sacro porro eadem Rituum Congregatio, utendo facultatibus sibi ab Ipso Ss-mo Domino nostro JOANNE PAPA XXIII tributis, benigne annuit pro gratia juxta preces: servatis omnibus de jure, stylo et con suetudine servandis.
Contrariis non obstantibus quibuslibet.
Die 16 Septembris 1960.
+C. CARD. CICOGNANI,
S.R.C. Praef.

956-2/960
DUBLINEN.
Beatificationis et Canonizationis
Servi Dei IOANNIS SULLIVAN, Sacerdotis Professi Societatis Iesu.
Rev-mus P. Paulus Molinari, Generalis Postulator Societatis Iesu, ad pedes Sanctitatis Suae provolutus, humiliter postulavit ut processus ordinaria auctoritate in Curia Dublinensi constructus super scriptis Servi Dei Ioannis Sullivan, Sacerdotis professi eiusdem Societatis, et in Actis eiusdem Sacrae Rituum Congregationis, clausus sigillisque munitus, asservatus, rite aperiatur. Sacra porro eadem Rituum Congregatio, vigore facultatum sibi a Ss-mo Domino nostro IOANNE PAPA XXTII tributarum, attentis expositis, benigne annuit pro gratia iusta preces: servatis omnibus de iure, stylo et consuetudine servandis,
Contrariis non obstantibus quibuslibet.
Die 16 Septembris 1960.
+C. CARD. CICOGNANI,
S.R.C. Praef.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father John Sullivan SJ 1861-1933
In Eccles Street Dublin, on May 8th 1861, John Sullivan, of Sir Edward Sullivan, Bart. later Attorney-General, Master of the Rolls and finally Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Sir Edward was a Protestant, his wife was a Catholic, and as was common in those days their daughter Annie, the eldest of the family was baptised and reared a Catholic, and the boys as Protestants. So, John Sullivan was baptised into the Protestant Faith in St George’s Church, Temple Street. John was sent to Royal Portora School in 1873 where he remained for six years.

In 1879 he won a classical scholarship to Trinity College, did his law degree at Lincoln’s Inn, London and was called to the English bar in 1888. The followed a period during which he travelled extensively on the Continent. In 1889 he was received into the Catholic Church by Fr Michael Gavin SJ, at Farm Street, London. Three years later he entered our noviceship at Tullabeg, and was ordained at Milltown Park by Archbishop Walsh in 1907.

He spent almost all his life at Clongowes, with an interval as Rector of Rathfarnham, 1919 to 1924. Being in charge of the People’s Church, he devoted himself with intense zeal to the sick and the dying, and acquired a reputation for extraordinary sanctity and the working of miracles.

He died on February 19th 1933, and almost immediately there sprang up, on the part of the people a spontaneous cultus to him. The initial step in his cause for canonisation was taken up in 1947 with the setting up of the Judicial Informative Process. The final step in Ireland was taken in July 1960 when the evidence as to his heroic sanctity was forwarded to Rome in bound volumes.

Meantime it was decided to translate his body from the cemetery in Clongowes to Gardiner Street. On Tuesday September 27th, the body was exhumed in the presence of official witnesses. It was not found incorrupt. On September 29th, encased in a set of coffins, the body was solemnly conveyed to Dublin, and placed in a beautiful new tomb visible to the public. There it lies awaiting the verdict of the Church, the object of veneration daily of hundreds of visitors.

MEMORIES OF FATHER JOHN SULLIVAN

Bob Thompson took an interesting initiative in writing to the senior members of the Province who knew our Servant of God - whether as boys in Clongowes Wood or as fellow members of a Jesuit Community. Here are the ten replies received.

My acquaintance with Fr John Sullivan is limited to the retreat he conducted for my vows for September 2nd, 1930. Emo was only three weeks old when we started that retreat. An Ambulacrum served as a Chapel, but Fr Sullivan spoke to us in the Conference Room. There was an aisle between two rows of tables with a dais in front of one row. Fr Sullivan always came into the room with a quick lively sort of run, and would drop on his two knees on the floor, not the raised edge of the dais.

When he spoke, all the while he held a crucifix in one hand, and stroked his dark greying hair with the other. He seemed to find all he wanted to say on the crucifix.

Three things I remember about that retreat. First, it was a marked contrast to the one I heard the previous year from Fr Michael Browne. Fr Browne was austere, severe and for me awesome . Fr Sullivan seemed to spread around him a warmth and a kindliness.

The second thing is a letter he read to us. He introduced it by saying: “These are not my thoughts, but they are the thoughts of an elderly priest in the Province and I give them for what they are worth”. The letter went something like this:

You are going to give the novices their retreat. Would you please impress on them the importance of the virtue of Charity. I'm an old man in the Province now and I can honestly say that I have experienced very little Charity, but I have met with an awful lot of diplomacy...

The third thing that remains with me is that while he made no effort at eloquence, and often cut short descriptions with an "and all that", he could still be very graphic. I can still see and hear his account of Peter's reaction to John's “It is the Lord” - “SPLASH” and Peter is in the water".

During that retreat I was anything but filled with consolation. I can still remember a glow of happiness when I made my confession to Fr John. I can't recall what I said, or what he said, but I can't forget the joy and peace I felt leaving his room.

One other memory of those days: Fr Lol Kearns - go meadai Dia a ghlóir - made that retreat too. He used to tell this story against himself. He knew Fr John had the reputation of being a saint, and he wanted to be able to say that he had visited the saint in his room, so he concocted a difficulty.

“Father in my class in Mungret I could name eight boys who would have been better suited to be Jesuits than I am. I ask myself why did God call me, rather than one of them?”

“Ah now! Carry on! Carry on! and thank God for his bad taste”.

-oOo-

Fr John Sullivan was Rector of Rathfarnham Castle during my first year there as a junior. One's first impression of him was quite frightening -- the gaunt face, the shabby clothes, greenish but scrupulously clean, the extreme austerity of his meals.

But in short time one became aware of something extra ordinarily attractive about him. It is difficult to put into words, but one came not merely to "make allowances" for him, or just to like him, but genuinely to love him. His one aim in life seemed to be to prevent anyone admiring him. In that he failed miserably.

One of the older Jesuits told me how, at a meeting of the Classical Society of UCD, which Johnny was persuaded to attend, the Juniors who were there were immensely impressed by the deference shown to Johnny by their Professors and several Dons from Trinity College. One got accustomed to being accosted in the avenue by some poor person who had come a long way “to see the priest who works miracles”.

Johnny had a puckish sense of humour which normally was kept strictly hidden. But on one occasion which I heard of it popped out. Paul O'Flanagan, who later became a splendid preacher, was doing Science, and tried by all means to avoid the chore of preaching in the refectory. However, on the last available day Paul was summoned by the Rector. One excuse after another were exposed in their feebleness by the stern Rector. Then Johnny said with what must have been a twinkle in his eye: “In God's name there, aren't you in charge of the seismograph?” “Yes, Father”, said Paul. “Well, wouldn't it be a terrible thing if there was an earthquake and there was nobody there to attend to it? You had better not preach”.

I remember very vividly the satisfaction with which Johnny read out in the Refectory the announcement of the appointment of Fr John Keane as his successor as Rector. It was as if he was muttering to himself “that's one in the eye for you, John Sullivan”.

He was unforgettable. He was a Saint.

-oOo-

I was in Clongowes for two years only - 1931-1933 - as a Scholastic, and during those two years Fr John was resident there.

He was Spiritual Father in the community, and he gave the Customary Domestic exhortations in the Domestic Chapel. As a scholastic, I recollect that we were obliged to visit him from time to time and, if we failed in that duty, I recall that he would come to see us in our rooms and talk to us about any matter that we might like to discuss with him. He was always helpful, kind and friendly.

One small matter concerning him remains vividly in my memory. During lunch-time break when we came to the refectory, he would gently ask us to sit down, and he would come around with the tea pot, pouring the tea for us, saying that we were hard at work and that he had nothing to do. While this caused me personally a little embarrassment it also filled me with admiration for his humility and fraternal charity.

We were aware that he regularly visited the poor, the sick and distressed people in the surrounding district and frequently one would see him moving fast - trotting really - down the avenue from the college in pursuit of that work. It was also well known, of course, that people came regularly to consult him and to seek his advice and direction in their troubles, worries and needs. I think I am also right in saying that during school hours (classes, recreation or otherwise) he was always available in a room in the college for pupils who might wish to visit or consult him.

There is nothing further which I feel that I could add of a personal nature concerning Fr John. Of course, all of us were well aware of his undoubted sanctity and his fully committed
Jesuit way of life.

-oOo-

Reams could be written about Fr John. I knew him and had him for my confessor - 1924-1926. Most patient and kind to all of us, especially his class. He had combined sixth year for RK, a most unruly lot and poor Fr John had no control, but we revered and loved him so he got us to learn something about our religion.

I entered the Noviceship from that class and persevered, Fr John's prayers!? One night during recreation I was in the library - Fr John had forgotten to pull down his blind. He was on his knees praying before a crucifix. I didn't read a word watching him - face transformed, immobile. A man devoted to God - all of us know that. May he be raised to the altar.

-oOo-

The only contact I had with Fr Sullivan was a retreat at Emo Park around 1935. Most of us found it rather dull and boring. It was obvious to all of us that he was a very saintly man. He spent very little time at meals, and piety seemed to 'ooze' from him.

He had a great devotion to Our Blessed Lady, and if you met him in the house, or grounds, he had his rosary beads in his hands.

I never lived in the same community, and so I cannot say much more about him.

-oOo-

A master was out ill. Two classes were put together (usually disastrous). Fr John was teaching them religion. He was going through St Luke's Gospel with great fervour but we were talking all the time - this almost entirely because of the mixture of classes. He would read on and comment as if he didn't notice, then he would stop: “Too much talk, too much talk, Jim E. down there you're not listening, not listening to St Luke the most beautiful book in the whole world, not listening there”. But sometimes when our ignorant and unmannerly talking almost drowned him he would get really angry and give out forcefully, mostly in the same words as above. Then he would perceptibly repent of his anger and end up with a joke and as good a smile as he could manage, always with the words: “Can't get a word in edgeways, trying hard, no hope, no hope”.

There had been snow for days and days. Everyone cooped up. no games. During “shop” one day Fr John came down and offered to take his classes - or perhaps the whole Higher Line - out for a walk. A good many came. We went out the front gate and did a circuit on the road. Many walked abreast with him. I forget what he was talking about. It might have been his travels in Greece. Perhaps half way around he struck for home across the snowy fields. Before us we saw a wide slobbery gap into the next field. Cattle had churned a large area of it into slush. Seeing it he repeated “C'mon, c'mon, c'mon” and started off in a wobbly run. I think his hands were up his sleeves. We all joined in and slushed through the muddy gap. We did the same in the next gap.

He was walking down the Higher Line Gallery, keeping close to the wall and very bowed. I saw his knee through a very loosely half-stitched vent in his trouser. Either the gown or the trouser had a green black shiny look.

I was in the infirmary in a room with two others. Fr John came in and knelt in turn at each bed to hear confession. He said a few encouraging words I think, but I don't remember.

He said the boys' Mass every day. Often he would stop on the way out - and I think sometimes on the way in - near the altar rail and speak rapidly with great sincerity and feeling. You didn't understand all he said, but he made an impact.

The windows of the old chemistry room faced across towards the study building, and faced the window of Fr John's room. One day a boy in the class called us over to the window; through the window of Fr John's room we could see him at his kneeler praying. We were not surprised.

His room was off the study stairs, the Higher Line dormitory opened on to the same stairs. On the way down the Mass in the morning the so-called “toughs” used to line up for confession.

-oOo-

As it was my privilege of living for sixteen years in the same community with Fr John, my most vivid recollections of him are his heroic practice of poverty in his personal life, and his utter dedication to all who were poor, to the sick and needy in a wide area around Clongowes. His names is held in awe to this very day by the relatives of all those people he had helped, both spiritually and physically, and indeed, by the many who never met him or had any connection with him. He is a living presence around Clongowes.

Though there are many accounts of Fr John's powers of healing, I am glad to recall Mrs. Tom Smyth's story to me about herself. Long before my time, she was an invalid, and not able to move around. When the family were out, they would close the door for safety sake. On a certain day there was a loud knock on the door. She didn't answer it. Then there was a second, and so she crawled up with the aid of a chair. When she opened it she recognised Fr John. He said he was looking for the invalid. “Can you help me? I am the invalid Father”. He told her to kneel down. It caused her intense suffering. He nearly drowned her with holy water and prayed over her (her own words). That is the limit of my knowledge. She was happily married to Tom Smyth when cured, and lived a long life.

She died only last year. When I was on retreat in Clongowes, I felt sad to think of other days when we played cards in the farm yard with Tom and his wife,

-oOo-

Although I have never lived with Fr John Sullivan as a member of the Jesuit Community at Clongowes, I did, in fact, live for five schools years, 1928-33, under the same roof as “Johnny-O”, as we boys affectionately called him among ourselves. Nor was I taught by him, save on rare occasions when one of our regular teachers being absent, Fr John might be sent to look after us'. I can only recall one such occasion, when he made his usual hurried entry into our noisy classroom and without ado knelt, with head bowed, to recite the “Hail Mary”, as was the custom among the Jesuit masters in my time. With eyes still downcast, but occasionally glancing at the class, he stood before us and put a question on Geography to the class in general. "Where is Bessarabia, there! Bessarabia, there?", Glancing hopefully from one side of the silent class to the other. As I recollect, only one boy gave a satisfactory answer. Father John went on to tell us of some of his personal experiences in the South-Eastern part of Europe, including his visits to the Orthodox Ministries in Greece.

To the query “did I know him?” my first inclination would be to say, “yes, of course, I knew him”. Didn't everyone at Clongowes know him, and know him for what he undoubtedly was, a very holy Jesuit priest, first and last! Didn't he offer Mass, Monday to Friday, in our presence at 7.30 in the morning? Didn't he often ask our prayers for some sick or dying person; for some old Clongownian or Jesuit what had died? Didn't we see him kneeling outside his Confessional, (the one nearest the entrance on the left-hand side) several nights of the week, as we boys came out of supper? Didn't we know that on Saturday nights, the ‘hardened sinners’ amongst us found refuge in his ‘box’!!. Didn't we hear, day in, day out, from Jesuit Brothers, Scholastics and Priests how great was the demand for his help, not only by local people in trouble or in sickness, but from people far off? And more to the point, didn't we see or meet with him as he made his way, hurriedly to be sure, thro' the chattering throng of boys on the old Lower Line Gallery or elsewhere, talking now to one, now to the other?

I recall quite clearly two such occasions when he spoke to me in the midst of the 'madding crowd'. The first was on the noisy Third Line Gallery. I turned around to find him standing behind me with head slightly bowed, and his left hand brushing back the hair off his forehead - (this was a characteristic gesture). “What's your name, boy?” he asked. I told him. “I know your brothers”, was his reply. He then said, “Are you a Pioneer?”, and before I could answer “No, Father”, he said; “You know, you ought to be, for the love of God”. “Yes, Father”, I said. “Be in the Sacristy before Supper”, he replied and was gone. So I became a “probationer” (at the age of 14) on that day and a Pioneer two years later. It didn't cost me anything then or later, thank God, although it was much later that I came to appreciate the graces which flowed from this 'chance' meeting with a holy priest.

The second such meeting was equally unexpected and abrupt. It happened in October 1932, a few months before his death, on February 19th, 1933. He appeared from nowhere in the middle of a crowd of higher-liners and this time with the ghost of a smile on his rugged face, eyes lowered and hands half-clapping. Without any introduction, he kept repeating. “The word is VISCERA, VISCERA, VISCERA, not VISCERIA, VISCERIA. A common word there”. I was nimble in mind in those days and I knew almost immediately that he was correcting my pronunciation of a word - I'm sure there were many others - which occurred in the “Evening Office of the Dead” which the members of the Sodality of Our Lady used recite at their Saturday night meetings in the Sodality Chapel in the Castle. “Thank you, Father”, I muttered, and he ended the interview as he had begun it; “Yes, VISCERA, a very common word, there”. He was off again.

I might underline here a fact about Fr John's spirituality which made a deep and lasting impression upon me. It was his devotion to the Holy Souls. As this is a very Catholic devotion, he must have learned it, either from his mother or after his conversion, when his reading would have opened up the wonderful possibility of his being able to keep his dead relatives and friends for whom, up to this, he was not accustomed to pray. Whenever, or however he came across this practice, he made it part and parcel of his daily prayer life. In his week-day Masses and in his Sodality Masses on Saturdays, we boys were asked to pray for some person recently deceased. On rare occasions, too, we were asked to pray for some “poor man or woman dying in great pain”. The Holy Souls were for him the poorest of the poor because tho' they were in need, they could neither help themselves nor beg for help from the living! The doctrine of the Communion of Saints was one that appealed to him. For Christ's words were as true of them as any of the living: “As often as you do it to one of these, my least brethren, you do it for me”. Father John was ever on the “look-out for Christ in need”.

There was a third meeting which comes to my mind. My two brothers and myself had got permission to go to Dublin on a Playday in Autumn 1931. We had to rise early to catch a Provincial Bus that passed thro' Clane about 7.45 am on its way to the City. As we made our way we came to the straight part of the road which ends at the “Jolly Farmers”, we saw Father John jogging towards us. He evidently had been out on a nearby sick-call or bringing Holy Communion to some regular client and was returning “at speed” lest he be late for the Boys Mass at 8.00 am. He slowed down as he passed saying “God Bless you have a good day there” and was gone. I mention this passing encounter to record what I and the boys of my time frequently witnessed, namely his jogging along the avenue or around the Higher-Line track in the early morning. This, no doubt kept him fit; for physically fit he was, despite the austere life he freely lived so that he might be a minister of God after the example of Christ. Indeed, he had to keep fit, if he was to reach so many sick persons by walking or by riding his bicycle. Although I never saw him riding, I heard about it, some years before I went to Clongowes, from my mother. My eldest brother, John, took very ill at Clongowes on October, 1924. He was operated on in Dublin but given very little hope of recovery. Father John used to ride up from Clongowes in every kind of weather, spend half an hour praying over the dying boy. And then, off again back to Clongowes. After several days, when his life hung on a thread, my brother started to recover, and finally did so. My mother always maintained that her son's recovery was due to the prayers of Father John.

Stephenson, Patrick J, 1896-1990, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/547
  • Person
  • 16 March 1896-05 May 1990

Born: 16 March 1896, Dunkitt, County Kilkenny
Entered: 31 August 1914, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 26 August 1928, Fourvière, Lyon, France
Final Vows: 02 February 1931
Died: 05 May 1990, Caritas Christi Hospice, Kew - Australiae Province (ASL)

Part of the Xavier College, Kew, Melbourne, Australia community at the time of death

Patrick was a relative of William Stephenson - RIP 1980

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

Transcribed HIB to ASL : 05 April 1931

by 1923 in Australia - Regency
by 1927 at Paray-le-Monial, France (LUGD) studying
by 1929 at Lyon, France (LUGD) studying
by 1930 at Paray-le-Monial, France (LUGD) making Tertianship

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
Patrick Stephenson was educated at Clongowes College, Dublin, and entered the Society 31 August 1914. After philosophy studies at Milltown Park, 1918-21, he was sent to Xavier College for regency in 1921, returned to England and France for theology in 1925, and was ordained at Lyons in 1928. Tertianship followed immediately at Paray-Ie-Monial.
He returned to Xavier College in 1930, and remained there for the rest of his life, except for a year as headmaster of Kostka Hall. For a few years, 1933-34, he was minister at the senior school.
Stephenson is best known for his teaching of geography or 'topography', as his subject was irreverently called. Students started the rumor that he dropped the exam papers from just outside his room on the top floor above second division, and the first paper to hit the floor was awarded First place. He also taught religion and French at various times.
His sermonettes on the missions on first Fridays were memorable as was his love for St Vincent de Paul. He ran a monthly meeting of this Society for 60 years, encouraging members to visit the sick and the poor. In addition, he edited the college annual, “The Xavierian”, for 47 years, and recorded news of generations of Old Boys. This was particularly important during the Second World War, when he became the “postbox and scribe to the world”. He would write to Old Boys on active service and their families each evening (his daily letter writing average was twelve), bringing much comfort to the men. Many letters that he received from the war were included in “The Xavierian” for all to read.
Stephenson was a great affirmer of people. His memory was prodigious of whole families for many generations, and he kept a card index system with the names of every boy and his family He was particularly caring for families in trouble, and good at obtaining jobs for ex-students through his long list of contacts.
During school vacations he visited major towns, country or interstate, catching up with Old Xaverians. He never stayed long, suggesting that he should go home about 9 pm. He was always very proud of Old Xaverians who did well, especially those who became judges, lawyers and doctors.
He grew old buoyantly. At the age of 80 he moved from his room in the attic to a room on the ground floor near the infirmary. At the age of 92, when he could no longer look after himself or handle the stairs, he moved to Caritas Christi, the hospice for the elderly. The move gave him a new life, exercising his legs as best he could and ringing up Old Boys from Sister Wallbridge's office when she was otherwise engaged.
He was a small man, but had a large heart and was open to change. He accepted Vatican II and began to wear a tie instead of the clerical collar soon after the Council.
Stephenson was never a good teacher, but was a memorable educator. For his services to education he was awarded an Order of the British Empire by the Queen. He had extraordinary influence on generations of Old Xaverians. His gentle humanity and love of people more than compensated for his lack of academic achievements. He was good company and his stories always enlivened community recreation. His funeral, which packed St Patrick's Cathedral, was a moving tribute to his influence.
In 2016 Xavier College removed Stephenson's name from its sports centre. The rector wrote to the Xavier community that there were some complaints against Stephenson, and that “the Province does not believe that the complaints made against Stephenson have been substantiated, but nor has it dismissed the allegations as being wrong. It believed that, on the available evidence there is room for genuine misunderstanding as to his intentions, as is explicitly acknowledged by one complainant ..., and that in the light of the complexity and seriousness of the issue, we accept that it is appropriate to change the name' of the sports centre”.

Note from William Stephenson Entry
William was a relative of Patrick Stephenson of the Australian province, and entered the Society at Tullabeg in 1898.

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 23rd Year No 3 1948

Extracts from a letter from Fr. P. J. Stephenson, Xavier College, Kew, Melbourne :
“... We had brilliant results last year. Xavier boys won 28 1st Class Honours and 68 2nd Class Honours in the December Examinations, 1947. Besides that, they won Exhibitions in Greek, French and Physics ; and four General Exhibitions and 2 Free Places in the University. That was a fine record for a class of about 40 boys. Five Xavierians joined the Noviceship this year : four were boys just left school. An Old Xavierian took his LL.B. Degree and became a Dominican.
Fr. Mansfield has been kept going since his arrival. He will be a great addition to our staff as he can take over the Business Class and the Economic Class. Fr. Lawler came over from W.A. about three weeks ago and has taken up the duties of Socius to Fr. Provincial. Fr. Boylan and his assistant Editor of the Messenger leave for Ireland and Rome soon”.

St Leger, Robert, 1788-1856, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/36
  • Person
  • 08 February 1788-22 June 1856

Born: 08 February 1788,Waterford City, County Waterford
Entered: 07 September 1807, Hodder, Stonyhurst, England - Angliae Province (ANG)
Final Vows: 09 December 1821, Palermo, Sicily
Died: 22 June 1856, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin

Brother of John St Leger - RIP 1868, and a nephew of John St Leger RIP 1783

Superior of St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly: 7 July 1818-1831
First Vice-Provincial of Irish Vice-Province of the Society of Jesus: May 1830-1834; 1841-1850

in Clongowes 1817
in Tullabeg 1818/9
1st Vice Provincial 1830
by 1839 in Calcutta Mission

◆ ◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Nephew of John St Leger RIP 1783, and a brother of another John St Leger RIP 1868
1830 Vice-Provincial and again in 1841.
1834 Vicar Apostolic in Calcutta, India. (cf “Mission du Bengale” Fr H Josson SJ, 1924, pp 162-185)
He was remarkable for his gentleness of disposition, clearness of mind, and accurate knowledge of Theology, which he had studied and graduated DD at Palermo.

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Nephew of John St Leger RIP 1783
Early education in Humanities and Rhetoric at Stonyhurst before Ent.
One of a band that were sent to Sicily after First Vows, where he studied Philosophy and Theology for six years Graduating DD.
1815 Sent to Ireland and on the Waterford Mission for a while.
1817 Sent to Tullabeg to establish a Novitiate there, and to open a small school, which later became St Stanislaus College. For some years this house suffered from extreme poverty, and it was almost as though he could not appear for a time without being in danger of being arrested. His brother John, having completed his Noviceship, displayed considerable talent for economy and the management of the school, so the debts were cleared and the number of pupils increased. It was possibly an error that Robert appointed John as procurator, as his economies were rather severe. A Visitor was sent from England, and Robert was soon removed.
1830 Appointed Vice-Provincial
1834 He was appointed Vicar Apostolic in Calcutta, India, and his brother John accompanied him. It was unfortunate that ANG opened a school in Calcutta at the same time as Robert, and both he and the ANG Rector were at variance in their views. Complaints were sent to Rome, and perhaps too readily accepted by the General. Robert was unhappy with the position he found himself in, and so he returned to Ireland.
1840 He was appointed Rector of Clongowes which was in sever financial debt at the time
1841 Appointed Vice-Provincial again, holding the position for nine years, and entertained Father General Roothaan in 1849. He was succeeded in 1851 by John Curtis.
1851 He went to live in a house in Killiney, which had been bought with the view of opening a chapel there. This didn’t work out, so he moved to Gardiner St and remained there until his death. His health had been failing, and he was less able to work.
He was a saintly and spiritual man, always held in high esteem by Ours and externs.
The suavity of his manners won over all whom he encountered. When he first came to Ireland from Sicily, his austerity was so great that he applied for permission to refrain from eating meat, and this was refused. He loved the Cross, and asked other to pray for that Grace for him.
He was, at the same time, a man of strong will, and was thought to perhaps stick too rigidly to his own views. He was a man of great erudition and literary knowledge and was also a good Theologian. He was remarkable for his gentleness of disposition, clearness of mind, and accurate knowledge.
His mind became weak in his last illness, which was protracted and severe. He died 22 June 1856

◆ Fr Joseph McDonnell SJ Past and Present Notes :
16th February 1811 At the advance ages of 73, Father Betagh, PP of the St Michael Rosemary Lane Parish Dublin, Vicar General of the Dublin Archdiocese died. His death was looked upon as almost a national calamity. Shops and businesses were closed on the day of his funeral. His name and qualities were on the lips of everyone. He was an ex-Jesuit, the link between the Old and New Society in Ireland.

Among his many works was the foundation of two schools for boys : one a Classical school in Sall’s Court, the other a Night School in Skinner’s Row. One pupil received particular care - Peter Kenney - as he believed there might be great things to come from him in the future. “I have not long to be with you, but never fear, I’m rearing up a cock that will crow louder and sweeter for you than I ever did” he told his parishioners. Peter Kenney was to be “founder” of the restored Society in Ireland.

There were seventeen Jesuits in Ireland at the Suppression : John Ward, Clement Kelly, Edward Keating, John St Leger, Nicholas Barron, John Austin, Peter Berrill, James Moroney, Michael Cawood, Michael Fitzgerald, John Fullam, Paul Power, John Barron, Joseph O’Halloran, James Mulcaile, Richard O’Callaghan and Thomas Betagh. These men believed in the future restoration, and they husbanded their resources and succeeded in handing down to their successors a considerable sum of money, which had been saved by them.

A letter from the Acting General Father Thaddeus Brezozowski, dated St Petersburg 14 June 1806 was addressed to the only two survivors, Betagh and O'Callaghan. He thanked them for their work and their union with those in Russia, and suggested that the restoration was close at hand.

A letter from Nicholas Sewell, dated Stonyhurst 07 July 1809 to Betagh gives details of Irishmen being sent to Sicily for studies : Bartholomew Esmonde, Paul Ferley, Charles Aylmer, Robert St Leger, Edmund Cogan and James Butler. Peter Kenney and Matthew Gahan had preceded them. These were the foundation stones of the Restored Society.

Returning to Ireland, Kenney, Gahan and John Ryan took residence at No3 George’s Hill. Two years later, with the monies saved for them, Kenney bought Clongowes as a College for boys and a House of Studies for Jesuits. From a diary fragment of Aylmer, we learn that Kenney was Superior of the Irish Mission and Prefect of Studies, Aylmer was Minister, Claude Jautard, a survivor of the old Society in France was Spiritual Father, Butler was Professor of Moral and Dogmatic Theology, Ferley was professor of Logic and Metaphysics, Esmonde was Superior of Scholastics and they were joined by St Leger and William Dinan. Gahan was described as a Missioner at Francis St Dublin and Confessor to the Poor Clares and Irish Sisters of Charity at Harold’s Cross and Summerhill. Ryan was a Missioner in St Paul’s, Arran Quay, Dublin. Among the Scholastics, Brothers and Masters were : Brothers Fraser, Levins, Connor, Bracken, Sherlock, Moran, Mullen and McGlade.

Trouble was not long coming. Protestants were upset that the Jesuits were in Ireland and sent a petition was sent to Parliament, suggesting that the Vow of Obedience to the Pope meant they could not have an Oath of Allegiance to the King. In addition, the expulsion of Jesuits from all of Europe had been a good thing. Kenney’s influence and diplomatic skills resulted in gaining support from Protestants in the locality of Clongowes, and a counter petition was presented by the Duke of Leinster on behalf of the Jesuits. This moment passed, but anti Jesuit feelings were mounting, such as in the Orange faction, and they managed to get an enquiry into the Jesuits and Peter Kenney and they appeared before the Irish Chief Secretary and Privy Council. Peter Kenney’s persuasive and oratorical skills won the day and the enquiry group said they were satisfied and impressed.

Over the years the Mission grew into a Province with Joseph Lentaigne as first Provincial in 1860. In 1885 the first outward undertaking was the setting up of an Irish Mission to Australia by Lentaigne and William Kelly, and this Mission grew exponentially from very humble beginnings.

Later the performance of the Jesuits in managing UCD with little or no money, and then outperforming what were known as the “Queen’s Colleges” forced the issue of injustice against Catholics in Ireland in the matter of University education. It is William Delaney who headed up the effort and create the National University of Ireland under endowment from the Government.from the Government.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father Robert St Leger SJ 1788-1856
Robert St Leger came from a family that lived in Waterford, where he was born February 8th 1788. He was a nephew of John St Leger of the old Society, and had a younger bother John who was also a Jesuit.

In 1817 Fr Robert was sent to the newly acquired property at Tullabeg to open a novitiate and a small school there. It was a difficult undertaking financially. Indeed, it was said that at one period the College was so heavily in debt, that Fr Robert could not appear in public for fear of arrest.

He became Vice-Provincial in 1830, and again in 1841. He was also for some time Vicar Apostolic in Calcutta.

In 1851, he opened a new house, Druid Lodge in Killiney, but the venture was not a success.

He played a big part in the founding of the Irish Sisters of Charity, being the spiritual director of Mary Aikenhead. When he was Rector of Tullabeg, she came to Rahan Lodge to be in touch with him while writing the Constitutions,

His last years he spent in Gardiner Street and he died there June 22nd 1856.

St Leger, John, 1798-1868, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/413
  • Person
  • 25 January 1798-27 December 1868

Born: 25 January 1798, Waterford City, County Waterford
Entered: 07 September 1818, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 16 June 1825, Stanhope Street, Dublin (Irish Sisters of Charity) by Archbishop Murray
Final Vows: 15 August 1832
Died: 27 December 1868, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin

Brother of Robert St Leger - RIP 1856, and a nephew of John St Leger RIP 1783

by 1839 in Calcutta Mission

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Brother of Robert St Leger, and a nephew of John St Leger RIP 1783

◆ HIB Menologies SJ : Nephew of John St Leger RIP 1783, and a brother of Robert St Leger RIP 1856

Early education was at Clongowes in Humanities and Rhetoric.

He made his Philosophy and Theology studies at Tullabeg, and was duly Ordained and worked in Priestly Ministry. he was admired as an energetic and eloquent Preacher, possessing an unusual ability to insert in his words, the forcible language of others, without allowing it to be perceived.
1834 He accompanied his brother Robert to India, and for some time exercised the ministry of Chaplain to the British Forces stationed at Dumdum, near Calcutta. Here his eloquence was also noted.
1840 He returned to Ireland, and took up the office of Rector at Tullabeg for one year, having previously held this position before he went to India. he was remarkable for his management of temporal affairs, his rigid economy and attachment to poverty.
Before going to India, he had suffered a lot from neuralgia.
When he left Tullabeg, he spent some months with his brother Robert at Killiney, before being sent to Gardiner St with him, and he worked as an Operarius there. He worked there with great zeal and edification for many years.
His death was sudden and caused by paralysis. He died at Gardiner St 27 December 1868

Note from Robert St Leger Entry :
1817 Sent to Tullabeg to establish a Novitiate there, and to open a small school, which later became St Stanislaus College. For some years this house suffered from extreme poverty, and it was almost as though he could not appear for a time without being in danger of being arrested. His brother John, having completed his Noviceship, displayed considerable talent for economy and the management of the school, so the debts were cleared and the number of pupils increased. It was possibly an error that Robert appointed John as procurator, as his economies were rather severe. A Visitor was sent from England, and Robert was soon removed.
1834 He was appointed Vicar Apostolic in Calcutta, India, and his brother John accompanied him.

Spillane, P Gerard, 1919-2000, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/616
  • Person
  • 01 November 1919-26 May 2000

Born: 01 November 1919, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 07 September 1939, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Ordained: 31 July 1953, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1956, Clongowes Wood College SJ
Died: 26 May 2000, Mater Hospital Dublin

Part of the Belvedere College SJ, Dublin community at the time of death.

◆ Fr Francis Finegan : Admissions 1859-1948 - Studied 1st year Engineering at UCD before entry

◆ Interfuse
Interfuse No 105 : Special Edition 2000

Obituary
Fr Gerard (Gerry) Spillane (1919-2000)
1st. Nov. 1919: Born in Dublin
1931 - 1938 Christian Brothers' O' Connell Schools, Dublin - Leaving and Matric.
1938 - 1939: UCD for a half-year, studying Engineering.
7th Sept. 1939: Entered the Society at Emo.
8th Sept. 1941: First Vows at Emo.
1941 - 1944: Rathfarnham-studying Arts at UCD.
1944 - 1947: Tullabeg- studying Philosophy.
1947 - 1950: Clongowes- Teacher; Prefect; Clongowes Certificate in Education.
1950 - 1954: Milltown Park- Theology
31st July 1953: Ordained at Milltown Park.
1954 - 1955: Tertianship at Rathfarnham.
1955 - 1962: Clongowes- Teacher, Higher Line Prefect
1962 - 2000: Belvedere- Teacher; Games; Vice-Rector. Since 1988 he has served as Health Prefect; Chaplain St. Monica's Nursing Home; Sacristan; Guestmaster.

From March 1999, Fr. Spillane's health was in decline. He was admitted to the Mater Hospital and was diagnosed to be suffering from cancer in July of that year. Since then, he spent several periods receiving special nursing care in Cherryfield Lodge, after which he would be well enough to return to Belvedere. He was again admitted to Cherryfield Lodge in March, but was not confined to bed and until shortly before his death he was able to go for walks around the grounds. He died peacefully on 26th May 2000 at the age of 80.

Joe Dargan writes ...
Behind the simple facts of the Curriculum Vitae given above there was a life of faithful commitment and service which was the heart and soul of Gerry. He touched the lives of many people who valued his support and judgement and recognised that his influence on their lives was deep and personal. Fr Gerry was above all else a Religious and Priest. His life was centred on the Eucharist. Through it he became an act of worship of God. The witness of his life spoke volumes. The quiet impact he made on people was shown by the numbers and variety of people who attended his funeral.

As a teacher in Clongowes and Belvedere he dedicated himself to the hidden, constant and grinding work of the classroom as well as forming boys according to the values of Jesus Christ. When his close friend, Fr. Tom Scully, died in 1968 at the age of 46 Gerry became chaplain and mentor of the Catholic Housing Aid Society which provides accommodation for the aged poor as well as newly weds. At the time of his death another flat complex was near completion.

In 1988 Gerry retired from teaching. He became Chaplain to St. Monica's Nursing Home. His care of the sick and dying was unstinting. He would sit for hours with a dying patient, just being present offering support and prayer. At his death the patients of St. Monica's asked that the funeral from Gardiner Street to Glasnevin cemetery would pass and stop at St. Monica's.

Gerry is greatly missed by the members of the Belvedere Community. His was a constant presence and made everyone feel welcome. One of his late colleagues wrote this letter to the community at the time of his death.

"I regret that I cannot attend the funeral of Fr. Gerry Spillane this morning. Gerry is in my prayers. I send my sincere condolences to his family and the community. Gerry was already an established and hugely respected member of the staff of Belvedere when I arrived in 1965. I well remember that he made me feel very welcome and was kind and helpful to me as I settled in to life in Belvedere. We struck up a nice bond of friendship as we chatted on the corridor. I was struck from our first meeting by his transparent decency. I never heard him raise his voice to any boy - nor did I ever hear him speak badly of any boy. He had a great respect for our students and they had huge respect for him.

I was always aware of his love for all sports. He seemed to believe that the real value of sport was in contributing to the good of the team, rather than seeking personal glory. I feel that Gerry was very much at home in Belvedere. He knew Belvedere and its community very well and was most generous in giving his time and energy for their good.

I believe that Gerry lived his vocation fully every day of his life. I feel privileged to have known him as friend and colleague over 30 years. Please convey my deepest sympathies to his family and members of the community.

Sincerely,
John Brown."

May he rest in the Peace of Christ,

Joseph Dargan SJ

◆ The Belvederian, Dublin, 2000
Obituary
Father Gerry Spillane SJ
Gerry Spillane was born on 1 November 1919, one of three brothers, a north Dubliner, from the district around Drumcondra and Glasnevin which - as he liked to point out - produced so many Jesuits around those years, mostly, like himself, pupils of the Christian Brothers at O'Connell's (for whom he always retained great regard). He had in a high degree the virtues typical of his background: straightforwardness, conscientiousness, great human decency and loyalty to the traditional values he had inherited at home and in school.

Having started an engineering degree at UCD, he soon abandoned it to follow what he had come to recognize as his true vocation and he entered the Jesuit novitiate at Emo, Co Laois, in September 1939, in lean times just as the Second World War was breaking out. He was a few months short of his 20th birthday.

He followed an entirely traditional course of Jesuit formation, mostly during the war-years and their aftermath; after Emo, juniorate in Rathfarnham Castle, while studying for the BA at UCD, philosophy in Tullabeg, Co Offaly, three years as a teacher and prefect in Clongowes and then theology in Milltown Park. Following ordination on 31 July 1953 by Archbishop John Charles McQuaid, there was a fourth year of theology, and finally tertianship back in Rathfarnham.

He had hoped to go on the newly-opened Irish Jesuit mission to Zambia (known in those pre-independence days as Northern Rhodesia) but was sent instead to teach in Clongowes. It was not a posting which greatly appealed to him. Quite apart from the thwarting of his missionary desires, boarding school life in the early fifties was austere and relations between pupils and staff were formal and relatively remote.

Within a year, Gerry was appointed Higher Line Prefect, which meant that, in place of teaching, he was responsible for the discipline and good order of the school as a whole and of the most senior pupils - the Higher Line - in particular. His sense of duty and his scrupulous anxiety to ensure the highest standards of behaviour in the school probably had the effect of concealing his enormous humanity from those in his charge (his formation had partly concealed it even from himself) and only the more perceptive among them descried it.

1962 marked a watershed in his life: it was the year he was transferred to Belvedere, in the wide-ranging “reshuffle” of Jesuit assignments made at that time by the American Jesuit plenipotentiary sent by Father General to visit the Irish Province. This change brought him back to his north Dublin roots and set him to tasks which were more congenial than the role of Higher Line Prefect, faithfully though he had discharged that office. He was to spend his remaining thirty-eight years in the college - until 1988 as a member of the staff, thereafter, until his health failed, as chaplain to a nearby nursing home.

Gerry taught mathematics and his specialty was the “matric” class at the top of the school. His teaching had all the hallmarks of the man himself: solid, faithful, meticulously and painstakingly prepared. In the first years, he also taught religion. But 1962 was another, deeper watershed, not only for him but for priests of his generation and the church they served. In October of that year the Second Vatican Council began. It was to transform the landscape and seemed to render the theological studies Gerry had undertaken with such careful fidelity suddenly irrelevant. Like others, he lost confidence and found it difficult to master the new insights so prodigally unleashed in those years. After a short time, he stopped teaching religion and never gave a retreat again.

He had come to Belvedere as replacement for Tom O'Callaghan, sent to Limerick the year Gerry arrived. He inherited not only Tom's classes but also his teams and, for the next nineteen years, his name became synonymous with Junior Cup rugby in the college. Tom - regarded by Tony O'Reilly as the best coach he ever had anywhere - had ended a long sequence of semi-final near-misses through the fifties by winning in 1960 and 1961 and had failed only narrowly to make it three-in-a-row with a talented team the following year. Gerry Spillane, with less natural flair, was to maintain Belvedere's high standards at this level throughout his long term in charge.

But he was dogged by every kind of misfortune in the Cup itself and, despite reaching five finals, he never succeeded in winning the trophy. One year, there was the loss of key players through freak injuries between a drawn match and a delayed replay against Blackrock (delayed, as he would explain to you, against his will); defeat through a last-minute try and touchline conversion at the hands of Pres Bray another year; a comeback from 3-14 down to 13-14 against Blackrock finally thwarted in the closing minutes, with 'Rock on the ropes, by the referee's failure to play advantage, a third year. “What do you have to do?” he wondered aloud on the night of his last final in 1979, when Conor Hickey's team had lost by only a single score - once again to Blackrock. It was hard to find an answer.

Gerry's own tension and nervousness on big match days was apt to communicate itself to his young teams and may have played a part in their undoing. But there is no doubt that he made a huge contribution to the welfare of the game in Belvedere and he did much to develop the school's rugby talent in his time. What he lacked in flair he made up for by dogged, methodical study of the game, which helped to make him the perceptive coach he was.

It was typical of him that he looked after equipment - balls, pumps and the rest - with scrupulous care, preferring to keep them in his own room rather than entrust them to anyone else. There was no waste, no needless damage or loss, no lavish expenditure of any kind. That was how he conducted his entire life. (Instances of venality among the clergy and the abuse of the Mass-card system by some of them was one of his well known conversational whipping-boys). His whole approach was somehow epitomized in the vision of him on so many winter afternoons setting off on his bicycle at the end of a full day's class (he didn't drive), already middle-aged, three or four rugby balls laced together and hung from the handle-bars, for another carefully prepared practice in Jones's Road.

He expected of his players the same high standards of application and attention to detail he set for himself and he helped to pass on these standards to his successors.

His preparatory work in the earlier years must surely be given some of the credit for the memorable Senior Cup successes of 1968, 1971 and 1972, under Gerry Brangan, Paddy Lavery and Jim Moran. Needless to say, he would never claim such credit for himself - he shunned the limelight and took a dim view of coaches who were less self-effacing, whether colleagues at schools level or those on the national stage. There were certain bêtes noires in particular, but they cannot be named here!

After his retirement from coaching in 1981 - he was by then 62 and had been fit enough to referee until shortly before - he retained a close interest in the school's fortunes. Whatever rueful reflections it may have inspired in him, he greatly rejoiced at the ending of the long drought in 1994 and the two further Junior Cup successes of the nineties. He may be forgiven if he found the victories over Blackrock, at whose hands he had so often tasted bitter disappointment, especially sweet.

He had much better fortune as a coach on the athletics track and his sprinters, hurdlers and relay teams won several Leinster and All-Ireland championships over the years. Even here, there were, of course, occasional disasters', as he would have said himself - his sprinters misplaced by a negligent judge on the tape, recalcitrant parents, long meetings in the parlour, to little avail, and so on. Gerry had a certain expectation that reality would disappoint him and, although he loved to win, he probably found losing fitted better into his view of the world.

He also had success coaching cricket in Belvedere, somewhat to the surprise of those who had known his apparent disapproval of it in Clongowes. One of his junior teams famously ran up such a big score (a currently very prominent Jesuit playing a starring role) that his opponents refused to bat and conceded the game in high dudgeon. Gerry's hyper-caution in this instance was punished by - horror of horrors - having the incident reported in the newspapers. This he would certainly have regarded as “Disastrous in the extreme”! He had been a gifted tennis player in his youth, but he didn't talk about that. He was somewhat less private about his support for Manchester United, whom he followed loyally, if at times a little despairingly, until the good times came at last - happily he lived long enough to see them reach their present heights, even though he would have found adjustment to such a flood of good fortune quite hard to cope with.

When he retired from teaching in 1988 - by then he was beginning to find classes harder to control (and the milder sobriquet “sausage” for troublesome boys was giving way with growing frequency to somewhat harsher terms) - he suffered a minor crisis. For someone so unstintingly devoted to duty and so averse to relaxation or self indulgence of any kind, not working seemed close to not being. He was a life-long Pioneer and he didn't smoke. He wasn't a reader and he lacked cultural interests. Well-intentioned (or occasionally mildly mischievous) efforts by colleagues in the community to remedy such defects by luring him to a concert or a play were apt to founder on Gerry's imperviousness to the delights of coloratura cadenzas or what he regarded as the unintelligible, unfunny fantasies of the stage and screen. He found holidays a penance and was glad of an excuse not to take them. An invitation to join some of the community on a picnic outing to the Dublin mountains one St Stephen's Day was met by the puzzled - and, of course, unanswerable - enquiry, “What's the purpose?” Loyalty made him accept occasional invitations to class reunions of former pupils of both Clongowes and Belvedere - so many of whom had, at worst, sneaking respect for him, while many more felt genuine affection - but it was against the grain and, having made a brief appearance, he would be gone.

With such a temperament, reinforced by the rigidities of his training in the thirties and forties, retirement from the work he had been doing all his life was very difficult. But with time and care the crisis passed. In due course, and with real success, he undertook chaplaincy to the nursing home run by the Irish Sisters of Charity, St Monica's, across Mountjoy Square in Belvedere Place. Although he had spent so much of his life in the classroom, Gerry had always been very much a priest. His pastoral instincts expressed themselves in his care for his family, in his work with Fr Scully Flats (Tom Scully had been his colleague in the Belvedere community), and in many other ways, most of them known only to himself and those for whom he worked. His recent, harrowing experience of personal weakness helped to bring some of his deep humanity more visibly to the surface. He greatly admired the dedication of the Sisters and his gentleness and compassion and zeal as a priest found a new outlet in his ministry to the sick and dying old ladies in his care in St Monica's.

His significance in the Jesuit community grew steadily over the last fifteen or twenty years of his life. He had lived through the changes in community brought about by the Council and survived them. His official role for much of the last period of his life was that of guestmaster (or, as he half-jokingly preferred to insist, eschewing the appearance of self-importance through use of the official title, “distributor of rooms”) and he was a warmly welcoming presence for the many visiting Jesuits, from Ireland and abroad, who came each year to stay in Belvedere.

But his profile in the house far transcended any formal function - he was also, at different times, vice-rector, prefect of health, and sacristan. His warmth and capacity for humour, his lack of self-regard, the simplicity of his personal life, his courtesy and graciousness, his obvious rectitude and integrity, all these and something else, a certain enduring youthfulness of spirit, despite being old-fashioned in so many ways, something irreducible which was just “Spillane”, gave him unique stature and he became, for far more reasons than the length of time he had spent there, 'father of the house, loved and respected, the very heart of his community.

Cautious and conservative by instinct and training as he was (he never, for example, wore anything but clerical black), he genuinely enjoyed being teased and taken for what he emphatically was not. The sheer absurdity of having it suggested to him that he was a crypto-charismatic, a “banner man” who, beneath the sober surface, was really into “raising and praising”, greatly tickled his fancy and no one saw the ludicrousness of it more keenly than himself. Some of the things that made us - and him - laugh most were stories he told about himself, usually with a hint of the absurd lurking not far away, Thus, he took pleasure in recounting how he had responded to an earnest American lady who, on learning that he was in Belvedere, asked him expectantly how the Jesuits now viewed their famous past pupil, James Joyce (of whom Gerry would, on principle as well as by disinclination, almost certainly have read not a single line): “As a bowsy!”

He enjoyed telling us, too, of the times when he had been mistaken for the then Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Henry McAdoo, to whom he bore more than a passing resemblance. One lady, who had insisted that, despite his denials, he must be Dr McAdoo, had forced him to walk away from the bus-stop where he was standing and seek alternative means of transport. Someone else had taken him for 'the Abbot of Mellifont and he had had to flee then too! Another topic we liked to draw him out on was the terse one - or two - line letters he had written in his time in response to parents whom he regarded as unduly interfering or presuming to tell him how to train - or, much worse, pick - his rugby teams. Such Spillane rebuttals would have invited no further dialogue on the recipient's part and he richly enjoyed our detailed analysis of the merits of his literary style!

In July 1999, when he was nearly 80, after being in obvious decline for some months, he was admitted to the Mater Hospital and diagnosed as having cancer. The progress of the disease was quite slow and, after periods of convalescence in Cherryfield Lodge, the Jesuit nursing home beside Milltown Park, he was able to return to Belvedere. His lack of energy distressed him and - consistent with the gentle pessimism which was part of his make-up - he could always find some reason for a measure of frustration, some minor “disaster” to lament. But the prevailing note was of patient resignation in the face of illness and the mystery of life and death, great gratitude for what the nursing staff in the Mater or Cherryfield Lodge were doing for him, and deep, characteristically undemonstrative faith.

In March of the present year, Gerry returned to Cherryfield, where he died on 26 May, halfway through his 81st year, predeceased by his brothers. May that slightly taut smile, worn so often in life, relax now in joy and surprise as he beholds the unclouded glory of God.

◆ The Clongownian, 2000
Obituary
Father Gerard Spillane SJ

Fr Spillane was teacher and Third Line Prefect for three years 1947-50, while preparing for the priesthood. Later, he returned to teach and then become Higher Line Prefect in 1955,
remaining until 1962. He was to spend the rest of his life in Belvedere College and died, aged 80, on 26 May 200. The following is a slightly edited extract from the obituary which recently appeared in “The Belvederian”.

Following ordination, Fr Gerry Spillane had hoped to go on the newly-opened Irish Jesuit mission to Zambia (known in those pre-independence days as Northern Rhodesia) but was sent instead to teach in Clongowes. It was not a posting which greatly appealed to him. Quite apart from the thwarting of his missionary desires, boarding school life in the early fifties was austere and relations between pupils and staff were formal and relatively remote.

Within a year, he was appointed Higher Line Prefect, which meant that, in place of teaching, he was responsible for the discipline and good order of the school as a whole and of the most senior pupils - the Higher Line - in particular. His sense of duty and his scrupulous anxiety to ensure the highest standards of behaviour in the school probably had the effect of concealing his enormous humanity from those in his charge (his formation had partly concealed it even from himself) and only the more perceptive among them descried it.

1962 marked a watershed in his life: it was the year he was transferred to Belvedere, in the wide-ranging reshuffle of Jesuit assignments made at that time by the American Jesuit plenipotentiary sent by Father General to visit the Irish Province. This change brought him back to his north Dublin roots and set him to tasks which were more congenial than the role of Higher Line Prefect, faithfully though he had discharged that office. He was to spend his remaining thirty-eight years in the college - until 1988 as a member of the staff, thereafter, until his health failed, as chaplain to a nearby nursing home.

Sinnott, James, 1843-1865, Jesuit scholastic

  • IE IJA J/2134
  • Person
  • 07 July 1843-20 May 1865

Born: 07 July 1843, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 07 September 1861, Milltown Park
Died: 20 May 1865, TSt Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly

by 1864 at Roehampton London (ANG) studying

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Early education was at Belvedere and Clongowes.

After First Vows he was sent to Roehampton for studies. However, at the end of the year he was recalled to Tullabeg as a Prefect. he spent about eight months in this task when he caught a fever. Nobody, including the doctor doubted his recovery. He, however perhaps knew better, and in order to prepare asked the Rector to hear his Confession. His decline was very quick. He is buried in the old Rahan Cemetery.

Sinnott, Edward, 1791-1842, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/406
  • Person
  • 10 August 1791-20 May 1865

Born: 10 August 1791, County Wexford
Entered: 07 October 1821, Clongowes Wood College SJ, Clane, County Kildare
Died: 20 May 1865, Kolkata, Bengal, India

by 1839 in Calcutta Mission; We have a date of death from somewhere and he disappears from the 1844 Catalogue, having been in up to 1841

Simpson, Patrick J, 1914-1988, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/405
  • Person
  • 10 April 1914-08 August 1988

Born: 10 April 1914, Wimbledon, Surrey, England / Derry, County Derry
Entered: 07 September 1932, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Ordained: 31 July 1944, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1950, Chiesa de Gesù, Rome, Italy
Died: 08 August 1988, St Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin

Part of the Milltown Park, Dublin community at the time of death

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

by 1939 in Vals France (LUGD) studying
by 1947 at Heythrop, Oxfordshire (ANG) studying
by 1948 at Rome Italy (ROM) - studying

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 21st Year No 4 1946

England :
On September 26th Fr. Simpson went to Heythrop to do special studies in Sacred Scripture.

Irish Province News 63rd Year No 4 1988 (Final Edition)

Obituary

Fr Patrick Simpson (1914-1932-1988)

10th April 1914: born in Wimbledon, England. Schooled at Dominican convent-school, Wicklow, and 1927-32 in Clongowes, his home then being in Derry.
7th September 1932: entered SJ. 1932 4 Emo, noviciate. 1934-38 Rathfarnham, juniorate (at UCD, Latin and Greek to MA). 1938-41 philosophy: 1938-39 at Vals, France; 1939-41 at Tullabeg. 1941-45 Milltown, theology (31st July 1944: ordained a priest). 1945-46 Rathfarnham, tertianship. 1946-47 Heythrop College, Oxfordshire, England: private study of Scripture. 1947-50 Biblical Institute, Rome: study.
1950-88 Milltown, professor of Scripture (1950-60: Parat se ad exam. laur.). 1983-88 Ecclesiastical Assistant to Christian Life Communities (CLC). 8th August 1988: died in St Vincent's hospital, Dublin

It is difficult to write competently or fairly of anyone, even of those with whom we have lived for a long time in close contact. Our perceptions, even of ourselves can be so superficial. Only God can write our biography or autobiography (!). So we are shy to write of Paddy Simpson, but we must do what we can.
We can speak confidently of his wide and deep knowledge and of his willingness to share that knowledge. From his earliest days in the Society we have a picture of him holding forth endlessly, whether to one or to many, on a variety of topics, all the while standing tirelessly on the corridor. Coming into the refectory of a morning you would hear his voice. For Paddy there was no such thing as being off colour before breakfast. He could speak, naturally, of his own speciality, scripture, but also of so many subjects, sacred and profane. Again, he could talk of many practical things with technical knowledge, not least the subject of motor bikes.
In his piety he was not demonstrative. The rosary as a method of prayer did not appeal to him. Yet he surprised many by his enthusiasm for the charismatic movement, and he was much in demand among charismatics in Dublin, and attended Jesuit international charismatic conferences on the continent. He also took an active part in the Christian Life Community.
Although essentially an intellectual, he did not suffer from intellectual snobbery, and he took great pleasure, with no trace of condescension, in talking to and also helping ordinary people and admiring their views and insights. He was a ready learner. He appreciated intellectual honesty and could be blunt in speaking of what he regarded as humbug or pretentiousness.
Looking back over his life I cannot recall any pettiness. He accepted "leg pulling" cheerfully. I never saw him in a huff, or even angry. He may have suppressed hard feelings, but one never got the impression of such suppression or any resultant tension. He was patently honest and sincere, and freely acknowledged the worth of others, even when otherwise they did not appeal to him.
I am sure he had his disappointments, one of which, surely, must have been that he never finished his doctoral work in Rome. Despite his brilliance and capacity and quick understanding, he had great difficulty in protracted study, and apparently took no great joy in writing. A retentive memory and an analytical mind helped him greatly in his reading, An undoubtedly disorderly room, but a very orderly mind. It was always noted in community meetings or Milltown Institute meetings that his remarks were always worth heeding, and the result of clear and unprejudiced thought. He bore no ill-will if his views were not accepted. Many will recall too his cogent views on Six-County affairs.
It is well said that Paddy is remembered with affection - the expression used by the members of the Half-Moon swimming club at Ringsend by whom he was always accepted as one of themselves, and whom he greatly helped. He himself was a man of loyalty and affection, not least towards his own family as we saw in his great concern for his brother who suffered long before dying of cancer about five years ago.
Another aspect of him that always amused and caused gentle chaff was his joy in preparing his itineraries, whether at home or abroad - how to avail of all possible short routes, at the least possible cost. It was said, true or not, that he got more joy out of planning a journey than out of the journey itself.
We cannot speak of his spiritual life, but it was noted that he seemed to have not a few who sought his aid and advice, and we may be sure that he was generous in his sharing with others.
It was hard for him to admit that he had had a small stroke, although for a year or two he had been talking of getting old, and indeed he showed signs of it. In the end when speech had failed, one could not be sure of contact, except for one occasion when he gave his beautiful smile. We miss him in Milltown, but thank God for His eternity where all who are missed will be found.

Sillery, George, 1816-1901, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/427
  • Person
  • 31 December 1816-26 November 1901

Born: 31 December 1816, Ardee, County Louth
Entered: 30 April 1856, Clongowes Wood College SJ, Naas, County Kildare
Final Vows: 15 August 1866
Died: 26 November 1901, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly

1901 Census inicates born in Meath.

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
According to himself, a sermon by the famous Dr Cahill was the occasion of his deciding to enter Religion. The key statement by Dr Cahill was “Woe to him who is alone”!

Note from Daniel Scully Entry :
He had a very long illness, and was carefully nursed by his old friend Brother George Sillery, who told many amusing stories about him.

His Noviceship was spent first at Clongowes and then at Tullabeg.
1861 He was sent to Belvedere, and was there for 38 years.
1900 He was sent to Tullabeg, and he died there 26 November 1901

His simple homely ways, his unaffected gentleness and piety made him a favourite of everyone. Nothing seemed to affect his mood and temper, even in very trying times. His standard response to anything was a calm “Aye”!
He had a long and fairly uneventful life. He was always either in the Chapel, at Prayer or at Work. At the same time, he was not an austere ascetic, he had a great sense of humour and love a joke. He loved to tell amusing stories from his life, and also quote some of the rhymes he had stored up calling it a “Bit of poethry”!
In his later years he began to dote a bit, and there are a legion of stories on his exploits, one of which included his rousing the Community for prayer in the small hours of the night. The Rector woke one night at 2am to find him standing by his bed, swinging a piece of burning rope around his head and telling him it was time to get up! It was said that on more than one occasion he all but set the house on fire! he had a great affinity for matches, a large quantity of which he kept in his room, and he would journey through the house at midday lighting any gas jet he could find. In the end his memory failed him completely. Often when he had recently completed a meal, he would turn up in the refectory asking what time the meal would begin. Famously, at one domestic exhortation which went on a bit long, he suddenly threw up his hands and spoke in a fairly loud voice “Blessed Mother of God, will he ever stop”! These and many other similar stories made his name a household one, especially in the Novitiate, where he died 26 November 1901.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Brother George Sillery 1816-1901
Br George Sillery was born on December 31st 1916 and entered the Society in 1858. According to himself, the cause of his vocation was a sermon he heard preached by the famous Dr Cahill in Dublin. His text was “Woe to him that is alone”. The preacher dwelt with such persuasive eloquence on the evils of a solitary life, that Br George resolved to seek in religious life a remedy for the loneliness and spiritless derelictions of this world. His noviceship was spent at Clongowes and Tullabeg, after which he came to Belvedere in 1861. In 1900 he was transferred to Tullabeg and he remained there until his death.

His life was long and uneventful. It flowed on its unvarying round of prayers and work till he reached the patriarchal age of 85. In the latter years of his old age he began to dote, and he lost all sense of time. Just when the Litanies were ending in the evening he was often heard asking when they wold begin. Once, when a domestic exhortation lasted rather long, old Br George, sublimely oblivious of his surroundings, suddenly threw up his hands and said in a fairly loud voice “Blessed Mother of God, will he ever stop”. These and a thousand other anecdotes made his name a household word among the novices in the Novitiate, where he died on November 26th 1901.

Shuley, Thomas, 1884-1965, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/765
  • Person
  • 16 June 1884-28 March 1965

Born: 16 June 1884, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 06 September 1902, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 16 May 1918, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1922, Clongowes Wood College SJ
Died: 28 March 1965, St Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin

Part of the Milltown Park, Dublin community at the time of death

Early education at Belvedere College SJ & Clongowes Wood College SJ

by 1907 at Stonyhurst England (ANG) studying
Came to Australia for Regency 1909

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
Thomas Shuley entered the Society in 1902, and came to Australia in 1909. From 1910-15 he was a regent at Xavier College, working at various times as second and first division prefects, but his name is misspelt in the lists from the college history. After ordination in Ireland, he worked mainly in the pastoral ministry.

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 40th Year No 3 1965
Obituary :
Fr Thomas Shuley SJ
Fr. Tom Shuley was born in Dublin on 18th June 1884. He was one of five brothers, of whom three, Tom, George and Arthur, came to Clongowes in 1899. Tom was then fifteen years old, having been for some years previously at St. George's College, Weybridge, Surrey, conducted by the Josephite Fathers. He completed his last year in Rhetoric class in 1902 and entered the noviceship at Tullabeg on 6th September of that year, Fr. Michael Browne being his master of novices and Fr. Richard Campbell socius. Of his immediate contemporaries the only survivors are Fr. C. Byrne and Fr. E. Mackey.
After two years juniorate in Tullabeg and three years philosophy in Stonyhurst, he went to Australia for colleges, and was prefect at Xavier College, Melbourne, for five years. He apparently filled the position with great success. When Fr. Paul O'Flanagan was in Australia in 1950, he was impressed by the number of old Xaverians who, after that long lapse of time, enquired for Fr. Shuley and spoke of him with esteem and affection.
During his last two years at Xavier, he was in charge of the cadets. In connection with this activity, he used to tell a good story. On one occasion, he accompanied the cadets to an inter school shooting competition. After the competition, the sergeant in charge brought the boys up to the targets and showed them how the signals were worked. He than announced that, as a finale to the day, there would be a match between himself and Mr. Shuley, ten shots each. Mr. Shuley was quite a good shot and accepted the challenge, the stakes being half-a-crown. The contest was thrilling : Each contestant scored an “inner” until the very last shot, when Mr. Shuley just failed with an “outer” and duly handed over the half-crown. The boys, of course, were greatly impressed by his prowess. The party then went down to the railway station. The sergeant shook hands with Mr. Shuley and whispered : “There's your half-crown back, sir. I had that all arranged with the markers”.
He returned to Ireland in 1916 and, after theology in Milltown Park, was ordained in 1919. He taught for a year in Mungret before doing tertianship in Tullabeg. Four years as Higher Line Prefect in Clongowes were followed by seven years in Mungret, at first as First Prefect, then as Minister. In 1933 he went to St. Ignatius', Galway, where he was Procurator and then Minister until 1939. After a year on the staff at Gardiner St. there began his long connection with the mission staff, which lasted from 1940 to 1953. At the close of this period he was over seventy, but remained remarkably active, and acted as Minister to the end of his life, in the Crescent, Limerick, 1953-55, in Rathfarnham 1955-59 and in Leeson Street 1959-64. During the last year or two in Leeson Street his health had been failing, and in 1964 he was transferred to Milltown Park. On 18th September he had a stroke and was brought to St. Vincent's nursing home. He recovered to the extent of being able to move about with assistance, but his condition never gave much hope of recovery. On 28th March 1965 he had a second stroke and the end came peacefully within a few minutes.
When one thinks of Fr. Shuley's long and active life, the first characteristic that one recalls is his complete devotion to the work he had in hand. He is, perhaps, best remembered as a Minister, in which office he spent twenty-three years, and in which he displayed remarkable efficiency. He took a keen interest in the details of housekeeping, was well informed in business matters, knew where to buy to the best advantage and where to get the best advice concerning work to be done. He was not, however, engrossed in business. He enjoyed pleasant relaxation when it came his way no one was a better companion on an outing or holiday - but he never lost sight of the main purpose, the material welfare of the house where he was in charge and the comfort of his community. As a missioner, he was most methodical and painstaking. One of his former fellow-missioners recalls that, at the outset, his sermons were not very effective. He realised this, and set to work to improve them, making copious notes of his reading, and seeking advice from others, with the result that he soon became a really first class preacher.
This devotion to duty was what one might call the outstanding exterior feature of Fr. Shuley's character. It flowed naturally from a corresponding interior feature, his complete selflessness. No man was ever so free from what has so well been called “the demon of self-pity”. It was not that he had no feelings. He would, indeed, talk freely to his intimate friends about the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” which had come his way during his life in the Society. But he treated all adversities with a good-humoured, almost light-hearted courage, and his attitude was that the past was the past and the thing to do was to get on with the next job. In his latter years he had a good deal of illness, which he endured in the most matter-of-fact manner, conscientiously taking the necessary measures for his recovery, and resuming his work in the quickest possible time.
Fr. Shuley was a wonderful community man. He had a great capacity for friendship, and a special gift for seeing the humorous side of life whether within or without the walls of the monastery. He was an excellent raconteur, and had a power of making a good story out of some incident that would have appeared featureless to others.
His deep, though unobtrusive piety was shown by the regularity of his religious life and by his constancy in spiritual reading. One would often find him in his room delving into some spiritual author, old or new, and he would give one the gist of what he had been reading, accompanied by his own shrewd and humorous comments on its application to actual life. At no time was the depth of his spirituality so evident as in his last days, when, helpless to a considerable extent and suffering much discomfort, and obviously knowing that the end was not far off, he displayed complete resignation and that good-humoured courage that had been such a feature of his whole life.

◆ The Belvederian, Dublin, 1965

Obituary

Rev Thomas Shuley SJ (OB 1890)

The Rev Thomas Shuley SJ, who has died in a Dublin nursing home, was born in Dublin on June 16th, 1884.

He was educated at Belvedere, St George's College, Weybridge, and Clongowes Wood College, and entered the Society of Jesus in 1902. Having studied humanities and philosophy at St Stanislaus College, Tullamore, and Stonyhurst College, Lancashire, he spent six years as teacher and prefect at St. Xavier College, Melbourne.

He returned to Dublin in 1915 for theological studies at Milltown Park, where he was ordained in 1918.

Father Shuley was stationed for 17 years in the Jesuit secondary schools at Clongowes, Mungret and Galway. During a further 17 years he was engaged in giving retreats and missions throughout the country or in church work at St Francis Xavier's, Dublin, and the Sacred Heart Church, Limerick. During the last 10 years of his life he was Vice Superior and Bursar at Rathfarnham Castle and 35 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin.

Irish Times, 30/3/65

Short, John, 1833-1887, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/2132
  • Person
  • 24 June 1833-02 November 1887

Born: 24 June 1833, Clane, County Kildare
Entered: 14 September 1860, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final vows: 15 August 1871
Died: 02 November 1887, Milltown Park, Dublin

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
He was an excellent cook, and he looked after the communities of Milltown, Gardiner St and Tullabeg to great satisfaction.

◆ Fr Francis Finegan : Admissions 1859-1948 - Cook before entry

Shine, John, 1791-1834, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2131
  • Person
  • 04 March 1791-05 August 1834

Born: 04 March 1791, Killarney, County Kerry
Entered: 07 September 1809, Hodder, Stonyhurst, England - Angliae Province (ANG)
Ordained: 1822, St Patrick's College, Maynooth, County Kildare
Died 05 August 1834, St Francis Xavier, Gardiner Street, Dublin

in Clongowes 1817

John Shyne
Ordained at St Patrick’s College Maynooth, on a Saturday within the octave of Pentecost 1822, having studied Theology at Clongowes

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
He was a zealous Missioner, and engaged in the Confessional until 10pm the night before his death, and had the reputation of an edifying religious man.
He was regarded as the life and most efficient supporter of the new Day Schools in Dublin, and was esteemed as a very superior classical scholar - “sit propitius amico veteri et Praeceptori!” (Oliver, Stonyhurst MSS)
“He was a man of considerable talents, and taught with great success” (Fr Curtis)
1814 He was one of the first three Professors at Clongowes
1830 He commenced the “day school” in Hardwicke St, Dublin
Note from the Robert O’Ferrall Entry :
Died a victim of charity from cholera, while attending the sick bed of Father John Shine, who died from the same disease, at Gardiner St.
Loose leaf note in CatChrn : Entitled “Left Stonyhurst for Castle Brown” :
10 May 1814

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
1814 He was one of the first three Professors at Clongowes.
1850 (should read 1830) Started the Day School at Hardwicke St
“He passed among his brethern for a very superior classical scholar” (Oliver, Stonyhurst MSS)
Had the reputation of an edifying and religious man.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father John Shine 1791-1834
On March 4th 1791 was born Fr John Shine. He entered the noviceship at Hodder in 1809.

He was one of the first three professors at Clongowes in 1814, where he taught for many years with great success. Among his brethren he was considered a very superior classical scholar. But his talents were not constrained to the classical languages, for he translated a drama from Italian for the use of the pupils at Clongowes.

In 1830 he was sent to Dublin where he taught in the school at Hardwicke Street and worked as an Operarius in the Church.

Not being of robust health he fell victim to cholera, then raging in Dublin, and he died in 1834 with the reputation of an edifying religious.

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
SHINE, JOHN. This zealous young Father (for he was ordained Priest but at Pentecost 1822) was cut off in the flower of usefulness by cholera, in Dublin, on Sunday, the 3rd of August, 1834. aet. 43. Soc. 25. He had remained in the Confessional, busily engaged until 10 o clock of the preceding night! His remains were deposited in the Cemetery of Glasnevin. Amongst his brethren he passed for a very superior Classic Scholar; and the New Day Schools of the Society in Dublin, justly regarded him as their soul and their most efficient supporter. Having had the honor of numbering him amongst his pupils at Stonyhurst during the years 1806 and 1807, the Compiler of these Notices may be allowed to adopt the language of F. Edmund Campian, on hearing of the happy death of the Reverend Cuthbert Mayne : “Sit propotius Amico veteri et Prceceptori : horum enim nominum gloriola perfruar nunc ambitiosius quam antea."

Shields, Daniel J, 1898-1986, Jesuit priest, chaplain and missioner

  • IE IJA J/404
  • Person
  • 18 July 1898-07 February 1986

Born: 18 July 1898, Altmore, County Tyrone
Entered: 15 September 1919, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 31 July 1930, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1934, Mungret College SJ, Limerick
Died: 07 February 1986, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin

by 1933 at St Beuno’s Wales (ANG) making Tertianship

Chaplain in the Second World War.

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 16th Year No 4 1941

General :
Seven more chaplains to the forces in England were appointed in July : Frs Burden, Donnelly, J Hayes, Lennon and C Murphy, who left on 1st September to report in Northern Ireland, and Fr Guinane who left on 9th September.
Fr. M. Dowling owing to the serious accident he unfortunately met when travelling by bus from Limerick to Dublin in August will not be able to report for active duty for some weeks to come. He is, as reported by Fr. Lennon of the Scottish Command in Midlothian expected in that area.
Of the chaplains who left us on 26th May last, at least three have been back already on leave. Fr. Hayes reports from Redcar Yorkshire that he is completely at home and experiences no sense of strangeness. Fr. Murphy is working' with the Second Lancashire Fusiliers and reports having met Fr. Shields when passing through Salisbury - the latter is very satisfied and is doing well. Fr. Burden reports from Catterick Camp, Yorks, that he is living with Fr. Burrows, S.J., and has a Church of his own, “so I am a sort of PP”.
Fr. Lennon was impressed very much by the kindness already shown him on all hands at Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh and in his Parish. He has found the officers in the different camps very kind and pleased that he had come. This brigade has been without a R.C. Chaplain for many months and has never yet had any R.C. Chaplain for any decent length of time. I am a brigade-chaplain like Fr Kennedy and Fr. Naughton down south. He says Mass on weekdays in a local Church served by our Fathers from Dalkeith but only open on Sundays. This is the first time the Catholics have had Mass in week-days

Irish Province News 17th Year No 1 1942

Chaplains :
Our twelve chaplains are widely scattered, as appears from the following (incomplete) addresses : Frs. Burden, Catterick Camp, Yorks; Donnelly, Gt. Yarmouth, Norfolk; Dowling, Peebles Scotland; Guinane, Aylesbury, Bucks; Hayes, Newark, Notts; Lennon, Clackmannanshire, Scotland; Morrison, Weymouth, Dorset; Murphy, Aldershot, Hants; Naughton, Chichester, Sussex; Perrott, Palmer's Green, London; Shields, Larkhill, Hants.
Fr. Maurice Dowling left Dublin for-Lisburn and active service on 29 December fully recovered from the effects of his accident 18 August.

Irish Province News 61st Year No 2 1986

Obituary

Fr Daniel Shields (1898-1919-1986)

18th July 1898: born. 15th September 1919: entered SJ. 1919-21 Tullabeg, noviciate. 1921-24 Milltown, philosophy. 1924-27 Clongowes, regency. 1927-31 Milltown, theology (31st July 1930: ordained a priest). 1931-32 Clongowes, teaching. 1932-33 St Beuno's, tertianship.
1933-37 Mungret, teaching, 1937-41 Clongowes, ditto. 1941-46 chaplain to British army. 1946-47 Clongowes, teaching. 1947-52 Galway, retreat-giving. 1952-55 Leeson St, teaching in Kevin street technical school. 1955-57 Gardiner St, church work and director of “Penny Dinners” (the direction of which he retained till the end). 1957-60 Loyola, Superior, 1961-86 Gardiner St, church work: besides the “Penny dinners” he was associated with “Catholic Stage Guild”. 7th February 1986: died.
On his army chaplaincy see his article “Fading memories” in Interfuse no. 41 (February 1986), pp. 35-38.

◆ Interfuse

Obituary

Fr Daniel Shields (1898-1919-1986)

18th July 1898: born. 15th September 1919: entered SJ. 1919-21 Tullabeg, noviciate. 1921-24 Milltown, philosophy. 1924-27 Clongowes, regency. 1927-31 Milltown, theology (31st July 1930: ordained a priest). 1931-32 Clongowes, teaching. 1932-33 St Beuno's, tertianship.
1933-37 Mungret, teaching, 1937-41 Clongowes, ditto. 1941-46 chaplain to British army. 1946-47 Clongowes, teaching. 1947-52 Galway, retreat-giving. 1952-55 Leeson St, teaching in Kevin street technical school. 1955-57 Gardiner St, church work and director of “Penny Dinners” (the direction of which he retained till the end). 1957-60 Loyola, Superior, 1961-86 Gardiner St, church work: besides the “Penny dinners” he was associated with “Catholic Stage Guild”. 7th February 1986: died.
On his army chaplaincy see his article “Fading memories” in Interfuse no. 41 (February 1986), pp. 35-38.

Sherlock, Robert, 1781-1822, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/2129
  • Person
  • 01 May 1781-04 January 1822

Born: 01 May 1781, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 01 February 1817, Stonyhurst, England - Angliae Province (ANG)
Died: 04 January 1822, Clongowes Wood College, Naas, County Kildare

Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Being asked on the night before his death if he wanted anything, he replied, looking up to Heaven “What can I want but to be united to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”.

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
He was a man of great innocence and saintliness of life, and was remarkable for his obedience and for his charity to the poor. To help them in their necessities he scraped every little fragment of food he could find and gave it to them. He was fervent in every practice of piety.
He died on the Octave of the Feast of Holy Innocents towards whom he had always manifested a special devotion.

Note from John Cleary Entry :
He took his First Vows at Clongowes 02 February 1819, and Charles Aylmer said the Mass. There were six others with him : Brothers Egan, Nelson, Plunkett, Mulligan, Bennett and Sherlock, all who persevered happily in the Society to the end.

Sheridan, John Brinsley, 1840-1877, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/400
  • Person
  • 20 October 1840-23 February 1877

Born: 20 October 1840, Trim, County Meath
Entered: 04 September 1863, Milltown Park, Dublin
Ordained: 23 July 1871, Milltown Park, Dublin
Died: 23 February 1877, Milltown Park, Dublin

by 1865 at Bordeaux Residence France (TOLO)
by 1869 at Rome Italy (ROM) studying Theology
by 1870 at Angers France (FRA) health

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Had studied Humanities and Philosophy at Maynooth before Entry.

After first Vows he was sent to Clongowes for Regency, and here it emerged that his health was not very robust, and so he was sent to France for rest.
He was then sent to the Roman College for Theology, but he had to stop that and went to Aix-en-Chapelle (Aachen) recovering his health.
He then returned to Milltown to complete his studies and was Ordained there 23 July 1871.
Until his death 23 February 1877 he was a confirmed invalid, and so he remained at Milltown for the rest of his days.
He was very gently and remarkable for his devotion to the Holy Angels.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father John Brinsley Sheridan 1840-1877
Fr Sheridan was born in Trim County Meath on October 26th 1840. He studied Humanities and Philosophy at Maynooth, where he was distinguished for his piety He entered the Society at Milltown Park in 1863.

The years spent at Clongowes showed that his health was far from robust, and he was sent to France for a change and rest. He then went on to Rome to study Theology, but was compelled to give up study, and he retired to Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) for a year.

He returned to Milltown in 1870, and the following year he was ordained priest. Until his death seven years later, he was a confirmed invalid.

He died in February 1877, being remarkable for his devotion to the Holy Angels.

Shea, William, 1789-1819, Jesuit scholastic

  • IE IJA J/2110
  • Person
  • 01 April 1789-04 April 1819

Born: 01 April 1789, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 07 September 1810, Hodder, Stonyhurst, England - Angliae Province (ANG)
Died: 04 April 1819, Clongowes Wood College SJ, Naas, County Kildare

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
He was a good religious and always ready for any work.
Loose leaf note in CatChrn : Entitled “Left Stonyhurst for Castle Brown” :
16 May 1814

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
SHEA, WILLIAM, a most promising Scholastic, who died at Clongowes-wood, 4th of April, 1819, Soe.9.

Shaw, Frank M, 1881-1924, Jesuit priest and chaplain

  • IE IJA J/785
  • Person
  • 29 May 1881-14 January 1924

Born: 29 May 1881, Ennis, County Clare
Entered: 06 September 1902, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 31 July 1915, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1921, Mungret College SJ, Limerick
Died: 14 January 1924, Dublin

Chaplain in the First World War.

Part of the Mungret College, Limerick community at the time of death.

by 1906 at St Aloysius Jersey Channel Islands (FRA) studying
by 1908 at Stonyhurst England (ANG) studying
by 1917 Military Chaplain : No 17 Casualty Clearing Station, France
by 1918 Military Chaplain : c/o Archbishop’s House, Wodehouse Road, Bombay, India
by 1919 Military Chaplain : 16th CCS, Mesopotamia, EF

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Early education was at Castleknock.

After his Novitiate he was sent to Jersey for Philosophy and then to Clongowes for a Regency of some years Teaching and Prefecting.
1912 He began Theology at Milltown.
1917 He was appointed Military Chaplain to No 17 Casualty Clearing Station, BEF, France. He was for some time later In India and Mesopotamia.
After the War ended he was sent to Mungret. he was attacked by some virulent growth and died after much suffering in hospital in Dublin 14 January 1924. He is buried in Mungret.

◆ Fr Francis Finegan : Admissions 1859-1948 - Electrical Engineer before entry

◆ The Clongownian, 1924

Obituary

Father Frank Shaw SJ

Father Frank Shaw SJ, was not himself an “old Clongownian”, but there must be many old Clongowes boys who would find it difficult to remember their time at Clongowes without recalling “Mr Shaw”. Third Liners of the years 1909-'11 especially will remember him, for he was our Prefect during that time. Many of these Third Liners must have gone to Heaven before him, for they were just the right age to be called upon to take their share in the Great War. Indeed, Father Shaw, who was a chaplain in the Navy for a time, met more than one of his former charges in India or some other of the many places where his duty brought him. But we thought little of wars during 1909-'11, and we remember Father Shaw best as being a bit of a puzzle. From one point of view he was quite intelligible to us; we understood him and sympathised fully with him when he would go in to bat some scorching summer day and scatter the visiting team's best bowlers to the boundaries. We used to thrill with pride - for, of course, we looked upon our Prefect as the product of our training - at his exquisite late cuts and glides, or his powerful straight drives, and shout ourselves hoarse in friendly triumph over the discomfiture of the “enemy” bowlers. But Father Shaw puzzled us by what now we should call his idealistic side: he was a very silent man, yet very humorous when he liked, and sometimes when he did not like, he would be stirred to a slow smile by the whimsical seriousness with which some Third Liner viewed the minor problems of life. He nearly always seemed shy with us boys, but we knew him for a gentle, patient, just man, and I think we half sympathised with his somewhat tired demeanour. We sensed vaguely the fact that he possessed an artistic temperament, and some of us knew how to lure him to the library door by, putting on some of his favourite records. He was a poet, too, and he used to confess how jealous. he was of the phrase, “Our tainted nation's solitary boast” having been written by a Protestant.

He died a most holy death on 13th January, 1924, after weeks of intense pain, He used to murmur, towards the end, to those who visited him, “J'ai fini”, but most of us knew that he was not thinking so much of the close of his old life as of the opening of his new; and his real thought would be rather Nunc coepi”.
E J C RIP

◆ The Mungret Annual, 1924

Obituary
Father Frank Shaw SJ

Born in Ennis, Co. Clare, on May 29th, 1881, Fr Francis Shaw lost his father and mother while still young. Fr D Fogarty was named as guardian of the five children - two girls and three boys - and on his death the present Bishop of Killaloe, Most Rev Dr Fogarty acted as guardian - always an ideally kind one - especially to Fr Frank, his favourite.

In 1892 Fr Shaw was sent to Castleknock College where he remained till 1901, winning a name for himself already in cricket and football. From there he went to Newcastle-on-Tyne for a course of engineering. Here, wishing to be in a position to answer the religious difficulties of his Protestant fellow-students, he got into touch with the Jesuit Father's, with the result that he gave up Engineering and entered the Jesuit noviceship at Tullabeg on September 6th, 1902.

He received his vows on September 8th, 1904, and after studying Philosophy in Jersey and at Stonyhurst, England, he was stationed in Clongowes Wood College from 1909-1913. Coming to Milltown Park in 1913, he was ordained in 1916.

As the call for chaplains was urgent he volunteered immediately, and was appointed chaplain to the British Forces soon after. He served in that capacity till the War was over - in fact till 1920.

His work as chaplain was for some time in France, but mainly on the Eastern Front in Mesopotamia. Here he had a severe attack of malaria and dysentery, and it was here that at odd moments and in odder places he wrote most of his papers on Our Lady.

Demobilized in 1919, he made his tertianship in Tullabeg and in August, 1920, came to Mungret College. He took his final vows on February 2nd, 1921, in the College chapel and remained here till his health gave way in September last. It was then judged expedient to send him to a specialist in Dublin. From the first the doctors had not much hope; and an exploring operation confirmed their worst fears. Cancer was diagnosed, and it was clear he could only last some months.

Sister Ignatius broke the news to him a week or two after the operation; and soon after found him crying - but as he hastened to reassure her - for joy that he was to “go home so soon”. Everyone who came in contact with him - Sisters, nurses, doctors, visitors - all were amazed at his cheerful patience and his simple manly holiness.

A prominent Dublin doctor who had attended many saintly people in their last illness stated Fr Shaw was the holiest of them all. The terrible disease wore him slowly down. He hoped to get “home with the Kings” he said; and the day after the Octave of the Epiphany news came of his happy release. And so his body was brought to Mungret, “the old spot” he loved, coming in the train that brought the boys back from Holidays. He had gone on the unending Holiday. And the boys with their keen intuition of things, said openly and half-enviously that he was in Heaven - for he was a saint,

Judged by ordinary standards his death seems naturally premature - yet he said himself before leaving for Dublin that he had seen and had as much of life as he wanted. And the circles in which be moved - his old school, the communities in which he lived, the regiments of which he was in spiritual charge, and most of all, Mungret, both the school and the Community - know and feel his life has not been in vain and will not forget how he brightened life for them, always full of playful whimsical humour, always doing what he had to do conscientiously and well. His disposition was essentially kindly and amiable. He was a splendid athlete, and in all games maintained his reputation till the very end. They speak of his batting and football yet in Clongowes. In France he shot the winning goal for his regiment after he had received a nasty “ankle-tap” which kept him prone for six weeks. In India they would hold up cricket matches till the Padre's boat came in from Basra. And in Mungret he proved himself as skilled in hurling and rounders as in the other games.

He liked simple things and candid people, and never was afraid to hear or speak the truth. He was a great lover of Nature and his hobbies included Astronomy and Botany. His chief characteristic, however, was a love for Our Lady that glowed all his life at white heat. He sang Her praises in prose and in verse, hunting up every text of scripture that referred to Her, ransacking every Doctor of the Church who spoke of Her. He seemed to see all life through Her, and so to the poor, to women and children he was wonderfully gentle and courteous as beloved our Lady's knight.

He was as well a passionate lover of Ireland, of Clare, and of Mungret. When in a base hospital over in Mesopotamia some English officer's made disparaging remarks of the 1916 men, the quiet Padre faced a ward-full of them, and an icy frightened silence followed! He sensed the truth out there; he never swerved for one half-second from the head line set by Pearse, and McSwiney through all the later tangled times.

Mungret seemed somehow to be waiting for him, and he for her. As spiritual Father to the boys, her “holiness and homeliness” appealed to his manly piety and sincerity; and as teacher he revelled in the Gaelic national tradition here. Going through his papers, one finds the list of the Mungret wild flowers and the date on which he first sees them every year, and then the Gaelic name side by side with the high-sounding Graeco Latin botanical term. He loved everything and everyone that was in Mungret or loved Mungret. The evening that in a tense silence the hearse came crunching and creaking up the avenue - one of the little birds he used to feed from his window kept flying from it to the writer's and back again. At last after tapping impatiently with its beak on the panes of the closed window next door, it flew away. The hearse had stopped. The coffin was being borne to the chapel.

Yet the “Father, Who is in Heaven” will care for the little feathered friends of Fr Shaw in Mungret, and Father Shaw will remind Him even of them because they are of the Mungret he loved, and for which he worked and prayed and works and prays that she still may be “kindly Irish of the Irish”, full of the old homely holiness, the natural super naturalness of the Gael - and with some at least of his splendid love for Muire Máthair.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam!

To his brothers and sisters and to, Most Rev Dr Fogarty, Bishop of Killaloe, who was nearer and dearer to him than anyone on earth, we offer our sincere sympathy.

Sharkey, Brian, 1917-1980, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/399
  • Person
  • 22 January 1917-28 October 1980

Born: 22 January 1917, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 07 September 1935, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Ordained: 28 July 1948, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 05 November 1977, Canisius College, Chikuni, Zambia
Died: 28 October 1980, Lusaka, Zambia - Zambiae Province (ZAM)

Part of the Mukasa Seminary, Choma, Zambia community at the time of death

Transcribed HIB to ZAM : 03 December 1969

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

by 1951 at Chikuni, Chisekesi, N Rhodesia (POL Mi) working - third wave of Zambian Missioners

◆ Companions in Mission1880- Zambia-Malawi (ZAM) Obituaries :
Fr Brian entered the novitiate at Emo on 7 September 1935 and went through the usual Jesuit formation. The war determined that the scholastics of these days would receive their academic and spiritual training – sound though perhaps unimaginative – within the shores of holy Ireland, uncontaminated by the philosophical stirrings on the continent. The utter dependability that was to be a characteristic of Fr. Brian's priestly life was noticeable during those years. Here was someone ready to help in picking potatoes on a cold November day, to rake the autumn leaves off the gravel in Rahan, a 'he-man' to fill up a crew for the row down the canal and the River Brosna to Shannon Harbour – the congenial Brian would never let you down.

In 1950, the Irish Province committed itself to the short staffed Polish African Mission, and, at the end of his tertianship, Brian was assigned to Zambia. For thirty years he labored in that field. He did not leave any lasting monument of brick and mortar, but no one could quarrel with this assessment written years after he had left Kasiya: “none of us touched the hearts of the people as Fr Brian did”.

His successors on the mission would be reminded again and again, 'Fatha Shaakee baptised me', 'Fatha Shaakee married me'. This was the more remarkable as Brian did not acquire a fluency in their language. The reason for their response and the depth of their feelings towards him may be gathered from this letter of sympathy from a Form 2 boy who met Brian once, on retreat. He wrote: “It's very sad that such a man should pass away. He was so kind and such a peace-loving man. He was always so eager to help the students. Even though we never lived together, my life has been changed by him”.

The most striking quality in Brian Sharkey that everyone noticed during his 30 years in Zambia, was what may be summed up as his benevolence. The list of places where he served is alone enough to show his availability: Chikuni 1950 to ‘53, Kasiya 1953 to ‘63, Namwala 1963 to ‘70, then, between 1970 and 1974 Civuna, Kasiya again, Fumbo, Kizito and finally Mukasa where he remained until his life ended. After one such sudden switch he remarked to a colleague, ‘You know, there can be the last straw’! But for him, his vows were a sure guide. At a discussion on obedience, he once said, ‘One may always state objections but if the superior holds to his decision, the subject should lay aside his objections and throw himself unreservedly into the task’. St. Ignatius, who wished his sons to be outstanding in obedience, would have been pleased with Brian's performance. He was pre-eminently 'the man in the gap', who could be called upon when there was an emergency to be coped with, an awkward vacancy to be filled, or a contrary person to be accepted.

His devotion to duty resulted in his having a remarkable personal interest in all those committed to his care, whether as parishioners or pupils. He knew each one by name as well as all the other members of that family, the places from which they came and their cross-relationships with other people. Detailed information of this sort was very valuable to him in his apostolate and was a matter of admiration and, at times, of surprise to his brethren. His devotion to duty likewise kept him working to the last. He was carrying a full teaching load of 24 periods a week with exam classes, right up to eight days before he died. He gave no indication that he was ill during the preceding months. The only thing that the community at Mukasa noticed as different from usual about him, was that he tired easily and went to bed early and that he was eating less and sometimes did not appear at meals.

As a result, his death, coming so quickly and without any apparent period of illness beforehand, was not only a great shock but a real puzzle to his colleagues at Mukasa. Yet, during the greater part of that year, he must have been suffering considerably at least from internal upsets and physical exhaustion, if not from actual pain.

His benevolence showed itself in many ways. His kindness to all was common knowledge and there was no limit to the trouble he would take to oblige anyone. His tolerance of the shortcomings of fallen humanity, both within and outside the Society, seemed almost a reflection of the Divine magnanimity. Consequently, he was hardly ever heard to utter a critical word about anyone. Finally, he was renowned for an unruffled calm which was proof against even the most provoking situations, or people. His keen sense of humour which led him to savour and to recount little human tales, if they hurt no one, kept him chuckling good-humouredly to himself.

When he was dying, he said to the rector of Mukasa, showing his concern for both the Rector and the boys: “I am letting you and the boys down”. He then went on to give him details of what he had planned to do in the classes that remained before the exams began and explained where his notes could be found. Long before the words ‘a man for others' became a catch-phrase, Fr Brian was a living example of such a person.

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 56th Year No 1 1981

Obituary

Fr Brian Sharkey (1917-1935-1980)

I saw hardly anything of Brian Sharkey for the last thirty years or so while he was in Zambia. Although we spent all our scholasticate together, detailed memories of those fifteen years cannot be recalled easily at this distance. Many things have happened since 1950 and much has changed; including ourselves. However, some impressions of Brian are crystal clear to me and of importance. I may have forgotten the details but I remember the meaning. His life and attitudes revealed certain things to me so that I remember Brian with gratitude and pleasure. My memories, like the man, are of one piece. He appeared to me, remarkably, as a man of integrity and wholeness.
We met first in the Higher Line pavilion at Clongowes. The day was sunny and warm. Both of us - in the slightly dishonourable role of “twelfth man” in the senior cricket teams were “scorers” in the annual match between Clongowes and Belvedere. Brian, I remember, was very pleasant, welcoming and civilised; something I appreciated even then. I suppose there was a maturity about him which impressed even the very callow youth I then was. As I came to know him better I never had any occasion to alter that judgment.
We met again, to our mutual surprise at the portals of Emo. Although objects and events in that undoubtedly grace filled but quite fantastic noviceship are blurred in the memory (fish-bath, blue gravel, ice-pits, ambulacrum) I remember Brian, who was physically strong, as a great man with a mattock on sycamore roots and as a terrifying inside forward.
Much more importantly, I remember his as someone utterly reliable and stable at all times. Brian gave the impression from the beginning that he knew exactly why he was in Emo and had no doubts about it. Of course, everyone must have some doubts and I am sure Brian was no exception. He seemed however to be able to master the 'blues' better than the rest of us. Even then, I think the reason must have been apparent: he prayed much, perhaps constantly, with deep concentration. Prayer was an occupation at which he was at home.
The years of studies must have been difficult for Brian. He was an intelligent man, sensitive in judgment particularly where people were concerned, but he never made any claims to being academic. During the dark years of 1937 to 1940 when we were juniors in Rathfarnham, Brian bore himself cheerfully and honourably and encouraged others. He was present, at the little cove near Skerries, when Peter Cush was drowned. Brian was a strong swimmer and, if he had not been there, others perhaps would also have been lost.
I found it disturbing to discover - many years later, when it was too late to do anything - that Brian, during his philosophy in Tullabeg and his theology in Milltown, had to translate painfully the Latin textbooks into English before he could start work. He had particular difficulty with Génicot's moral theology: where, of course, he was concerned to be accurate. Then he had to sit out the lectures which, for the most part, were in uncompromising Latin, My heart bleeds for him and for the others who also suffered.
Yet Brian never complained or lost his air of stability and peace. His cheerfulness and sense of humour was constant and never seemed to wear thin, At the time, for everybody, obstacles in studies were many and by no means easy to overcome; for him they must have been enormous. He overcame them all.
Once again, the explanation must lie in his prayer; the quality of which one could guess at from his stillness and obvious concentration. His constant joy, cheerfulness and kindness too must have been the fruit of his inner union with the Lord. From his first day in Emo on, as I have said, Brian seemed to be quite sure why he was in the Society; to serve the Lord in His people. He went to Zambia in the calm certainty that he was called and sent by the Lord. The world was a better place for his being in it. May he rest now in peace!
J C Kelly

Fr Brian entered the noviceship, Emo, on 7th September 1935 and went through the usual Jesuit formation. The war determined that the scholastics of those days would receive their academical and spiritual training, sound though perhaps unimaginative, within the shores of holy Ireland, uncontaminated by the new philosophical stirrings on the continent. The utter dependability that was to be a characteristic of Fr Brian's priestly life was noticeable during those years – one to help in picking potatoes on a cold November day; to rake the autumn leaves off the gravel in Rahan; a “he-man” to fill up a crew for a row down the canal and the Brosna to Shannon Harbour - the congenial Brian would never let you down.
When Frs Paddy Walsh and Paddy O'Brien volunteered for the Polish Mission in Zambia, back in 1946, not one of us young Jesuits dreamed that their action would affect us. We were Mission-minded, but Hong Kong was Our Mission. In 1950, however, the Irish Province committed itself to aid the inadequately manned Polish Mission, and at the completion of his tertianship Brian was assigned to Zambia.
Most of the early Irish activity was centred on an area stretching from the Kafue river towards Livingstone, 200 miles to the south, and from Namwala on the Zambesi to 150 miles east. The district had but one Mission station, Chikuni, an important centre then but rather small in the light of later developments. The Christians then numbered a few hundreds; now they are numbered in thousands. The build-up was not easy, Cycling out on roads that were dusty in the dry season, clinging mud in the rains, to see to the burning of bricks for new schools, encouraging the teachers, organising the catechumenates, then back to Chikuni with its pit-latrine and solitary tin-bath, a struggling paraffin fridge and the tilley lamp, Brian and his associates of those early days faced, literally, the weariness, the fever and the fret, but through their tireless perseverance, in thirty years the Church has been transformed. As one not directly involved in the ceaseless activity but more or less sitting on the sideline, I feel free to express my deep admiration for their devotion.
Remarkable projects and impressive buildings now mark the diocese - churches, halls, schools of varying levels of education, hospitals and clinics - but not one of these is the work of Fr Brian. Has he then left no lasting monument? He certainly has. I do not think that anyone would quarrel with the assertion that none of us touched the hearts of the people as Fr Brian did. Years after he left Kasiya Mission, his successors would be reminded that “Fahta Shaakee baptised me ... Fahta Shaakee married me ...” This was the more remarkable as Brian did not acquire a fluency in their language. The depth of and the reason for their response may be gathered from a Form I boy's letter of sympathy (he had met Brian on retreat once). He wrote and I leave his words untouched), “It’s very sad that such a man should pass away. He was so kind and peace loving man. He was always so eager to help the students ... Even though we never lived together my life has been changed”.
In the expansion, manpower was often stretched thin and harassed Superiors often had to fill a gap at a moment's notice: but Brian was there. He was switched from Chikuni to Kasiya, back to Chikuni, to Fumbo, to Namwala, to Civuna, back to Namwala, etc. Yet he was no automaton: he felt it. After one sudden transfer he said to me, “You know, there can be the last straw”, and on another occasion, “I find this assignment very hard”. But for him, his, Vows were a sure guide. At a discussion on obedience, he once said, “One may always state objections, but if the Superior holds to his decision, the subject should lay aside his objections and throw himself unreservedly into the task”. St Ignatius, who wished his sons to be outstanding in obedience, would have been pleased with Brian's performance
When I was a first-year Junior, I remember a senior Junior (I) whose words of wisdom we held in reverence (and still do) saying, “Gosh, I'm convinced that the strength of the Society lies in the ordinary Jesuit”. The life of Fr Brian Sharkey would be a forceful argument in favour of that proposition.
He was always contented, and particularly so during his last years in Mukasa. It was a time of shortages but Brian was largely responsible for ensuring that things ran smoothly; and they did. When the end suddenly came, he worried that he was letting Jerry O’Connell and the boys down just before their exams. Long before the words became a catch-phrase, Fr Brian Sharkey was a living example of “living for others”.
D C

Seaver, William, 1825-1891, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/466
  • Person
  • 22 December 1825-29 August 1891

Born: 22 December 1825, Rush, County Dublin
Entered: 25 April 1845, Amiens, France (FRA)
Ordained: 1860
Final vows: 15 August 1872
Died: 29 August 1891, Tienen (Tirlemont), Brabant, Belgium

Younger brother of Matthew Seaver - RIP 1872, and Uncle of Elias Seaver - RIP 1886

by 1853 at Montauban France (TOLO) studying Theology
by 1857 at St Beuno’s Wales (ANG) Studying Theology
by 1865 at Rome Italy (ROM) making Tertianship
by 1878 at Fourvière France (LUGD)
by 1878 at Mount St Mary’s - Spencer St Chesterfield (ANG) working
by 1880 at St Joseph’s, Glasgow Scotland (ANG) working
by 1882 at Stonyhurst England (ANG) working
by 1883 at home - health

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Younger brother of Matthew Seaver - RIP 1872, and Uncle of Elias Seaver - RIP 1886

Studied Philosophy at Toulouse
1856 He was sent for Regency teaching at Clongowes and then as Prefect at Tullabeg
He studied Theology partly at St Beuno’s, partly in Hardwicke St, and finished at Tullabeg.
1861 He was sent as teacher and Prefect to Tullabeg
He then was sent to Rome for Tertianship
1865-1866 He was sent as Minister to Tullabeg.
He then taught in Belvedere for many years.
1875 he was Minister at Milltown.
Failing in health he was sent to Fourvière, and worked for a while in Chesterfield, England. Becoming mentally affected he went to Belgium and died there 29 August 1891

Seaver, Matthew, 1816-1872, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2102
  • Person
  • 28 September 1816-26 February 1872

Born: 28 September 1816, Rush, County Dublin
Entered: 02 October 1835, Hodder, Stonyhurst, England - Angliae Province (ANG)
Ordained: 1851
Final vows: 02 February 1860
Died: 26 February 1872, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin

Older brother of William Seaver - RIP 1891, and Uncle of Elias Seaver - RIP 1886

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Older brother of William Seaver - RIP 1891, and Uncle of Elias Seaver - RIP 1886
Early eductaion was at Clongowes.
After First Vows and studies he was sent to Clongowes, as prefect and teaching Grammar for a umber of years. He was also Minister there for a time.
1855 He was appointed Rector at Tullabeg, succeeding John Ffrench, who had been appointed Rector of Belvedere.
1861-1864 Joseph Dalton succeeded him at Tullabeg, and he was appopinted Rector of Belvedere.
1864 He was appointed Procurator at Clongowes, and later also as Minister.
1866 He was sent to Gardiner St, where he remained until his death 26 February 1872.

He contracted small pox from one of his penitents, and indeed died before she did. A large number of people attended his funeral.

He was a man of great administrative capacity. he built the large wing at Tullabeg, which bore his name, and he was admired by everyone who knew how a College ought to be built. He was very zealous and kind to the sick. He also kept many from souperism (during the famine times, accepting food along with Protestant instruction). During an outbreak of small-pox in Dublin, he showed heroic charity and zeal. With his own hands, he placed many people who had died from the disease in their coffins, when friends and family had fled. he ultimately succumbed to this disease himself.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father Matthew Seaver 1816-1872
Born in Dublin on September 28th 1816, Matthew Seaver was educated at Clongowes. He entered the Society in 1835.

When Fr Ffrench became Rector of Belvedere in 1855, he was succeeded by Fr Seaver as Rector of Tullabeg. In 1861 he was Rector of Belvedere until 1864. He spent the remainder of his life at Gardiner Street.
He was a man of great administrative ability. He built a large wing at Tullabeg, which to this day bears his name and is admired by everybody who knows how a College ought to be built.
He was very zealous, extremely kind to the sick and especially successful in rescuing souls from the snares of “souperism”.
During an epidemic of small pox in Dublin, he displayed heroic charity. With his own hands he coffined several victims of the disease, when all others had fled in terror. He contracted the dreaded disease himself and died a true martyr of charity on February 26th 1872.

Scully, Daniel O'Connell, 1826-1892, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/398
  • Person
  • 26 November 1826-19 June 1892

Born: 26 November 1826, Philipstown, County Offaly
Entered: 13 September 1852, Amiens France - Franciae Province (FRA)
Ordained: 1861, Laval, France
Final vows: 02 February 1876
Died: 19 June 1892, Belvedere College SJ, Dublin

by 1854 at Laval, France (FRA) studying Theology
by 1857 at Amiens, France (FRA) studying
by 1858 at Laval, France (FRA) studying Theology
by 1860 at Leuven, Belgium (BELG) studying Theology
by 1873 at Laon, France (CAMP) making Tertianship

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Early education was at Tullabeg first and then Clongowes.

He studied Theology and Philosophy at Laval, and was ordained there 1861.
He was a Teacher and Prefect at Clongowes for five years and just over a year at Tullabeg.
The rest of his Jesuit life was spent teaching in Belvedere, with the exception of tertianship at Drongen. He was also a Minister for three years.
He had a very long illness, and was carefully nursed by his old friend Brother George Sillery, who told many amusing stories about him. He died 19 June 1892. His funeral was a very representative one in attendance.
He was for many years the fast friend of the Christian Brothers, whose Spiritual Director he had been for a long period.
He was very quick tempered, but thoroughly goof-hearted, and generous to the extreme. He usually heard Confessions in Gardiner St at night, and here it was clear the esteem in which he was held by both Priests and lay people. He was a man of lively faith and devoted to the interests of Belvedere. He always offered the Mass of each First Friday for the intentions of the Sacred Heart. His devotion to the sick and dying was admirable, and he often remained up the whole night with some of his penitents, in order that he might bring them comfort in their last moments.
He lived 41 years in the Society.

Scott, John, 1793-1854, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2098
  • Person
  • 25 February 1793-17 December 1854

Born: 25 February 1793, Shevington, Wigan, Lancashire, England
Entered: 07 September 1815, Hodder, Lancashire, England - Angliae Province (ANG)
Ordained: September 1822, Dublin
Died: 17 December 1854, Boston, Lincolnshire, England - Angliae Province (ANG)

Scott, John 1835-1894, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/426
  • Person
  • 26 January 1835-11 May 1894

Born: 26 January 1835, Liverpool, Lancashire, England
Entered: 02 May 1856, Clongowes Wood College SJ, Naas, County Kildare
Final vows: 02 February 1868
Died: 11 May 1894, Clongowes Wood College SJ, Naas, County Kildare

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
He was a tailor by trade. He worked at Milltown as a tailor for many years. He was later sent to Tullabeg, and when it closed in 1856, he went to Clongowes, where he worked until his death 11 May 1894. He was a model of industry.

Scally, James, 1902-1948, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/395
  • Person
  • 12 August 1902-30 January 1948

Born: 12 August 1902, Cloneygowan, County Offaly
Entered: 01 September 1919, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 14 June 1932, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1935, Clongowes Wood College SJ
Died: 30 January 1948, Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

by 1924 in Australia - Regency at St Aloysius College, Sydney
by 1927 at a Sanatorium in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
by 1934 at St Beuno’s Wales (ANG) making Tertianship

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
James Scally entered the Society aged sixteen, in 1919 at Tullabeg. He went to Australia after only a year of juniorate for his health in late 1922, where he taught and was assistant prefect of discipline at St Aloysius' College. By 1926 his health seems to have recovered sufficiently to return to Ireland for philosophy and theology, followed by tertianship at St Beuno's 1933-34. His health thereafter became indifferent, but he undertook administrative posts such as minister of Tullabeg until his death at a relatively young age.

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 23rd Year No 2 1948
Obituary
Fr. James Scally (1902-1919-1948)
Fr. James Scally died at Our Lady's Hospice, Harold's Cross, Dublin on January 30th. He was born in 1902 at Cloneygowan in Laoighis. He went to school first to the Christian Brothers in Portarlington and then to Clongowes. He entered the Society in 1919. From 1911 to 1926, he taught at St. Aloysius' College, Sydney. He studied philosophy and theology at Milltown Park and was ordained there in 1932. After his tertianship at St. Beuno's, he was master in Clongowes until 1936 when he went to Tullabeg. He remained there for five years during which he was Minister. He came then to Belvedere where he was at first associate-editor of the Irish Monthly and ‘The Madonna’ and then master until 1945. During the last years he was in Rathfarnham. His health, which had never been robust, forced him in the end to give up all active work.
These dates and places give a cold record of Fr. Scally's life. They reveal little of the friend whose early death we keenly mourn. They tell nothing of the high courage which made possible their record of work undertaken and accomplished.
Fr. ‘Jim’ Scally was gifted by God with an unusually attractive character. He certainly had no enemies, even in the very mildest meaning of the word. Rather was he loved by all who knew him, Without the slightest affectation or conscious effort on his part, he quickly won the sympathy and friendship of those he net. Some twelve years ago he met friends of the present writer, and then only for a few brief days, and after that never saw them again. They never forgot him, never failed to ask for news of him; they were deeply grieved at the news of his death. His serious illness at Christmas caused sorrow to his friends in the Community at Tullabeg, a sorrow which was shared at more than one hearth in the neighbourhood where each year the same question was asked with unaffected feeling: ‘Will Father Scally never come back to us again’??
It is not easy to describe or disengage the qualities which thus attracted. Father Jim or Seamus, as he was known to many, was naturally shy and reserved - though not unduly so - and he was modest almost to the point of diffidence. Those natural qualities he transformed and raised through his piety to the level of good, round Christian humility, still unforced and still attractive. He was sensitive, too, and this quality God was to use to his sanctification. He was intensely and transparently sincere, and to those who knew him well, that sincerity was very deep and very real. It was closely allied to a great earnestness in his life, the unfailing consciousness which he ever had of the high ideal of his priesthood and of his religious calling. At the back of everything he did and said, and not far back, there was always that great seriousness of purpose, that concern about the things of God. I can certainly recall many conversations with Father Scally from which I came away not only edified, but inspired. The Exercises of St. Ignatius and the matter of his own retreat were subjects on which he would speak with enthusiasm and eagerness. In Tullabeg in the years after his ordination, he planned great things which God did not ask him to accomplish. True to the spirit of the second and sixteenth rules of the Summary, he was far from neglecting the sanctification of himself, applying himself seriously to that most difficult pursuit, and the years that followed gave him rich opportunity. For years he kept at the work allotted to him when true zeal only and a deep religious spirit could have supplied for fast failing physical strength. When he could do nothing else, he prayed, and two days before he died, when his physical suffering and discomfort were intense, he was still striving to read his Office, and his only anxiety was that he would not be able to receive Holy Communion every day. Unconsciously, as I imagine, repeating the words of Father Damien, he said : “Without Holy Communion I do not think I would be able to carry on at all”.
It was Father Plater, I think, who threatened to haunt to his discomfort whoever would dare to write his life. On reading what I have written here, I confess to the fear of some such visitation if I leave it at that. For no one would repudiate more vehemently than Fr. Jim, any attempt at ‘saint-making’ in his regard. He had his faults and no one was more conscious of them than he, and none more concerned about them. Further, to those who knew him not, these words picture one who was dull and grim and deadly serious, my only excuse is that words cannot capture things so elusive and immaterial as the sparkle of the eye and the playful chuckle which told of a keen, fresh, though quiet, sense of humour which never left him even when illness pressed most heavily on him. Father Scally was laid to rest on the second of February. On that Feastday of Our Blessed Lady, thirteen years before, he had taken his final Vows in religion. When he died, though young in years, he was mature in the things of God. The way which God had chosen for his sanctification was the difficult road of sickness. As the years went by God asked more and more from him, and to the end he gave generously and courageously. In him the offering of the Sume ac Suscipe - that consummation of the Exercises - in a very literal sense was given and received. He was a model to us all.
Suaimhneas síorraidhe d'á anam, agus leaba i measg na naomh go raibh aige

◆ The Belvederian, Dublin, 1948

Obituary

Father James Scally SJ

We learned with deep regret of the death of Fr James Scally SJ, which took place on January 30th this year, He had been on the staff of Belvedere for some years before going to Rathfarnham Castle in 1945. He had been at school at Clongowes and entered Tullabeg, at that time the noviceship, in 1919. As a scholastic he had spent some years in Australia, chiefly at Riverview; and was ordained at Milltown Park in 1932. After his tertianship, which he made at St Beuno's, Wales, he was. appointed to teach at Clongowes; but the work in the class-room was too exacting on his strength, which was not at all robust; and in 1936 he was appointed Minister of Tullabeg, which in 1930 had been made the Philosophate of the Irish Province. He held that office for five years.

He made an excellent Minister. He was painstaking, methodical, very practical, pleasant and easy to deal with, and very considerate and kind. He was very popular with the Philosophers; and did all he could to make life pleasant in that remote region. The Philosophers of that date will remember what a genial Master of Villa he made ; and they were grateful for all he did to help the games, the plays, the boating. They will remember the canoe which he got Fr Vincent Conway, of the Australian Province, to construct - which some wit called “The Scallywag” - in which he used to navigate the network of waterways, which surround Tullabeg, the canal, the Brosna, the Cloddagh, the Silver, with their diminutive, meandering tributaries. In due season he did a bit of shooting or fishing. He was very happy at Tullabeg.

But all his life he had to struggle against a weakness of the lungs. As a Scholastic he had spent some months in a sanatorium. The disease gained ground and he had to curtail his activities. To his energetic and zealous temperament this enforced inactivity grew very trying. He liked to give retreats and do other spiritual work; and after his death his voluminous, methodical, collection of spiritual notes showed what attention he had given to qualify himself for this ministry. In the last few years the disease gained ground rapidly. He was always courageous and uncomplaining, and struggled on against his growing weakness. In the last few months the disease had attacked his throat, and he suffered greatly. He received the news that he was dying with perfect resignation. He was anointed on the afternoon of January 30th, 1948, and two hours later death came to release him from his sufferings. By his patience and constant prayers he had greatly edified all who came near him in his illness. He was only 45 years.

To his parents, his brother and sisters we offer our deepest sympathy.

◆ The Clongownian, 1948

Obituary

Father James Scally SJ

Father James Scally died at Our Lady's Hospice, Dublin, on January 30th. He as born in 1902 in Cloneygowan in Offaly, He went to school first to the Christian Bothers in Portarlington and then came to Clongowes. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1919. From 1922 to 1926 he taught at St Aloysius' College, Sydney. He studied philosophy and theology at Milltown Park and was ordained there in 1932. Soon he came as master to Clongowes, staying until 1936 when he went to Tullabeg as Minister. He then went to Belvedere as associate-editor of the “Irish Monthly” and “The Madonna”. The last years of his life he spent in Rathfarnham Castle. His health, which had never been robust, forced him in the end to give up all active work.

These dates and places give a cold record of Father Scally's life; they reveal little of the friend whose death we keenly mourn; they tell nothing of the high courage which made possible this record of work undertaken and accomplished.

Father Scally was gifted by God with an unusually attractive character and was loved by all who knew him. Without the slightest affectation or conscious effort on his part he quickly won the friendship and sympathy of those he met. People with whom he came in contact only for a very short time never forgot him, never failed to ask for news of him, and were deeply sorry when they heard of his death. When news of his last serious illness came, it brought sorrow to many homes where the same question was often asked with unaffected feeling: “Will Father Scally never come back to us again?”

In the years after his ordination, Father Scally planned great things which God did not ask him to accomplish; but he did seize the rich opportunity of self-sanctification and sacrifice that was offered to him and for years he kept at the tasks allotted to him, when, certainly, true zeal only and a deep religious spirit can have supplied for fast failing plıysical strength. To what degree of perfection he attained in the end God alone knows but I venture to say it was a very high degree indeed.

If, to those who knew him not, these words picture one who was dull and grim and deadly serious my only excuse is that words cannot capture things so elusive as the sparkle of the eye and a playful chuckle which told of a keen, fresh, though quiet sense of humour which never left him even when illness pressed most heavily upon him. But at last that illness came to an end and it was on the Feast of Our Blessed Lady, the second of February - the feastday on which thirteen years before he had taken his final vows in religion - that he was laid to rest.

Suaimhness síorraidhe d'á anam agus leaba i measg na naomh go raibh aige.

Scallan, Brian R, 1914-1997, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/541
  • Person
  • 22 June 1914-01 February 1997

Born: 22 June 1914, Limerick City, County Limerick
Entered: 07 September 1933, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Ordained: 31 July 1946, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1949
Died: 01 February 1997, Cherryfield Lodge, Dublin

Part of the Manresa, Dollymount, Dublin community at the time of death.

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 23rd Year No 4 1948

During the summer Frs. Jas. FitzGerald, Kearns and Scallan helped in the campaign organised by Dr. Heenan, Superior of the Mission House, Hampstead, to contact neglected or lapsed Catholics in Oxfordshire. Writing Fr. Provincial in August, the Superior pays a warm tribute to the zeal and devotion of our three missionaries :
“I hope”, he adds, “that the Fathers will have gained some useful experience in return for the great benefit which their apostolic labours conferred on the isolated Catholics of Oxfordshire. It made a great impression on the non-Catholic public that priests came from Ireland and even from America, looking for lost sheep. That fact was more eloquent than any sermon. The Catholic Church is the only hope for this country. Protestantism is dead...?”

◆ Interfuse

Interfuse No 92 : August 1996

Obituary

Fr Brian Scallan (1914-1997)

22nd June 1914: Born in Limerick.
Early education: St. Munchin's, Limerick
7th Sept. 1933: Entered the Society at Emo
1935 - 1938: Rathfarnham - Arts at UCD
1938 - 1941: Tullabeg - studying Philosophy
1941 - 1943: Clongowes - Regency
1943 - 1947: Milltown Park - Studying Theology
31st July 1946: Ordained at Milltown Park
1947 - 1948: Rathfarnham - Tertianship
1948 - 1952: Mungret College, Teaching
1952 - 1954: Clongowes, Teaching
1954 - 1957: Crescent College, Limerick, Teaching
1957 - 1982: Rathfarnham: Chaplain-Colleges of Technology Bolton St. and Rathmines
1972 - 1979: Parish Curate - Edenmore Parish
1979 - 1982: Parish Curate - Marino Parish
1982 - 1992: Manresa - Marino Parish Curate
1993- - 1997: Retired.
1st Feb 1997: Died at Cherryfield Lodge

Brian Scallan was born in Limerick on June 22nd, 1914. He retained a life-long interest in the people and events of that city. The Limerick Anthology was the last book he was reading, and he continued to have a keen interest in Young Munster, with whom he had played rugby prior to joining the Society. He was a good rugby player and was capped for Munster Schools when he was a student at St. Munchin's. He joined the Society in 1933, doing his novitiate at Emo. He was described by his contemporaries as out-going, a good companion, and a friendly person. He was interested in wildflowers, nature, and a very good musician, playing both the piano and organ.

After the Novitiate he did an Arts degree at UCD, and then did his philosophy in Tullabeg. His regency was done at Clongowes, his theology at Milltown. He was ordained on July 31, 1946, and did his Tertianship at Rathfarnham 1947-48. Following this he taught in Mungret for four years, Clongowes for two years and in the Crescent for one year.

After this, in 1957 he moved to Rathfarnham, becoming a Chaplain in colleges of Technology, a ministry he continued for fifteen years at Bolton Street and Rathmines. In that work, his work in providing books for poorer students was noted. He gave them a love for reading and was concerned for their welfare. For part of this time he also helped with chaplaincy work with the new Mercy school in Ballyroan; he used to teach catechism and organise plays and operettas, being very successful at it. It was during those years of chaplaincy in the colleges of Technology that he began to organise pilgrimages to Lourdes, a work of love that went on for more than thirty years. He gave retreats regularly in the summers when he was teaching and when he was chaplain.

From 1972 until 1992 he worked in parishes, first in Edenmore for eight years and then for twelve in Marino. He was a very pastoral priest, who was dedicated to the Church in serving the people. He was compassionate and a good listener, being readily available to help people. Many parishioners from those parishes came to his funeral and could recall many deeds of kindness. His devotion to Our Lady; his many trips to Lourdes; his booklet on Lourdes left a deep impression on many.

Ill-health led to an amputation and forced his retirement from the pastoral work he loved. Moving into Manresa was a big change for him, but he adapted well and was very much at home there. His fear of being isolated and forgotten did not materialise as he had a regular flow of visitors. He continued to have interests in sport, music and reading. His health deteriorated before Christmas. He went to hospital shortly after Christmas and was faced with the possibility of a second amputation, which he did not want. His condition deteriorated further and he was moved to Cherryfield; he wanted to die among his own. Brian died peacefully on February 1st, surrounded by members of his family, community, and some friends, His sister, Elsie, died a little more than two weeks before Brian, leaving one sister, Sr. Rita FCJ, as the only surviving member of the family. May he rest in peace.

Mike Drennan, SJ

◆ The Clongownian, 1997

Obituary
Father Brian Scallan SJ

Fr Scallan, a native of Limerick, came to Clongowes for his years of regency as a scholastic, before ordination, 1941-43, and returned as a priest for a further two years, 1952-54. Apart from three years teaching in the Crescent immediately afterwards, he spent the rest of his long life divided between chaplaincy to the Colleges of Technology in Dublin (Bolton St and Rathmines), 1957-72, and parish work in Edenmore and Marino. He died in Cherryfield on 1 February 1997.

Saurin, Matthew, 1828-1901, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/394
  • Person
  • 12 February 1825-10 May 1901

Born: 12 February 1825, Duleek, County Meath
Entered: 24 September 1849, Amiens, France (FRA)
Ordained: Maynooth - pre Entry
Final vows: 15 August 1862
Died: 10 May 1901, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly

by 1855 at Moulins College (LUGD) for Regency
by 1865 at Bordeaux Residence France (TOLO) health
by 1870 at Mongré Collège, Villefranche-sur-Mer (LUGD) working
by 1886 at Charleroi Belgium (BELG) Teaching

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
He entered Maynooth for his own Diocese, and was a classmate of the future Bishop, Dr Nulty. After Ordination he felt a different call and applied to the Society.

After First Vows he was sent to Tullabeg where he taught Grammar for two years.
He then returned to France for further Regency.
1857-1865 He returned to Ireland, and he taught at Belvedere, Limerick and Clongowes.
1865 He was at the Bordeaux Residence.
1866-1869 He was back in Ireland in Milltown and Gardiner St.
1867 The famous “Convent Case : Saurin v Star” was tried was tried in the English Courts, in which Matthew’s sister, A Mercy Sister, took an action against her Superioress and Community of the Mercy Convent Hull for the harsh treatment of expulsion. (cf https://archive.org/details/greatconventcase00joseuoft/page/n3/mode/2up) It was decided that Matthew should live outside the jurisdiction of the Courts, lest he be called as a witness, and so he lived in the Continent.
On his return home he was stationed at Dublin.
1872-1884 He was sent to Tullabeg as a Missioner for twelve years.
1884-1889 He was at Clongowes and Mungret, except for a year that he spent at Charleroi in Belgium.
1899 Early in this year he had an accident at Clongowes, when he fell down the steps near the Dispenser’s Office and broke his hip. It was apparently impossible to set it properly, with the result that he could no longer walk. After a very active life - he was a very keen sportsman which he called “Hunting” - it was a very difficult transition for him. However, he never complained, though on one occasions, being told that the Novices had gone out for a walk, he said “Oh, how I wish I could go out too”, and then added with a flash of his old humour “Horses and dogs!”
He died at Tullabeg 10 May 1901 deeply regretted by all who knew him, as his bright humorous ways made him a welcome addition to every community.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father Matthew Saurin SJ 1825-1901
At Tullabeg on May 10th 1901 died Fr Matthew Saurin, deeply regretted by all, for he was a man of bright and humorous disposition, which made him a welcome addition to the various communities he lived in..

He was born at Duleek on February 12th 1825 and was ordained priest at Maynooth for his native Diocese of Meath. Shortly after his ordination, he felt the call to religious life and accordingly entered the Society in 1849.

Fr Saurin’s main work in the Society was as a missioner on the Mission Staff, in the course of which he was stationed at Tullabeg for twelve years. On retiring from the strenuous work of a missioner from 1884-1899, he was stationed at Mungret and Clongowes. It was in the latter house that he met with an accident to his hip bone. At age 74 it was impossible to set it properly, and from then on he was deprived of the use of his legs.

After a very active life that he had led, for he took a very keen interest in al kinds of field sports which he called “hunting”, this life of inactivity must have been very irksome to him. However, he never complained. Once only was he ever heard to make a remark which showed he felt the tedium of his illness. One day he was told that the novices had gone out for a walk. “Oh” he said “how I wish I could go out for a walk too”. But immediately, he added with a flash of his old humour, “However, if Almighty God has need of my legs He is welcome to them”.

◆ The Crescent : Limerick Jesuit Centenary Record 1859-1959

Bonum Certamen ... A Biographical Index of Former Members of the Limerick Jesuit Community

Father Matthew Saurin (1825-1901)

A native of Duleek, Co. Meath, had been educated at Maynooth and ordained for the diocese of Meath. He entered the Society in 1859, at St Acheul, and continued his studies in France. Father Saurin was one of the founder members of the re-established Jesuit community in Limerick in 1859 and remained as a member of the teaching staff of the college until 1863. After some twelve years as a missioner he resumed teaching at Clongowes and Mungret. His later years were spent at Tullabeg.

Saul, William, 1910-1976, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/393
  • Person
  • 18 October 1910-01 August 1976

Born: 18 October 1910, Kilmainham, Dublin
Entered: 01 September 1928, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 31 July 1941
Final Vows: 02 February 1944, Sacred Heart College SJ, Limerick
Died: 01 August 1976, St Joseph. Hawthorn, Melbourne, Australia

Early education at CBS Synge Street, Dublin

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
William Saul was educated at the Christian Brothers school, Synge St, Dublin, 1920-28, and entered the Society at St Stanislaus', Tullabeg, 1 September 1928. Philosophy studies were at Tullabeg, 1932-34, and his juniorate studies in mathematics, chemistry, physics, and Irish, were at the National University Dublin, 1930-31. Regency was at Mungret College, Limerick, 1935, and Clongowes Wood, 1936-37. His theology was at Milltown Park, Dublin, 1938-41, and tertianship at Rathfarnham, 1942.
Before arriving in Australia in 1948, he taught at the Crescent, Limerick, and at Clongowes. From 1955-61 Saul taught mathematics and music, as well as directing the military band at Xavier College, Kew. Then he taught religion, mathematics and music at Riverview, 1962-71. After a year at Canisius College, Pyrnble, 1972, he spent the last years of his life at the provincial residence, Hawthorn.
Saul was a highly talented musician and could play any instrument in the orchestra. He created an arrangement of “Galway Lullaby” from which he received royalties. He was not an easy man to know, and was considered irascible. In his latter years, he did not appreciate superiors, whom he considered were not friendly towards him. He did not always appear to be the happiest of men.

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 23rd Year No 3 1948

Frs. Kennedy G., O'Flanagan and Saul leave for Australia on 9th July.

Irish Province News 51st Year No 4 1976

Obituary :

Fr William (Bill) Saul (1928-1976)

Fr. J. A. Mac Seumas writes:
It was with a heavy heart that I heard last July of the death of poor Willie Saul. I call him Willie as that is how we knew him long ago in Synge Street, in the 1920s. In those days we walked to and from school, only travelling by tram when the weather was too bad. And so we usually walked, especially home, with the same people. In my case I walked back with Willie Saul, During those years we came out to Rathfarnham Castle on a three-day retreat once a year. I was on retreat with Willie Saul four times, in the years 1924 to 1928. One cannot emphasise sufficiently what good these retreats did in helping young lads to go on for the priesthood, not only in the Society, but also to other religious orders and the diocesan clergy.
In due course Willie and I, and some others, having applied to the Society to be admitted, left Dublin on the afternoon train on September 1st for Tullamore. We were met by the socius to Fr Martin Maher, Fr Henry King and made the uninspiring trip out to Rahan College, otherwise known as St. Stanislaus College. After the period of first probation, we began the two years of the novitiate and, looking back on it now, I can say that we enjoyed that period of our lives a little more than we might admit.
The two years passed quickly enough, and the Vow Day came along. We then entered the Society as scholastics, bound by yow to spend our lives in the same Society until God would call us to Himself.
When Willie reached the colleges, in Mungret in fact, the pattern of ill health in his life began to show itself. He suffered from severe stomach pains which often left him very weak. This persisted, and a year in Clongowes when he was Study Prefect showed no improvement, in fact he never recovered from this malady of the intestines.
Whilst he was in the study he had a very quiet systematic method of dealing with any disturbance. He kept an exact record of any breach of the study rules. For these offences he did not punish. Later if any concerted breach of discipline occurred, he would read out the list of minor infringements, which he had kept, and remark that the offenders would receive their due punishment unless quiet was restored. This usually had the desired effect.
He was very loyal to his family. His brother, Paddy, died at an early age. Fr James was an SMA. Myles was a founder of the Photographic Section of the Garda Siochana. Willie himself was blessed with a very quick mind, and was very good at mathematics. He taught Leaving Certificate in this subject. He was also talented in a high degree in music, and more about this later.
But above all else he was solidly spiritual. It was only a solid spirituality that sustained him in Milltown. He suffered severely from pains in his stomach. The house physician was not ideal for religious. He was known to have told his students in UCD that religious were prone to be hypochondriacs. It would seem that he had put Fr Willie into that category, because all the comfort given him on his first visit was “You are suffering from flatulence”, and on a second visit months afterwards he told Bill Saul, “Take plenty of exercise”. Needless to say the medical report was accepted and acted on by his religious superiors, and Fr Willie soldiered on. It took peritonitis and an ambulance in the early hours of the morning and an emergency operation to prove that Fr Willie was a genuinely sick man.
A second major operation followed, both of which, coupled with some time convalescing, meant that Fr Saul missed a sizeable share of the scholastic year. He was now told that he could not be ordained because the requirements of Canon Law had not been met.
With only weeks to go before ordination day Fr Willie was able to show the fallacy of the so-called canonical obstacle, and was then presented with the final hurdle : his exam, and if you make it you are acceptable. He rose to it like Eddie Macken on Boomerang.
Willie had loyalty to his friends in a high order. With a serious turn of mind he was dependable and true. This seriousness showed itself in his reading, his taste was intellectual and heavy, rather than frivolous. He loved a good problem, be it in maths, chess, bridge or anything. Incidentally, he played a good hand at bridge, sized up the situation in a brief time, and then played without any further hesitation, and always got full value from a hand.
He enjoyed more than anything a good musical evening, and he put much work into organising both the instrumental and the singing side of such a get-together. He himself was very talented in violin, flute and piano.
He had a quick mind and was a clear thinker. He had, moreover, the gift of making clear to us slower ones in philosophy and theology what his alert mind had grasped in a flash. And most important of all he was most generous in using this gift.
In these days of comfort and carpets one small point deserves mention. Many a theologian in those days studied in less discomfort because of his skill as a carpenter. Fr Saul’s speciality was an armchair of his special design. The music-stands in the Crescent, still in use, if I mistake not, are his handiwork. The revival of the Caecilians was in no small part due to his inspiration and hard work.
We lost touch with Willie when he left us for Australia in 1948. May he rest in peace.

Fr Hugh O'Neill adds the following details concerning Fr Bill Saul’s life as a Jesuit:
From 1943 (after his tertianship) till 1947 he taught in the Crescent; then, after another year or so in Clongowes, he went to Australia around 1948. After he left Ireland, Fr Saul worked in the following places: 1948 56: St. Louis School, Claremount, Perth; 1956-62: Xavier College, Kew, Melbourne; 1962-72: St. Ignatius College, Riverview; 1972-74: Canisius College, Pymble; 1974-76: Director of Jesuit Seminary Association.

Ryan, William, 1823-1876, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2082
  • Person
  • 02 April 1823-26 October 1876

Born: 02 April 1823, Castlebar, County Mayo
Entered: 28 September 1857, Beaumont, England - Angliae Province (ANG)
Ordained: Maynooth - pre Entry
Final vows: 08 September 1869
Died: 26 October 1876, Milltown Park, Dublin

by 1868 at Leuven Belgium (BELG) Studying

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Early education was at the Royal College Maynooth, where he proved very able and carried off a number for the special prizes awarded to students. He was Ordained at Maynooth, and worked as a Curate in his native Diocese for some years before Ent.

He Entered at Beaumont under Thomas Tracy Clarke.
After First Vows he was sent to Clongowes, and then to Tullabeg, where he was a Teacher, Prefect , Director of the BVM Sodality and Spiritual Father to Ours.
1870 He devoted himself to Missionary work up to the log illness which preceded his death, and he did not spare himself in zeal.
1876 He had to give up work early in the year and he retired to Milltown. He suffered from bronchitis, paralysis and a weak heart. Humility and patience were the virtues in evidence through this trial, and he died 26 October 1876 in his 54th year.
He had great eloquence, recognised all over the country, and exercised great charity, though his voice was quite a harsh one.

Ryan, Patrick, 1918-1998, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/615
  • Person
  • 26 February 1918-31 May 1998

Born: 26 February 1918, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 07 September 1937, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Final vows: 15 August 1948, Belvedere College SJ
Died: 31 May 1998, Cherryfield Lodge, Dublin

Part of the Milltown Park, Dublin community at the time of death.

by 1979 at Lahore, Pakistan (MIS PAK) working

◆ Interfuse
Interfuse No 101 : Special Edition 1999

Obituary

Br Patrick Ryan (1918-1988)

26th Feb. 1918: Born in Dublin.
Pre-entry experience: He did a commerce course in the Technical School, Parnell Square.
He was employed as a clerk for 4 years.
7th Sep. 1937: Entered the Society at Emo.
8th Sep 1939: First vows at Emo.
1940 - 1941: Galway, Cook
1941 - 1945: Clongowes Wood College, Cook.
1945 - 1958: Belvedere, Sacristan
1948: Tertianship at Tullabeg,
He took Final Vows on 15th Aug. 1948, at Belvedere.
1958 - 1977: Gardiner Street Church, Sacristan (Assistant sacristan/Parish work since 1975)
1977 - 1978: Milltown Park, Sacristan
1978 - 1980: Pakistan, Administration, Loyola Hall.
1980 - 1993: Milltown Park, sacristan.
After that, he helped with administration: post, papers, etc.

In latter years, Pat went across to Cherryfield Lodge for an occasional rest and nursing care. He loved the place, and the nurses were very fond of him. His last stay lasted six weeks during which he showed signs that old age was catching up on him. Even when his voice went, he could converse in a whisper till the end. He died perfectly resigned and at peace on Sunday morning 31st May 1998.

Homily at the funeral Mass of Br. Pat Ryan, SJ
Pat Ryan died peacefully at Cherryfield Lodge early on the morning of May 31st, 1998 - the Feast of Pentecost. Today we gather to give thanks to God for Pat Ryan's life, and to pray that he will now enjoy God's presence for ever. Pat dedicated his life to the Lord in the Society and worked in a number of Jesuit apostolates with great dedication and fidelity - the longest of these were in Gardiner Street, where he was Sacristan for eighteen years.

Our readings today speak to us about the Christian vision that inspired Pat's life over eighty years. Brother Patrick Joseph Ryan was born on the 26th February 1918. He attended the Local National School in Phibsboro, and followed this with a commerce course at a technical school. Pat then worked for four years as a clerk before entering the Society of Jesus in 1937. His work in the Society began with some assignments that he did not like very much. He served as an assistant cook in two of our Colleges and then from 1945-1958 he was in Belvedere College as a sacristan and general houseman. From 1958 to 1977 he was a sacristan in our large public Church here, St. Francis Xavier's, Gardiner Street. From 1975 to 1977 he trained in a new sacristan and worked as a member of the newly established parish team. In 1978 he was appointed to replace the Sacristan at Milltown Park and also to work in the Library. Providence had its own special plans for Pat at that time and I will return to that a little later!

As Pat came in recent weeks to recognize that he was nearing the end of his life, he expressed in a very peaceful and serene way his gratitude to God, to his family and relatives, to his many friends in the Society of Jesus and outside for the many blessings he had received during the course of his life. For many of us here in the Jesuit Community at Milltown Park, Pat's great appreciation for his vocation to the Jesuit way of life will be linked with a memorable celebration we had at Milltown last September as we celebrated Pat's sixtieth anniversary as a Jesuit.

Pat's faith was nourished in his family, where he received a strong sense of Christian values. This led him to join the Society of Jesus in 1937. His first assignment was as a cook in Galway - a job he didn't like too much! Pat spent long periods after this in three communities: Belvedere, Gardiner Street and Milltown. Since 1980 he has been a member of the community at Milltown, spending short times at Cherryfield Lodge when he needed some quiet and some nursing.

Pat spent two years in Lahore, Pakistan from 1978 to 1980. He enjoyed the completely different perspective on life that this stay in Lahore gave him. He wrote in a letter; “There is no other way to describe it all only that it is a completely different world out here. In six weeks here I have heard and seen things I never really knew existed. I went into a Mosque the other day and saw the Muslims at Prayer. Very devout. Indeed, I had to take off my shoes and I was provided with a very small hat to wear. If some of my fellow Irish Jesuits had seen me they would have wondered what had happened to ultra conservative Pat Ryan ... The one thing I must admit I do find hard here is the loss of the companionship of my fellow Irish Jesuits. Unfortunately I was spoiled by the friendship of the young men at Milltown during my very happy stay there. However it is a small price to pay for the opportunity to giving testimony to my belief in God and I am happy to do so”.

In his eighteen years as sacristan here in Gardiner Street, Pat worked very hard in the Parish and in the Church. In his own quiet and efficient way Pat lived out his Jesuit vocation in a life of service inspired by his love for Jesus Christ, his Lord and Master. In Milltown Pat was able to continue that life of generous service. In recent years, he knew the limits that his health put on his activities. But he paced himself well - like any good Everton player!

In the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius, we are invited in the Contemplation to Achieve the Love of God, to grow in our awareness of the way God is present in all life and is giving Himself to us. Pat's life showed that sense of God's presence and he learned to find God in all things. One of the places that Pat found God was in his great love of soccer. He was a great Everton fan, with Everton colors proudly displayed on his door! That simple enjoyment of soccer, that sense of fun about life, that ability to joke with his community and friends were great gifts he brought to us all.

Pat died early on the morning of the Feast of Pentecost, at 12:20 am. At Pentecost the Holy Spirit comes as a gift to the Christian community. In Pat's life we have glimpsed what the fruits of the Spirit are: love, joy, peace, gentleness, patience, self-control. Pat's faithfulness, his gift of “keeping going” (to use a phrase which Séamus Heaney uses to describe his brother going through the ordinary activities of the day) have been an inspiration to us - a breath of the Spirit. We now give Pat back to God who has given him to us. We return him to God with a profound sense of gratitude.

Frank Sammon

Ryan, Michael J, 1917-2008, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/797
  • Person
  • 06 September 1917-03 April 2008

Born: 06 September 1917, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 17 October 1941, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Ordained: 31 July 1951, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final vows: 02 February 1955, Clongowes Wood College SJ
Died: 03 April 2008, Cherryfield Lodge, Dublin

Part of the Milltown Park, Dublin community at the time of death.

Entered St Mary's, Emo, County Laois: 07 September 1936; Left: 02 March 1939; Re-entered: 17 October 1941.

◆ Jesuits in Ireland : https://www.jesuit.ie/news/michael-ryan-sj-rip/

Michael Ryan SJ, RIP
The funeral of Fr Michael Ryan SJ took place in Milltown Park, Dublin on April 7, 2008. Michael died peacefully at Cherryfield Lodge, Dublin on Thursday, April 3, 2008, aged 90 years.
Born in Dublin, his early education was with the Christian Brothers on North Richmond Street. He entered the Jesuits in Emo in 1936, then studied Arts at UCD, followed by Philosophy at Tullabeg. His Regency was at Mungret and Clongowes, and he studied theology at Milltown, where he was subsequently ordained in 1951. As a priest, he worked first as a teacher in Clongowes and then in Gonzaga College. From 1957 he ministered in the Sacred Heart Church, Limerick, for three years and then assisted in the Milltown library until 2006, when he was admitted to Cherryfield Lodge. His condition had deteriorated in his last six months and he had to be transferred to hospital for treatment, eventually returning to Cherryfield in March before his death on April 3. May he rest in the peace of Christ.

◆ Fr Francis Finegan : Admissions 1859-1948 - Went to Juniorate without Vows. Sent away because of bad speech impediment. Reentered

◆ Interfuse

Interfuse No 136 : Summer 2008

Obituary

Fr Michael Ryan (1917-2008)

6 September 1917: Born in Dublin
Early education at CBS, North Richmond Street, Dublin
7th September 1936: Entered the Society at Emo
1938 - 1939: Rathfarnham - Studied Arts at UCD
31st July 1939: Left the Society for health reasons
1939 - 1941: Studied Arts at UCD
17th October 1941: Re-entered the Society at Emo
2nd February 1944: First Vows at Emo
1944 - 1947: Tullabeg - Studied Philosophy
1947 - 1948: Mungret College - Regency
1948 - 1949: Clongowes Wood College - Regency
1949 - 1952: Milltown Park - Studied Theology
31st July 1951: Ordained at Milltown Park
1952 - 1953: Tertianship at Rathfarnham
1953 - 1956: Clongowes Wood College - Teacher
2nd February 1955: Final Vows at Clongowes
1956 - 1957: Gonzaga College - Teacher
1957 - 1960: Sacred Heart, Limerick - Ministered in Church
1960 - 2007: Milltown Park - Assisting in Library....
21st August 2006: Admitted to Cherryfield Lodge, Dublin
3rd April 2008: Died at Cherryfield

Fergal Brennan writes:
Michael Ryan was a most unusual character. He possessed a unique combination of charm, humour and suspicion. The Milltown Community Staff found him very pleasant and likeable. He was always smiling, told them jokes, and plied them with stories about fishing. His family were fond of him, and his funeral was delayed so that some relatives could return from Australia to attend.

Born in Dublin in 1917, Michael attended O'Connell Schools, where he was impressed by several of the Brothers. Entering the Noviceship in 1936, he was already an accomplished fisherman, catching pike in the Emo lake. Paddy Kelly reports, however, that several people objected to Michael using live, fluffy, little coot chicks as bait. At the end of his time in Emo, Michael did not take First Vows, but he did go on to Rathfarnham and started studies in UCD. He left the Society the following summer, but continued to associate with the Juniors, going for walks up the hills with them, and attending the Irish Villa. On such Villas in Ballinskelligs, Michael taught fly-fishing to Des O'Loughlen and anyone who was interested. When he finished his degree in 1941, it is said that Michael “talked his way back into the Noviceship”. This time he did take Vows, and his progress through ‘Formation' was quite standard after that, including Ordination in Milltown.

After Tertianship, Michael started on a life of teaching - first in Clongowes, then Gonzaga, where the students in his Irish Class did extremely well in the Leaving Certificate. However, Michael was not suited to the work, and transferred in 1957 to the Sacred Heart Church in the Crescent, Limerick. A physically active man, he loved travel and sport. He not merely fly-fished at Castleconnell, and played golf in Ballybough, but, whenever he could, he would take the bus to Kilkee to go swimming in the Pollock Holes. In the Church, he was regarded as a kind and sympathetic confessor, of great assistance to people with scruples. Michael was considered to be hard-working, religious and committed, very useful in the Church, a man of prayer, but somehow different, perhaps even odd, though this wasn't really his own fault. However, tensions arose between Michael and the Minister. Gradually, the tensions grew, eventually culminating in Michael preaching a public sermon criticising the Minister, while the latter was saying the Sunday Mass. This brought matters to a head, and Michael was moved to Milltown Park.

During his time in Milltown, Michael helped out in the Library, particularly in the Irish Section. He was happy there and enjoyed doing research, mostly on Irish history and ancient languages. He was convinced that all languages are derived from the language of Adam. The older languages include Old Irish, and so it could provide clues to the meaning of Old Testament names. St Patrick was a major subject of Michael's research. It was remarkable that he concluded that our Patron Saint was born in Boulogne-Sur-Mer, in France, without being aware that the citizens of Boulogne were already convinced of that; a school, a parish, and some streets there are called after him. But the Boulognnais based their conclusion directly on tradition, without taking the route touristique through Britannia Secunda and Bun na hAbhann, Normandy and Neustria, which could last the whole of a St Patrick's Day Long Table. Micheal had the imaginative talent of a novelist, piling on the embellishments. It is reported that a whole Supper was spent explaining how the story of the Knock apparitions was fabricated by the Nun of Kenmare.

Fishing remained an important hobby for Michael, and he would spend two weeks every year in Pontoon with Jack McDonald and Dermot Fleury, fishing from a boat on Lough Conn. He practised golf in the Milltown grounds, swam in the pool, and spent a lot of time at "outdoor works", slashing vigorously at tussocks along the Black Walk. He remained an acute observer of nature, especially of birds and plants.

Basically a kind man, Michael helped foreigners with their English, explaining to them the anomalies of the language. Still, he was not above a bit of “divilment”. Before a meal, he would go to the Library and read up a topic in an Encyclopaedia article. In the Refectory he would sit with Eddie FitzGerald, and bring up the topic during a lull in the conversation. Eddie took the bait every time, and a long argument would ensue. After one such exchange, when Michael had left, Eddie said to me: “Actually, I don't know much about it, but I do know Michael Ryan can't be right!” In fact, much of the time Michael was right. He took considerable delight in being able to hold his own in a discussion with a learned professor. In so doing, he proved something to himself and he felt the better for it.

Michael enjoyed teasing people and challenging them, particularly if they were authorities of some sort. But sometimes his words were awkward or aggressive, and his attitude was misread. At a Province Meeting in Rathfarnham, he famously threw down the gauntlet by asking the Provincial would he not agree with the “Danish proverb” that says, “A fish rots from the head down”. There was no real malice in Michael. He was never actually uncharitable about others, though he remained quite convinced that some of them were out to get him. He was particularly worried about John Hyde, watching him and following him around. Michael was convinced, too, that his neighbour was interfering with his hand basin and had bugged his room. There were two reasons for this. Not only did this man live in the room next door, he was also a leading ecumenist, and Michael was ever a loyal defender of the “Catholic truth”.

Old age mellowed him considerably, dampening much of his prickliness and suspicion. He grew tolerant of Superiors, and was liked increasingly by many people. It was sad, though, to watch his powers deteriorate and his confusion grow.

He gave up gardening. Golf became too much for him. He started losing things in his room, though he no longer blamed this on anyone else. As his confusion grew, he seemed to grow in calmness and self awareness. He enjoyed the company of Magda, his Polish care-giver. Beaming, he would come down the stairs to go for a walk, with Magda on his arm. “Don't marry a Polish wife!” he would chuckle, obliquely expressing his appreciation of her solicitude. In fact, he was grateful to the Staff for all the help he received, and very grateful to Mary Mooney, who brought him his breakfast and took care of his room. Finally, Michael's confusion grew too great. He was moved to Cherryfield in August 2006. Suffering from senile dementia, he was well cared for by the Staff there. He died peacefully on April 2008.

Michael lived much of his life in a world of his own imagining. He was a fundamentally decent human being, though haunted by recurrent suspicions which were largely beyond his control. I hope that he has found peace, now, and freedom from all his fears.

Ryan, Francis X, 1860-1925, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/389
  • Person
  • 04 October 1860-31 May 1925

Born: 04 October 1860, Toomevara, County Tipperary
Entered: 10 September 1880, Milltown Park, Dublin
Ordained: 1895
Final vows: 02 February 1889
Died: 31 May 1925, St Ignatius College, Riverview, Sydney, Australia

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

by 1898 at Valkenburg Netherlands (GER) making Tertianship
Came to Australia 1898

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Early education was at Clongowes.

He studied Philosophy at Milltown and then Mungret for with three other Philosophers , Edward Masterson, Francis Keogh and Patrick Barrett.
He was sent to Tullabeg teaching, and later similarly at Clongowes and Belvedere for Regency.
He then studied Theology at Milltown.
1898 He was sent for Tertianship to Holland.
Some time after that he sailed to Australia, where he taught in various Colleges in Melbourne and Sydney.
He died rather suddenly 31 May 1925.

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
Francis Ryan entered the Society at Milltown Park, Dublin, 10 September 1880, and completed his juniorate studies at the same place, 1882-83. He was sent to teach French and arithmetic, and was prefect of discipline at St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, 1883-86. His philosophy studies followed at Milltown Park and Mungret, 1886-89.
This was followed by teaching German and French at Clongowes, 1889-91. Seven years of regency was common in those days. Theology was at Milltown Park, 1891-94, followed by four years teaching French and Italian at Belvedere College, Dublin. Tertianship was at Wijnandsrade, Limburg, Holland, 1897-98, before he left Ireland for Australia in 1898.
He taught at Riverview for some of his time in Australia, 1898-99, and again, 1917-25, but also at St Patrick's College, East Melbourne, 1899-1917. In both places he was spiritual father, and was minister at St Patrick's, 1909-13.
Ryan was a linguist of considerable attainments, and was said to have been a good teacher, and a noted amateur gardener. He was also much prized as a giver of retreats. The boys at St Patrick's College were said to have “idolised” him. He collapsed and died at Riverview while running to drive some cattle out of the garden on an Old Boys day.

◆ Our Alma Mater, St Ignatius Riverview, Sydney, Australia, 1925

Obituary

Father Francis Xavier Ryan

On Pentecost, Sunday, May 30th, Fr. Ryan celebrated Holy Mass at the College, and afterwards went out into the garden, and while there, suddenly collapsed. Fr Pigot passing by soon after was attracted by a moaning sound, and hurrying to the spot, found Fr Ryan lying in the long grass, alive, but evidently dying. Having given him absolution, Fr Pigot ran for assistance, and immediately all was done, spiritually and otherwise. But Fr Ryan was beyond human aid.

The passing of dear Fr Ryan was just what he would have wished. He hated giving trouble to others, nor did he ever allow one to do for him anything he could possibly do for himself. Yet he was most unselfish and obliging, and always cheerful. Few were: admitted to the inner shrine of his intimacy, but those who were so privileged, knew him to be a partcularly affectionate friend, a sincere, honest, candid man, a very holy priest, grateful for the smallest civility or favour, learned in many modern languages as well as in ancient classics, a historian, a litterateur, a botanist, a wit - in short, a man possessed of a vast fund of information which was always at the disposal of those fortunate enough to come under his . benign and beneficial influence. The public press gave the details of his funeral obsequies, Here let us note that he left a gap at Riverview, which, for those of us who knew him as he was, will never be filled. His death having taken place in vacation time, the "Month's Mind" gave us the first opportunity of commemorating our beloved friend in force, which we were able to do when Rev. Fr. Rector celebrated Requiem Mass for him. RIP

◆ The Belvederian, Dublin, 1929
Obituary

Father Frank Ryan SJ

It is not a simple matter to do justice to Fr Frank Ryan in the short notice which is required in this part of the Magazine. What struck one most about Fr Frank was his great clearness of mind. He saw men and things, and truths with an amazing lucidity. This quality explains, I think, his wonderful popularity with a staff of some twenty professors, his success in the material organisation of the school, and the brilliance of his brief addresses to the classes as Prefect of Studies. It also accounts for the methods he employed in the administration of the school.

While he took a keen interest in the upper and honour classes, he suffered the “little children” - the junior school- to come unto him with great gladness and rare kindness.

“Fr Ryan could get you to work with out your realising it”, said one of the senior boys to the writer one day.

“He was great at explaining maps, and he gave the best boys sweets”, said a junior member the day after his lamented death.

It is a good thing for the boys to know that he was always the centre of any fun and pleasant banter at recreation. He could and did compose many a topical song or: Limerick, which hit off the situation or the man to perfection. But, the humour was always sweet, though telling, During the last years of his life he had to drink from the holy chalice of suffering in many ways. And, he was very brave, beautifully brave through it all. He was not a Belvederian. However, he concluded his life with an act which, I trust all Belvederians will remember with gratitude. In his last illness he offered his life for the soul of an old Belvedere boy who had been a very great friend of his. He bore up against the terrible inroads or disease with uncommon fortitude. He rose from bed, dressed himself, and sat in a chair until physical weakness over came his strength. To the end, when his frame was all that remained, his wonderful spirit, was strong and serene. He passed to the Better Land very quietly and peacefully.

The Requiem Mass is over; the funeral with all the five hundred boys marching in front of the hearse is at an end; the Benedictus has been beautifully rendered by many who had been novices under him; the last prayers have been recited; but a little spontaneous tribute to the dear departed you was yet to be given. A brother Jesuit began the Holy Rosary of Our Blessed Mother, the boys made the responses. Another Jesuit followed with the second decade, and so on to the fifth decade.. One had taught him; another was many year's senior to him; one was a contemporary; and two were junior to him. They were all united in a common feeling: they loved him. He was the beloved disciple amongst his own brethren. May his noble spirit rest in peace!

Ryan, Edward F, 1886-1928, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2077
  • Person
  • 07 February 1886-14 September 1928

Born: 07 February 1886, Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin
Entered: 07 September 1903, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 15 August 1920
Final Vows: 02 February 1923, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Died: 14 September 1928, St Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin

Part of the Belvedere College SJ, Dublin community at the time of death.

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

by 1912 at Valkenburg Netherlands (GER) studying

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Early education was at Clongowes.

After his Novitiate he had six years of Juniorate, two of which included teaching other Juniors and he graduated MA in Classics, maintaining first place in his group throughout. These years were spent in Tullabeg for 5 years and then Milltown.
He was then sent to Valkenburg for Philosophy.
He made his Regency teaching at Clongowes for three years.
He then went to Milltown for Theology.
He finished his formation at Tullabeg making tertianship there and also serving as Socius to the Novice Master, and then continued in the latter position for two more years, and also being Minister for one of those.
He was then sent to Rathfarnham as Minister of Juniors for a year.
He was then sent to Mungret as Prefect of Studies.
1926 He was appointed Prefect of Studies at Belvedere. For the greater part of a year he did this job with great success, and then he was diagnosed with malignant cancer. In spite of every effort by doctors and great care, they were unable to halt the progress of the cancer and he died at St Vincent’s Hospital 14 September 1928.

He was a brilliant Classical scholar, but more importantly, Frank was a model of unostentatious holiness. He was as faithful to his religious duties as a novice. Kindness and charity were the characteristic virtues of his life. His gentleness did not interfere with his capacity to govern. Where Frank ruled, law and order reigned. Honest reasonable work was the order of the day. Everything was done gently and quietly. He left no pain, nor bitterness behind.

His death was met with great sorrow on the part of all who knew him.

◆ Irish Province News 4th Year No 1 1928 & ◆ The Clongownian, 1929

Obituary :

Fr Edward (Frank) Ryan

On Friday Sept. 14th, feast of The Exaltation of the Holy Cross, death robbed the Irish Province of one of its most promising members. On that day Fr Frank Ryan died in Dublin, at the early age of 42.

Fr. Frank was born on the 7th Feb. 1886, educated at Clongowes, and entered the Society on Sept. 7th 1903. He got no less than six years Juniorate, five of them in Tullabeg and one in Milltown. However for two of these years he discharged with success the difficult task of teaching other Juniors. He won his MA in 1911, retaining the place he had held all through his University course - first in the Classical Group. Three years Philosophy at Valkenburg followed, and then three years teaching in Clongowes. A brilliant course of Theology at Milltown over, he went to Tullabeg for the Tertianship, acting during the year as Socius to the Master of Novices. This latter position he held for the next two years, discharging at the same time the duties of Minister. Then a year in charge of the Juniors at Rathfarnham, and another as Prefect of Studies at Mungret. In 1926 he was appointed Prefect of Studies at Belvedere. For the greater part of the year he did his work with pronounced success, and then the call came. He was attacked by malignant cancer. In spite of all that modern science could do, in spite of loving and intelligent care, the dread disease claimed another victim, and Frank passed to his reward from St. Vincent's hospital on the 14th Sept. 1928.
That he was a brilliant Classical scholar his University success abundantly proves, but, far better than this, Fr Frank was a model of unostentatious holiness. To the daily round of duties in the Society he retained to the end the regularity of a novice. Kindliness, charity of the right kind. was the characteristic virtue of his life. Yet this gentleness in no way impaired his efficiency. Where Fr Frank ruled law and order reigned, honest, reasonable work was the order of the day. And everything was done quietly. There were no earthquake shocks. He left no soreness, no bitterness behind in any of the departments over which he presided. He “kept the justice of the King; So vigorously yet mildly, that all hearts Applauded”. Very sincere sorrow, on the part of all who knew him, followed Fr Frank to his early grave. But he has not “altogether died”. He will long be remembered as a man who has shown us that brilliant success and thoroughgoing efficiency are very consistent with the greatest gentleness and kindliness of character. May he rest in peace.

A contemporary of his writes :
Fr Frank was only just finding his work and opportunity when God called him away. The years he spent as Socius at Tullabeg, even the years he spent at Rathfarnham, did not show him at his best. As Prefect of Studies at Mungret he first revealed his power of organisation and his capacity for dealing with men.
In Belvedere he found a perfect field for the exercise of his rare talents and his one year of work there, shortened enough and interrupted by his fatal disease, gave grounds for the highest anticipations, There was more than a great Prefect of Studies lost in him. Those who knew him best had come to recognise that his judgment, his intelligence, his kindness, his firmness and his enterprise, his complete interest in the work he was given, fitted him for higher things. But his contemporaries will keep longest the joyous memory of his social gifts. He was a perfect community man. His interests were always these of his house. He was full of gaiety, saw the humorous side of situations, and told a story or an adventure excellently.
Those who lived with him in Tullabeg or Milltown Park, who rowed with him in the boats on the Canal and the Brosna, or walked to Lough Bray or Glendhu, or cycled to Lough Dan or Luggala, these will not soon forget what a companion he was. He planned all these excursions. He saw to all the details. He forgot nothing, overlooked nothing. He was most ingenious and thoughtful in his charity. He knew every inch of the Dublin hills and knew the times necessary for all stages of the journey. No one could pack a bag as he could. He loved to surprise you by all the wonderful things he would draw out of it beside the fire on the Scalp or Glendhu.
Such talents, that judgment, intelligence capacity, frankness, such a temperament, so kind, joyous, humorous, can ill be spared in our Province. But perhaps, the greatest thing in his life was its ending.
For sixteen months he lived under sentence of death, He was too intelligent, too clear sighted, not lo know what his disease meant. He could mark its advance, he could note his own growing weakness No one who visited him during that time can forget his courage and cheeriness. He was always calm, always his old self. He kept up his interest in things, would speak dispassionately, if asked, about his sickness. He could tell a good story. He was never absorbed by his own ills.
Perhaps that is the lesson - courage, cheerfulness, conformity - that God wished him to preach by his life and death. Requiescat in pace.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father Edward Francis (Frank) Ryan 1886-1928
“Whom the Gods love, die young” was certainly verified in the case of Fr Frank Ryan. Having displayed remarkable qualities of mind and heart, he died of a malignant cancer at the age of 42.

He was born on February 7th 1886, educated at Clongowes and entering the Society in 1903.

He was brilliant in his studies, taking his MA in Classics in 1907, retaining the place he had held all through, 1st in the Classical group. After an outstanding course in Theology in Milltown Park, he acted as Socius to the Master of Novices in Tullabeg. In rapid succession, he was Master of Juniors, Prefect of Studies in Mungret and Belvedere, in which house he first became aware of his dread disease.

He died on September 14th 1928.

The truly remarkable gifts of character he enjoyed may be gauged from the fact that even now, many years after his death, he is spoken of by those who knew him for his gaiety and kindness, and his rare quality of intuitive sympathy.

Rumley, Brendan, 1959-1999, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/614
  • Person
  • 12 December 1959-24 June 1999

Born: 12 December 1959, Ballymacoda, County Cork
Entered: 27 September 1977, Manresa House, Dollymount, Dublin
Ordained: 03 August 1992, St Francis Xavier, Gardiner St, Dublin
Died: 24 June 1999, Mater Hospital, Dublin

Part of the Belvedere College SJ, Dublin community at the time of death.

by 1987 at Asunción, Paraguay (PAR) Regency teaching
by 1990 at Belo Horizonte, Brazil (BRA) studying
by 1993 at Asunción Paraguay (PAR) working
by 1997 at Cristo Rey College, Tacna, Peru (PER) working

◆ Interfuse
Interfuse No 105 : Special Edition 2000

Obituary
Fr Brendan Rumley (1959-1999)

12th Dec. 1959: Born in Cork City.
Early Education, Ring College, Castlemartyr College, Clongowes Wood College.
27th Sept. 1977: Entered the Society at Manresa House.
27th Sept. 1979: First vows at Manresa House.
1979 - 1982: Sullivan House, Arts degree at UCD
1982 - 1985: Milltown Park, study philosophy
1985 - 1987; Clongowes, Regency
1987 - 1989: Paraguay, teaching in Colegio Tecnico Javier.
1989 - 1993: Brazil, study theology.
30th Aug. 1992: Ordained priest, S.F.X. Church, Dublin.
1993 - 1997: Paraguay, Pastoral Director, parish work.
1997 - 1998: Peru, Pastoral Director, parish work.
1998 - 1999: Belvedere College, pastoral work at S.F.X, Church.

Brendan returned from Peru in January 1998 and lived in Belvedere. While he had some health problems, he was sufficiently well to go to the U.S.A. that summer to do supply work. While there, his health deteriorated. On his return to Dublin, he was diagnosed to have lymphoma (cancer of the lymph glands) Thereafter he stayed either in Belvedere or with his brother or at Cherryfield Lodge. He went periodically to have special treatment at the Mater Hospital. Members of his family together with Joe Dargan and Myles O' Reilly were with him when he died on the morning of 24th June 1999.

Kevin O'Higgins writes ...

Brendan was a member of the Belvedere Community for eighteen months. He died in June 1999 aged 39 years. Our vigil went on for six months. It began on a cold January day, when we heard the shocking news that Brendan had been diagnosed with a life-threatening form of cancer. It ended on a bright morning in late June, when he drew his last breath and went quietly on his way.

Nothing in Brendan's life had been so undramatic as the manner in which he departed it. In Paraguay, where we worked together for almost ten years, he was regarded as a live wire. He always seemed to be planning some sort of event. He had the knack of living life as if it were a never ending fiesta. Maybe that is why he felt so at home in fun-loving Latin America. Like the good people of Asuncion's poorest barrios, Brendan knew how to turn water into wine. When it came to choosing the gospel text for his funeral Mass, we had no hesitation in opting for the account of the marriage feast at Cana.

Brendan's Christianity was essentially joyful, and he had a horror of solemnity and formality. He was captivated by the itinerant preacher from Nazareth, and felt distinctly uncomfortable in the midst of ecclesiastical pomp and circumstance. He liked to keep things simple and to see people enjoying themselves.

We had gone together to Paraguay in 1986, responding to an urgent appeal for Jesuit reinforcements. The dictatorial government of Alfredo Stroessner had recently expelled a group of our Spanish colleagues. Brendan and myself hoped to fill the gap and help to keep the show on the road. Our arrival in Paraguay opened the door to a whole new world and introduced us to an endless series of experiences of the kind which leave you marked for life.

Brendan was in his mid-twenties when we arrived in Paraguay. Ordination as a priest was still several years off, but that did not prevent him from plunging head-long into the task at hand. He was assigned immediately to work as pastoral director in a large secondary school and was an instant hit with students and teachers alike. His infectious optimism and can-do attitude quickly translated into a whole host of projects.

When he saw that the school was in need of a library, he enlisted the help of some friends in his home town in County Cork, and the Ballymacoda Library blossomed in far off Asuncion. The introduction of an electric kettle turned his little office into a coffee shop, permanently open to all and sundry. His creativity and energy transformed school retreats and special liturgies into memorable, life giving celebrations.

During his years as theology student in Brazil, Brendan launched out in new directions. He began accompanying lay people in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, and even devised his own manual. The idea caught on, and by the time he left Brazil some thirty Jesuit students were engaged in this ministry. During the final weeks of his illness, messages from Brazil and elsewhere spoke of how Brendan's wise and gentle guidance through the Exercises had transformed people's lives.

Brendan's first mission after ordination was back in Paraguay. Priesthood meant that his ministry was enriched by the celebration of the Eucharist and other sacraments. He initiated the custom of early morning mass in the college chapel. At weekends, he exercised his ministry among the poor.

He had a great gift for comforting the afflicted. When a teaching colleague fell victim to a fatal disease and had to be moved to hospital in Brazil, Brendan thought nothing of facing the twenty-hour bus journey to be at his side. He did this trip repeatedly, departing on Friday evenings after completing his work in the College, and returning on Sunday nights, ready to face the following week's challenges.

His last years were spent in Tacna, a small city on the border between Peru and Chile. The rapid increase of Paraguayan Jesuits had led him to wonder whether there might not be a greater need elsewhere. In Tacna, he felt even more at home than in Asuncion. Undoubtedly, he would have spent long years there had illness not intervened. Even while he was undergoing chemotherapy in Dublin, his friends in Peru constantly assured him that they would be happy to take care of him should he wish to return there.

Brendan himself never stopped hoping that he would be able to return. He had vowed to serve the people of Tacna, and he constantly continued to do so right up to the end, in sickness as in health. When it became clear that he was too weak to face the journey, his friends pooled resources to send a representative to Dublin, They wanted him to know how close they were to him in his own time of need.

Right up to the end, Brendan spoke of his strong desire to carry on living and continue his ministry. Even as he grew progressively weaker, he insisted on organising small fiestas for groups of friends. His sense of humour remained undiminished, and he was able to mock his illness. He simply refused to acknowledge defeat. His love of life prepared him to face death with extraordinary courage and deep, unwavering faith. That was his parting gift to his friends.

Interfuse No 103 : Winter 1999

REMEMBERING BRENDAN

Michael O’Sullivan

Arica in Chile and Tacna in Peru are just across the border from one another. I was back in Arica for the first time in fifteen years at the end of August 1999. A requiem Mass for Brendan Rumley was held in Tacna on September 17th. At 6.45 a.m. that morning I set out for Tacna. Crossing the Chilean border around 7.30 a.m., I arrived in Tacna at 7.45 a.m. Pedro Barreto, the 'Superior' of the community met me at Cristo Rey College, where Brendan worked. Gerry, one of Brendan's brothers, had arrived the evening before and was staying with a Peruvian family, and Clem, another brother, had been delayed, but was expected at the college around 11.30 a.m. Clem would be bringing the urn with Brendan's partial remains - Brendan's ashes had been divided among his family, the Irish Province, and the college in Tacna.

Pedro spoke about how much Brendan meant to them in the community and in the college, As I listened it became clear that Brendan had a good friend in Pedro, someone who accompanied him with understanding, care, and feeling in the transition from Paraguay to Peru, from Asuncion to Tacna. He would receive Brendan in death back to Cristo Rey, he had prepared for it, and he had got permission from the Bishop for Brendan's ashes to remain in the chapel for always. He showed me a letter from Brendan to him about a year earlier where Brendan spoke about his hope of returning to Tacna. Pedro read from this letter at the liturgy.

Pedro and I and two members of the community met and welcomed Brendan and his brothers Clem and Gerry at the entrance arch to the section of the compound leading to the college auditorium where the Mass was to be celebrated. Staff and students carrying college flags gathered behind the Rumley brothers.

In the Waiting
We all stood in silence for a time while Pedro spoke about how the liturgy would proceed. As I looked at Clem I wondered what it was like for him to travel to Peru with his brother in an urn. My mind also went back to March 1982 when I was about to leave Ireland to live and work among the poor in Chile at a time when that country was in the grip of the death-dealing military dictatorship of General Pinochet. A Mass of farewell was held in St. Francis Xavier Church, Dublin. Brendan, who was not long in the Society at the time, was at the Mass, his desire to minister in Latin America developing in his heart.

I was very happy that I could be in Tacna for him now and that I could make the link on behalf of the Irish Jesuit Province between his funeral Mass and burial in Dublin and his requiem Mass and the placing of the urn in the Jesuit college in Tacna.

I thought of the amazing impact he had made on so many in a relatively short time in Tacna which I had learnt so much more about in the hours before the Mass. All those who spoke to me, including students, singled out this quality in Brendan: his speed at making friends. He had an amazing ability to make friends with many different kinds of people within and outside the college. The other qualities mentioned often were his simplicity and his kindness. He would do things like take cups of tea or coffee to others on a tray, which is not usual for a man feel better. They spoke about how he built up the college library, which has now been renamed 'The Library of Brendan'. His smile, too, was singled out, and his dedication and enthusiasm.

Hernan Salinas Paiza, a teacher who was sent to Brendan in Dublin when he was ill on behalf of the staff, had told me that Brendan had broken a mould by being the first Director of Pastoral Care to also address the needs of the staff. This was repeated to me by other lay staff whom I met before the Mass. They were all visibly upset at Brendan's death.

I also thought of Declan Deane's words to me when we met in Dublin during his visit to Ireland shortly after Brendan died, that he had never met anyone who had become so completely Latin American. Brendan had stayed with Declan in the United States when he was ill before the cancer had been diagnosed.

I thought of Kevin O'Higgins who had been with him for years in Paraguay and who arrived back in Ireland around the time that Brendan was diagnosed with cancer. Kevin had accompanied Brendan all through those final months in a way that, it seemed to me, no other Irish Jesuit could. This was a great consolation to Brendan, and something for which all of us in the Irish Province can be very grateful. Kevin has written his own tribute to Brendan in the November 1999 issue of the Irish Messenger

I thought of the tenacity with which Brendan had fought for life in Kieran and Miriam's home in Terenure, and later in Cherryfield. The last time I saw him in Cherryfield I knew that, medically, he was near the end, I had phoned him that morning to know if he would receive a visit around 6 p.m. I said that John Henry, a Maryland Jesuit, who was a friend of mine working in Arica and whom he knew as a result of visits to Arica from Tacna, was in Dublin and wished to see him. When we got to Cherryfield Brendan had some letters on the bed for John to bring to people in Arica and Tacna. He was that strong, that focused, that thoughtful, and that giving to the end.

Brendan died in the prime of his life, a few months before his 40th birthday. He had lived and worked in Tacna for only two years. And yet back in Dublin as he fought terminal cancer his great desire was for Tacna to be his place of departure for eternity. When his condition meant that he could not travel, his dying wish was that some of his remains would do so instead. He did not want to be separated from those he loved in Tacna, and he knew that they in their love would want him with them. His friend, Hernan, had said as much in his tribute to Brendan that morning in the Tacna newspaper, Prensa Sur: “The delight Brendan felt for the people of Tacna was mutual. It was a delight of giving and receiving, of loving and of being worthy of that love”.

The Farewell in Tacna
Around 12.15 p.m., the procession to the auditorium began. “Hermano del Alma’, Soul Brother/Sister, sung by Roberto Carlos, accompanied us through the college sound system. As we entered the auditorium the soft sound of one of Latin America's best known singers gave way to the power and strength of the College band.

Tributes
Pedro invited me to speak at the beginning of the Mass and again after the reception of the Eucharist. He told the congregation that I was representing the Irish Jesuit Province and had a message from the Provincial in Ireland. This let the people know that the Irish Province recognized Brendan's gifts and valued him as much as they did. It also made them feel good about themselves.

The message relayed by me on behalf of Gerry O'Hanlon spoke of the bond in the Spirit between the Mass congregation and Irish Jesuits, due to a shared desire to give thanks for Brendan's life of giving and happiness; it said that they would miss Brendan as much as we would; it drew attention to how much it meant to Brendan that so many prayers and messages of support from Tacna came to him during his illness in Ireland, and how much it lifted him to receive a visit from Hernan Salinas on behalf of his colleagues at the College. The last words of the message were: “in solidarity with you in prayer, sadness, gratitude, and friendship”.

In his homily Pedro told the congregation that Brendan was with them still, not only in his remains, but also and even more so in what he meant to each of them in their minds and hearts.

A short video of Brendan and his work followed. This was one of the most moving parts of the whole ceremony as we saw Brendan animating and addressing groups, listening and speaking to people, in prayer and celebrating Mass, and carrying a tray of drinks to children with his distinctive smile and enthusiastic movement.

His brother Gerry spoke for the family, and Hernan translated. He brought them quickly through the story of Brendan's life and did so with humour and a great sense of pride in his younger brother.

The Director of Formation at the College spoke about how he had met Brendan when they were travelling to a conference in Bolivia for delegates of Jesuit schools. This was while Brendan was still in Paraguay. Brendan's capacity to make friends quickly meant that they became friends and he invited Brendan to Tacna. Brendan came, and now he would remain there always.

Two women also paid tribute to Brendan. They did so without words. They were the widow and mother of a man whom Brendan accompanied over many months during the man's struggle with cancer. They were at the front of the congregation where those closest to the deceased tend to be. They were mourning him as one of their own.

Entrusting Brendan to the People of Tacna
During the offertory of the Mass, Clem came forward and gave me the gift of Brendan. He entrusted me with him on behalf of the Rumiley family. I received Brendan on behalf of his Jesuit companions from Ireland. Pedro then took the urn from me on behalf of Brendan's Jesuit companions in Peru, and placed it on the small table in front of the altar. Brendan had gone from Cork to Tacna via the Irish Province. We had done what he had wanted us to do, namely, share him, so that he could remain in Tacna for always.

The offertory procession also included a map of Latin America, taken from Brendan's office. The commentator said, “today we want to present it to you, Lord, as an offering and testimony of the service of our brother”.

After the final song, “Holy Mary of the Journey”, we processed to the College chapel. Inside Pedro told us that Brendan used to come there in the early mornings to celebrate Mass. The Director of the college gave a final tribute, and Pedro showed where Brendan's remains would lie. Because the urn turned out to be bigger than expected it could not be placed there straight away. That would be done later after the space provided had been altered.

The inscription where the urn will stay reads: “UN HOMBRE PARA Y CON LOS DEMAS” - “A MAN FOR AND WITH OTHERS”. Prensa Sur had pointed out that day that laying Brendan's ashes to rest in the college chapel was "an act without precedent in the history of the Society of Jesus in Tacna." Brendan's dates of birth and death are also given. Pedro pointed out that Brendan's birthday, December 12"", was the important date because, for a Christian, to be born is to be born to eternal life. An IHS emblem can also be seen. Amen! Alleluia!

It was now 2.25 p.m. The whole ceremony had lasted almost two and a half hours. It was an extraordinary and unique tribute by people from Peru to a young Irish Jesuit from Cork in their own language and land. The Latin American spring was about to begin, and the sun was shining, but not oppressively.

◆ The Clongownian, 2000

Obituary

Father Brendan Rumley SJ

When I arrived in Clongowes as Higher Line Prefect, Brendan was starting his final year at school. In his final report he was described by that official as being “ever-courteous - friendly - impeccably-mannered - helpful - but not very involved in games!” He was something of an academic and won the O'Dalaigh Cup for Irish conversation. Apart from urbane conversations, one of his co-curricular interests was the Stewart's Hospital group, which paid a weekly visit to the patients in Palmerstown. My memory is of a serious face suddenly widening into a lightning smile, like the sun on a cloudy day!

It was only in the final months of the year that I came to know him better, when - out of the blue - he told me one evening that he was considering joining the Jesuits and would like to ask me a few questions. For me it turned out to be a real inquisition - and those who know Brendan's tenacity of spirit will readily recog nize what that experience meant for the victim!

Having followed the usual initial formation pattern of a Jesuit - novitiate - university - philosophy, in due course Brendan came to Clongowes as Third Line Prefect in 1985 - the year when I myself left on sabbatical to the Sudan and Zambia. I don't think that he was ever fully at home in the job, for his wanderlust was already calling him to a ministry further afield.

So, the following year, he set off for South America, which was to become his home for the rest of his fully active life. He completed his regency at the Colegio Tecnico Javier in Asunción in Paraguay and in 1989 went on to study theology in Belo Horizonte in Brazil. He returned to Ireland for ordination in 1992 and became Pastoral Director in the Colegio Tecnico. But his urge to move on took him to Peru, where he continued the same kind of work in the Colegio Cristo Rey in Tacna.

He returned to Ireland in December of 1997 and it was while staying in Belvedere that the first signs of illness appeared. But it was not until nearly a year later that his terminal illness was diagnosed. I was with him on the day when the news was broken to him and was privileged to share those first moments and to come to realize the steel which lay beneath his “unobtrusive” surface. In the months to come Brendan showed remarkable fortitude and even good humour in his increasingly weakened state. He died early on the morning of 24 June 1999.

I don't think that I have ever met anyone who made friends as easily as Brendan did. He had an infectious spontaneity which invited response. He drew from his friends a great loyalty towards himself and they found him generous and supportive in their own need. No trouble was too great for him when coming to their aid, especially those who were sick. He was often considered to have a very stubborn streak and this was well exemplified when he thought nothing of making a 72-hour round trip to visit an ill colleague faraway. Even when seriously ill himself, he continued to maintain links with his large circle of friends in South America and in Tacna his friends organized a special pilgrimage for his recovery. But it was not to be - and the outpouring of grief there at his passing was eloquent testimony of how highly he was thought of by those to whom he had given his life. His ashes are shared between the Jesuit plot at Glasnevin, his birthplace-village of Ballymacoda and his chosen home of Tacna.

To quote from the Book of Wisdom, Brendan's death at the early age of 39 “seemed like a disaster” for his life was so full of promise But, like Aloysius, Patron Saint of Clongowes, he had “accomplished a lot in a short space of time” - and his life was an inspiration to everyone who knew him. The Book of Wisdom can again provide a fitting epitaph for him: “When the time comes for God's visitation, he will shine out”.

To Brendan's parents and his brothers and their families, we offer our deepfelt sympathy and we thank them for giving him his infectious smile and for sharing him with us. His travellings are over - may he rest in peace!

Rorke, James, 1834-1883, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/2070
  • Person
  • 25 July 1834-07 May 1883

Born: 25 July 1834, Clane, County Kildare
Entered: 02 May 1858, Clongowes Wood College SJ, Naas, County Kildare
Final vows: 15 August 1868
Died: 07 May 1883, Milltown Park, Dublin

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
He worked at Tullabeg, Limerick and Milltown where he died 07 May 1883.
He was considered one of Father Bracken’s best Brothers. He was a baker by trade, but also an excellent cook. His death was greatly regretted. he was a very good-natured man and kind to all on the Experiment.

Note from Francis Hegarty Entry :
He did return after some months, and there he found in Father Bracken, a Postulant Master and Novice Master, and this was a man he cherished all his life with reverence and affection. His second Postulancy was very long and hard - four years. he took the strain and was admitted as a Novice with seven others who had not had so trying a time as himself. He liked to say that all seven along with him remained true to their vocation until death, and he was the last survivor. They were John Coffey, Christopher Freeman, David McEvoy, James Maguire, John Hanly, James Rorke and Patrick Temple.

Rorke, Henry J, 1822-1877, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/388
  • Person
  • 25 August 1822-30 October 1877

Born: 25 August 1822, Lucan, County Dublin
Entered: 22 September 1840, Tournoi, Belgium - Belgicae Province (BELG)
Ordained: 1855
Final Vows: 15 August 1873
Died: 30 October 1877, Milltown Park, Dublin

by 1854 at Laval France (FRA) studying Theology 3

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
1842-1847 Sent on regency to Clongowes or Tullabeg
1847-1855 He went first to Tournoi in Belgium for three years of Philosophy and then to Laval for Theology.
1855-1858 He was sent to Belvedere as a Teacher.
1858 He went to France for Tertianship.
1859-1862 He was sent back to Belvedere as a Teacher.
1862-1871 He was Procurator of the House and Farm at Tullabeg, with the exception of two years.
1871-1877 He was sent to Milltown as Procurator, and remained there until his death 30 October 1877
He died from a very painful stomach cancer, although he was up and about until a few days before his death.
He was a very successful Procurator and a very genial soul.

Rorke, Henry J, 1810-1859, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/385
  • Person
  • 09 November 1810-18 May 1859

Born: 09 November 1810, Tyrrelstown, County Dublin
Entered: 08 September 1827, Montrouge, Paris, France - Franciae Province (FRA)
Ordained: 1840
Final Vows: 02 February 1846
Died: 18 May 1859, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin

by 1839 in Namur studying Metaphysics

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
1818 When Tullabeg was first opened as a Preparatory School he was sent there as one of the first students. he later went to Clongowes for Humanities and Rhetoric. He was distinguished for both ability and piety there.

He Entered 08 September 1827 at Montrouge and finished his Noviceship at Avignon. He was a very enthusiastic Novice, sometimes running great risk of infection while on a hospital experiment.

1829 After First Vows he was sent to Clongowes to teach Rhetoric and Humanities for six years. He was also Prefect of Studies, and at the same time Minister, which the Rector Father Bracken thought he was most successful, and thought he had a special talent for management. Whilst Prefect of Studies he made a significant change - according to Joseph Dalton - that instead of “flogging unruly boys” their parents should be asked to come and remove them. This alone sufficed - the anger of the parents was far more effective than the rod!
1851 He was sent to Gardiner St as Minister and Operarius. By 1855 his health began to fail and Father Callan was appointed Minister in his place. he was a most devoted Priest, and spent a great deal of his time in the Confessional, and very much sought after as a Director of the Exercises. He was also specially devoted to the poor and sick people.
He was distinguished for a quickness of mind, zeal, superior manner, tact, readiness of resource and power of arrangement.
At Avignon he converted a blasphemous soldier by putting a scapular on him. Whist at Gardiner St he also converted many, including a most bigoted Scots Presbyterian lady, wife of Hon James Preston. He was an effective Preacher with a powerful voice, and the Bishops of Ireland held him in high esteem - especially Dr McNally of Clogher.
He was virtual Rector at Clongowes for many years. In November 1841 he organised a splendid reception for Daniel O’Connell, who had recently been elected the first Catholic Lord Mayor of Dublin. Two addresses were offered, to which O’Connell replied - Henry Meagher and Sir John Esmonde also spoke amidst immense enthusiasm.
His death was sudden on 18 May 1859. Great sorrow was shown by the people, judging by the crowds who flocked to the funeral an cemetery. his funeral was one of the largest ever seen in Dublin up to 1859.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father Henry Rorke 1810-1859
Born in Tyrrellstown County Dublin, on November 9th 1810, Fr Henry Rorke was one of the first alumni at Tullabeg which was opened in 1818. He entered the noviceship at Montroughe, Paris in 1827 and finished it at Avignon. While there he converted a blasphemous soldier by putting a scapular on him.

While Prefect at Clongowes, he made a very desirable change, instead of unruly boys being flogged, their parents were requested to remove them. This alone sufficed. While in Clongowes in 1841 he organised a splendid reception for Daniel O’Connell, recently elected First Catholic Lord Mator of Dublin. Henry Meagher and Sir John Esmonde were among the distinguished guests.

In 1851 he went to Gardiner Street as Minister annd Operarius, He had a gift for converting people which he acquired in Avignon. Among his converts was a very bigoted Presbyterian Lady, wife of the Honourable James Preston.

Fr Rorke was a very effective preacher, assiduous in his confessional and devoted to the poor and sick. He died suddenly in May 18th, and his funeral was the largest ever seen in Dublin up to that time.

Rorke, Andrew J, 1829-1913, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/386
  • Person
  • 09 October 1829-11 November 1913

Born: 09 October 1829, Limerick City, County Limerick / Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 25 January 1853, Amiens France - Franciae Province (FRA)
Ordained: 1861
Final Vows: 15 August 1869
Died: 11 November 1913, Crescent Nursing Home, The Crescent, Limerick

Part of the Crescent College, Limerick community at the time of death

Educated at Belvedere College SJ

by 1857 at Stonyhurst, England (ANG) for Regency
by 1858 at Stonyhurst, England (ANG) Studying Philosophy
by 1860 at St Beuno’s, Wales (ANG) studying Theology

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
After the completion of Gardiner St Church, the Jesuits opened a school in Hardwicke St and this was his first school. In 1841 Belvedere was acquired, and on the first page of the College Rolls stood the names of Andrew Rorke and Christopher - later Chief Baron - Palles. It is of interest to note that Andrew’s father was the one who negotiated the purchase of Lord Belvedere’s house for the Jesuits. Andrew then went to Clongowes, where he also had Christopher Palles as a classmate.

He Entered at St Acheul, Amiens, as there was no Novitiate in Ireland in those days.
After completing his studies he was sent to Clongowes, then Crescent, and then Milltown where he spent forty years as Minister of Director of House retreats. He also looked after the Ecclesiastical and Lay Retreats,personally supervising even the most trivial detail to ensure the comfort of the retreatants.
25 January 1903 He celebrated the Golden Jubilee of his Entry. he often referred to this occasion fondly in later years, and spoke with particular affection for those who had made the jubilee the happiest and most memorable day of his long life.
06 December 1911 When had finished his thanksgiving after Mass, he had a stroke which rendered him unconscious. his condition was quite critical, but he rallied slowly and steadily regained much of his old strength.
He was very happy that he was able to celebrate Mass for several months before his death. He was sent to Crescent for a change of air towards the end of 1913. The morning after his arrival he had another stroke which caused his death there 11 November 1913. he died in the Crescent Nursing Home and was buried at the Mungret Cemetery.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father Andrew Rorke 1829-1913
On the first page of the College roll at Belvedere stands the name of Andrew Rorke, side by side with that of Chief Baron Palles. Actually Fr Rorke was a Limerick man, being born in that city in 1829. It was Fr Rorke’s father who negotiated the purchase of Belvedere House for the Jesuits. Andrew entered the Society at St Acheul in 1853.

His studies completed, he worked for a time at Tullabeg and the Crescent, but the major part of his life was spent in Milltown Park as Director of Retreats. He looked after these retreats with the most praiseworthy exactitude, personally supervising the most trivial details.

On December 6th 1911 he got a stroke after Mass, but recovered sufficiently to be able to say Mass again. He was sent to the Crescent for the benefit of his health, but he got another stroke the morning after his arrival. He died ultimately on November 11th 1913, at the ripe age of 84, and he is buried in the College cemetery at Mungret.

◆ The Belvederian, Dublin, 1914

Obituary

Father Andrew Rorke SJ

Among the very first students to enter Belvedere was Fr Andrew Rorke SJ, whose death it is our sad duty to record. He entered the noviceship in 1853, and after spending some time at Tullabeg and Limerick he was transferred to Milltown Park, where he spent over 40 years. On the 28th January, 1903, he celebrated his jubilee. In December, 1911, he got a paralytic stroke, from which he gradually recovered; but in 1913 he received a second scizure, which proved fatal. He was buried in the Cemetery, Mungret College. RIP

◆ The Clongownian, 1914

Obituary

Father Andrew Rorke SJ

The large numbers of clergy and laity who in the course of the last twenty-five years have frequented the Retreats at Milltown Park will learn with regret of the death of Father Andrew Rorke SJ, who died November 12th, in Limerick. Though he had reached the ripe old age of 85, Father Rorke preserved up to the moment of his last illness the bright and, at the same time, the courtly old world manner for which he was distinguished throughout life. As a boy Father Rorke was educated at Hardwicke Street School, which was in charge of the Jesuit Fathers, till the opening of Belvedere College in the year 1841, at which time he became a pupil in the new college. Passing some years later to Clongowes, he there completed his early education, and in the early fifties entered the Novitiate of the Society of Jesus in France. Returning to Ireland, he filled many posts in the Jesuit Colleges of Clongowes and Tullabeg. Many old Tullabeg and Clongowes boys still retain kindly memories of him. On leaving Clongowes, Father Rorke was transferred by his superiors to the Church of the Sacred Heart, Limerick, where he laboured zealously for several years, till in 1888 he was sent to Milltown Park, of the Community of which he was a member till his death. It was during this period that he made hosts of friends, for in his hands were the arrangements for the accommodation of those who came to make Retreats. Just two years ago Father Rorke was suddenly struck down, but, rallying with really wonderful ! vitality, he had almost recovered his former vigour when he was once more prostrated. All the efforts of the doctors were of no avail, and Father Rorke passed away peaceably.
“Freeman's Journal” Nov 13th

◆ The Crescent : Limerick Jesuit Centenary Record 1859-1959

Bonum Certamen ... A Biographical Index of Former Members of the Limerick Jesuit Community

Father Andrew Rorke (1934-1913)

Born in Dublin and educated at the old Jesuit school in Hardwicke St, Dublin, and Clongowes, entered the Society at St Acheul in 1853 and pursued his higher studies also abroad. He was a master here, during his regency, in 1863-64 and later returned as minister of the house in 1875-78. After two more years service in Limerick, 1884-86, he was transferred to Milltown Park, where he was many years director of retreats. He died while on a visit to Limerick, 11 November, 1913.

Rorke, Andrew H, 1834-1907, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/387
  • Person
  • 18 December 1834-27 May 1907

Born: 18 December 1834, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 12 September 1853, Amiens France - Franciae Province (FRA)
Ordained: 1869
Final Vows: 02 February 1872
Died: 27 May 1907, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Cousin of Andrew J Rorke - RIP 1913

He taught with great success at Clongowes and Galway. He was Minister at both Galway and UCD, and then for many years Minister and procurator at Gardiner St, where he died 27 May 1907.
He was a learned man, but somewhat peculiar, especially in his last years.

Note from Joseph O’Malley Entry :
1859 he was sent to Tullabeg as Lower Line Prefect with Andrew H Rorke as Higher Line.

Ronan, John 1893-1979, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/381
  • Person
  • 11 February 1893-08 August 1979

Born: 11 February 1893, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 02 June 1915, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Final Vows 02 February 1926, Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin
Died:08 August 1979, Milltown Park, Dublin

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 54th Year No 3 and 4 1979

Obituary :

Br John Ronan (1893-1913-1979)

John Ronan was born in Dublin on 11 February 1893. His family had Scottish connections and John used like to take his holidays in Scotland. It may well be that it was from his father he inherited his dry wit and his gift with words. He attended National School and then a Christian Brothers school to sixth standard, and joined the novitiate at Tullabeg in the year 1913. The precise date was a subject of controversy between John and a succession of editors of the Province Catalogue: in the Catalogue he consistently appears as entering in 1915; Fathers Aubrey Gwynn and Fergal McGrath, however, recall that John was in Tullabeg in 1913; further, John's Final Vow formula is dated 2nd February 1926, which indicates that he must have taken First Vows in 1915 or early 1916.
In 1918 a young man was despatched from Tullabeg to Gardiner Street; the Minister, Father Bury, greeted the news with joy: “This is splendid: he will tempt the Fathers to eat better because of his good cooking!” John was twenty-five then, and his gift for making people happy is well attested; he was asked for by various houses, and a member of the Province who arrived in houses which Brother John had just left recalls that John was remembered with gratitude and affection. Cooks have a central place and wield great power within their domains: John cooked for his brethren for thirty years and made them happy because he was generous, painstaking and thoughtful. He worked in Gardiner Street (1918-23), Rathfarnham Castle (1923 36), Belvedere (1926-29), Clongowes (1929-31), Emo (1931-35), Mungret (1935-38), Tullabeg (1938-43), St Ignatius, Galway (1943-47), Crescent (1947-48), Clongowes again (1948-58), Manresa (1958-59) and finally Milltown Park (1959-79).
It was during the last twenty years of his life that the present writer came to know and appreciate him. He was assistant to Brother John Rogers in the bindery and ad dom. He was neat and self-contained; had a small stocky frame, large and long face, black hair, steel rimmed glasses, black chesterfield and boots which had long since seen their best days; he made an unusual figure both within and outside the house. He loved the city of Dublin and was the best known of the community on the 11 bus route; drivers used make unscheduled stops to take him aboard. They loved him more for his easy chat and good-humoured wit than for the sweets he used give them. He aged imperceptibly, for he was built of durable stuff. He seemed indestructible, as was illustrated when at the age of eighty three he came limping home after an affair with a car; he was reluctant to admit to the accident, went off to take a bath to ease his wounds and was back in action the following day. He was delightfully unpredictable in ways, and free of shyness in his relating to others. To illustrate: passing the Gas Company showrooms one day, he looked in and saw a salesgirl within who looked very gloomy. He went in: “I'd like to ask you about a gadget which you're advertising; you don't seem to have it on display”. “What is it?” she replied grumpily. “Well, you've an ad saying: Make your tea in a jiffy! I'd like to see a jiffy and know how it works!” As she tried to explain she began to smile. After a while, he said: “I know well what a jiffy is, but you look a lot happier now than when I came in!” And off he went.
John was seventy years old when Vatican II came, bringing to an end an era of stability in which regularity of practice and unswerving loyalty to authority were the characteristic of the faithful, John among them. The way was opened for new forms of religious and personal expression, with questioning and experimentation the order of the day. Like many of his generation, John found the sweeping changes in Catholic and Jesuit life hard to understand; the new forms of expression and the eclipse of the old left him confused. He was ill at ease in the new Milltown Park, and voiced his reservations with great honesty to his superiors and to the community; he was distressed that his critiques met with little effective response; he felt that a sympathetic hearing of his views was not enough. Values were at risk, as his eagle eye could see, and he loved religious life and the Province enough to do what he could to safeguard these values. Now that we as a Province are moving into calmer waters we can be grateful to John and others like him who have acted as reminders of the central qualities which must characterise any religious life worthy of the name.
Together with the difficulty he experienced in adjusting to the upheavals of aggiornamento, John went through a long period of indifferent health. For sixteen years his problem was wrongly diagnosed and treated, until finally Dr Dan Kelly brought him relief. The wit which had been so noted in him before was less evident in the latter years, though it emerged in flashes still, and brought many a smile. The younger brethren who overslept were labelled “the rising generation”; “All for me, dear Jesus!” was a remark used for a certain Father whom John thought as caring for himself a little too well. Some found it disconcerting to pass him on the corridor and half-hear a devastating remark as he shuffled away, but this may have been a device to communicate and keep in touch with those whose ways he found hard to understand. He detested beards, and persisted for quite a time with one scholastic in an anti-beard campaign until the object of his attentions asked him to ease up, whereupon to his surprise John said: “I’m only waying it because I like you”! A few years ago he fell into conversation with a lady on the front drive: he confided that he had been sent down town to buy two butterfly nets for the Rector (these were in fact intended for the removal of leaves from the swimming pool), He then launched into an incisive commentary on the Rector’s general performance, and told how the superiors of old used stay in their offices and appear mainly at mealtimes whereas the present one ... etc., etc. At the front door the lady revealed that she was the Rector's mother. Nothing daunted, he bade farewell with the remark: “See if you can't do something with him!”
Over a long lifetime John used his gifts well; he was cook, dispenser, house steward, manuductor, assistant bookbinder; he was a respected watch-mender, fiddled with radios - one of his crystal sets is still extant; he made walking sticks for those who, unlike himself, enjoyed the countryside. The present writer, more than forty years his junior, never knew him in his heyday, but considers his sixty-six years of service to the brethren a remarkable achievement worthy of the gratitude which was expressed by the wide representation of Province members at John’s requiem. What I find more remarkable, however, is the manner in which he continued his life of service to the very end. He might well have felt that by his eightieth year he had done enough, that he was no longer needed or wanted, that he could legitimately retire. Instead he took on a new role - that of postman and messenger. In finding yet one more way to serve the brethren he was typical of a great tradition of Jesuit brothers; having early on, in the words of the Kingdom exercise offered himself “entirely for the work”, he carried through to the end his promise of availability. While he was glad to have a daily task and was upset when the protracted mail-strike from February to June of this year left him with little to do, the work took its toll, and he was frequently to be seen suffering from attacks of dizziness, sitting along the corridor with his head between his hands.
What was sad in the final years was that it was hard to convince him that he was appreciated. Superiors had with doubtful wisdom allowed too much to change for him to be other than wary of well intentioned compliments. He developed the habit of blessing himself as they went by. Yet he had his friends in the community, and also among the lay-staff. He delighted in chatting with the latter and running errands for them; he continued to get cut-price cigarettes in Clery's for one woman long after she had given up smoking, for she had not the heart to tell him she no longer needed them. Moreover, he always presented the best side of community life to outsiders. I quote from a letter of his nephew: “John always spoke with great pride of your Society ... and of the wonderful work which is being done by everyone within the order”. That reticence, however, which often blocks us from speaking within the community of that pride we feel for the brethren afflicted John too. There's the story of the two scholastics who came early to supper and found John sitting down before them. “Supper doesn't begin till six!” he admonished them. “Ah”, they answered, “but we have an excuse; we're off on apostolic work. We're working for God!” “That's obvious”, said John. “If you were working for anyone else you'd have been sacked long ago!”
Of the inner life of such a man one of my generation can only guess. Surely there must have existed a deep union between God and himself to make him so consistently faithful to his religious practices, so simple and frugal in his dress and way of life, so willing to live out a life of uneventful service. He had to face the sufferings of loneliness, ill-health, confusion and perhaps even a sense of betrayal over the changes that came in the last years of his life. One thinks of the hardships of the disciple’s calling in the gospel of Luke; of Ignatius' prayer: “To give and not to count the cost”; of Hopkins sonnet on St Alphonsus Rodriguez; of K Rahner's account of the “wintry spirituality of many Jesuits”.
His death, like his life, was simple, unadorned, unromantic and without fuss. When asked about his health earlier this year, he used reply: “I'm all right, Father, you have to keep going, if you lie down they'll put you in a box?” He was moved down to the Chapel Corridor a month before he died: he had already renamed that corridor “the coffin corridor” some time before. He accepted the change with macabre humour; the door of his new room would be just the right size to get out the coffin! He sought out his friend Dr Dan Kelly at St Vincent’s, the day before he died. He knew with his quiet realism that he was dying, yet he refused to stay in hospital; he wanted to die at home. A life-long Pioneer, he took a little brandy that night; the end came peacefully about 6 am the following morning; it is hard to think that he was reluctant to go. I like to think of him now as surprised by joy at his meeting with the Lord, amazed and delighted at hearing the divine commendation for his life of service. Gone now the misunderstandings that marred the last years; if the communion of saints means anything, we at Milltown Park may confidently hope that he will keep a brotherly eye on us and on our affairs, now that he has entered into new service as God's messenger of grace to us.

A writer from the Far East would like to add the following:
A fine, warm-hearted man, whose conversation on spiritual and secular matters had the quality of suavitas. Knowing that he was from the Coombe, I associated him with a man like Dean Swift - he had that observation of people and that natural eloquence of the Dubliner. A dedicated man, he had that warm humanity so befitting a Jesuit, and which the Brothers by their prayer and simplicity have given so fully to the Society. May he pray for us to be gifted with more vocations like his

Rogan, John, 1845-1886, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/2066
  • Person
  • 18 July 1845-16 September 1886

Born: 18 July 1845, County Down
Entered: 28 February 1877, Milltown Park, Dublin
Died: 16 September 1886, Clongowes Wood College, Naas, County Kildare

2nd Year Novitiate at Gardiner St

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
He was sent in his Second Year Novitiate to Gardiner St as a Cook and Dispenser.
He was later sent to Clongowes to carry out the same work, and he died there 16 September 1886.

◆ Fr Francis Finegan : Admissions 1859-1948 - DOB is actually Baptismal date; Killed in an accident at Clongowes

Roe, Francis, 1917-2003, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/613
  • Person
  • 09 December 1917-13 March 2003

Born: 09 December 1917, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 07 March 1939, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Final Vows: 15 August 1949, Clongowes Wood College SJ
Died: 13 March 2003, St Vincent’s Hospital

Part of the Milltown Park, Dublin community at Cherryfield Lodge, Dublin at the time of death.

◆ Companions in Mission1880- Zambia-Malawi (ZAM) Obituaries :
After his novitiate, Br Frankie Roe was posted to Belvedere College to take charge of the Boys Tuck Shop. A fellow Jesuit, who was a boy at the school, remembers: ‘It was there that I first met him when I was a small boy of 8. He was in charge of the Tuck Shop and was to us a person of significance. But my main memory is of his kindness to the youngest boys and how he protected us from what seemed to us to be the giant marauding 11 year olds. Never would he allow the older ones to push us youngsters out of the queue. He consoled us when we were in trouble and encouraged us at all times’.

Br Roe, born in Dublin on 9 December in 1917, was the seventh of eight children, all of whom predeceased him. Among his brothers were two All-Ireland Handball champions and he himself was no mean performer in the sport. He was educated by the Christian Brothers and after schooling worked with Independent Newspapers.

He entered the Society at Emo in 1939. For 64 years he served the Lord in the Society in many places, in Ireland and Africa and in a variety of roles. He was refectorian in a number of houses, – Clongowes, Milltown Park, Loyola House, Tullabeg – twenty eight years in all. Added to that, he was also sacristan in the houses as well.

He decided to offer himself to the missions in Zambia. He came out for two years, 1977 to 1979, at the age of sixty. He worked at Choma Minor Seminary School as minister and library assistant and then moved on to Kizito Pastoral Centre, Monze, as general factotum.

In everything he did he was a perfectionist – highly competent, diligent, and meticulous in the attention that he gave to his tasks, precise in word, deed and in every detail of his manner. All of these tasks he carried out effectively and industriously but almost always with a touch of the frustration that is the lot of the perfectionist. He had great difficulty reconciling himself to be among the ‘imperfectionists’ who populate our world.

He returned to Ireland and found the ideal position and with it something approaching happiness. In 1981 he became bookbinder of the Milltown Library. It demanded the skills that he had in abundance and afforded him an environment that suited his temperament perfectly. He applied his skill assiduously and took immense pride in his work that he carried out flawlessly and generously. He did all the work himself and no longer was he at the mercy of the shortcomings of others. He was truly master of all he surveyed in the bindery. In these years, his relationships with others blossomed. He greatly appreciated the librarians and they, in their turn, positively treasured him. Within the library staff the feminine balance seemed to have pleased him significantly. His departure from the library left a gap that will not be filled.

For two and a half years he battled with cancer uncomplainingly. In Cherryfield Lodge, the Jesuit Nursing Home, he found something approaching perfection, particularly in the staff, who were devoted to him, whom he so deeply appreciated and of whom he was so extraordinarily undemanding. He died on 13 March 2003 in St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin.

◆ Fr Francis Finegan : Admissions 1859-1948 - Worked at Independent Newspapers before entry

◆ Interfuse
Interfuse No 117 : Special Issue November 2003

Obituary

Br Francis (Frankie) Roe (1917-2003)

9th December 1917: Born in Dublin city
Early education at St. Columba's CBS School, Dublin
Worked for several years in the Irish Independent office
7th March 1939: Entered the Society at Emo
8th March 1941: First Vows at Emo
1941 - 1945: Belvedere College - Sacristan; Tuck shop
1945 - 1950: Clongowes College - Refectorian (boys)
18th August 1949: Final Vows at Clongowes
1950 - 1958: Milltown Park - Refectorian
1958 - 1962: Belvedere - Assistant Librarian, Sacristan
1962 - 1963: Loyola House - Sacristan / Refectorian
1963 - 1966: Tullabeg - Sacristan / Refectorian
1966 - 1977: Milltown Park - Refectorian
1977 - 1979: Zambia - Choma Minor Seminary: Minister; Library Assistant; worked at Kizito Pastoral Centre, Monze
1979 - 1980: Milltown Park - Sacristan; Ministered in the Community
1980 - 1981: Clongowes - Assistant to the Headmaster; Librarian
1981 - 1984: Milltown Park - Book binding
1984 - 1985: Cherryfield Lodge - Worked at Milltown Park Library; book binding
1985 - 2000: Milltown Park - Book binding
2000 - 2003: Cherryfield Lodge, Dublin
13th March 2003: Died in St. Vincent's Hospital, Dublin.

Brother Roe was admitted to Cherryfield in November 2000, suffering from prostate cancer. His condition began to deteriorate in September 2002. He was admitted to St. Vincent's Hospital on 21" February, and he died peacefully three weeks later.

Noel Barber writes:
Brother Roe was the seventh of eight children all of whom predeceased him. Among his brothers were two All Ireland Handball champions and he, himself, was no mean performer in this sport. He was educated by the Christian Brothers and after his schooling worked with Independent Newspapers. Just over 64 years ago, he entered the Jesuit Novitiate at Emo on March 7th 1939. Over his 64 years in the Jesuits, he served in many places in Ireland and Africa and in a variety of roles. In everything he did, he was a perfectionist - highly competent, diligent, and meticulous in the attention that he gave to his tasks, precise in word, deed and in every detail of his manner. However, he was not only a perfectionist; he was also kindly and generous. After his novitiate he went to Belvedere. It was there that I first met him when I was a small boy of 8. He was in charge of the Tuck Shop and was to us a person of immense significance. But my main memory is of his kindness to the youngest boys and how he protected us from what seemed to us to be giant marauding 11 year olds. Never would he allow the older ones to push us youngsters out of the queue. He consoled when we were in trouble and encouraged us at all times. He was a most benign presence and we were sorry to see him leave at the end of our second year. He went on to many tasks, all of which he carried out effectively and industriously but almost always with a touch of the frustration that is the lot of the perfectionist. He had great difficulty reconciling himself to the imperfectionists, who populate our world.

However, he did find the ideal position and with it something approaching bliss. In 1981 he became bookbinder of the Milltown Library. It proved to be perfect for him. It demanded the skills that he had in abundance and afforded an environment that suited his temperament perfectly. He applied his skill assiduously and took immense pride in his work that he carried out flawlessly and generously. He did all the work himself and no longer was he at the mercy of the shortcomings of others. He was truly the master of all he surveyed in the bindery. In these years his relationships with others blossomed. He greatly appreciated the librarians and they, in their turn, positively treasured him. Within the library staff the feminine balance seemed to have pleased him significantly. His departure from the library left a void that will not be filled.

For two and a half years he battled with cancer uncomplainingly. He gradually spent more and more time in Cherryfield Lodge, until he became a permanent resident. There, as in the Library, he found something approaching perfection, particularly in the staff, who were so devoted to him, whom he so deeply appreciated and of whom he was so extraordinarily undemanding

In the Gospel from St. Luke that was read at his funeral Mass, Our Lord points out to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus that Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead; or as he puts it earlier in the same chapter, “Was it not necessary that Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory? No doubt the joy of discovering that Christ had risen blocked some obvious questions, such as “Why? Why should the innocent suffer? Why must Christ suffer? Why should the Passion have to precede the Resurrection?” The message of the Gospel is a stark statement of the Law of the cross. The cross is the way to glory; that cross that is a folly and a scandal, unintelligible in itself and acceptable only in the light of Faith, However, the message of Christ and the demands that it makes on us would be hollow if Christ himself did not take on the depths of human suffering. After all, the first readers of St. Luke's Gospel were facing persecution and some were prepared to die for their Faith. To those and many others who follow them to this very day Christ did not point out the narrow, difficult path while taking a different route himself.

All lives are configured to that of Christ. It is in accepting this that we mysteriously find full life. This was something of which Br, Roe was convinced and that he accepted in faith. It was this convinced faith that provided him with that serenity and calm with which he accepted his illness, the humiliating dependency on others, the enfeebled body, the weakening mind and ultimately his death that finally conformed him to his Master whom he served so loyally, unobtrusively and dutifully.

Roche, Redmond F, 1904-1983, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/378
  • Person
  • 01 August 1904-20 June 1983

Born: 01 August 1904, Tralee, County Kerry
Entered: 05 October 1922, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 31 July 1936, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1940, St Mary’s, Emo, County Laois
Died: 20 June 1983, John Austin, North Circular Road, Dublin

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

by 1938 at St Beuno’s Wales (ANG) making Tertianship

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 58th Year No 4 1983
Obituary
Fr Redmond Francis Roche (1904-1922-1983)

We had been friends since we came together as boys in Clongowes. As a boy, as indeed all through life, he was quiet and unassuming, always in good humour, and somehow radiating goodness. In the Lower Line, he and I and a couple of others, under the auspices of Mr Patrick McGlade, the Line Prefect ( †1966), started a news-sheet called Lower Liner. The first few weekly issues were polycopied before we ventured into having it printed by the Leinster Leader and sold at 3d a copy. However, for Fr Larry Kieran, the Prefect of Studies, this schoolboy venture into publication was too much. We were ordered to desist and confine ourselves to our quite undistinguished studies.
Ned Roche was born in Tralee on 1st August 1904, and before going to Clongowes attended the Christian Brothers' School, Tralee, and Our Lady's Bower, Athlone. He entered the Society in Tullabeg on 5th October 1922, some days too late to join in the First-year novices Long retreat. In travelling to Tullabeg, he had been hindered by the disruption of transport services caused by the civil war. If I recall aright, Ned, accompanied by his father, came by coaster from Tralee to Cork, and thence as best he could via Limerick to Tullabeg.
He joined our group of ten Second-year novices for that very happy month while, without making the retreat, we attended the talks. These were given by Fr Michael Browne, who had just begun his third term as Master of novices. For conferences and recreation we were accommodated in the old Sodality room beside the People's church. Outside, we walked untold miles up and down the stretch of road outside the back gate. Ned fitted in as if he had been there all the year.
Noviceships are normally uneventful. His finished, Ned passed on to juniorate in Rathfarnham (1924-26), philosophy in Milltown (1926-29), prefecting in Clongowes (1929-33), theology in Milltown (1933-'7). In 1934 he served my First Mass in the old chapel of Marie Reparatrice in Merrion square. His own ordination came in 1936, followed after theology by tertianship in St Beuno's (1937-38). He served as Socius to the Novice-master in Emo for four years (1938-42).
There followed an unbroken term of twenty-five years as a superior: Rector of the Crescent, Limerick (1942-"7), of Clongowes (1947-53), of Belvedere (1953-39), and Superior of the Apostolic school, Mungret (1959-67); then Minister, Vice Rector and Rector of Gonzaga (1967-'74). On recovering from a a very severe (almost fatal) illness in 1974, he served for three years on the Special Secretariat. In 1977 he became Superior and bursar of John Austin House.
To have borne so much overall responsibility for so long, with the added burden of big building extensions in both the Crescent and and Belvedere, and to have won such respect, admiration and affection amongst his fellow-Jesuits, the college boys and their parents - all this makes Ned one of the truly Ignatian Jesuits of our time.
In a letter he wrote to me on my way to Australia, telling all about the retreat Er Henry Fegan had just given the juniors in Rathfarnham (1925), he constantly reminded us of it. “Quid faciam pro Jesu? and Non quaero gloriam meam, sed gloriam Eius qui misit Me: these were much-used texts. These words express a profound influence on a life they go a long way to explain.
G. Ffrench

This year (1983) Fr Roche's health began to deteriorate markedly. Stair climbing became an ordeal and black-outs occurred. After a time in the Whitworth (St Laurence's) hospital, he went to Cherryfield to convalesce, but was soon back in the Whitworth, where he died peacefully on the morning of 20th June.
It was a life of remarkable service in one very responsible position after another. He brought to each assignment a dedication that was wholly admirable and meticulousness that could on occasion be exasperating. In his rectorships he completely accepted the whole 'package', from care of the community and in the old system) the school to responsibility for attendance at meetings, matches, plays, dinners, funerals. All that involved considerable self-giving austerity of life.
He was quite clearly a man of God, and quite unconsciously conveyed that impression to others. After his death the parish priest of Aughrim street parish and the president of the Legion of Mary praesidium of which Ned was spiritual director told me of the sense of Gold that he brought with him. There will be readers of this He was kind and understanding (there are many testimonies of this). On his own admission he hardly ever lost his temper, but when he did, he did! He was a shrewd assessor of character and situation. He was very interested in developments in the Church and the Society, and kept up his reading in Scripture and Moral Theology. Here one sensed his spirit of obedience.
There are some good-humoured stories about him: the one apropos of his devotion to funerals, that he once approached a funeral stopped in traffic and asked could he join it; how he once delighted the novices by inadvertently pulling a packet of cigarettes from his pocket as he left the refectory; how he once began to admonish scholastic X and then said, “Oh, I beg your pardon, that was meant for scholastic Y”.
He had a special interest in and affection for Mungret. Readers will remember his authoritative article on Mungret in Interfuse (no. 12 (Dec 1980), pp. 11-24). Mungret records found a home in his room in John Austin. One of the great pleasures of his later years was to be visited by graduates of the Apostolic school from various parts of the world.
In his day he was a keen golfer, cricketer and skater, He brought to his sport that exactness with which he served God in larger matters. (Playing croquet with him in Emo, remember, was an exhausting experience!) His favourite animal was the racehorse, and he went to the - on television - as often as he could.
On 20th June he finished his own earthly race in the peaceful hope of another vision. It is a grace to have been with him.
SR

◆ The Clongownian, 1983

Obituary

Father Redmond F Roche SJ

Ned Roche, as he was familiarly called, died in Dublin in June last; only some years previously he fought his way back from almost fatal illness, showing in this the measure of his willpower.

Born in Tralee on 1 August 1904, he came to Clongowes after earlier schooling in Our Lady's Bower, Athlone. Four years later in October 1922 he joined thirteen first year Jesuit novices in Tullabeg, among them two of his contemporaries in Clongowes, Charlie Daly (1919-22), now in Hong Kong and Bill Dargan (1917-22), now in Eglinton Road.

With a pretty good general knowledge of the career of Irish Jesuits since Fr Peter Kenney landed in Dublin on 31 August 1811, I think his record of continuous administrative service is unique. Beginning with his eight years in forming others with its due place in learning the art of administration, I set down here without immediate comment his curriculum vitae:
1921-31: Gallery Prefect in Clongowes.
1931-33: Lower Line Prefect in Clongowes.
1933-37: Theology in Milltown Park where he was ordained priest on 31 July, 1936.
1937-38: Tertainship in St Beuno's, N Wales
1938-42: Socius, i.e. assistant to Master of Novices, Emo Park.
1942-47: Rector, Crescent College, Limerick.
1947-53: Rector, Clongowes Wood, College.
1953-59: Rector, Belvedere College.
1957-67: Superior, Apostolic School, Mungret.
1967-70: Minister, Gonzaga College.
1970-76: Rector, Gonzaga College.
1976-78: Bursar, John Austin House, NCR, Dublin.
1978-83; Superior, John Austin House.

While Fr Roche was certainly not the first Superior to die in office - one thinks off-hand of Fr James Gubbins who died as Rector of Belvedere, of Fr John S Conmee who died as Rector of Miltown Park - the unadorned mention of the offices he filled is ample evidence of the respect in which he was held by the eight provincials whom he served as a priest and by his Jesuit brethren.

The hallmark which stamped his character was thoroughness inspired by charity. Not over-quick by nature this thoroughness in mastering detail caused him hours of patient daily labour. In the five schools in which he worked he set out to gain as full a knowledge, as possible of his boys and their parents, of their individual personal problems, their joys and their sorrows. Nor did he forget them in their careers after they left: quite by accident I came across two instances where he had supplied the money to make post graduate studies in the United States possible. He had the countryman's innate sympathy for bereaved familiers and, if at all possible, attended requiems, often involving long tire some journeys.

As in work so also in play, Ned was thorough: for years he was one of four Jesuits who took their fortnight's summer holiday in Tramore: the drill was strenuous, eighteen holes before lunch, eighteen holes and a swim after lunch; deadly serious bridge after supper.

His memory should be kept alive here in Clongowes by placing a modest plaque on the Lower Line Pavilion which he built fifty years ago. May he rest in peace.

◆ The Belvederian, Dublin, 1984

Obituary

Father Redmond Roche SJ

This year (1983) Fr. Roche's health began to deteriorate markedly. Stair-climbing became an ordeal and the black-outs occurred. After a time in the Whitworth (St Laurence's) hospital, he went to Cherryfield to convalesce, but was soon back in the Whitworth, where he died peacefully on the morning of 20th June.

It was a life of remarkable service in one very responsible position after another. He brought to each assignment a dedication that was wholly admirable and a meticulousness that could on occasion be exasperating. In his rectorships he completely accepted the whole package', from care of the community and (in the old system) overall responsibility for the school to attendance at meetings, matches, plays, dinners, funerals. All that involved considerable self-giving and austerity of life.

He was quite clearly a man of God, and quite unconsciously conveyed that impression to others, After his death the parish priest of Aughrim Street parish and the president of the Legion of Mary praesidium of which Ned was spiritual director told me of the sense of Gold that he brought with him. There will be readers of this obituary who can confirm this for themselves.

Ned Roche was born in Tralee on 1st August 1904, and before going to Clongowes attended the Christian Brothers' School, Tralee, and Our Lady's Bower, Athlone. He entered the Society in Tullabeg on 5th October 1922, some days too late to join the First-year novices' Long retreat. In traveiling to Tullabeg, he had been hindered by the disruption of transport services caused by the civil war. If I recall right, Ned, accompanied by his father, came by coaster from Tralee to Cork, and thence as best he could via Limerick to Tullabeg.

In 1934 he served my First Mass in the old chapel of Marie Reparatrice in Merrion Square. His own ordination came in 1936, followed after theology by tertianship in St Beuno's (1937-8). He served as Socius to the Novice-master in Emo for four years (1938-42).

There followed an unbroken term of twenty-five years as a superior: Rector of the Crescent, Limerick (1942-7), of Clongowes (1947-53), of Belvedere (1953-9), and Superior of the Apostolic school, Mungret (1959-67); then Minister, Vice-Rector and Rector of Gonzaga (1967-74). On recovering from a very severe (almost fatal) illness in 1974, he served for three years on the Special Secretariat. In 1977 he became Superior and bursar of John Austin House.

To have borne so much responsibility for so long, with the added burden of big building extensions in both the Crescent and Belvedere, and to have won such widespread respect, admiration and affection amongst his fellow-Jesuits, the college boys and their parents.

(Compiled from contributions by S. R. and Ffrench).

Roche, George Redington, 1869-1953, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/377
  • Person
  • 21 November 1869-12 December 1953

Born: 21 November 1869, Monivea, Athenry, County Galway
Entered: 07 September 1889, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 10 July 1905, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1908, Clongowes Wood College SJ, Clane, County Kildare
Died: 12 December 1953, Our Lady's Hospice, Dublin

Part of the Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin community at the time of death

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

by 1893 at St Aloysius, Jersey Channel Islands (FRA) studying
by 1900 at Stonyhurst, England (ANG) studying
by 1907 at Drongen, Belgium (BELG) making Tertianship

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 2nd Year No 4 1927
Clongowes :
Fr. G. Roche has been appointed Rector of Clongowes. The College is not absolutely new to him. He was there for six years as a boy. As a Jesuit he was gallery prefect, third line prefect, lower line prefect for four years, and higher line prefect for nine. He put in the rest of his time as minister and prefect of discipline at University Hall, and as Rector of Mungret.

Irish Province News 29th Year No 2 1954
Obituary :
Father George R Roche
George Philip Redington Roche was the sixth of the eight children of Thomas Redington Roche J.P. and Jane Redington Roche, and was born on Nov. 21st, 1869, at Rye Hill, Monivea, Athenry, Co. Galway. This property had belonged to his grandmother, Eleanor Redington, whose family originally came from Mayo, and whose husband was Stephen Roche of Cork. George Roche's mother, before her marriage, was a Miss Cliffe, of Bellevue, Macmine, Co. Wexford. She belonged to one of those prominent High Church Protestant families whose conversion to the Catholic Church caused such a sensation just a hundred years ago. The most notable of these were the Rams of Ramşfort, and an interesting account of their conversion and also of that of the Cliffes was published by Burns & Oates in 1901 under the title. Some Notable Conversions in the County of Wexford. The author was Rev. Francis J. Kirk, an Oblate of St. Charles, formerly Protestant Rector of Gorey. The book contains a long letter from Jane Redington Roche describing the almost simultaneous though independent conversion of all the members of her family and their reception into the Church in Paris by Père de Ravignan in 1856. Mrs. Roche was a most fervent Catholic and a woman of strong character. She was noted for her imperturbable calm, a characteristic which her son inherited.
At the age of about ten George Roche was sent to school at Oscott. After two years the school was closed to lay pupils and he went for another two to Ushaw, but in 1883 was transferred to Clongowes together with his elder brother Charles, who as a young man went out to the Gold Coast and died there in 1897. The records state that George commenced his studies in Third of Grammar, his Professor being Mr. Richard Campbell.
There is little information available about his school days. A master with whom he was particularly friendly was Fr. James Colgan, who frequently visited his home and is thought to have influenced his vocation. He manifested an early enthusiasm for his favourite sport of cricket. It occupied all his spare time in the holidays and he showed no taste for country sports. He used to relate how on one occasion the Clongowes cricket XI played a match against the Mental Home in Carlow. George was bowling and the batsman, a patient, was palpably 1.b.w. However the umpire, an attendant, unhesitatingly gave him “not out” whispering to George, “I'll explain to you later”. When the batsman was finally bowled out, the attendant explained, “That man thinks he's a pure spirit. He’ll let you put him out any other way, but he can't be 1.b.w.”.
George Roche left Clongowes in 1889 and entered the noviciate at Tullabeg on September 7th of that year. Fr. John Colgan was his Master of Novices and Fr. David Gallery Sociuş. They were succeeded in the following year by Fr. W. Sutton and Fr. R. Campbell. Amongst his fellow novices were Fathers O. Doyle, J. F. X. O'Brien, H. and F. Gill, J. Kirwan, D. Kelly, J. Casey, L. Potter and T. Corcoran. He did a year's juniorate at Milltown and one year of philosophy at Jersey, returning to Clongowes in 1893 as Third Line Prefect, under Fr. Devitt as Rector and Fr. Fagan as Higher Line Prefect, two men whom he always admired. He also figures in the Catalogue as cur. instrum, mus. Fr. George's best friends will agree that the duties of this office must have been purely administrative. From 1894 to 1899 he was Lower Line Prefect and master. He then completed his two remaining years of philosophy at Stonyhurst and returned to Clongowes in 1901 for a year as Higher Line Prefect under Fr. James Brennan as Vice-Rector, From 1902 to 1906 he studied theology at Milltown, being ordained in 1905. After a year of tertianship at Tronchiennes, he once more returned to Clongowes, at the close of Fr. Devitt's second period of Rectorship, as Higher Line Prefect. He remained in this office for ten years under Fr. T. V. Nolan and Fr. N. J. Tomkin. It was during this period that he built the Higher Line pavilion which has since done such useful service. In 1915 he took over the Principalship of University Hall. In 1922 he was appointed Rector of Mungret, leaving there in 1927 to become Rector of Clongowes and Consultor of the Province. At the end of his term in Clongowes he worked for a year as Operarius in Gardiner St., 1933-34, then went to Rathfarnham as Spiritual Father and Assistant Director of the Retreat House. He was back once more in Clongowes from 1938 to 1945 as Spiritual Father to the Community, Assistant Procurator, Director of the junior sodalities and editor of The Clongownian. In 1945 his health began to fail and he was transferred to Rathfarnham so that he might more easily receive treatment for the diabetes which had long troubled him. In December 1950 he had a slight stroke and was removed to St. Vincent's Nursing Home. He never recovered and in April 1951 it was decided to move him to Our Lady's Hospice, Harold's Cross. He grew steadily weaker, though suffering no pain and retaining all his usual placid cheerfulness.
On December 9th, 1953, he was anointed by his Rector, Fr, P. Kenny, and died on December 12th at 8.15 p.m.
The mere recital of the various offices held by Fr. Roche during his long life gives an indication of the worth of his work for the Province, There was nothing spectacular in it but it was all most solid and valuable. Wherever Fr. Roche went he did his job conscientiously and successfully and handed things over in good shape to his successor. Throughout the long span of his life be kept on doing the ordinary things. well ; one never expected him to be spectacular, one could not picture him as anything other than reliable.
If any portion of his work is to be singled out for special praise, it would obviously be the influence he exerted over boys and young men. He had almost all the gifts that make a man acceptable to the young. He was--to use a hackneyed but here applicable phrase-& man's man. He was straightforward to the degree of bluntness, ostentatiously courageous, able to preserve his good humour in adversity, incapable of harbouring a grudge, healthily unsentimental yet possessed of a really tender kindness which was all the more attractive because it was manifested in deeds rather than in words. A mother sending her son to Clongowes asked a friend, an old Clongownian, to write to Fr. Roche: and ask him to be kind to the boy. “You needn't worry”, was the reply. “George Roche couldn't help being kind to everyone”. He had, naturally, a particular interest in and special ties with Clongownians since he spent altogether just forty years of his life at Clongowes and had a deep attachment to his Alma Mater, but old Mungret boys and past students of the Hall can testify also to his sincere solicitude for their interests.
I have spoken of the placidity he inherited from his mother. This did not mean that he was incapable of emotion. To some he may have appeared stolid, but his imperturbable manner was not due to lack of feeling. On him, as Rector of Clongowes, there devolved the anxious task of carrying through the erection of the New Building which went on from September 1929 until the summer of 1933. There was a period when serious difficulties arose. I happened to meet Fr. Roche in Dublin at that time, I asked him conventionally how he was and I can recall the revelation he made to me when he replied in his usual almost brusque way, “Worried to death”. He knew the family history of almost every boy who had passed through his hands, and no one was capable of greater sympathy in the inevitable misfortunes that life brings to every family.
Another characteristic I have mentioned was his courage. This was manifested particularly during the time when he was Principal of University Hall, 1916 to 1922. It was a disturbing time in the history of our country and Fr. George had a difficult task since many of the young men under his care were involved in the political movements of the day. One instance will give an idea of the situations that arose and the way in which he dealt with them. The Hall was raided one night by the Auxiliary police. Fr. George's sister, Miss Isabella Roche, the only now surviving member of his family, was living nearby and . from the fact that the lights in the Hall were on all night knew that something untoward was happening. Next day Fr, George came to give her an account of the raid. A tremendous knocking came at the door and when Fr. Roche opened it he found a large force of the Auxiliaries, mostly in a state of inebriation and waving automatic pistols. He asked what they wanted and the leader replied : “We have come to search this house”. “Well”, said Fr. George, as imperturbably as if he were addressing a crowd of unruly Higher Liners, “you needn't make such a row about it”. The words were recorded by himself and those who knew him will recognise them as authentic and realise the courage they manifested.
Fr. Roche was a man of deep, if unostentatious piety. He was completely unworldly, simple and unpretentious. Though he worked untiringly to help his old pupils on in the world, one always felt that his paramount interest was their spiritual welfare, that the first question he wanted an answer to was "were they keeping straight?" His characteristic spirituality is manifested in two little works which he published, Meditations on the Passion, published in two parts by the Irish Messenger Office and now in its eighth edition (eighty-first thousand) and The Divinity of Jesus Christ, published by the Catholic Truth Society of Ireland. They are both solid, straightforward works, largely based on Scripture and breathing that warm, simple, virile devotion to the Person of Our Divine Lord which was the mainspring of the author's devoted life. In him the Province has lost one of its most loved and revered members.

◆ The Clongownian, 1954

Obituary

Father George Redington Roche SJ

Father George Roche was called home to his reward on the evening of December 12th, 1953. He had reached a fine old age at the time of his death, but he will long be missed by his religious colleagues and the countless friends be made through out his long connection with Clongowes,

George Redington Roche, sixth child of Thomas Redington Roche was born at Monivea, Athenry on Nov. 21st, 1869. His early-school years were spent at Oscott and Ushaw but in 1883 he came to Clongowes where he was to spend the next six years.

He entered the noviceship at Tullabeg in 1889 and, after his first religious profession, was sent for his earlier studies to Milltown Park and the house of the Paris province at Jersey. He then returned to Clongowes as Third Line Prefect and after a year was advanced to the management of the Lower Line. The years 1899 1901 were spent at his philosophical studies in Stoneyhurst but he was here for another year as Higher Line Prefect before he began his theological studies in Milltown Park, where he was ordained in 1905. On completing his tertianship at Troncbiennes, he returned once more as Higher Line Prefect to Clongowes and filled that post until 1915. One tangible memorial of his term of office is the Higher Line Pavilion, which has given so many years of useful service while it forms a graceful landmark in the grounds of the College.

In 1915, Father Roche left Clongowes to take up the wardenship of University Hall where he remained until his appointment to the Rectorship of Mungret in 1922. He came back to Clongowes again, this time as Rector, in 1927. The tangible memorial of his rectorship is the New Building which was begun in 1929. Succeeded by Father Fergal McGrath as Rector in 1933, Father Roche spent the next four years in Dublin but returned for his last period in Clongowes in 1938. He was now close on the scriptural sepuaginti anni, yet we find him posted as Assistant Procurator, Director of the Junior Sodalities and Editor of the Clongownian. He returned, however, to Rathfarnham, in 1945, as he was suffering from diabetes and needed the treatment which could be got more easily in the city than in a country house. The last three years of his life were spent at The Hospice for the Dying, Harold's Cross.

From the foregoing account, it will be seen that for many years of his active life, Father Roche filled posts of responsibility. It is unnecessary for the present writer to emphasise the fact that he filled success fully the positions of trust given him by the Society. The fathers and mothers of boys who were entrusted to his care, past pupils on the threshold of life's responsibilities and in need of a steadying band and a word of kindness, can all testify to the deep understanding and humanity of this great priest. But his religious colleagues, too, will long cherish the memory of Father Roche, both as Superior and as colleague.

-oOo-

The Late Fr George Redington Roche

An Appreciation

Father George halted on the ground floor gallery at Rathfarnham Castle where he had been walking with no little difficulty. When I asked him if he was getting better his reply was unhesitating “I have no ambitions about getting well - I am ready”. Shortly afterwards, a severe stroke added to his other infirmities and necessitated his removal to the Hospice for the Dying at Harold's Cross. His speech and memory were gone and it seemed as if the end was only a matter of days. Yet, almost two years afterwards he was still alive. During a visit to the Hospice his nurse said to me “We never had a more gentle or obedient patient”, and she might have added “more resigned”. What astounded those who called to see him was the fact that, despite his helplessness and sufferings, never did they hear a complaint uttered by him. Shortly after his arrival at the Hospital, Father George, greatly to every one's surprise, improved considerably in his speech and his memory made a remark able come-back. True, he was looked after with devoted care.

I set down here some few impressions of visits paid him. We were conversing one day for some little time when I said : “Father George, you must be in your present state, the winner of great blessings for the Society's missionary efforts”. With touching simplicity he answered : “I hope so”. On a visit to the Hospice some time later, full of admiration for the extraordinary patience with which he accepted everything, I suggested suddenly, but quietly : “Father George, you, as his Rector, gave Father John Sullivan the final absolution and consolation as he was about to die, so Father John must be at help to you now”.. Caught off his guard, his answer came. unhesitatingly “Indeed he is, and constantly very near me”.

Father Roche looked forward to visits from his friends and at all times was. interested in any news, however trivial, about Clongowes where a long part of his life, from boyhood to Rector, was spent. With Old Clongownians, he had amazing contacts, far and near. He seemed to have a genius. for finding out the weaker type who found it hard to stand up to the world's cruel usage. In his own undemonstrative way he proved a tower of strength to that weaker member who needed advice, encouragement and help.

Father George loved a quiet joke and this, coupled with a delicate sense of humour, made him a pleasant companion. He had a simple directness which marked a natural shyness. Until one came to know Father George well, his shyness tended to embarrass others. Yet, it came to be almost an endearing trait, when one entered into his friendship.

A life-long interest of his was, of course, the Clongowes Rugby and Cricket Teams which he knew intimately all over the years, either as a player himself when a a boy or afterwards as a Line Prefect. He told me that he played as a boy on the first Rugby Fifteen that Clongowes ever turned out. I never tired of the story, which I set down here with the typical questions and answers :

“Did you score!” “No”. “Where did you play?” “Full back”. “Who won the match?” “Nobody”. “Why?” “We never finished it”. “What happened?” “The Match was abandoned”. “Why?” “One of the Opposition Players died on the field”.

Again, when he played Cricket in Galway for the Community when on holidays :

“How did you get on?” “Not too well”. “Why?” “None of us did too well”. “Why?” “Our Opponents fared worse”. “Was it the weather?” “No”. “Why?”! “The crease was wretched”. “Did you enjoy the match?” “Not so much until it was over”. “Why?” “One of the other side said the ground was very poor, which the farmer owner overheard and indignantly objected, saying: ‘It was the best land in Galway’.”

In the evening of his life at the Hospice for the Dying, it was a long way back to his achievement in 1895, when, playing for the Community at Clongowes, he got four consecutive wickets in five balls for no runs.

The beautiful Pavilion ·which he, as Higher Line Prefect, and his great friend, the late Tom Cullen, erected in the Cricket grounds and is so much admired on Union Day, was built on the profits of the shop, or if you prefer so to put it, on the innumerable bars of chocolate which the boys consumed in those days of plenty and cheapness. This will be, for many years to come, please God, a worthy memorial of this great man who loved Clongowes so deeply. I leave to historians of Clongowes in the future, the story of his part in building the new Clongowes. He was Rector when this gigantic undertaking was got under way and before he relinquished office he saw the boys housed in a building that is the justifiable pride of Clongowes today.

He lies in Glasnevin. The life of a great soul, a great gentleman and a kind-hearted confessor has passed peacefully to its close. Full of charity, full of years and full of sympathy for all who came his way, he will be sadly missed. His long weary wait at the Hospice was eased by the skill and constant care of the nursing staff and consoled by and comforted by the devoted attention of his Rector, Father P J Kenny, whose care it was to bring to his old Higher Line Prefect the last comforts and Rites of Holy Church.

Sidney B Minch

Roche, Daniel, 1882-1961, Jesuit priest and chaplain

  • IE IJA J/2056
  • Person
  • 22 October 1882-13 November 1961

Born: 22 October 1882, Castleisland, County Kerry
Entered: 07 September 1899, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 31 July 1915, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1921, Sacred Heart College SJ, Limerick
Died: 13 November 1961, St John’s Hospital, Limerick

Part of the Crescent College, Limerick community at the time of death

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

First World War chaplain

by 1906 at Stonyhurst England (ANG) studying
by 1912 at Leuven Belgium (BELG) studying
by 1917 Military Chaplain : 96th (CP) Field Ambulance, BEF France
by 1918 Military Chaplain : 18 KLR, BEF France

◆ Jesuits in Ireland : https://www.jesuit.ie/blog/damien-burke/a-sparrow-to-fall/

A sparrow to fall
Damien Burke
A BBC Northern Ireland documentary, Voices 16 – Somme (BBC 1 NI on Wednesday 29th June,
9pm) explores the events of 1916 through the testimony of the people who witnessed it and their families. Documentary makers and relatives of Jesuit chaplain Willie Doyle were shown his letters, postcards and personal possessions kept here at the Irish Jesuit Archives. In the 1920s, Alfred O’Rahilly used some of these letters in his biography of Fr Willie Doyle SJ. Afterwards they were given to Willie’s brother, Charles, and were stored for safekeeping in the basement of St Francis Xavier’s church, Lower Gardiner Street, Dublin in 1949. In 2011, they were accessioned into the archives.
Fr Willie Doyle SJ was one of ten Irish Jesuits who served as chaplains at the battle of the Somme (1 July- 18 November 1916): seven with the British forces; three with the Australian. Their letters, diaries and photographs witness their presence to the horror of war.

Fr Daniel Roche SJ, 97th (C. P.) Field Ambulance (06 July 1916):
I have been in a dug out up at the front line for the last fortnight, during the bombardment and four days of the battle... I have seen some sights for the last few days which I shall not readily forget. It has been a very very hard time which I would not have missed...I am in splendid form, or will be when I have had some sleep. Unfortunately I have been unable to say Mass during that time.

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 37th Year No 1 1962
The Sacred Heart Church and College
Father Daniel Roche
On November 13th Fr. Dan Roche had a very happy and most peaceful death quite in keeping with that deep serenity that marked his life. He had a slight heart attack a week previously and since then had been in St. John's hospital, One could see from the reaction to the sad news the extent of the community's esteem and affection for the late Fr. Roche, which affection was so obvious also last spring when he had to go to hospital following an attack of 'flu. In the days which followed his death we fully realised the great blessing that an aged religious like Fr. Roche can bring on a community where he was often spotlighted and made the centre of recreation, recounting for us the stories of the past. Fr. Roche often spoke of the deeds of his long-deceased contemporaries and when he mentioned Fr. John Sullivan (a fellow-novice) he seemed to relive those noviceship days. Indeed it was more than a coincidence that Father Dan went to his Maker on the feast of St. Stanislaus. Fr. Roche is buried in the Mungret cemetery beside Fr. Barragry, Fr. O'Connell and Fr. McWilliams - those stalwarts of the Crescent church, who as confessors and preachers, quite subconsciously won the hearts of Limerick. Indeed only recently a nun from the St. Joseph of Cluny Sisters asked for a mortuary card of Fr. McWilliams, and on receiving it, wrote thus to Fr. Rector: “A thousand thanks indeed for the mortuary card. I cannot tell you how much my mother will appreciate it as Fr. McWilliams was her best friend in Limerick, In fact she prays to him and considers him a great saint as in his lifetime he did wonderful things for her. I can thank him also for the grace of my religious vocation”.

Obituary :
Fr Daniel Roche (1882-1961)
Fr. Dan Roche died in St. John's Hospital, Limerick, on Monday, November 13th, St. Stanislaus' Day, after a brief illness lasting a little over a week.
An examination of the Catalogue in an effort to trace Fr. Roche's career in the Province reveals something which is somewhat out of the ordinary. The chronological list is as follows :
1899 (Sept. 7th): Entered Noviceship at Tullabeg (one year ahead of Fr. John Sullivan.
1901 Junior in Tullabeg.
1902 Teaching Latin and Greek in Galway.
1903 Prefect of Discipline in Clongowes.
1905 Philosopher at Stonyhurst.
1906 Study Prefect at Clongowes (for five years).
1911 Finished Philosophy at Louvain.
1912 Theologian at Milltown
1915 Ordained priest at Milltown.
1916 Chaplain in British Army in World War One. Won Military Cross
1919 Tertian Father at Tullabeg.
1920 Teacher and Games Master at the Crescent.
1923 Teacher at Clongowes.
1924-1933 Member of the Mission Staff.
1933-1961 Operarius at the Crescent.

It is not an easy task to give even a fairly adequate account of Fr. Dan Roche, as he was a very reserved and reticent man, for the most part, and one could live for a long time with him and yet know little about him.
Rarely indeed did he reveal anything of his real self and then, not so much by what he said as by what he did. One has to depend, therefore, upon the few who knew him somewhat more intimately to get some insight into the true character of the man. One who was a fellow-novice writes of him :
“Fr. Dan was a great character. I met him first on September 7th, 1899, at Portarlington on our way to Tullabeg, and we became life long friends. He was a solidly good religious, always ready to give sound reasons for the faith that was in him. He was a good conversationalist, well read, and proficient in all kinds of games and sports and, naturally, he became a kind of a hero to the novices and juniors at Tullabeg. But that never went to his head and he had no use for pretence or ostentation, and hence he could not suffer fools gladly, He was, I always thought, a strong character, or a "he-man" as he used to say when speaking of a third party. He evidently made a good impression in the army, for during many years after the war, he used to get letters from officers and men with whom he had come in contact”.
Few of Fr. Roche's friends heard much about his experiences as an army chaplain in the first World War. He was extremely reticent on the subject. Shortly after his ordination to the priesthood, he volunteered for service with the British Forces and was posted to a Field Ambulance in France. His real active service, however, was with a front-line battalion in the trenches of Flanders, and it was only a fitting tribute to his determination and courage that he was decorated with the coveted Military Cross for distinguished service on the battle-field.
After his tertianship in Tullabeg and four years of teaching at the Crescent and Clongowes, Fr. Roche was appointed to the mission staff where again he had an outlet for the zeal and self-sacrifice so conspicuous in his army career. From time to time, when he was in a more talkative mood, he would recall incidents and relate stories - always extremely well told - of his missionary experiences up and down the country.
In 1933 he returned to the Crescent and for nine years directed the Apostleship of Prayer Association and the Holy Hour. During this time and his remaining years in Limerick-twenty-eight years in all--he endeared himself to the patrons of the Sacred Heart Church. He was particularly noted for his zeal in the confessional and for the practical common sense which he displayed in his approach to the various problems which he solved for his penitents. Quietly and unobtrusively he comforted the sick and the afflicted and those who really got to know him found in him a true and sincere friend.
In community life he was pleasant and good-humoured and for one who was remarkable for a retiring and studious disposition—he was an omnivorous reader he took a kindly and sympathetic interest in the many and varied interests of a busy College.
If ever a Jesuit died in action it was Fr. Roche, He was busily engaged in the church up to the end. He heard Confessions for several hours on the three days prior to the fatal heart attack. In fact, he was in his confessional until 9 p.m. on the previous night. He died as he would have wished-ever ready for the call, giving himself generously to the service of the Lord. For Fr. Roche there was one motto : Give and do not count the cost.

Rice, Stephen, 1625-1699, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2047
  • Person
  • 03 April 1625-07 January 1699

Born: 03 April 1625, Dingle County Kerry
Entered: 20 May 1648, Kilkenny, County Kilkenny
Ordained: 13 March 1660, Louvain, Belgium
Final Vows: 03/ November 1664
Died: 07 January 1699, Dublin Residence, Dublin City, County Dublin - Romanae Province (ROM)

Alias James Flent
Superior of Mission 08 October 1672

Had studied 2 years Philosophy before Ent. Taught Humanities 16 years. Was Superior of Irish Mission
1666 Is living near New Ross teaching school at his Boarding School. Preaches Catechetics in the country and does parochial work. Very good. On Mission 5 years. Has good talents with great fitness for catechising and teaching boys.
1679-1682 Minister and Prefect of Boarders at Irish College Poitiers
There is at Clongowes a “Praxis Episcopalis” Ed 1618 in which is written “P Ig. Rice”

1660 or 1662 Sent to Ireland from Professed House at Antwerp
1662 Living in New Ross where he kept a boarding school, and was engaged in Preaching, Catechising etc, and also occasionally acting as PP
1672 Superior of the Mission, and recommended for the same office in 1697 . Father Kelly, Rector at Poitiers, in a letter to the General, recommends Stephen Rice to be the Superior of the Mission again in a letter dated 26 May 1697 (Oliver, Stonyhurst MSS)
He is the author of a long and most interesting history of the Irish Mission SJ 1669-1675 (cf Foley’s Collectanea)
Highly eulogised in letters of the martyred Archbishop Plunkett to the General Oliva, dated Dublin 22 November 1672 and Armagh 31 January 1673
Much praised for learning, zeal, eloquence, holiness etc, by Primate Plunket and Dr Peter Talbot
Note from No Ch Name (actually George) Murphy :
Named in an Italian letter, dated Dublin 22 November 1672, ad written by the Martyr, the Archbishop Oliver Plunket, Primate of Ireland, to Father General Oliva, in which, after expressing his affectionate regard for the Society, and informing him of the meritorious labours of Fathers Rice and Ignatius Brown at Drogheda, he speaks of Father Murphy as a good Theologian, and excellent religious man, a man of great talent, and a distinguished preacher in the Irish language. (cf Oliver, Stonyhurst MSS)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of James and Phyllis née Fanning (daughter of Edmund of Limerick) and brother of Br Nicholas Rice (LEFT?)
Studied Humanities and Philosophy under the Jesuits at Kilkenny before Ent 20 May 1648 Kilkenny
A year after First Vows he was sent to Flanders for Regency before Theology at Louvain where he was Ordained 13 March 1660
1662 Sent to Ireland and initially to Limerick
1663-1670 Sent to join Stephen Gellous at New Ross, where he taught Humanities and Rhetoric for the next seven years
1670-1672 Went to Drogheda to organise the College there which was opened by Blessed Oliver Plunket.
1672-1678 Superior of the Mission 08/10/1672. A fresh wave of persecution meant that the schools had to be closed and missionary work carried on in secret. During his term of office the Irish College, Poitiers was established, not only as a school for boys, but also a refuge for old, inform or exiled Irish Missioners. Before he finished Office he wrote at length to the General regarding the Irish Mission 1669-1675.
1678-1682 At the time of the Oates's Plot, 1678, he was arrested and then deported. He went to Poitiers and was Minister of the Irish College until 1682
1682 Sent back to Ireland and Limerick. After the surrender of Limerick he came to Dublin as Consultor of the Mission, and he died there 07 January 1699, and is buried in St. Catherine’s Churchyard

◆ James B Stephenson SJ The Irish Jesuits Vol 1 1962
Stephen Rice (1672-1675)

Stephen Rice, son of James Rice, of Dinglicoush, and Phyllis, daughter of Edmund Tanning, of Limerick, was born at Dingle on 3rd April, 1625. He made his early studies up to philosophy at the College of Kilkenny, where he entered the Novitiate of the Society on 20th May, 1648. In 1651 he was sent to Flanders, where, after the usual course of teaching and study, he was ordained priest on 13th March, 1660, during his fourth year of theology at Louvain. On his return to Ireland he was stationed first at Limerick (1662), but next year he was sent to New Ross, where he taught school for seven years. He made his solemn profession of four vows at Dublin on 3rd November, 1664. In 1670 he went to Drogheda to conduct the College opened there by the Blessed Oliver Plunket. On 8th October, 1672, he was appointed Superior of the Mission. A fresh outburst of persecution caused the closing of our schools, and the ordinary ministrations of the Society had to be carried on in secret. During Fr Rice's term of office the Irish College of Poitiers was founded as a house of refuge for old, infirm, or exiled missioners. Before leaving office he wrote a long report on the work of the Society in Ireland from 1669 to 1675. At the time of Oates's pretended Plot (1678) he was arrested and banished. He went to Poitiers, and acted as Minister of the Irish College till 1682, when he returned to Limerick. After the surrender of Limerick he came to Dublin, as Consultor of the Mission, and died there on 7th January, 1699.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father Stephen Rice SJ 1625-1699
Stephen Rice was born in Dingle in 625. Educated at our school in Kilkenny, he entered the noviceship there in 1648. Ordained at Louvain in 1660, the year of the Restoration of Charles II, he was stationed first at Limerick, then at New Ross, in which town he taught school for seven years.

At the request of Blessed Oliver Plunkett he opened a school in Drogheda, where he had 150 pupils, besides 40 Protestant gentlemen who attended classes in 1670.

Two years later he was made Superior of the Mission. During the disturbance caused by the Titus Oates Plot, he went to Poitiers, where he acted as Minister.

However, in 1682 he managed to return to Ireland and he worked in Limerick. After the surrender of that city to the Williamites he came to Dublin as Consultor of the Mission, and he died there in January 7th, 1699.

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
RICE, STEPHEN, began his Noviceship at Kilkenny, and in the sequel became a leading man amongst his Brethren. The venerable Primate Archbishop Plunkett, of glorious memory,* in a letter addressed from Dublin on the 22nd of November, 1672, to the General S. J. Father John P. Oliva, extols Father Rice then Superior of his brethren, for his learning, disinterested and indefatigable zeal, fervid eloquence, remarkable discretion, and profound religious virtue; he adds, that this good Father has all the modest diffidence of a Novice: that he is a true son of St. Ignatius, and full of the spirit of the Institute. In a second letter to the same, dated Armagh, 30th of January, 1673, the worthy Archbishop repeats his unqualified commendation of this meritorious Father. His Grace of Dublin, Archbishop P. Talbot, held him in no less esteem. We have this Rev. Superior’s well written report of the Irish Mission of the Society, from the year 1669 to the 15th of July, 1675, and which has furnished several details for these biographical Sketches. I find by a letter dated Poitiers, 20th of May, 1097, that he was thus recommended by its Rector, F. Kelly, to the General Gonzales, to resume the Government of his Brethren in Ireland : “Rev. Father Stephen Rice, who, about 20 years since, was Superior of the Mission, appears to me eminently qualified to fill that office again, unless his age and strength may incapacitate him for the labour”. When the good old man descended into the tomb, I have inquired in vain.

  • The head of this illustrious victim of legal murder, is respectfully preserved in the Convent at Drogheda. How true is the remark, that “Calumny spread, no matter how, will frequently prove an Overmatch for candour, truth, and innocence, until time has applied his Touchstone, and proved the temper of the Metal!”

Reilly, Philip, 1784-1868, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/2040
  • Person
  • 10 March 1784-10 July 1868

Born: 10 March 1784, County Longford
Entered: 02 December 1812, Palermo, Sicily, Italy - Sicilian Province (SIC)
Final vows: 08 September 1837
Died: 10 July 1868, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin

In Clongowes 1817 - infirmarian O’REILLY

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
He was a model religious.

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
When he had finished his Noviceship in Sicily, he was sent back to Ireland with many book and some marble. His ship was wrecked at Dundrum Bay, Co Down, and he was kindly received there by the Russells of Killough. Finally reaching Dublin, he was sent to Clongowes, and worked there for many years.
1834 He was sent to Gardiner St, and worked there until his death 10 July 1868.
He was much esteemed by all who visited the Church at Gardiner St.
Note from John Nelson Entry :
He took his Final Vows 02 February 1838 along with eleven others, being the first to whom Final Vows were given since the Restoration in Ireland. The others were : Philip Reilly of “Palermo fame”; Nowlan, Cleary, Mulligan, Michael Gallagher, Pexton Sr, Toole, Egan, Ginivan, Patrick Doyle and Plunkett.

◆ The Clongownian, 2009

The Origins of the Clongowes Library : The adventurous journey of Br Philip Reilly SJ from Palermo to Co. Kildare

Father Michael Sheil SJ

There is a marble plaque, still in existence, which recalls the beginnings of the 'Higher Line Library' in Clongowes. Dated 1837, it records:

Ad
horas subsecivas
amoeniter ac literate
decurrendas
hoc aperuit conclave
coll. cluen.
MDCCCXXXVII

“The Clongowes Record” speaks of the initiative of Fr Henry Rorke “who filled many offices in his long and serviceable years in Clongowes - Minister, Prefect of Studies, and more” and who equipped the Higher Line Library:

“...so used till 1886, it has long been the Rhetoric classroom; but its original purpose as a place of true recreation and relaxation is finely shown in Fr Paul Ferley's inscription, still there on the mural tablet”. The record further adds that “Historical reading was especially cultivated in close connection with the Clongowes Debating Society”.

But the story of a library in Clongowes goes back much further, as seen in the letters of Br Philip Reilly, whose account of his perilous sea voyage from Palermo in 1815 with the nucleus of a library in the newly-opened college of Clongowes Wood makes for fascinating reading. In one letter, sent to Fr Peter Kenney from his ship in Youghal on 10th October 1815, he gives a marvelous description of sea travel in those far-off days. He had left Palermo on 26th July on the schooner “Mary”, registered in and bound for Belfast “with all the books on board” and two weeks later called in at Girginti to take on board a cargo of sulphur. After seven days there “we set out for old Ireland” and, fifty-four days later put into Youghal “in distress”. His graphic account continues:

This is but little of my sufferings. The captain, who is a drunken rascal, had put to sea without laying in scarcely any provisions, and we have been reduced to the utmost misery. These six weeks we had not a morsel of bread but that which could walk with vermin, Our tea and sugar were ended before we reached the Straits of Gibraltar, and for twelve days we have been on a miserable allowance of bread and beef. All this will appear nothing when I tell you I have twice been on the brink of eternity, with all hands on board, once in the Mediterranean, and last night on the mouth of this harbour, by drunken fits of the captain. Last night the ship struck twice or thrice on the bar here; and, if God had not spared us, we should all have settled our accounts in eternity. I do not know if we shall be allowed to ride our quarantine here, or whether we shall be sent to Belfast; of which I shall give you the first notice, that you may send me the amount of the freight of the books, which will be from £16 to £20, as I believe that they measure three tons. I am of the opinion that, should I get the books free of duty into any of these harbours, I ought not to trust them again by sea to Dublin. If you could make interest with the Commissioners, it would be well; of all which you will inform me after my next. Pray much for me, I do not know what yet may happen to me. Give my love to all. Your affectionate son, PM Reilly

In a second letter to Fr Kenney about a fortnight later, Br Reilly recounts how, aided by fair winds and clear weather, the Mary reached Dublin safely by noon the following day and then continued its way northwards up the Irish Sea. “We were, as I have mentioned, bound for Carlingford to have the books taken out”. However, the captain said that with night drawing on, he could not put in there as he did not know the harbour; so he put up helm and steered the course for Belfast. But, to our great surprise, after suffering all the horrors of a stormy night, we found ourselves surrounded by land on all sides in this Bay of Dundrum (near Newcastle, Co. Down). At the instant our ship struck and I thought that she was in a thousand pieces. Providence of God! We were not ten perches (c 50m) from a whole shoal of rocks, on which, if she had struck, all the world would not save us.

But the Mary had struck on fine sand and Br Philip and his precious books were safe.

Books of account
In a third letter, from Killough, he continues to enquire if the books have been insured, for on the next day they were due to be taken ashore. From Dundrum Bay they would have to be transported to Killough for storage (at a rate of five pence per cwt) and thence on to Dublin. He requests money, £20, to have the books plus “polished stone, prints and private papers” released into his keeping, saying that “I intend going to Strangford as soon as I have the books assorted, to know if they there will make me any allowance for the damaged part of the books”.

In an old account book belonging to Fr Kenney one finds reference to charges incurred for

• books, marbles and crosses of agate from Sicily by brig to Belfast, stranded in Dundrum Bay near Killough on the night of 23rd October 1815 e.g.
• books bought = £161 4s 8p
• carriage of books from the Sand Bank to Killough
• and then from Killough to Grand Canal Harbour, James's St, Dublin – £10 14s 6p

Included also are some interesting items, such as:

• cash for extraordinary trouble caused to Mr Hamilton, officer
• Mr Reilly's first expenses waiting to see the books removed
• expenses attending three memorials to che Treasury Board of Customs and
Lord Lieutenant

and, finally, a real gem of an entry:

• To a new hat spoiled with rain and snow, and expenses incurred by illness caught by cold, also chaise to bring Mr Reilly to town, when suddenly called for...

• to make up a grand total of £234 0s 5p.

Eventually, the much-travelled consignment arrived safely at destination to form the foundation of the College Library. Its custodian also found himself in Clongowes, where one of his duties was 'the management of a certain important institution called "The Shop Some things never change!

Br Reilly was born in Longford on 17th March 1784 and had entered the Society of Jesus in December 1812. He made his last vows on 8th September 1837 and died in St Francis Xavier Community, Gardiner Street, Dublin, on 10th July 1868, after many years spent as Sacristan in the church there.

Thus, from the tiny mustard seed of that precious cargo on its perilous journey from Sicily to Kildare, has come the splendid state-of-the-art Library in the former Refectory-then-Theatre in the first House of the restored Society in Ireland. The spirit of both Br Reilly and Fr Rorke must surely bless the endeavours of all who enter this
place of true recreation and relaxation

  • ad horas subsecivas amoeniter ac literate decurrendas.

Redmond, John, 1924-2011, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/794
  • Person
  • 18 June 1924-29 September 2011

Born: 18 June 1924, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 07 September 1942, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Ordained: 31 July 1956, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1959, Loyola, Eglinton Road, Dublin
Died: 29 September 2011, Cherryfield Lodge, Dublin

Part of the Milltown Park, Dublin community at the time of death.

◆ Jesuits in Ireland : https://www.jesuit.ie/news/sadness-and-style/

Sadness and style
Fr John Redmond died peacefully in Cherryfield on 29 September at the age of 87. How would we like to remember John? In two scenes, from the start and the end of his adult
life. With a group of fellow about-to-be novices he hired a chauffeur-driven car and proceeded in style from Dublin to the noviciate in Emo. Other photos from this time show him handsome, stylish, full of charm. There is a transparent innocence and optimism in his face. He never lost that innocence. In his seventy years as a Jesuit, John schoolmastered and ministered as a priest. But he suffered from serious illness, initially depression, later accompanied by physical illness. Last month, after a particularly traumatic spell in hospital, he returned to Cherryfield literally weeping with joy that he would be able to die at home.
One remembers too a picture of the Belvedere Cricket Team from the college annual of 1942. A close friend describes it: “In the middle, small, confident, nonchalant in his blazer and whites is John the team captain (also a disconcerting slow bowler and steady bat). In the row behind, tall and angular, Dermot Ryan, namer of metropolitan parks. The photograph celebrates a victory and is full of life and promise.
Another memento from that time marks his victory in the Belvedere debating society. Classmate Garret Fitzgerald’s rapid-fire delivery had for once met its match. It was a wonderful consolation to the family that in his final days he returned to Cherryfield. Then he was at peace – like the man in Luke who was sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. That is how I will remember John, at peace at the end, as he was on that sunny day of cricket. I know he gave his best as a Jesuit for 70 years, even if he thought his best was not good enough. He never ceased to think of and pray for all his family and to thank God for all his good companions in the Society of Jesus. It is with thoughts such as these that I comfort myself.”
John’s contemporary, Dick Cremins, preached at the requiem Mass in Cherryfield:
“An early memory: in Emo we were gathered at the back door, waiting to go in after recreation. I said or did something unusual, at which he exclaimed encouragingly, “Brother Cremins, you missed your vocation!” Then his hand on his mouth, as he realised that in another sense this was not something one novice said to another. Even then John was the life and soul of the party.
In our years of formation, in Tullabeg and Milltown, he continued as a cheerful spirit, always engaged in the choir and on the stage. That was the man I left behind when I went to what was still Northern Rhodesia. We lost touch until 50 years later when I returned home and found he had become the Hermit of Cherryfield. He was odd, withdrawn, and never left his room. On the few occasions when I met him, I found him gracious, although I believe this was not the experience of every one, including his family. I heard then how he had isolated himself and given up work – until in the end there was no place for him except in this nursing home.
One of our contemporaries, Michael O’Kelly, who was a strong young man and one of the best footballers of our time, began in Tullabeg to complain about a pain in his knee. My reaction was to say to myself, “Why doesn’t he snap out of it and get on with life?” It was a cancer. In a short time his leg was amputated above the knee, and he died before he could be ordained. I learned not to take the pains of others so cavalierly.
Likewise, we should not underestimate John’s sufferings: isolation, depression (those who have never known it wonder why he didn’t snap them out of it), low self-esteem, a feeling of being useless and achieving nothing (what could be worse for a Jesuit?). John’s achievement was a life of suffering borne with great fortitude and who knows how much prayer. For that we give thanks.
Edmund Campion (d. 1581), in his Brag, spoke of being “merry in heaven” with his persecutors, a word he borrowed from Margerie Kempe (c. 1400). We pray that John may be merry with the Lord and that with help of his prayers we will join in their merriment when our time comes.

◆ Interfuse

Interfuse No 147 : Spring 2012

Obituary

Fr John Redmond (1924-2011)

18 June 1924: Born in Dublin.
Early education at St. Vincent's CBS, Glasnevin and Belvedere College
7 September 1942: Entered the Society at Emo
8 September 1944: First Vows at Emo
1944 - 1947: Rathfarnham - Studied Arts at UCD
1947 - 1950: Tullabeg - Studied Philosophy
1950 - 1952: Crescent College - Teacher (Drama, Choir, Games)
1952 - 1953: Clongowes - Teacher (Drama, Games)
1953 - 1957: Milltown Park - Studied Theology
31st July 1956: Ordained at Milltown Park
1957 - 1958: Tertianship at Rathfarnham
1958 - 1962: Loyola House - Teacher of Religion and Philosophy at Bolton Street
2 February 1959: Final Vows at Loyola House
1962 - 1975: Gonzaga College: Spiritual Director to boys; Teacher; Prefect; Sports Trainer
1964: Teacher (rugby, cricket, games); Sub-minister; founded Vincent de Paul for boys in the school
1975 - 1985: Belvedere College - Teacher; Spiritual Father to students
1976: Spiritual Father to Students IV, III, II, I
1981: Assisted in Gardiner Street Church
1985 - 1994: Gardiner Street - Assisted in Church
1994 - 1997: Milltown Park - Pastoral ministry
1997 - 2004: Sacred Heart Church, Limerick - Assisted in Church
2000 - 2004: Assistant to Prefect of Health
2004 - 2011: Cherryfield Lodge - Praying for the Church and the Society
from 2006 : Attached to Milltown Park Community

John Redmond was admitted to Cherryfield Lodge in September 2001 following heart surgery in the Mater Private Hospital, and recovered well. He became a full-time member of Cherryfield Lodge in 2004. Following the death of his twin sister Peg, his condition deteriorated, particularly in the last year. After 2 days in a coma, he died peacefully in Cherryfield Lodge at 9.30pm on Thursday 29 September 2011

Obituary : Paul Andrews

John entered the Jesuits in 1942, at a time when such an action was piously spoken of as “giving your life to God”. One was offering the Lord a chalice full of sweet wine, the whole of one's future. John made the offering with joy; he had a quality of optimism and enthusiasm which was infectious, and stood out even among the bright sparks who went with him to Emo. A couple of them joined him in hiring a chauffeur-driven car to carry them from Dublin to the noviciate. He wanted do it in style.

As we look back on his long life as a Jesuit, we can see how inadequate is the image of a goblet of sweet wine. Our lives and relationships are inevitably a mixed drink, bitter-sweet. We can see in retrospect what a mixture it was, at once richer and more painful than when we took vows. John's remarkable mother may have had some inkling of this. In his journal of jottings and quotations, John notes an extraordinary memory. On 18 June 1942: Upon my telling mother, with great joy, that I was going to join the Jesuits, she replied: “You do not know what you are doing!!!”

People have warm, happy memories of John in those early days: handsome, smiling and gifted in many directions. Despite his small stature he was a sportsman who could captain the Belvedere cricket team, swing a golf club, play a respectable game of soccer; and a debater who won the school prize ahead of the rapid-fire delivery of his classmate Garret Fitzgerald. He was at ease on the stage, singing, dancing, acting. And he was the best of company, with an unaffected charm.

He read English in UCD, and he left behind a journal with a telling collection of the literature that spoke to him, pages and pages of meticulously transcribed poems and prose. He obviously loved the romantic poets, Keats, Laurie Lee, Browning: The year's at the spring and day's at the morn... He copied at length St Augustine's account of the death of his mother Monica, and strong pieces from St Patrick, Newman and Fulton Sheen. Gerard Manley Hopkins features more than any other poet, but here we begin to see John's own history. He moves from Hopkins' wide-eyed love of nature: Look, look up at the stars! to the desolation of his late sonnets: I am gall, I am heart-burn. God's most deep decree Bitter would have me taste. My taste was me.

That gradual move from joy in the world around him to an overwhelming sense of his own inadequacy, is the story of his life, and difficult to understand from the outside. John taught in Bolton Street College of Technology for four difficult years, difficult because he was in strange territory with few of the old signposts to help him. He could not take for granted that his students were open to religion, much less that they were pious. Yet a recent encounter reveals another side of his ministry. David Gaffney was visiting houses in the parish of Esker when he met a parishioner outstanding for his devotion to the community and the parish. As they chatted, the man told David: As a young man I had no time for religion, really disliked it. But then I went to Bolton Street Tech and was taught by a priest called Father John Redmond; and he made such good sense of religion that it has stood to me ever since. I told John this story on his deathbed, but do not know if he was conscious enough to savour it.

John would have had little sense of success. In 1962 he moved into Jesuit schools, first Gonzaga, then Belvedere, as spiritual father, teacher and trainer of sports. He founded the Vincent de Paul Society in Gonzaga, and introduced generations of boys to an awareness of the poverty not far from their doors. He led pilgrimages to Lourdes, and could show a dazzling smile to the camera in the group photograph. But gradually in his middle years, in the nineteen sixties and seventies, he fell prey to the black dog of depression, which goes hand in hand with feeling unloved. The self-confidence needed to meet people, or to impose himself in a classroom, deserted him. He would look at his life, at his achievements, and wonder: is there anything there? Did I make any difference?

The changes in the church did nothing to cheer John. The new form of the Mass, which opened its treasures to so many Catholics, remained alien to him. The turmoil that followed Vatican II in the Church and in the Jesuits stirred him to anxiety and anger. That firm, well-rounded faith, nurtured in the hallowed parish of Iona Road, nursery of countless vocations, seemed to have less and less to say to the world around John.

His reaction to depression was to retire. It is not that he was neglected. While he did meet sometimes with the snap-out-of-it sort of advice, that was not the general pattern. In Gonzaga, Belvedere, Crescent, Milltown and Cherryfield, in varying degrees, his Jesuit colleagues agonised over how he could be lifted. Good professional help certainly mitigated some of the pain and damage. But increasingly through his seventies and eighties he tended to withdraw not merely from work but from his human contacts both with Jesuits and with his other kith and kin. Dick Cremins, a near-contemporary, was astonished on return from Zambia to find that the charming and sparkling young John he had known in the 1950s had become the hermit of Cherryfield. He could still be lovely company when the black dog was put outside the door. But most of the time he suffered, especially at losses like that of his twin sister Peg.

John's Requiem Mass was on the feast of a Scottish Jesuit martyr, St John Ogilvie. The government forces that captured him in Edinburgh, tortured him at length in the hope he would betray other Catholics. They crushed his limbs under huge weights. They pricked and pierced him with needles continuously for nine days and nights to keep him without sleep – but he maintained his patience and even gaiety right up to his last moment, when he was hanged in Glasgow.

John Ogilvie gave his life to God as a young man; John Redmond over nearly nine decades. It is only at the end that we can see what is meant by "giving our life to God". His tortures for the most part were not physical but interior, and they lasted for years. They climaxed during a terrible spell in hospital in his last month. When George Fallon arrived to drive him back to Cherryfield, the exhausted John broke down in tears of joy that he would be able to die at home. On the third page of his journal he had copied out Newman's prayer. Let me end with it:

“May He support us all the day long, till the shades lengthen and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in his mercy may He give us a safe lodging and a holy rest and peace at the last”.

Redmond, James, 1842-1914, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2035
  • Person
  • 21 April 1842-07 February 1914

Born: 21 April 1842, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 30 July 1866, Roehampton England - Angliae Province (ANG)
Ordained: 1880
Final Vows: 02 February 1886
Died: 07 February 1914, St Ignatius' House of Writers, Lower Leeson Street, Dublin

by 1869 at Amiens France (CAMP) studying
by 1870 at Leuven Belgium (BELG) studying
by 1879 at Leuven Belgium (BELG) studying
by 1885 at Roehampton London (ANG) making Tertianship

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
His early education was at Clongowes (1856-1859), and he completed his education abroad. In fact all his further studies in the Society were completed out of Ireland. Before entering he had spent some time at the Commercial Buildings on Dame St, Dublin, and this experience stood him well in later life.

He was received age 24 by Edmund O'Reilly then the Provincial. He did his Noviceship at Roehampton. He studied Rhetoric at St Acheul, Amiens with Michael Weafer, Thomas Finlay and Peter Finlay, Robert Kane and Vincent Byrne, among others.
1872 He was sent for Regency to Clongowes which was the start of a long association. He was Sub-Minister there and Sub-Procurator1876-1877, and then in 1877 was in charge of the Study.
1879 He was sent to Louvain for Theology.
After Ordination he was sent back to Clongowes as Procurator.
1883-1884 He was sent to Tullabeg as Minister.
1884 he was sent on Tertianship to Roehampton.
For the next number of years he held many posts, Minister, Socius to the Novice Master at Dromore, Procurator at Milltown and finally for a year, procurator of the Province.
1888 He returned to Clongowes as First Prefect and then Procurator. During this stay at Clongowes, he was also Vice-Rector for a time. As Procurator he was a very familiar figure to generations of Clongownians. He always exhibited the same calm, dignified, unbending bearing with those in Third Line, who troubled him with their important affairs of half a crown for POs. He impressed the boys with his handsome grey head, a slightly husky voice and the profusion of snuff!
1905 He was sent to UCD, and remained in that community until his death 07 February 1914, including accompanying it in the change to Leeson St. He was Superior at Leeson St until June 1912. The numerous positions that James held during his long career as a Jesuit show the esteem in which he was held. he combined great shrewdness of judgement with polish and dignity of manner, and possessed a subtle and delicate humour. His opinion was often sought on knotty practical points. His decisions were always given with great clarity and brevity. As a Minister or Superior the extended hospitality with great readiness and affability. His strongest characteristic was his equability of temper, which was what you expected from his very retiring but remarkably gentle nature.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father James Redmond SJ 1842-1914
The numerous positions of importance which Fr James Redmond held at various times during his long career as a Jesuit show the great esteem in which he was held. He combined great shrewdness of judgement with polish and dignity of manner, to which was added a delicate and gentle humour. As Minister or Superior, he extended his hospitality with great readiness and affability.

He entered the Society in 1886, being received by Fr Edmund O’Reilly, the then Provincial. Before his entry he had given some years to business in the Commercial Buildings, Dame Street, Dublin, an experience which was to stand him in good stead in later years.

He studied Rhetoric at St Acheul with Frs Weafer, Thomas and Peter Finlay and Vincent Byrne amongst others. He had a long connection with Clongowes, both as a scholastic and priest, in many capacities, including Vice-Rector. Owing to his business experience he was Procurator in many houses, including Clongowes and Milltown Park. When we had the novitiate in Dromore, he was Socius to the Master of Novices.

In 1905 he was changed to University College, Stephen’s Green. He remained attached to this community to the end, and when the change was made to Leeson Street, he became Superior of the Residence..

His death occurred on February 7th 1914.

◆ The Clongownian, 1914

Obituary

Father James Redmond SJ

An old and esteemed member of the Jesuit Order died at St Ignatius', No 35 Lower Leeson Street, February 7th, in the person of Rev James Redmond SJ, who passed away peacefully' to his reward after an illness of a few days' duration. Father Redmond, who had reached the advanced age of 72 years, belonged to an old and highly-respected Dublin family, being a brother of Sir Joseph Redmond MD. He received his early education in Clongowes Wood College, and completed his course of studies on the Continent, entering the Order at the close of a distinguished scholastic career. Subsequent to his ordination he held several important posts in the Order, acting temporarily as Vice-Rector of Clongowes Wood College, and, at a later date, he was Vice-President of University College, St. Stephen's Green. A man of saintly and scholarly character, he was very much respected and esteemed by his brethren in th Order, by whom his death is deeply mourned.

Reade, Simon, 1672-1731, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2030
  • Person
  • 01 January 1672-01 February 1731

Born: 01 January 1672, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 31 July 1696, St Andrea, Rome, Italy - Romanae Province (ROM)
Ordained: 1703/4, Poitiers, France
Died: 01 February 1731, Dublin Residence, Dublin City, County Dublin - Romanae Province (ROM)

Studied 2 years Philosophy and 3 Theology, and taught Grammar in Society
1703-1706 Minister and in Theology at Poitiers
1706-1707 Tertianship at Marans
1707-1710 At Residence Saint-Macaire AQUIT teaching Humanities and Prefect of the Church
1711-1715 Spiritual Father at Poitiers
1717 Catalogue Prof 4 Vows. Is now with a noble family in the country giving edification. Is grave and modest, good judgement and a lover of poverty, chastity and obedience. Talent for Mission work and fit to be a Confessor. Assigned to ROM Province
Some of his books printed after 1696 are at Clongowes

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
1717 In Ireland, living with some gentleman’s family, and a zealous and solid religious.
Entries in old books show he belonged to the Dublin Residence.

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Early education was at Irish College Poitiers, and he had already commenced Priestly studies there before Ent 30 July 1696 Rome
1698-1701 After First Vows he was sent for a year of Regency to Sezze College, and then, and the instructions of the General, sent for Philosophy to Lyons (LUGD)
1701-1706 Sent to Grand Collège Poitiers (AQUIT) to continue his Theology studies and where he was Ordained 1703/04. During this time he served as Minister at the Irish College.
1706-1707 Made Tertianship at Marennes
1707-1711 Sent teaching Humanities at St Macaire, near Bordeaux. he was also Prefect of the Church at St Macaire.
1711-1715 Sent to Irish College Poitiers as Spiritual Father
1715-1725 Sent to Ireland for health reasons and worked in the Dublin area, working from the house of a nobleman in the Dublin area.
1725 Assistant Priest in a Dublin city parish and he died there 01 February 1731

Quirk, Joseph, 1811-1847, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2024
  • Person
  • 21 November 1811-08 October1847

Born: 21 November 1811, County Limerick
Entered: 23 September 1829, Avignon, France - Galliae Province (GALL)
Ordained: 1841
Died: 08 October1847, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin

Part of the Clongowes Wood College community at the time of death

by 1839 in Amiens (FRA) studying Theology
by 1841 in Vals (GAL) studying Theol 3

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
During the eighteen years of his life in the Society, he studied Philosophy and Theology, and was chiefly a successful Master at Clongowes and Dublin.

Quinn, Kevin, 1916-1994, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/549
  • Person
  • 21 March 1916-09 December 1994

Born: 21 March 1916, O’Connell Avenue, Limerick City, County Limerick
Entered: 07 September 1933, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Ordained: 30 July 1947, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1951, St Ignatius, Leeson Street, Dublin
Died: 09 December 1994, Cherryfield Lodge, Dublin

Part of the John Austin, NCR, Dublin community at the time of death.

Educated at Crescent College SJ.

by 1956 at Gregorian, Rome Italy (ROM) teaching

◆ Companions in Mission1880- Zambia-Malawi (ZAM) Obituaries :
The word 'incisive' means 'sharp, clear and effective' and this word apples to Fr. Quinn who was a brilliant student, a clear, talented teacher, had 'justice for all' as a driving force in his life and apostolate. He did not hesitate to stand up to authority in civil, ecclesiastical, religious, trade union and employer circles when he felt justice was at stake – ‘even reducing the Rector of the Gregorian to tears over the way lay employees of that prestigious institution were treated.’

Fr Kevin was born in Limerick, Ireland, on 21 March 1917. He attended the Jesuit school, Crescent College and immediately afterwards entered the Society at Emo Park in 1933. The formation years of study matured him intellectually – university studies, philosophy, theology. He was ordained priest in Milltown Park, Dublin in 1947.

Before the end of 1949, he was called to prepare himself to be co-founder and lecturer in the recently begun Catholic Workers' College. He studied again at U.C.D. where he obtained a Master's degree with first class honours in Economic Science and National Economics in 1951. With this under his belt, he was posted to Rome to the Gregorian University to lecture in Economics for twelve years. He hated Rome and held that his posting was a mistake as the letter summoning him to Rome was address to Pater Quint!

From 1963 to 1969 he lived in Zambia, in Lusaka where he joined the Oppenheimer College (1963-1965) lecturing in Economics and became Vice Principal. Later when the Oppenheimer became the University of Lusaka, he moved there lecturing in Economics. In 1966 he was a member of The Commission of Enquiry into the Mining Industry 1966, Zambia's most important document yet on industry. He was considered to be ‘one of Zambia's most respected and experienced arbitrators in labour affairs’. For his work he was awarded ‘Officer of the Order of Distinguished Service’ by the President in 1966.

He returned to Ireland to the College of Industrial Relations (the former Catholic Workers' College) as director of studies and lecturer where he remained for twenty years.

He lived his life in a spirit of submission to the will of God as he understood it through the wishes of his superiors and ordinary day-to-day events. He was a genuinely humble man with a spirit of detachment and availability. He shared his knowledge with the learned and the unlearned. ‘Kevin possessed many social virtues which endeared him to those about him, especially his colleagues in a common enterprise. His loyal co-operation was very notable, likewise his' almost perpetual good humor and his ability to see both sides of a dispute and provide at times a Solomonesque solution which found acceptance’.

From 1986 to 1994 he was minister in our houses. His health began to fail and he died peacefully in Cherryfield Lodge on December 9 1994, aged 78 years.

◆ Interfuse

Interfuse No 86 : July 1996

Obituary

Fr Kevin Quinn (1916-1994)

21st March 1916: Born in Limerick.
Secondary studies: Crescent College, Limerick
7th Sept. 1933: Entered Society at St. Mary's, Emo
1935 - 1938: Juniorate at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin
1938 - 1941: Studied Philosophy at Tullabeg
1941 - 1944: Regency at Clongowes Wood College
1944 - 1948: Studied Theology at Milltown Institute
30th July 1947: Ordained a Priest
1948 - 1949; Tertianship at Rathfarnham Castle
1949 - 1950: Clongowes Wood College - Master
1950 - 1951: Leeson Street - Studied MA at UCD.
1951 - 1963: Gregorian, Rome - Lecturer in Economics
1963 - 1969: Zambia - Lecturer & Vice-Principal at College of Social Science.
1969 - 1973: College of Industrial Relations - Director of Studies & Lecturer in Social Science.
1973 - 1986: Lecturer in Economics
1986: Minister
1989 - 1994: John Austin House - Minister
9th Dec. 1994: Fr. Quinn had been in failing health since last August. He was brought to Cherryfield Lodge while awaiting a bed in the Bon Secours. After a stay at the Bon Secours, he was back in Cherryfield Lodge since the end of November and died there, peacefully, on Friday December 9th, 1994, aged 78

        Caoimhín, I know not how to sing
your gifts of mind and heart and everything
that Love Incarnate fashions for a man
pledged not to me an 'also ran
Your sterling worth was measured true
by all who lived and toiled with you

So wrote a contemporary of Kevin's in a poem celebrating the diamond jubilee of eleven priests who had entered the novitiate at Emo in the autumn of 1933. The author confesses his inability to reveal in the allocated six lines the hiddden treasure of goodness which he and his companions discovered in Kevin during their sixty years in the Society of Jesus.

It was common knowledge even from his noviceship days that he was endowed with a variety of intellectual, social and practical gifts, apart from those supernatural gifts by which Incarnate Love was drawing him to Himself for his own purposes. Yet throughout his long life much remained hiden or at best the subject of surmise while others blossomed with the passing years.

His intellectual gifts matured during his time at UCD and their growth accelerated in philosophy in Tullabeg 1938-41. He spent his next three years teaching in Clongowes, sharing his ideas and ideals with outstanding success. His talent for teaching and opening up young minds became apparent. This was for him a happy and rewarding time. But it was in Milltown Park that his intellectual power became apparent to his professors and fellow-students alike. He was equally at home in dogma and moral. He had little difficulty in passing his Ad Grad in June 1948 before going on to tertianship in Rathfarnham in the September of that year.

After tertianship, to the surprise of many, he was re-appointed to teaching in Clongowes. But before the end of 1949 the call came to prepare himself to be a co-founder and lecturer in the still inchoate Catholic Workers' College. This new appointment entailed two more years of study in Economic Science and National Economics at UCD, where he obtained a Master's degree with first class honours.

One might be excused for thinking that Kevin had reached the end of the beginning of his life-apostolate when he started to lecture to working-men in February 1952. But not long after he was called to take up a permanent post in a newly-founded Institute of Social and Economic Studies attached to the Gregorian University in Rome. He spent the next eleven years lecturing and counselling and in building up a library for the Institute. Then he was seconded to the Oppenheimer Institute in Lusaka, the nucleus of the University of Zambia. He returned to Ireland in 1969 to become Director of the College of Industrial Relations and he remained there for twenty years lecturing in Statistics and contributing greatly to the work of the College.

From this summary of his varied work and apostolate it is clear that at no point did he choose his assignment over the forty-four years of his active ministry. This speaks eloquently of his spirit of detachment and his availability, though it tells us little of what all this cost him personally. It does reveal that there was not a shred of careerism in his make-up neither as to the choice of work nor as to its location or other circumstances.

There are still other aspects of Kevin's authentic Ignatian spirit. Like most of us he had his likes and dislikes as regards his associates or those for whom he worked; but I never knew him to allow personal preferences to intrude on his apostolate. He was on friendly and cooperative terms with his colleagues and he shared his knowledge with the learned and unlearned with equal enthusiasm. He had no 'hang-ups' as between helping the poor rather than the rich, the cleric rather than the lay-person. All who came to his lecture-room or office received the best service he could give. He was a man for all the Lord sent to him: a man without a trace of intellectual snobbery.

Kevin was a very private person and did not speak easily of interior things or tell of all God had done for him. But we know from the Lord that a tree can be known by its fruit; so it was patent to those who lived with him over the years that he was a genuinely humble man. He certainly lived his life, especially after his ordination and tertianship, in a spirit of submission to the will of God as he understood it through the wishes of superiors and day-to-day events.

To persevere in religious life is not always easy nor was it easy in Kevin's case at all times. The following prayer that he once recommended for times of “desolation: may reflect a personal experience of his own:

        Lord, drag me
if I will not walk
and when my wavering
footsteps go astray
or wander on their own
perversive way
when they refuse your will
the whole day long
and clamour to be still
when stubborn knees
are loath to pray
the body sulks
the minds turn gray
path leads uphill
then waste no pains
on me
nor coax me
nor to guide, essay
dear Lord
but drag me
if I will not walk

Kevin possessed many social virtues which endered him to those about him, especially his colleagues in a common enterprise. His loyal co-operation was very notable, likewise his almost perpetual good humour and his ability to see both sides of a dispute and provide at times a Solomonesque solution which found acceptance. He combined patience in listening, openness to new ideas and new ways, courtesy in all his dealings, and obvious sincerity with a personal playfulness and a profound love of justice in argument. All went to make him a unique reconciler in the field of industrial relations and a welcome member of any Jesuit community.

When death was near he was well prepared for it. Shortly before he died he asked Brother Joe Cleary to shave off his beard, saying with a smile: 'You can keep it as a relic!'

May his generous soul rest in peace.

Eddie Kent SJ

-oOo-

Kevin returned to the College of Industrial Relations in 1969, succeeding Fr. Edmond Kent as Director. He guided the College through a transitional period after the close of Fr. Kent's directorship in which it had been successfully established and developed. In 1972 he returned to lecturing in Economics and Statistics in which he excelled and remained in this role until his retirement. He was very generous in giving additional personal tuition to students who were experiencing difficulties and many students got through their exams as a result of his help and went on to successful careers in Accountancy, Personnel Management and Trade Unions.

He was well liked by both staff members and students and his advice was frequently sought. It was typical of him that when he felt the time had come to retire he quietly slipped away with a minimum of fuss. Happily, Fr. Tod Morrissey persuaded him to have his portrait painted at this time and it hangs in the College as a reminder of his great contribution over so many years.

John Brady SJ

-oOo-

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after justice”. This was my text and theme for my homily at Kevin's funeral Mass. And justice for all was, I thought and think, a driving force in his life and apostolate. He did not hesitate to stand up to Authority in civil, ecclesiastical, religious, trade union and employer circles when he felt that justice was at stake - even to reducing the Rector of the Gregorian to tears over the way lay employees of that prestigious institution were treated.

He hated Rome, whither he averred he had been sent by mistake. The message received in Germany summoning him to the Gregorian was addressed to a Pater Quint. He alleged that, apart from the Greg, the only places he knew in Rome were the Termini (the central rail station) and the airport; but he could have added Babington's Tea rooms at the Spanish Steps whither he and Miss Stafford, an old firend from the International Labour Office in Geneva, resorted on Sundays. It is doubtful if he ever visited St. Peter's.

Release from Rome came with his assignment to the Oppenheimer Institute (the nucleus of the University of Zambia) in Lusaka in the then Northern Rhodesia. At the conclusion of his six years there he was decorated by President Kaunda of the newly-formed Zambia, fought off a move to re-assign him to Rome and returned to Ireland.

Kevin was a solid and shrewd counsellor, a very dedicated minister in John Austin and a good friend. I can say no more.

Seán Hughes SJ

-oOo-

It was only when he joined the John Austin Community in 1989 that I really got to know Kevin Quinn. He was a very edifying companion. To see this professsor emeritus of the College of Industrial Relations, the Gregorian and the Oppenheimer commuting between the house and the supermarket and attending to the minutiae of community maintenance was a lesson in diaconia straight from the Acts of the Apostles. More than once I found him a good listener, ready to give time and advice on a problem. He was a very honest person this was evident at community meetings. He was forthright in opinion, impatient of humbug and ready to shed enlightenment on many topics. He was sensitive to the needs of others. I experienced much kindness from him.

He was richly and (forgiveably) repetitiously reminiscent about his time in Rome (which he detested apart from his Sunday excursions - cf. Seán Hughes' piece) and in Zambia where President Kaunda decorated him as an Officer of the Order of Distinguished Service for his work in industrial relations.

As Seán Hughes emphasises, he had a strong sense of justice. With this went a rapport with 'ordinary people: I think a favourite experience of his while in John Austin was the long conversations over coffee and cigarettes with the lady who came to clean and tidy the house. She really mourned him when he left us.

It was a grace to know him in community. Requiescat.

Stephen Redmond SJ

◆ The Clongownian, 1995

Obituary

Father Kevin Quinn SJ

Clongownians of the war years will remember Mr Kevin Quinn SJ, as he then was, who did his regency here 1941-44. A Limerickman and past pupil of the Crescent himself, he subsequently returned here as a priest to teach for a further year in 1949-50 but spent the rest of his life teaching economics. After taking an M.A. in UCD, he went to the Gregorian University in Rome for twelve years, followed by a further six in Zambia. He lectured at the College of Industrial Relations in Ranelagh for seventeen years until 1986 and spent the last period of his life in semi-retirement, acting as minister of the Jesuit Comunity at the CIR and, more recently, at John Austin House on the North Circular Road in Dublin. He died on 9 December 1994, aged 78.

Quinlan, Michael, 1887-1956, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/369
  • Person
  • 15 May 1887-31 October 1956

Born: 15 May 1887, Bandon, County Cork
Entered: 12 November 1902, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 31 July 1917, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1921, Belvedere College SJ, Dublin
Died: 31 October 1956, Milltown Park, Dublin

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

by 1907 at Stonyhurst England (ANG) studying

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 23rd Year No 4 1948

Manresa House, Dollymount, Dublin.
We moved in on Saturday morning, 14th August. Fr, Superior (Fr. McCarron), Fr. Minister (Fr. Kearns), and Bro. E. Foley constituted the occupying force, and Fr. T. Martin not only placed his van at our disposal, but gave generously of his time and labour for the heavy work of the first day.
A long procession of vans unloaded until noon, when the men broke off for their half-day, leaving a mountain of assorted hardware and soft goods to be unpacked and stowed. By nightfall we had a chapel installed, the kitchen working, dining-room in passable order, and beds set up, so we said litanies, Fr. Superior blessed the house and consecrated it to the Sacred Heart.
Next morning Fr. Superior said the first Mass ever offered in the building. It was the Feast of the Assumption and a Sunday, so we. placed the house and the work under the Patronage of Our Lady and paused to review the scene. Fr. Provincial came to lunch.
The building is soundly constructed from basement to roof, but needs considerable modification before it can be used as a temporary Retreat House. The permanent Retreat House has yet to be built on the existing stables about 130 yards from the principal structure, but. we hope to take about twenty exercitants as soon as builders, plumbers, electricians, carpenters and decorators have done their work.
Fr. C. Doyle is equipping and furnishing the domestic chapel as a memorial to Fr. Willie, who worked so tirelessly for the establishment of workingmen's retreats in Ireland. A mantelpiece of this room has been removed, and thermostatically controlled electric heating is being installed. Lighting is to be by means of fluorescent tubes of the latest type.
With all due respects to the expert gardeners of the Province, we modestly assert that our garden is superb. Fr. Provincial was so impressed by the work done there that he presented us with a Fordson 8 H.P. van to bring the surplus produce to market. Under the personal supervision of Fr. Superior, our two professional gardeners took nine first prizes and four seconds with fourteen exhibits at the Drimnagh show. Twelve of their potatoes filled a bucket, and were sold for one shilling each. The garden extends over 2 of our 17 acres and will, please God, provide abundant fruit and vegetables.
From the beginning we have been overwhelmed with kindness: by our houses and by individual Fathers. Fr. Provincial has been a fairy-godmother to us all the time. As well as the van, he has given us a radio to keep us in touch with the outside world. We have benefitted by the wise advice of Frs. Doyle and Kenny in buying equipment and supplies, while both of them, together with Fr. Rector of Belvedere and Fr. Superior of Gardiner Street, have given and lent furniture for our temporary chapel Fr. Scantlebury sacrificed two fine mahogany bookcases, while Frs. Doherty and D. Dargan travelled by rail and bus so that we might have the use of the Pioneer car for three weeks. Milltown sent a roll-top desk for Fr, Superior's use. To all who helped both houses and individuals we offer our warmest thanks, and we include in this acknowledgment the many others whom we have not mentioned by name.
Our man-power problem was acute until the Theologians came to the rescue. Two servants were engaged consecutively, but called off without beginning work. An appeal to Fr. Smyth at Milltown brought us Messrs. Doris and Kelly for a week of gruelling labour in the house. They scrubbed and waxed and carpentered without respite until Saturday when Mr. Kelly had to leave us. Mr. Hornedo of the Toledo Province came to replace him, and Mr. Barry arrived for work in the grounds. Thanks to their zeal and skill, the refectory, library and several bedrooms were made ready and we welcomed our first guest on Monday, 30th August. Under the influence of the sea air, Fr. Quinlan is regaining his strength after his long and severe illness.
If anyone has old furniture, books, bedclothes, pictures, or, in fact anything which he considers superfluous, we should be very glad to hear of it, as we are faced with the task of organizing accommodation for 60 men and are trying to keep the financial load as light as possible in these times of high cost. The maintenance of the house depends on alms and whatever the garden may bring. What may look like junk to an established house may be very useful to us, starting from bare essentials. Most of all, we want the prayers of the brethren for the success of the whole venture, which is judged to be a great act of trust in the Providence of God.
Our postal address is : Manresa House, Dollymount, Dublin.

Irish Province News 32nd Year No 1 1957

Obituary :

Fr Michael Quinlan (1887-1956)

Fr. Quinlan was born on 15th May, 1887, at Bandon, Co. Cork, the fifth child in a family of twelve, He attended the National School at Bandon, of which his father was Principal, and in 1899 went to Clongowes, where he remained until June, 1902, leaving after the Middle Grade, He entered at Tullabeg on 12th November, 1902, and after his first vows he remained there for two years' Juniorate. He then went to Stonyhurst to study philosophy for three years,
It was during this time that he took his B.A. degree at the Royal University in Dublin. He taught for five years at Belvedere and in 1914 he went to Milltown Park for theology. He was ordained on 31st July, 1917. Before his tertianship at Tullabeg he taught for one year at Belvedere and after the tertianship he returned to Belvedere in 1920 as Prefect of Studies. He was Rector of Belvedere from 1922 to 1928, and Rector of Galway from 1928 to 1933. After one year at Clongowes he was transferred to Gardiner Street, where we find him as Minister from 1934 to 1945, and Operarius from 1945 to 1955. Owing to failing health he was sent to Milltown Park. He died on 31st October, 1956, and he was buried with his fellow-novice, Fr. MacSheahan, at Glasnevin.
The author of this obituary notice has just attended a meeting of the St. Joseph's Young Priests' Society. It was the first meeting of that branch since the death of its Spiritual Director, Fr. Michael Quinlan. It would not be possible to remain unaffected by the obviously sincere tributes paid to his memory. “He was always ready, at any time or place, to help us in every way in his power”. “In the twenty years he was with us he was our most faithful friend and guide and advisor, never missing a meeting, always easy to approach”. “We could bring him any problem, sure, in advance, of a sympathetic hearing, certain he would leave nothing undone to find the solution”.
Fr. Bodkin, who succeeds Fr. Quinlan as Spiritual Director, warmly endorsed these remarks, having known Fr. Quinlan since he was a scholastic in Belvedere and Fr. Bodkin a small boy there. In those far-off days there was in evidence the same unfailing kindness which deepened with the years, and now remains the characteristic of the man that one instinctively associates with his name.
What was said at that meeting today finds a loud and ready echo in the hearts of countless numbers of Dublin's poor. As successor to Fr. Potter, Fr. Quinlan directed the “Penny Dinners”, devoting himself with tireless zeal, till near the end of his life, to collecting and distributing to visiting the poor, writing countless letters begging alms for them, missing no chance of interesting people in a position to help this excellent form of charity which for many long years has been carried on by the Gardiner Street community.
One got further insight into his interest in the poor and in his love for them, during a mission in Gardiner Street. The number who spoke of him in terms of deep affection, and the detailed knowledge he himself showed by the accurate information he put at the missioners' disposal, gave evidence of the practical zeal he had for their spiritual and corporal welfare.
Not content to direct a Conference of the St. Vincent de Paul, he proved himself a veritable apostle by the innumerable contacts he made with the poor in their homes. He was often observed slipping out quietly with one or two or three parcels of food or clothes for those in dire need. One large store in Dublin is said to have kept him supplied with lots of shoes and boots. The children of the poor flocked around him in the streets, and were happy when they could say they were attending “Fr. Quinlan's School” - the one he had charge of in Dorset Street.
A Jesuit told him once : “Congratulate me, I'm fifty today”. Fr. Quinlan paused a moment and then said the unexpected - regretfully but quite seriously. “Fifty are you? I'm afraid you'll never be a Rector now!” He had a most exalted idea of the honour conferred on a man whom the Society considered fit to be raised to that high eminence, and he would not fail, from time to time to regale you with stories about the time “when I was Rector”. He held that position twice, in Belvedere and at Galway, and it was in his time at Galway that the College got the status of an “A” school. Though no linguist, he managed to reach sufficient proficiency to teach mathematics through Irish, “and I doubt”, writes a contemporary, “if there has ever been a better teacher of that subject in the Province”.
For years in Gardiner Street, whether as Minister or Prefect of the Church, or later as an Operarius, he got through a prodigious amount of work. It was nearly always he who filled the gaps if a preacher had to drop out. It was, above all in the Confessional, we may very reasonably surmise that his great-hearted charity found its widest outlet. It has been well said that devotion to the work of hearing Confession is an infallible mark of a true priest. Judged by that test, Fr. Quinlan was a true priest indeed. He was “always ready”, early or late, irrespective of fixed “hours” to treat with souls in the sacred tribunal, One has heard it said more than once: “I'd love to go to Fr. Quinlan for Confession only that his ‘box’ is always so crowded”.
He was the author of many articles and pamphlets which have circulated widely, particularly one on Confession which is still enjoying an enormous sale.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father Michael Quinlan 1887-1956
It has been truly said that devotion to the confessional is an infallible mark of a good priest. Judged by this standard Fr Michael Quinlan was an excellent priest. He was always ready, early or late, irrespective of fixed hours to help souls in the sacred tribunal. It was afterwards said “I’d love to go to Fr Quinlan for confession, only his box is always crowded”.

Born in Bandon in 1887, he entered the Society in 1902, after his schooling in Clongowes.

He became a Rector comparatively young, first in Belvedere from 1922-1928, and then in Galway from 1928-1933. He always had a reverence for the office of Rector, simple and amusing in its way.

In Gardiner Street, where he spent the latter part of his life, he was in charge of the schools and the Penny Dinners. His devotion to the poor knew no bounds. He was tireless, ingenious and shameless in their service. This and his devotion to hearing confessions mark him out as a man of God. He was also active with his pen, and he was the author of numerous pamphlets, many of which remain popular.

He died on October 31st 1956.

◆ The Belvederian, Dublin, 1957

Obituary

Father Michael Quinlan SJ

Fr Quinlan was born on 15th May, 1887, at Bandon, Co Cork, the fifth child in a family of twelve. He was at school at Clongowes, entering the Society of Jesus in 1902. He studied Philosophy at Stonyhurst and then taught for five years at Belvedere. In 1914 he went to Milltown where he was ordained on 31st July, 1917. He came back to Belvedere in 1920 as Prefect of Studies and in 1922 was appointed Rector of the College. At the end of his term of office he went to Galway as Rector and was there from 1928 to 1933. He worked at Gardiner Street from 1934 to 1955. From then till his death in October, 1956, he was at Milltown Park.

Anyone who knew Fr Quinlan could not help but see that his heart was in the work of a priest in Gardiner Street. In the last months of his life his cross was not the pain and weakness he was called on to suffer, but the separation from the work he loved best - the work of the confessional - and from that network of innumerable contacts with the poor he had built up over the years. For years in Gardiner Street, whether as Minister or Prefect of the church, he got through a prodigious amount of work. It was above all in the confessional that his charity found its widest outlet. It has been said that devotion to the work of hearing confessions is an infallible sign of a true priest. Judged by that test, Fr Quinlan was a true priest indeed.

◆ The Clongownian, 1957

Obituary

Father Michael Quinlan SJ

Father Quinlan came to Clongowes as a boy in 1899 and remained until 1902, when he entered the Society of Jesus at Tullabeg. Having finished his earlier studies, he taught for five years at Belvedere and went on to Theology in 1914. He was ordained in 1917.

In 1920 he became Prefect of Studies at Belvedere and he was Rector of that College from 1922 to 1928, and Rector of Galway from 1928 to 1933. After one year at Clongowes he was transferred to Gardiner Street where he worked until 1955, when he was transferred to Milltown Park. He died on October 31st, 1956, and was buried with his fellow-novice, Father MacSheahan, who had died on the previous day. Father Quinlan was for many years Spiritual Director of the St. Joseph's Young Priests Society, who paid glowing tributes to his work for them and to his great sympathy and accessibility. He was much sought after for Confessions and was the author of many articles and pamphlets which have circulated widely, particularly one on Confession which is still enjoying a wide sale. May he rest in peace.

Quigley, Mark, 1897-1980, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/368
  • Person
  • 02 April 1897-22 December 1980

Born: 02 April 1897, Roscrea, County Tipperary
Entered: 31 August 1914, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 31 July 1928, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1932, Clongowes Wood College SJ, Clane, County Kildare
Died: 22 December 1980, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin

Early education at Mungret College SJ

by 1923 in Australia - Regency at Riverview, Sydney, Xavier College, Kew and Studley Hall, Kew

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
Mark Quigley entered the Society in 1914 at Tullamore, and in 1921 arrived at Riverview for regency, teaching and assisting the prefect of discipline. In late 1923 he moved to Xavier College where he was hall prefect, and as he had a brilliant singing voice, he looked after the choir. After a year he was sent to Burke Hall again teaching as well as assistant prefect of discipline. During his priestly life he worked mainly at Gardiner Street, engaged in pastoral ministry.

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 56th Year No 1 1981

Gardiner Street
A week after Dermot Durnin’s death, we are still stunned by the fact. He and his quick wit will be missed very much, not only by his brethren here but also, grievously, by his “ladies” in St Monica’s. He had built up such a cheery relationship with every one of them and used to give them so much of his time that the news was really shattering and has left them still bewildered. At least they must have been comforted by the send-off we gave him: 65 priests concelebrated the Mass in a crowded church. One of the congregation remarked that the ceremony was “heavenly”. (One of the community was overheard wondering aloud if Dermot was digging his friend Pearse O’Higgins in the ribs and begging him to “tell that one again”.) His totally Christian attitude towards death, an attitude of joyful anticipation, prevents us from grudging him his reward, though this doesn't diminish our sense of loss.

On 22nd December, Fr Mark Quigley slipped away from us to make his way to Heaven: requiescat in pace! It was typical of him that his departure was so quiet and peaceful as to be almost unnoticed. When he did not get up that morning, it was found that he was only half-conscious and had the appearance of approaching death. The doctor confirmed that he had only a few hours to live. Many of the community visited him during the morning and prayed with him and for him. Though he could not speak clearly, when asked if he would like the prayers for the dying to be said, by nodding his head he acknowledged his awareness of imminent death. Just about half an hour before he died, he succeeded in pulling his crucifix up to his lips and kissing it. Three of us were with him when he breathed his last gentle breath, without the slightest sound or struggle.
Go ndéanaí Dia trócaire ar a anam mín mánla.

Irish Province News 56th Year No 2 1981

Obituary

Fr Mark Quigley (1897-1914-1980)

Fr Mark Quigley died at St Francis Xavier's, Gardiner Street, Dublin, on 22nd December 1980, in his 84th year, His death was neither sudden nor unexpected. For over a week before he took to his bed he was feeling sick, very confused in mind, and looking poorly, He was well prepared for death. The Superior, Fr Dan Dargan, along with some of the community was reciting the Prayers for the Dying, and Fr Mark had kissed his vow-crucifix when he quietly yielded up his soul to his Saviour, whom he had served for 66 years in the Society of Jesus.
Fr Mark was a Tipperaryman and was always ready to make friends with people of Tipperary extraction. He was born in Roscrea (11th April 1897) but spent most of his childhood in Cloughjordan and Borrisokane. He was educated at Mungret College and entered the novitiate at Tullabeg on 31st August 1914, one of a group of twelve novices who came to be known as the Twelve Apostles. Along with him from Mungret College came Joseph McCullough, Fred Paye and Charles Devine. World War I was only a month old, and his vow-day (1st September 1916) came in an exciting year, an era of resurgence, when the Twelve made their commitment to the King of kings.
After the noviceship there followed a year of Home Juniorate as was then the custom, a year which Fr Bodkin used to describe as one of much high thinking and plain living. The season, Christmas 1916 to Easter 1917, was bitterly cold. The Grand Canal was frozen over for a long period and deep snow covered ground for several months. The only available fuel was turf, and rather damp turf at that. The 1914-18 war entailed sacrifices; hence the regime was spartan. On a visit to Tullabeg Fr T V Nolan, then Provincial, arranged that the novices and Juniors - “big growing men” - should as far as possible be exempt from the food restrictions published in the newspapers. On the intellectual side of life the Juniors were fortunate in having the splendid services of Mr Harry Johnston, SJ, who taught Greek, Latin and English.
After his Home Juniorate Mark moved to Rathfarnham Castle to do First Arts. In 1918 came a threat of conscription being extended to Ireland, so to make sure that as clerics they would be exempt from military service, all who had taken their vows received minor Orders. After his year in Rathfarnham, Mark spent three years at philosophy. A section of the buildings at Milltown Park was assigned as the philosophate, and with the Irish philosophers recalled from abroad, his community numbered 22 philosophers and 21 theologians. In 1921 (the Anglo-Irish truce just having been agreed) the Status brought something of a surprise, if not consternation, for Mark when he found himself among the scholastics assigned to sail for the Australian missions. The five-week sea journey was particularly trying for Mark, He was so reserved and retiring nature that he kept very much to himself or at least to the company of the Jesuits aboard the ship. Although he was a good athlete and had a splendid tenor voice, he refrained from mixing with the hundreds of passengers in their social entertainments. At the first port in Australia, a letter which had been sent by the Superior of the Mission, Fr W. Lockington, allotted the scholastics of the group to various colleges. Mark was to go to Riverview College, Sydney, as teacher, with charge of the junior cadets. This was a new trial for him. The Australian boys were difficult to control, and he discovered that - “take one consideration with another - a prefect’s lot is not a happy one!”
In 1923 Mark was moved to Xavier College, Kew, Melbourne - one of the public schools. He was appointed teacher and hall prefect. Into this great hall, at class break, there would flow a sea of boys - some hundreds of them. Mark had friends among the boys, and they admired his gentle tolerance. Perhaps the happiest time of his regency was his fourth year when, still in Melbourne, he was assigned to the preparatory school. He had a fellow-Tipperaryman, Fr James O'Dwyer, in the community, and they had much in common to talk about. In 1925 the Irish Provincial recalled Mark for theology in Milltown Park, where he was ordained (31st July 1928). For tertianship he was sent to St Beuno's, north Wales.
It was very appropriate that Fr Mark and should die at St Francis Xavier's,Dublin, where he had worked for nearly 45 years. Except for three years in the Crescent, Limerick, two in Clongowes and one in Mungret, as a priest all his activity was associated with Gardiner street. Over the years he directed different Sodalities of our Lady and Conferences of St Vincent de Paul, including one for Irish-speakers. Fr Mark was a competent speaker of Irish and for many years celebrated Sunday Mass in Irish. For a number of years he was Minister, But his church choir, composed of men and boys, which he conducted for 26 years (1935-61), was perhaps his most successful achievement. To support him Fr Mark had the distinguished organist Mr Joseph O’Brien: they became close the friends. The choir became an undoubted attraction at the Sunday Mass. On Christmas mornings the faithful, coming to hear the choir's rendering of Christmas carols, used to flock in, so that the church was already thronged by 6.30. During Holy Week the choir created an atmosphere of reverence and suspense, especially during the Seven Words from the Cross on Good Friday, when the congregation remained for the three hours. Perhaps the climax of the choral year came on Easter mornings when the window-curtains were withdrawn, revealing the light, the illuminated canvas of the risen Christ over the high altar was unveiled, the organ thundered, and the choir sang Resurrexit, sicut dixit. To maintain this choir over the years Fr Quigley had to recruit new members, visit the homes of prospective candidates, train new voices and hold frequent practices.
To these labours must be added his work in the church as preacher and confessor. He took his turn on call (domi, ie, the twenty-four-hour tour of duty 2.30 pm to 2.30 pm - ready for all comers). He visited the sick members of the sodalities. In the neighbourhood he was a respected and familiar figure. To the secular priests he was well-known, and in his own quiet way he made many friends amongst them.
It is true to say that Fr Mark's health began to fail in the last five years of his life. With his weakening eyesight he could not read with any comfort, and as for walking, even with the aid of a stick, he felt insecure if he ventured out on the streets. His memory, which in former times was most remarkable and reliable, showed signs of failure. Gradually he had to withdraw from many of the church activities. At times he had periods of depression and a feeling of loneliness. He was by nature a shy and most sensitive man,
His requiem Mass took place on Christmas eve, a very busy day for professional and businessmen and secular priests. The attendance was impressive but not what it would have been had it occurred on a less busy day. Even relatives and priests from Tipperary were unable to be present and had to be content with sending telegrams of sympathy and regret at not being able to travel.
To those in the Society and outside it he will always be remembered as the quiet man with a marvellous memory for faces and facts: a mine of information about people he had met. In community recreation, if he heard someone assert something which he knew was incorrect, he remained silent, or if asked might reveal the truth with amazing details. In death he made no protest, but quietly, as became the man, yielded up his gentle soul to his Creator.

Quaid, Charles, 1840-1904, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/371
  • Person
  • 30 July 1840-14 December 1904

Born: 30 July 1840, County Limerick
Entered: 30 July 1863, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final vows: 15 August 1874
Died: 14 December 1904, Clongowes Wood College, Naas, County Kildare

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
1865-1874 He was sent as Sacristan to Galway.
1874-1875 He was sent as Dispenser to Clongowes.
1875-1876 He was sent to Limerick as Sacristan, and he assisted at the opening of the Sacred Heart Church.
He also spent some time at Tullabeg where he was responsible for the Domestic staff.
When Tullabeg closed as a College he was sent to Milltown, and later at Galway again as Sacristan.
Finally he returned to Clongowes and he died there 14 December 1904.
He was a simple soul and worked hard with goodwill.

Purbrick, Edward I, 1830-1914, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2013
  • Person
  • 22 June 1830-18 July 1914

Born: 22 June 1830, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
Entered: 15 October 1851, Hodder, Stonyhurst, England - Angliae Province (ANG)
Ordained: 1864
Professed: 02 February 1869
Died: 18 July 1914, Holy Name, Manchester, Lancashire, England - Angliae Province (ANG)

by 1904 came to Clongowes (HIB) working

Power, William, 1887-1937, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/2007
  • Person
  • 07 October 1887-13 December 1937

Born: 07 October 1887, Castletownbere, Co Cork
Entered: 07 June 1914, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Final Vows: 02 February 1925, Milltown Park, Dublin
Died: 13 December 1937, Crescent College, Limerick

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 13th Year No 2 1938
Obituary :
Brother William Power
1887 Born, Castletownbere, Co. Cork, 7th October
1914 Entered, Tullabeg, 7th .June
1915 Mungret (Coadj. now.) Ad preyed. et dom
1916 Mungret, Ad praed. et dom.
1917-19 Mungret, Ad dom., Cur tricl. Apostol. etc
1920-21 Mungret, Ad dom., Cur tricl. Apostol. etc, Dir fam
1922 Milltown, Cur. tric., Infirm., Ad dom
1923-24 Milltown, Dir fam, Infirm., Cur. pen., Disk
1925 Clongowes, Cur. tric., Ad dom
1926-29 Tullabeg, Ad dom
1930-35 Belvedere, Praef. fam., Cust cell., Vis, med. et exam
1936-37 Crescent Mechan., Ad dom

Br. W. Power died in Limerick, Monday, 13th December, 1937. RIP

The following excellent appreciation of Br. Power is given just as it was received :
It is not easy for one who has known Br, Power for a great many years, in fact since his noviceship, to realise that he is gone that never again we shall hear his loud hearty laugh. For Br Power, when in his best form, could laugh. To most casual acquaintances he was a puzzle as his inherited stammer made his speech at times a trifle difficult to follow. But when one came really to understand the real man it was surprising to discover in him a very deep spiritual strain, and a big grip on the things that mattered He was big in every way, and though most people only knew of his faults, his hot temper and impatient manner, they little suspected that the man before them was of outstanding ability, of exceptionally quick mind which made him impatient of slow thinkers, and, above all, of slow workers. As a worker he was unequalled, as the writer knows, for he worked (or tried to keep up) at his side in several houses. He was not always able to finish, as gruelling bad health a weak heart, stomach trouble of long standing would often lay him low in the midst of some undertaking.
He rarely spoke of his health, and I have known him to suffer torment and yet do two men's work in that state.
In one house he did a great deal of underground or hidden work in the literal sense, as he repaired old cellars, mended drains, old floors, and when these jobs were finished he repaired worn roofs, window ledges, chimney pipes, all of which work contained a great deal of discomfort and risk for one in poor health.
He said his prayers and kept before his mind the important duties of his vocation, and was moreover a big man in the sense that he could be absolutely depended upon as a loyal and self sacrificing friend. He had many true friends amongst the staff who worked under him, and the proof of this is in the fact that they remained with him for so many years.
He never paraded his piety, but to one who knew him it was quite evident. He hasn't left many friends, in the sense of cronies after him, but he has left behind a number who will remember the many kindly turns he did.
We may be sure a great part of his purgatory was endured during life, and that the Master will be merciful to, one who loved Him so well and worked so well for His cause".

Power, William, 1848-1931, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/755
  • Person
  • 03 January 1848-04 June 1931

Born: 03 January 1848, Ardee, County Louth
Entered: 07 September 1865, Milltown Park, Dublin
Ordained: 1881
Final Vows: 02 February 1889, Clongowes Wood College SJ
Died: 04 June 1931, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly

Early education at St Stanislaus College SJ, Tullabeg

by 1868 at Amiens, France (CAMP) studying
by 1869 at Leuven, Belgium (BELG) studying
by 1870 at Antwerp, Institute Belgium (BELG) Regency
by 1873 at Laval, France (FRA) studying
by 1879 at Laval, France (FRA) studying
by 1881 at St Aloysius, Jersey Channel Islands (FRA) studying
Came to Australia 1888
by 1916 at St Luigi, Birkirkara, Malta (SIC) teaching

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
William Power began his long life in the Society at Milltown Park in 1865. Soon after tertianship, in 1890, he left Ireland for Australia, teaching at St Aloysius' College, 1891-92, followed by St Patrick's College in 1893, Riverview in 1894 and later that year he was moved to Xavier. He spent much of his later life writing at Tullabeg.

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 6th Year No 4 1931
Obituary :
Fr William Power

Fr. Wm. Power ended his long life of 83 years at Tullabeg on 4 June 1931

He was born on January 3rd 1848, educated at Tullabeg, and, in his 17th year, entered the novitiate at Milltown. After the novitiate he was sent to St. Acheul in France for his juniorate. In those days this seems to have been the ordinary course for our young Irish Jesuits. At the end of the 1st year juniorate he went to Louvain for philosophy, but when the first year came to an end he travelled to Antwerp where he taught for one year. This was succeeded by five years of teaching and prefecting at Clongowes. In 1875 he went to Laval where he finished his philosophy, then another year teaching in Tullabeg, and when it over he returned to Laval for theology. In 1880 he shared the expulsion and exile of his brother Jesuits and finished his theology at Jersey.
Four more years teaching in Irish Colleges elapsed before his tertianship at Tronchiennes, followed by two years teaching in Ireland, and in 1893 he set sail for Australia. He did work in several Australian Colleges until 1895 when we find him once more in Tullabeg. Next four more years in Clongowes, and then Tullabeg. He remained there until 1915 when he travelled as far as Malta, where he taught tor two years. When they were over he went back to Tullabeg and did not leave it until his happy death in 1931. During the last five years of his life he was in very poor health.
Fr. Power was in fair health until 30 May. On that day he felt unwell and remained in bed. On 1 June he received Holy Communion in the early morning, and seemed to be fairly well. About 10 o’clock however, there was a a sudden change tor the worse and he was anointed. The end came four days later, Death was due to cerebral haemorrhage, Members of the Community watched continually by his bedside during the last four days and nights,
From the first days of his theology Fr. Power applied himself earnestly to the study of Holy Scripture. especially the Psalms, and gathered a vast amount of useful and instructive matter on this sacred subject. He was always most willing during his lifetime to help those who applied to him for assistance in solving difficult and obscure passages, but, unfortunately, he has left nothing behind him that would be of use to future students, and at the same time, show the extent of his own careful and wide reaching researches.
During his whole life he was an ardent student of literature, and won for himself in this matter a very high reputation. Some years ago he published a number of his poems in a volume entitled “The Kings Bell”. Since then he wrote a great deal, and it remains for our students to collect the scattered fragments, publish them, and thus perpetuate the memory of a scholar of very correct taste and varied culture.

◆ The Xaverian, Xavier College, Melbourne, Australia, 1931

Obituary

Father William Power SJ

Xaverians of the early nineties may remember Fr William Power. He died this year at Stanislaus College, Tullamore, Ireland, at the age of 73. RIP

◆ The Clongownian, 1932

Obituary

Father William Power SJ

On the 4th of June, 1931, Father William Power ended his long life at Tullabeg, which, in his boyhood, had been his Alma Mater, where many years of his teaching life, both before and after his ordination, had been spent, and where, too, were passed his declining years. He was also closely connected with Clongowes, for he spent here, as Prefect and Master, nearly ten years, 1870-75 and 1895-1900. Those who were in his classes, whether in Tullabeg or in Clongowes, will remember how he stimulated the interest of the boys in their work by dividing the class into two rival camps of Romans and Carthaginians, pitting one against the other, and awarding or deducting marks according as lessons were known or missed. How keen was the rivalry between the camps, how eagerly each side watched for a mistake, with its accompanying loss of marks, to be made by the other, and what angry looks and muttered threats greeted him, who by a mistake in gender or declension of conjugation, risked the loss to his side of the much coveted tin of biscuits.

Then, again, who in the neighbourhood of Clongowes in the later years of last century did not know “Father Power's Army” of II Rudiments as it passed through the fields on its forced marches? There is a photo in an early number of “The Clongownian” of that army drawn up in double line with wooden musket, bandolier and forage cap, and, standing beside, the Colonel-Master, tall-hatted and frock-coated. Perhaps some of that army who read these lines and are reminded of those far-off days, will say a prayer for the eternal well-being of their one time Commander.

But Father Power was not merely a successful school-master, he was also a deep student of Sacred Scripture, especially of the Book of Psalms, on which subject he had gathered a vast amount of useful and instructive matter. He was, too, very widely read in literature, and as his volume, “The King's Bell”, shows, could hold his own among the poets. May his kindly soul rest in peace.

Power, Patrick, 1907-1995, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/551
  • Person
  • 11 May 1907-28 December 1995

Born: 11 May 1907, Ballyhaught, Kilmallock, County Limerick
Entered: 01 September 1924, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 24 June 1937, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1940, Belvedere College SJ, Dublin
Died: 28 December 1995, St John of God’s, Stillorgan, Dublin

Part of the Loyola, Eglinton Road, Dublin community at the time of death.

Early education at Mungret College SJ

◆ Interfuse
Interfuse No 86 : July 1996

Obituary
Fr Patrick (Paddy) Power (1907-1995)
11th May 1907; Born, Kilmallock, Co. Limerick
Early education: Mungret College, Limerick
1st Sept. 1924: Entered the Society at Tullabeg
2nd Sept. 1926: First vows at Tullabeg
1926 - 1928: Rathfarnham, Home Juniorate
1928 - 1931: Milltown/Tullabeg, Philosophy
1931 - 1934: Clongowes Wood College, Prefect and Teacher
1934 - 1938: Milltown Park Theology
24th June 1937: Ordained priest at Milltown Park
1938 - 1939: St. Beuno's, Tertianship
1939 - 1941: Belvedere, Teaching, Games, Choir
2nd Feb. 1940: Final Vows, Belvedere College
1941 - 1944: Mungret College, Study Hall Prefect
1944 - 1960: Clongowes: Teaching junior classes
1960 - 1963: In poor health

During his first years at St. John of God's Hospital, Fr. Power came regularly by bus to visit Loyola House and would also look up old friends. He came to all celebration meals. În latter years he would be collected by car, but with failing health these visits tapered off. Loyola Community and his own family kept in close contact and celebrated birthdays with him. He continued to concelebrate Mass daily to the end, and loved to use his wonderful singing voice at Mass.

He died unexpectedly on 28th December 1995

Fr. Paddy Power died unexpectedly at St. John of God's Hospital, Stillorgan, on 28th December 1995, having had, on his own affirmation, a great Christmas. On two or three occasions over the long years of Paddy's illness, his general health had given serious cause for concern, but, on each occasion, he recovered, and, in spite of all his sufferings, lived a long life in the Society. He had celebrated in 1994 his seventieth year in the Society, and outlived most of his contemporaries. His long life was surely a tribute to the care he received under the supervision of the Brothers of St. John of God. Several members of his family had died at a much earlier age, so family longevity was not the reason for his long life.

Paddy's parents must have been very religious people: how else can you explain the six religious vocations in the family - Paddy's vocation, two brothers Augustinian Fathers, two sisters members of the Institute of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Mount Anville), and one sister a member of the Good Shepherd Congregation. Paddy always had a deep affection for the members of his family, an affection reciprocated by them. This also must be said for his love for the Society. His fifteen years in formation and twenty years of active ministry had left him many friends, and to the end, he could recall persons and names with great zest and interest. He always much appreciated visits from members of the Society. His memories of earlier days in the Society, and of those he lived with or worked with, or other happenings, were quite remarkable.

By any standard, Father Paddy had an exceptional life in the Society - some may spend their lives as missionaries in far-off places, or teaching in Colleges, or Houses of Formation, or in Administration, but Paddy, after his formation, spent well over half his priestly life in hospital. And yet who can say his life was less productive or precious in God's eyes for all those years he was institutionalised in Hospital? It was a source of great consolation to Paddy (which he often spoke of) when more than one Provincial stressed for him the fruitfulness of his suffering.

Of the seventy years Paddy spent in the Society, the usual fifteen preceded the end of tertianship, a further twenty years or so were spent in : Belvedere (two years), Mungret (three years) and about fifteen years in Clongowes preceding his fairly continuous illness which began in 1960, while still in Clongowes. The psychic disorders which plagued him for the rest of his life (thirty-five years) rendered active ministry impossible.

During his long years of illness, his beautiful tenor voice always stood him in good stead, and helped to attract affirmation and acclaim for his notable talent, which he gently welcomed. Many felt that if he had been properly trained, he could have had an outstanding reputation as a singer. He took a great interest in sport, a throwback to his early years in Mungret as a boy, when he showed considerable hurling skill.

When you went to visit Paddy, it was impossible to give him any news as his sister Vera or some other member of family would have been to visit him and have given him all the latest! His birthdays were celebrated in the hospital with members of his own family and a Jesuit or two from Loyola House present who enjoyed tea and some of the delicious birthday cake. He celebrated Mass daily up to the end, and birthday Masses were special, with a St. John of God Brother and the nurses making a great fuss of him, and dressing him up specially for the occasion.

No one would choose to spend his life in the Society as Paddy did - yet to the end he remained gentle, docile and accepting of his lot. He did not complain. At times, particularly in the earlier and intermediate years of his illness, it was distressing to visit him and find him at that time in the depths of depression. However, people often remarked in latter years how resigned and even cheerful he was, with a sense of great gratitude to God for the enduring love and friendship of his family and Jesuit friends.

Now, he is in a better place where there is no more suffering. He fought the good fight, treasured his priesthood, and kept the faith until the end which came rather unexpectedly on the 28th December 1995. May he rest in Peace!

John Guiney SJ

◆ The Clongownian, 1996

Obituary
Father Patrick Power SJ

Fr Patrick Power SJ, who died in Dublin after many years fighting depressive illness on 28 December 1995, was Third Line Prefect for two of the three years he spent here as a scholastic (1931-34). After ordination he returned to teach in 1944, after a three year spell in charge of the study hall in Mungret. His Prefect of Studies there for the three years was Fr James Casey, his fellow-novice, and they moved together to Clongowes. His fellow-novices at Tullabeg had also included Fr Gerry O'Beirne, Fr Charlie O'Conor and Fr Tom O'Donnell, like Fr Casey all very familiar figures in Clongowes in later years.

Fr Power spent some fifteen years on the Clongowes staff teaching religion, mathematics, Latin and English in the junior classes. By 1960, ill-health made it too hard for him to continue and, in 1963, he moved to Eglinton Road. Much of his subsequent life was spent in hospital. He bore his long years of suffering with great fortitude. He concelebrated Mass daily until the end, taking the opportunity to use his beautiful tenor voice, for which he was renowned, when he could. After a final Christmas, which he had particularly enjoyed, he died unexpectedly just before the New Year.

Power, Edmund, 1878-1953, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/363
  • Person
  • 02 March 1878-03 August 1953

Born: 02 March 1878, Kilcullane, Herbertstown, County Limerick
Entered: 01 October 1896, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 28 July 1912, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 25 February 1915, Chiesa del Gesù, Rome Italy
Died: 03 August 1953, Milltown Park, Dublin

by 1901 in Saint Joseph’s, Beirut, Syria (LUGD) studying oriental language
by 1908 at Valkenburg, Netherlands (GER) studying
by 1910 at Oran, Algeria (LUGD) studying
by 1910 at Hastings, Sussex, England (LUGD) studying
by 1915 at Pontifical Biblical Institute Rome, Italy (ROM) teaching

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Note from J Austin Hartigan Entry :
After Noviceship he made studies at Tullabeg, and then Eastern languages at Beirut with Edmund Power.

◆ Fr Francis Finegan : Admissions 1859-1948 - Studied at St Patrick’s Seminary Thurles and St Patrick’s College Maynooth to 1st Divinity before entry

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 28th Year No 4 1953

Obituary :

Father Edmond Power 1878-1953

When Father Power went to his reward, on August 3rd, the Irish Province lost one of its most venerable and distinguished sons. Studying, teaching and writing with unflagging energy till the end, he had done much, in a long lifetime, for that scholarly defence of the Faith which, as the Holy Father said at our fourth centenary, is what the Church chiefly asks of the Society. The funeral of “this eminent Jesuit scholar”, to quote the papers, was marked by sympathetic tributes from the highest dignitaries of Church and State in Ireland. All felt that there had gone from us a learned and holy man who could hardly, if ever, be replaced. Fr. Power had, in fact, in a laborious life devoted to some of the most difficult branches of scholarship, brought his great gifts to a readiness and ripeness which made him indeed a master in Israel." Happily, in the most important contribution which be made to the recent “Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture” be was able to leave to the Church a fitting memorial of his great achievements.
Father Power was born at Kilcullane, Herbertstown, Co. Limerick, in 1878. From his sturdy farming ancestors he derived a wiry vigour which stood him in good stead during the rigours of a student's life passed for the most part under the trying conditions of Eastern and Roman climates. His deep piety too owed much to his remarkable family - seven of his sisters became nuns, two of his brothers priests, one of whom was till his retirement Parish Priest in California, the other Archdeacon of the Cashel diocese. One sister and one brother “stayed in the world”, and Fr. Power had the happiness of seeing a nephew ordained last year. He treasured the memory of his father, who instilled into his children a great devotion to the daily rosary, and who was a weekly communicant at a time when few felt prepared. His saintly mother may well be remembered by her words in time of trial : “What is this life worth, except to serve God”. Fr. Edmond was not the slowest to learn and live that lesson.
He was a talented child, who learnt the alphabet in one lesson at the age of three - a foreshadowing of what he would do later when faced with the four hundred cuneiform characters of the Assyrian ‘alphabet’. When he left the National School to attend the Christian Brothers, Limerick, he was intended for law. But his vocation to the priesthood brought him to Thurles Seminary where in one year he won a place at Maynooth. There he studied Philosophy for two years, 1894-6, and three weeks Theology, before entering the noviceship. Well-meaning and revered counsellors had urged him to wait till after ordination. But he was determined “to get the real Jesuit spirit” by doing the full course, thereby showing the high esteem he had of the Society, and which he expressed on his death-bed. “A year or two”, he said, “what does it matter? You all know what I think of the Society”. He was remembered at Maynooth as the student who was always in the chapel.
He stayed in Tullabeg for his juniorate, 1898-1902, gaining one of the most brilliant degrees on record at the Royal University in Ancient Classics. During three of these years, he taught his fellow juniors. In 1906 he went to the University of the French Jesuits at Beirut. His chief study was Arabic, ancient and modern, which he admitted he found much more difficult than the Hebrew which he also studied, along with Syriac, Aramaic, Assyrian, Coptic and the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. His doctorate thesis was on a medieval poet of Arabia. During these years he gained that living familiarity with the East which graced his widely-read articles on Palestinian Customs as illustrating the Bible. A year's teaching at Clongowes was followed by two years philosophy at Valkenburg, and theology with the exiled French Jesuits at Hastings. His way of passing the summer, even most of the one after ordination, was to study in the British Museum, His preparation for his work could hardly have been more apt or thorough.
In Tertianship at Tullabeg, he was highly appreciated as the author of skits and humorous poems performed at the concerts given to the Novices on festive occasions. His wit was indeed always quick, though his charity restricted its play. He was called to Rome in 1914 to begin the twenty-four years of Professorship at the Biblical Institute which made him a well-loved figure to hundreds of students from all parts of the world. His chief subjects were Arabic, Syriac, Biblical Archaeology, the physical and historical Geography of Palestine, all demanding highly specialised skill. He was for a time editor of the scientific organ of the Institute “Biblica”, and contributed regularly the Bibliography which covered all fields of Scripture studies. He also edited the more ‘popular’ “Verbum Domini”, where articles in his elegant Latin often appeared. His learned research articles gained him the name of high erudition even with those who could not accept some of his conclusions. Perhaps the finest publication of his Roman period was the study of the religion of Islam in Huby's Christus. Some of his work, especially his identification of the site of the House of Caiphas, brought him into controversy with the great Dominican scholars of Jerusalem. When the dust had settled, the new Dictionnaire de la Bible entrusted the subject in question to Fr. Power.
Returning finally to Milltown Park in 1938, at the age of sixty, Fr. Power began an Indian summer which was to be perhaps the most fruitful period of his life. In 1941 he added exegesis of the New Testament to his classes on the old, and took on the duties of prefect of studies. His lectures were clear and solid, and he shirked no amount of repetition to drive home what had to be known - a trait very welcome to students heavily burdened with examinations. The project of a complete English commentary on the Bible found in him an enthusiastic supporter, and his scholarship and industry made him a valued contributor. Nor only did he fulfil his own engagements punctually, but he took up tasks where others defaulted. It is hardly too much to say that without him the Commentary would not have been published for many years more, nor would it have reached the standard it did in the time. To the remuneration of the 200,000 words he wrote, the publishers added a substantial sum in recognition of the special part he played in its production. The relentless energy he put into this work was astonishing in so frail and stooped a frame, racked as it was by the paroxysms of a cough which had been chronic since his early days in Rome. He wore out at his work, but it was well done.
He was fully conscious during his last illness, which lasted only a day, and he died in sentiments of tranquil hope. Priests wept unashamedly at his graveside. None could recall a harsh or an uncharitable remark from his lips, but all remembered his patient and humble obedience, the fervour of his Mass, office and beads, his courageous devotion to duty. Many regretted the loss of a prudent kind and understanding confessor and his friends inside and outside the Society, in many parts of the country, mourned a sympathetic and self-effacing companion. It was well to have known this model of work and prayer. He had joined the Society with the clear purpose of serving God there perfectly. His merciful Judge knows how loyally he kept his word.

Irish Province News 29th Year No 1 1954

AN APPRECIATION

of the late Father Edmund Power
It was only a few days ago that I heard from Fr. Sutcliffe, S.J. of the death of Fr. Edmund Power, S.J., our colleague for the past ten years in the production of A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, and I should like to express on behalf of the other contributors and myself our deep sorrow at your loss and ours. I said Mass for him the day after I heard the news and am making a 30-day memento, which is the same as we always do for the brethren of our own Community.
Fr. Power's part in the production of our Commentary was in valuable and can hardly be overestimated. From our first approach to him early in 1944, be was an enthusiastic supporter of the project, and so far as I can gather, he devoted the greater part of the next seven years to writing a series of articles and commentaries, the learning, balance and breadth of which are amongst the greatest adornments of our work. Indeed, without bis amazing industry and energy it is difficult to see how we could ever have completed our task. His helpfulness and willingness to undertake assignments unfulfilled by others showed the breadth of his character, and none of the many great calls we made on him but was cheerfully taken up and completed to our great satisfaction. Both from his and our point of view, it was providential that in his last years we were able fully to utilise those great stores of learning and experience that he had built up in the course of a most distinguished career.
My own personal contact with him was unfortunately limited to one personal flying visit to Milltown Park in 1945, where I was most hospitably received and entertained. I always received the greatest personal consideration from him at every time and I was always struck by his humility in consulting and sometimes deferring to a much younger and less knowledgeable person. I should appreciate very much receiving a copy of his obit card and of his obituary notice.
Bernard Orchard

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father Edmund Power 1878-1953
Fr Edmund Power was born of farming stock near Herbertstown County Limerick. His early years of farm life gave him a strong body, which stood him in good stead during his arduous years of study.

He was educated by the Christian Brothers in Limerick. He went first to Maynooth, and when he had finished the Philosophy courses, he entered the novitiate at Tullabeg. He did his studies abroad and was ordained in 1912.

He was then sent to the Biblical Institute, where he spent the next 24 years. He contributed to many learned magazines, including “Studies” and “Christus”. He took a major part in th compilation of the Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture.

He returned to Dublin in 1938 to teach Old and New testament Studies at Milltown Park. His many virtues made him much beloved. He died there on August 3rd 1953.

Power, Cyril, 1890-1980, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/26
  • Person
  • 23 March 1890-19 March 1980

Born: 23 March 1890, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 07 September 1907, St Stanislaus, College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 31 July 1923, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 08 December 1926, St Ignatius, Leeson Street, Dublin
Died: 19 March 1980, Mater Hospital, Dublin

Part of the Clongowes Wood College SJ, County Kildare community at the time of death

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

Studied for MSc at UCD and MA (Cantab) at Cambridge University

by 1916 at Stonyhurst England (ANG) studying
by 1920 at St Edmund’s House, Cambridge, England (ANG) studying

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
Cyril Power entered the Society at Tullamore in 1907. After tertianship in 1926, Power was on loan to the Australian Mission to teach moral theology, ethics and canon law at Werribee until the end of 1929. He returned to Ireland, and in October 1930 was made rector of Milltown Park, and then professor of moral theology for many years. As a professionally trained mathematician, he was eventually allowed to return to Clongowes where he spent twenty years teaching mathematics, and looking after the farm, which was what he had always wanted to do.

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 9th Year No 3 1934

On 14th May the following notice was sent by Father Socius to all the Houses of the Irish Province. : “Rev. Father Provincial (Kieran) has been ordered a period of rest by his doctor, and in the meantime, with Father General's approval, Father Cyril Power has been appointed to act as Vice-Provincial.”

Irish Province News 55th Year No 2 1980

Clongowes

In Memory of Fr Cyril Power SJ, by Francis McKeagney (OC 1976)

They've all gone home now.
Just you and I, old man,
And the workmen shovelling clay,
The grave a foot too wide, a foot too deep they say.

To here,
This sheltering graveyard corner
With the Castle peeping through the trees,
You have come
Theologian, farmer, mathematician, Sir.
I remember most a cap,
“The demon on wheels”,
Nights, teeth out,
The class formulae
‘Wake up, man! Cos 2A?’
‘I bet he died with his pipe in his mouth’
Somebody said for something to say.

Dead.
Your silence stood larger than any words said.

I suppose a modest black cross
Will be placed in due course
R. Pater C. Power, S.J.
Obiit March 19, 1980
And questions wait like prayers for answers
Inside the iron gates.

But it is time to leave.
A last few fading traces of snow whiten the hour.
A quiet quiet pervades the journey's end,
Rest a while, kind Sir, morning can't be far.
From somewhere in the maze of time's enormous corridors
I offer you this tiny flower,
Perhaps it might catch even a single sunbeam
And open slightly
In a remembered colour of you.

21.3.80

Irish Province News 55th Year No 3 1980

Obituary

Fr Cyril Power (1890-1907-1980)

Fr Cyril Power died in the Mater hospital on the 19th March, just a few days before completing his ninetieth year. Of those ninety years he had spent 47 in Clongowes as a student, scholastic and priest. He entered the Society in 1907, doing his noviceship under the famous (or as some would think today, infamous) Fr James Murphy. This Mag Nov frequently said to his novices that he would make life so hard for them in the noviceship that never again for the rest of their lives would they feel anything hard; and he acted on his say. Yet, wonder of wonders, Fr Power used to recall with almost boyish glee the many rather harsh (to modern eyes anyway) penances meted out for trivial mistakes or accidents. The penances were so bizarre - outrageous, we might almost say - that they afforded continual fun to all save the actual recipient. But then he had his turn for a laugh too.
From the noviceship in Tullabeg Fr Power proceeded to University College, Dublin, where his mathematical genius continued to reveal itself; and in 1914 he secured his MSc, winning at the same time a studentship to Cambridge. For two years he taught mathematics in Rathfarnham to his fellow scholastics. From Rathfarnham he went to Stonyhurst to study philosophy. In 1917 he returned to the boys for two years. In 1919 he took up his studentship at Cambridge, studying mathematical physics for two years: he gained a brilliant MA (Cantab). For the next four years he studied theology in Milltown Park, being ordained priest in 1923. Finally he returned to Tullabeg for tertianship (1925-26).
His first appointment as a formed Jesuit was to teach moral theology and canon law in Archbishop Mannix's seminary, Werribee, Australia. From there he was summoned home in 1930 to teach moral theology in Milltown, where he became Rector (1930-38) and a Consultor of the Province (1931-39). From the professor's chair, he was sent to manage the 700-acre farm of Clongowes, which he did very successfully for the next 24 years, teaching senior mathematics all the time and continuing to teach it till a few months before his death.
Such in brief are the bald facts of Fr Cyril's life. All they tell us really is that he was a brilliant mathematician and an able theologian.
But he had even better qualities, the most obvious and praiseworthy being his genuine modesty - humility would be a better word. The writer of this obituary was pretty closely associated with him for over fifty years. Never by word or act did he show the least pride in his brilliant academic career.
He spoke to everyone on level terms, and seemed quite unconscious of his intellectual ability. He never did the heavy, if I may be excused the telling expression. In fact it was difficult to get him to talk seriously at recreation, as he rightly considered that it was not the time for treating of serious topics. He was an inveterate leg puller, and seemed to take life lightly, seeing the funny side of most people and things. The possession of these qualities made him, as one would expect, a pleasant companion and an enemy of pessimism and gloom.
Of course, behind all this lighter side of Fr Cyril there was the man of solid faith and simple piety (his great devotion was to the rosary). Being a very balanced and common sense person, he was to a great extent free from prejudice, and in Milltown Park, as rector of eighty scholastics of ten or twelve nationalities, was noted for his just, equal treatment of all.
As a professor he worked a perpetual miracle every day by being extremely clear in the worst of Latin. He wasn't a Latin scholar. Though his clear and quick mind made him shine in the exact sciences, he was no linguist. But it was as a teacher of mathematics that he really found his métier. He was a patient and understanding master, being ready to repeat again and again the explanation of a problem till all his pupils understood. No wonder he was liked and admired by his boys. Yes! we in Clongowes have lost in him a well beloved member of our dwindling community, and the Province has lost one to whom it owes much.

◆ The Clongownian, 1980

Obituary

Father Cyril Power SJ

On March 19th, Fr Cyril Power died just four days before his ninetieth birthday, having spent forty-six years of his life in Clongowes as a boy, scholastic and priest. Few, if any, in its one hundred and sixty-six years of existence spent so much of their life. living and working in the school.

Father Cyril entered the Society of Jesus from Clongowes in 1907. He went through the various stages of Jesuit formation: novitiate, university, philosophy, teaching and finally theology. Being a brilliant mathematician, when he finished his MSc in the National University, he won a travelling studentship to Cambridge. He then taught mathematics to his fellow scholastics for some two years, and later returned to his alma mater to continue teaching maths to the boys.

After the completion of his studies, sacred and profane, he was sent to profess moral theology and canon law in Archbishop Mannix's seminary at Werribee, Melbourne, Australia. After five years there, he was summoned home to take the chair of moral theology at Milltown Park, the Irish Jesuit theologate. He became Rector of the house the following year and, in this difficult post, he spent the next eight years. In 1939, he took on the management of the Clongowes farm and held that position for the next twenty-four years, at the same time teaching senior level maths. He continued to teach mathematics up to a few months before his death.

Such, in brief outline, is the story of his life. It tells us only of his great intellectual ability as mathematician, philosopher and theologian but he had even better qualities. He was a humble man, never showing in word or act pride in his intellectual superiority. He shunned the light. He offered his solid knowledge in things philosophical and theological only when asked and one could always rely on his reply.

He seemed quite unconscious of his great mental powers. He had a light and humorous approach in ordinary conversation. He was a natural leg-puller and whenever he was around at recreation, there was always fun and laughter. Behind it all, there was well hidden, a deep and simple piety - his great devotion was to the Rosary and, as one would expect, a profound faith.

How we miss him from our community

GO'B SJ

-oOo-

Fr Cyril Power SJ

We were all deeply saddened to hear of Fr Power's death. It falls to my lot to write an appreciation for a man who, throughout the years, has written the appreciations of many others in the pages of the Clongownian.

Fr Power's life was a long and eventful one, the greater part by far being spent in Clongowes, serving God, the community and the boys. Up to a few short months ago, six of us had the privilege of being taught maths by him in the Castle. When we have long forgotten the maths, we will remember Fr Power's dedication and determination in coming to teach us at the age of 89. Fr Power faithfully gave and corrected six (!) themes a week. We had eight maths classes every week and, in four terms, Fr Power did not miss more than five days though at times his health was far from good.

How can one describe or do justice to such a varied and long life ranging from a distinguished post-graduate career in physics in Cambridge to a professorship of moral theology in Australia; from Rector of Milltown Park to farm manager in Clongowes! As recently as a few weeks ago, Fr Power maintained his keen interest in the College even to the point of being able to suggest a tactic for the Senior XV to adopt against 'Rock!

Fr Power was an integral part of Clongowes, more so than any of us would have realized. Our one regret is that Fr Power did not live to celebrate his 90th birthday with us in Clongowes. After forty years, we bid a sad farewell to a grand old man.

Dara Ryan, Rhetoric

Student card for Cyril Joseph Power (UA/Graduati 12/188), Cambridge (2023)
He matriculated at (that is, formally enrolled in) the University on 22 October 1919, having been admitted as a member of Downing College. He was a research student, did not study for a Tripos (as the Cambridge Honours BA is known), and kept six terms in Cambridge rather than the nine usually required to graduate BA. He wrote a dissertation, which was approved on 21 December 1921 by the Special Board for Physics and Chemistry. The dissertation was deposited at the library on 16 December 1921. A certificate of research was sent to him on 13 February 1922. He graduated BA by proxy (i.e., he was not present at the ceremony) on 11 February 1922, and MA by proxy on 26 January 1926.

From the ‘List of Advanced Students Dissertations Deposited in the University Library’, he submitted two papers, ‘Electrification by friction’, written with J. A. McClelland and printed in 1918, and ‘The electrification of salts by friction’. Power was at Cambridge at a transitional period when people were starting to do research degrees at Cambridge but before the PhD was available, so they took BAs instead.

Potter, Laurence, 1872-1934, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/362
  • Person
  • 24 December 1872-30 November 1934

Born: 24 December 1872, Kilkenny, County Kilkenny
Entered: 12 November 1890, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 28 July 1907, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1910, Belvedere College SJ, Dublin
Died: 30 November 1934, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin

Younger brother of Henry Potter - RIP 1932

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

by 1894 at Exaeten College Limburg, Netherlands (GER) studying
by 1895 at Valkenburg Netherlands (GER) studying
by 1909 at Drongen Belgium (BELG) making Tertianship

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 1st Year No 4 1926

College of the Sacred Heart Limerick : On May 16th, Fr McCurtin's appointment as Rector was announced. On the same day, his predecessor, Fr L. Potter, took up his new duties as Superior of the Apostolic School. During his seven years' rectorship the Church was considerably extended, a new organ gallery erected, and a new organ installed. A beautiful new Shrine in honour of the Sacred Heart was added, and a marble flooring to the Sanctuary laid down.

Irish Province News 10th Year No 2 1935

Obituary :

Father Laurence Potter

From Father C. Byrne
Father Laurence Potter was born in Kilkenny, 24th December, 1872. He was educated at Clongowes. In 1890 he entered the Noviceship at Tullabeg, and on taking his first Vows went to Milltown for one year as a Junior. He studied Philosophy at Exaeten for one year and at Valkenburg for two. Returning to Ireland he spent three years at Clongowes, three as Master and two as Lower Line Prefect. He was then changed to Mungret, but at the end of the year was brought back to Clongowes for two more years as Higher Line Prefect. He thus spent eight years in the Colleges, an experience not uncommon in those days. In 1904 he began his four years Theology at Milltown, and then went to Tertianship at Tronchiennes.
Soon after his return from Belgium he underwent two serious operations that made the rest of his life one round of suffering. So well did he conceal it that few knew through what an agony he was passing.
'We next find him at Belvedere for two years, the second one as Minister, then Clongowes as Minister for eight years. During that period the Centenary of the College was celebrated, and his good humour, energy, attention to details during the countless difficulties of that big celebration were simply amazing.
In 1919 he became Rector of the Crescent, and for seven and a half years there was a repetition of his Centenary energy. His first act was to have the playground concreted. The next, to build the beautiful shrine of the Sacred Heart, with its marble walls and brass gates. The faithful were so impressed that they subscribed the entire cost, and it amounted to £2,000. And in addition, they made a number of nary beautiful and costly presents , enough to mention a crucifix, candlesticks, charts,all of solid silver, for the altar.
His next effort was the removal of those dark passages at the end of the church, familiarly known as the “Catacombs” The magnitude of this undertaking may be gathered from the fact that the walls that had to be removed were the main walls that supported the organ gallery and part of the house. The result was that the Nave of the church was as lengthened by about one third. A handsome wooden partition with glass panels now forms the porch.
He also widened the side passages by recessing the confessionals into the walls, had the sanctuary floor laid down at a cost of £800, and made a number of other improvements that space prevents our detailing. The Electric lighting of the house should not be passed over.
All this involved immense expense which Father Potter faced with great courage. He set in action ever so many ways of collecting money, in which he got invaluable help from Father W. P. O'Reilly. The people, on their side, behaved splendidly, so that the big work was done without serious financial trouble. This was all the more remarkable because at the sane time Father R. Dillon-Kelly and his choir were making strenuous efforts collecting funds to put up a new organ. Complete success crowned their efforts, but at a cost of nearly £3,500.
Father Potter went through all this work although he was a decidedly sick man. Yet he never complained. His friends wondered at his fortitude, but could do nothing, for every suggestion of rest would be smilingly brushed aside. That smile was constant. He was always bright and gay, and most easy of approach. One who lived with him in Clongowes for five years and in Limerick for six, and who had much to do with him, testifies that never, even once, did he experience anything from him but the greatest courtesy. Father Potter was certainly built of sterner stuff than most ordinary mortals, otherwise he could not have gone through all these years, doing the work he did so cheerfully, without giving quarter to his ailing body.
His departure from Limerick, in 1926, was universally regretted. He spent one year in Rathfarnham as Minister, and was then sent to Gardiner Street, still as Minister. Here he worked till his death, seven years later. As in Clongowes they had their Centenary Celebrations while he was Minister, so in Gardiner Street they had similar celebrations, and not long after came the Eucharistic Congress. Both these events called forth yet again all his old time energy and attention to details.
His health was gradually getting worse, still he took on, in addition to his ordinary work, the management of the Penny Dinners for the Poor. He built a new hall fitted with all modern improvements for cooking.
At last he grew so ill that he was relieved of his duties as Minister. He did not survive long. He suffered greatly towards the end, and passing away on the 30th November, was buried on the Feast of St. Francis Xavier, Patron of the Church.
Father Potter had great gifts of body and mind. His power of endurance was wonderful, his mind was always active. His practical judgment was sound and shrewd. As already stated, he was always bright and cheerful, and he never seemed to lose his peace of mind. This was very much in evidence in the Black and Tan days, when Limerick was in a ferment. In spite of night patrols, masked raiders, etc., he never lost his equanimity. His cheerful outlook and helpful encouragement gave great support to his community. The example of his constant work was an inspiration. Hard on himself, he was never hard onI others, and towards the sick he was always most attentive, sparing no expense or trouble in their behalf. His tender charity towards the poor was on a par with his energy towards every work to which he put his hand.
The crowds of all classes that attended his funeral gave ample proof, fi such were needed, of the degree to which he had endeared himself to those with whom he had come in contact in the course of his varied and active life.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father Laurence Potter 1872-1945
Fr Laurence Potter was born in Kilkenny in 1872, was educated at Clongowes, and entered the Society at 18 years of age. He is a brother of Fr Henry, also a Jesuit.

Fr Larry was the Rector responsible for the beautifying and enlargement of our Church at the Crescent Limerick. He built the beautiful shrine to the Sacred Heart, he removed the catacombs at the end of the Church, thereby lengthening the nave by a third. All these improvements entailed endless worried, both financial and otherwise. Yet he invariably retained his equanimity, in spite of a life of suffering following two serious operations in his early life.

His period of office in Limerick coincided with “the troubled times”, a time which called for great tact and courage in a Rector. Transferred to Gardiner Street, he had charge of the “Penny Dinners” and built a new hall for this purpose in Cumberland Street.

In spite of ill health, he was outstanding in physical and moral courage, which was rooted in a deep and manly spirituality. He died a happy death on November 30th 1935.

◆ The Clongownian, 1935
Obituary
Father Laurence Potter SJ

I first met the late Father Potter when I went to Clongowes as a very small boy, over twenty years ago. It was my first time away from home, and my father had accompanied me to see me safely installed. We were shown into the Reception Room, while the butler departed to announce our arrival. For me the moment was one of trepidation. I was embarking on a new life - under the care no longer of my father and mother, but of strangers. What would those strangers be like? You can judge with what tremulous interest I awaited my first encounter with one of them. A small, grey-haired man, turning slightly bald, came into the room. He introduced him self as “that much harried man - the Minister”. It was Father Potter. I confess he did not seem to show any signs of the “harrying” of which he complained. Never have I met a merrier, more amusing companion. In a short time my father and he were laughing and yarning like old friends, while I felt all my shyness dis appearing completely.

When evening came and with it the dread moment when I parted from my father, I had one consoling thought - “If they are all like Father Potter, things won't be too bad”. What greater tribute could one of “those old Jesuits of Clongowes” receive from the heart of a very lonely, small, new boy?

Those first impressions that I formed of Father Potter I never had occasion to revise in all the years that have passed since. For two years and a half I remained under his care as Minister. For a Minister it was an eventful period. Into it was crowded the last two years of the Great War. The submarine campaign was at its height, and food, even at Clongowes, with its magnificent resources, was difficult to obtain. We boys thought little of it at the time, but looking back now I can see what an anxious time it must have been for the man who had. charge of the food and the health of the House.

Into that period also came another epoch-making event-epoch-making for the boys at any rate. We came down from the Study Hall one night - I think it was in the Spring of 1918 - to find that the Refectory servants had declared a lightning strike. It was a situation full of unpleasant potentialities. How it might have developed with a less popular Minister it is hard, at this stage, to say. But Father Potter was the friend of the boys to an extent that neither he nor the strikers realised. The Captains of the House went to him and spontaneously offered him the services of the boys in any way he saw fit to make use of them. From that moment out squads of boys washed up, cleared tables, re-set them again and generally aided the Community to “carry on”. The difficulties were tided over and eventually disappeared.

Finally, into those years came the most tremendous event of all as well for the peril of the visitation as for the burden it placed on Father Potter. This was the terrible influenza epidemic of 1918. In Clongowes 170 of the boys - not to mention the Community, the staff, and the nurses - who went down as quickly as they arrived - developed it. The grand total, I believe, was over two hundred. The Infirmary, the Gymnasium, the two Third Line Dormitories, and the Lower Line Dormitory were all full of patients. 170 sick boys had to be nursed, and more troublesome still - to be minded during convalescence. One hundred and seventy “sets” of parents notified of the progress of the only patient that mattered to them and this in a House with a depleted staff, with nurses almost impossible to obtain, and doctors worked off their legs.

One man did not develop influenza because, as he said laughingly, “he had not time”. That was Father Potter. The main brunt of that battle with sickness and death fell on him. Even to our eyes, and the eyes of boys are not very observant of these matters, Father Potter visibly aged during those days. Indeed he seemed to get smaller and much more grey, not merely as to his hair, but even his face. Physically he wilted, but his good spirits never faltered. His cheery presence in the dormitories was the most longed-for sight throughout the day. It is, perhaps, not the least tribute to him that out of all the cases at Clongowes - Over three hundred all told - only one proved fatal. To those who remember the severity of that epidemic this may seem nothing short of a miracle.

At the close of the War many changes took place, and amongst them was the transfer of Father Potter to the Crescent. I can still recall the utter consternation with which we boys heard the news. We were losing an old and valued friend, and what does not always happen with schoolboys, we knew and appreciated the fact. The night before he left, the Captain of the House made a speech in the Refectory. Three cheers were called for him and three more - such cheers! Father Potter ran out very much overcome with emotion and as the Refectory door closed behind him, there ended for ever Father Potter's official connection with Clongowes.

From time to time we saw him again; but only on flying visits. From the Crescent he went to Gardiner Street, where, after leaving Clongowes, I often saw him and talked over old times. He preserved for all the boys he knew at Clongowes the kindliest feelings. He was always delighted to hear of them or receive a visit from them. And, when he was laid to rest in November last, many generations of Clongownians mourned the death of a sincere friend.

Genial, merry, a good raconteur, a keen fisherman, Father Potter's dominant characteristic was his serenity. No matter how grave the situation, he always faced it with a smile. He was a man like Tennyson's Ulysses, of whom it could truly be said that he “ever with a frolic welcome took the thunder and the sunshine”. But his serenity was not the outcome of any pagan philosophy, but of a deep-seated faith and profound trust in that God to Whose service he had dedicated his life. RIP

D Murtagh

◆ The Crescent : Limerick Jesuit Centenary Record 1859-1959

Bonum Certamen ... A Biographical Index of Former Members of the Limerick Jesuit Community

Father Laurence Potter (1872-1934)

A brother of Father Henry (supra) was educated in Clongowes and entered the Society in 1890. He pursued his higher studies at Exaeten, Valkenburg and Milltown Park where he was ordained in 1907. Until his arrival at the Crescent in 1919 (January), Father Potter had served some nine years as minister between Belvedere and Clongowes. Appointed rector, Father Potter set himself to work on carrying out long needed improvements to the church and school: the erection of the Sacred Heart shrine, the lengthening of the nave of the church; the installation of the new organ to mention but a few of his schemes brought to a successful conclusion. Father Potter left Limerick, universally regretted, in 1926. His tenure of office marked the inception of the “modern” Crescent. With the exception of one year at Rathfarnham, 1926-27, the last years of his life were passed at Gardiner St.

Potter, Henry, 1866-1932, Jesuit priest and chaplain

  • IE IJA J/1998
  • Person
  • 19 April 1866-18 November 1932

Born: 19 April 1866, Kilkenny, County Kilkenny
Entered: 01 June 1885, Loyola House, Dromore, County Down
Ordained: 1901
Final vows: 15 August 1903
Died: 18 November 1932, Dublin

Part of the Clongowes Wood College, Naas, County Kildare community at the time of death.

Older brother of Laurence Potter - RIP 1934

First World War Chaplain.

◆ Fr Francis Finegan : Admissions 1859-1948 - Medical student before entry

by 1893 at Enghien Belgium (CAMP) studying
by 1898 at Stonyhurst England (ANG) studying
by 1902 at Drongen Belgium (BELG) making Tertianship
by 1917 Military Chaplain : 7th Yorkshire Regiment, France
by 1918 Military Chaplain : 37 London Road Chelmsford
by 1919 Military Chaplain : 21 Wellington Esplanade, Lowestoft

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 8th Year No 1 1933
Obituary :
Fr Henry Potter
Father H. Potter died in Dublin, Friday, I8th November, 1932.
He was born in Kilkenny 19th April, 1866, educated at Christian schools, Diocesan College, and Castleknock, and began his noviceship at Dromore, Is June, 1885. Two years juniorate followed, the first in Milltown Park, the second in Tullabeg (the noviceship was changed from Dromore to Tullabeg in 1888).
At the end of the two years Father Potter was sent to Clongowes, where he remained for three years as master or prefect, and then to Enghien for philosophy. His course was
interrupted when he had done two years, and in 1894 we find him in Mungret when he put in three more years as prefect before resuming philosophy at Stonyhurst. Theology at Milltown immediately followed, and then tertianship at Tronchiennes.
When the tertianship was over in 1902 he began his long career as Minister - Clongowes, Belvedere, Gardiner St., Crescent - until in 1911 he was back in Belvedere as master. He spent three years in the classroom, when once more the ministership claimed him, by way of variety, at Leeson St. This brought him to the memorable year 1914, when Father Potter donned the uniform as Military Chaplain. He saw service both in France and England, and in 1919 was back in Gardiner St. as Oper. A year in Milltown, Director of Retreats, stood between him and his special vocation, in 1923 he was minister in Galway. He held the position until 1928, and was thus minister for fifteen years, and in six different homes. For the next three years he had charge of the small study in Clongowes, a year's quiet teaching followed, and then came the end.
On the evening of Monday 14th November he was brought to Dublin in great pain. All the ordinary remedies for lumbago were tried without result, and a growth of some kind, pressing on a nerve centre, was suspected Next day he was very much distressed, and a minor operation was performed to try and give him relief, His heart was in a very bad state, and the doctors advised the Last Sacraments, which were immediately administered. That night he had two very severe haemorrhages, which left him very weak. On Thursday blood transfusion was tried, but did no good, and on Friday morning he collapsed. When asked if there was much pain his only answer was that he was “offering it all up.” He was quite conscious to the very end, and got absolution several times. He joined in the prayers for the dying, and his last act immediately before expiring was to kiss the crucifix, and whisper the Holy Name.
This very happy death was the crown of a holy life. Father Potter did not belong to the class of men whose goodness attracts attention and is freely spoken about, but the goodness was there. And, now that he is gone, stories are being told of his visits to the Blessed Sacrament, especially when few people were about, of his devout prayers, and, especially, of his devotion to the Stations of the Cross, He was charitable, the character of the neighbour was safe in his hands. And he was charitable when charity was difficult, when something was said that invited a sharp retort, that retort was never forthcoming, He was an excellent community man, and will be sadly missed. It can be said of him with truth that he was the life and soul of recreation, was full of fun, and had as keen an eye as most people for what was comical or ludicrous in his surroundings. He was very approachable, and with boys a prime favourite. As soon as he appeared a knot of them quickly gathered round him, and soon fun of some kind or other was in progress. And this was true of all classes of boys, our own College boys or the little lads that come to serve Mass in our Church. May he rest in peace.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father Henry Potter 1866-1932
Henry Potter died in Dublin on November 18th 1932, He was a native of Kilkenny, being born there on April 19th 1866. Having been educated at Castleknock College he entered the Society at Dromore in 1885.

He spent most of his life as Minister in our houses. In 1914 he became a Chaplain in the Great War, and he served all through it until 1919.

He was a man of deep piety practised in secret. After his death, people spoke of his quiet nocturnal visits to the Blessed Sacrament, and his great devotion to0 the Stations of the Cross.

In his last agony, he remained conscious to the end, joining in the prayers for the dying. His last act was to kiss the crucifix and murmur the Holy Name.

◆ The Clongownian, 1933

Obituary

Father Henry Potter SJ

Though Clongowes cannot lay claim to Father Potter as one of her own Past, some of us can well remember him when he came as far back as to take over the Third Line. He had just finished his Rhetoric as a young Jesuit. So that it was in Clongowes that he began and ended his working life. In the middle of this long span he was Minister here.

He always felt very much at home here, for he was at his best with the boys: one is almost tempted to say: with the little lads. So that there was a strange fittingness in the fact that the Third Line Prefect of 1891 was the Small Study Prefect of 1931. The comic touch of incongruity, apparent only, would often make one smile when one caught sight of him in the centre of a group of Elementarians as they gathered for class at 9.30. He, seemingly grave but thoroughly enjoying the way in which they would solemnly discuss the amazing theories he would propound just to draw them out. In him a cloak of gravity covered a puckish fancy, a fact which explains his general popularity.

Though he was suffering a good deal, it was only on Monday morning, 14th November, that he failed to go down to his small boys. He left that day for a Dublin Nursing Home and died on the following Friday.

We inay be sure that he was sustained in the pains and sufferings of the last year of his life by his devotion to the Stationis of the Cross, a characteristic of his personal life. He is much missed in Clongowes. In the Community recreations his passing away has left a great blank. RIP

◆ The Crescent : Limerick Jesuit Centenary Record 1859-1959

Bonum Certamen ... A Biographical Index of Former Members of the Limerick Jesuit Commnnity

Father Henry Potter (1866-1932)

Was born in Kilkenny and received his early education at St Kieran's and Castleknock College. He entered the Society in 1885 and pursued his higher studies at Enghien and Milltown Park where he was ordained in 1901. Father Potter spent two years at the Crescent 1909-11 when he held the position of minister of the house and prefect of the church. At the beginning of the first world war, he volunteered as chaplain and served in England and France. In the years following the war he was sometime director of retreats at Milltown Park and served some seven years as minister at Clongowes. His remaining years were spent in Clongowes.

Plunkett, Peter, 1794-1846, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/1991
  • Person
  • 26 June 1794-20 March 1846

Born: 26 June 1794, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 01 February 1817, Stonyhurst, England - Angliae Province (ANG)
Final Vows: 08 September 1837
Died: 20 March 1846, St Francis Xavier, Gardiner St, Dublin

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
He was the son of a housekeeper in Dublin Castle.

He was one of the first Brothers at Clongowes. Later he was sent to the chapel in Hardwicke St, and then moved with others into Gardiner St.
He was a tailor, cook, sacristan, buyer, refectorian and dispenser, always laborious, pious, simple and edifying, though often suffering from ill-health.
He died of consumption or something like it 20 March 1846 at Gardiner St.

Note from John Cleary Entry :
He took his First Vows at Clongowes 02 February 1819, and Charles Aylmer said the Mass. There were six others with him : Brothers Egan, Nelson, Plunkett, Mulligan, Bennett and Sherlock, all who persevered happily in the Society to the end.

Note from John Nelson Entry :
He took his Final Vows 02 February 1838 along with eleven others, being the first to whom Final Vows were given since the Restoration in Ireland. The others were : Philip Reilly of “Palermo fame”; Nowlan, Cleary, Mulligan, Michael Gallagher, Pexton Sr, Toole, Egan, Ginivan, Patrick Doyle and Plunkett.

Phelan, Michael, 1854-1932, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/358
  • Person
  • 27 December 1854-28 February 1932

Born: 27 December 1854, Johnstown, County Kilkenny
Entered: 30 December 1893, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 23 May 1880, St Patrick’s College, Carlow
Final Vows: 15 August 1906, St Francis Xavier, Gardiner Street, Dublin
Died: 28 February 1932, St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin

Older Brother of Bishop Patrick Phelan of Sale, Australia (02/01/1856-05/01/1925)

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
Michael Phelan was ordained in Ireland for the Australian church in 1880, and worked in Goulburn, 1880-93. Phelan joined the Society in December 1893, and later worked in Ireland. He never served in Australia as a Jesuit.

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 7th Year No 3 1932
Obituary :

Fr Michael Phelan

Father Phelan's very sudden but not unexpected death took place at Gardiner Street on Sunday, 28th February. For some time previously he had been suffering from a bad form of heart trouble, and there was always grave danger that the final call might come at any moment. On Sunday morning he had just finished Mass and was resting himself. With startling suddenness he fell off the chair on which he sat, and lay motionless on the ground, Extreme Unction was at once administered, but from the moment of the fall he never gave the least sign that he was still in life.
Father Phelan was born at Johnstown, Co, Kilkenny, 7th December, 1854. He studied for the priesthood at the Thurles and Carlow Seminaries, and was ordained for the Australian
Mission in 1880. For thirteen years he worked in Australia where. for a short time, he was President of the Goulbourne Diocesan Seminary, He returned to Ireland in 1893, and on
the both December, in that same year, began his noviceship in Tullabeg.
Noviceship over, some time was spent in Milltown Park repeating theology, and 1896 saw him attached to the missionary staff. Galway was his residence for one year, the Crescent for six years.
In 1903 he began a year's teaching in Belvedere, followed by another in Clongowes, at the end of which the missionary staff again claimed him. Once more he lived for a year in Galway, for nine years at the Crescent, and for four in Gardiner Street. In 1919 he joined the staff in Gardiner Street, and remained there until his death in 1932.
As will be seen from the above, Father Phelan spent nearly all his time as a Jesuit in Ireland at missionary work - 21 years on the mission staff, 13 as operarius at Gardiner Street, and
during that time justly won for himself the reputation of a great preacher. Critics, to be sure, will always abound, and these people found fault with his language as being a little too florid and with his metaphors as not being always correct. These are comparatively small matters, and the outstanding fact remains that wherever Father Phelan went, in the days of his prime, he drew immense congregations, and made a deep and lasting impression. On every one of them by the soundness of his doctrine and his very earnest action in the pulpit.
His sermons, full of excellent theological matter, were prepared with extraordinary care. One famous series “The Marks of the True Church” was a brilliant and accurate summary of the treatise on “The True Church,” by the famous Maynooth Professor, Dr. Patrick Murray. Father Phelan was so often asked to give the Lenten Lectures in Gardiner Street, and that his reputation as a preacher went as far as Canada and New York, whither he was invited to preach and give lectures.
A number of pious booklets, too, as well as many articles, are due to his untiring energy - “Straight Path”, “Dust to Glory”, “The Young Priest's Keepsake”.
In spite of his success as an orator, and the praise showered on him in his best days, Father Phelan remained a simple, and even child-like religious to the day of his death. To say there was a scintilla of that ugly thing called “side” about him would be, to those that knew him, ludicrous and grotesque. He was just as approachable and as easy to get on with, as a good matured and lively school-boy. An excellent religious, there was nothing visible about his holiness of that stern asceticism that sometimes frightens, and may even repel, He was ever simple, natural full of good nature, friendly to all with whom he came in contact whether they were members of the Society or the many friends whom he made outside it.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father Michael Phelan SJ 1854-1932
Fr Michael Phelan was one of our most famous pulpit orators.

Born in Johnstown County Kilkenny on December 7th 1854, he studied for the priesthood at Thurles and Carlow Seminaries. He then laboured as a priest for thirteen years in Australia, where he was for a time, President of Golbourn Diocesan Seminary, and where his brother was Bishop of Sale. Returning to Ireland in 1893, he entered the noviceship at Tullabeg.

His life as a Jesuit was devoted to missionary work, and he was 21 years on the Mission staff, and 13 as Operarius at Gardiner Street. He was often called on to give the Lenten Lectures, a genre he specialised in. His reputation was so widespread that he was invited to lecture in Canada and the United States.

His publications include “Dust to Glory”, “The Straight Path” and “The Young Priest’s Keepsake”.

He died with startling suddenness after celebrating Mass, on Sunday February 28th 1932. With him ended the line of great oratorical preachers and formal elaborate and ornate orators.

◆ The Crescent : Limerick Jesuit Centenary Record 1859-1959

Bonum Certamen ... A Biographical Index of Former Members of the Limerick Jesuit Community

Father Michael Phelan (1854-1932)

Was born at Johnstown, Co Kilkenny and studied at St Patrick's, Thurles, and St Patrick's, Carlow, where he was ordained in 1880 for the Australian mission. He remained on the mission thirteen years and had been sometime President of the Goulbourne diocesan seminary. He entered the Society in 1893. Most of his life in the Society was devoted to mission work. He first joined the Crescent community in 1897 and remained in Limerick until 1903. He was again stationed at the Crescent from 1906 until 1915. His later years were spent in the Gardiner St community. Father Phelan enjoyed a well deserved reputation as a preacher and lecturer not only in Ireland but in places so far away as Canada and the USA, where he had been invited to conduct missions and courses of lectures. He was also the author of some spiritual books that had a wide popularity in their time.

Peyton, Cyril, 1911-1955, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/357
  • Person
  • 29 March 1911-27 July 1955

Born: 29 March 1911, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 12 November 1932, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Ordained: 06 January 1945, Sydney, Australia
Final Vows: 02 February 1948, Manresa, Hawthorn, Melbourne, Australia
Died: 27 July 1955, Crescent College, Limerick

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

by 1939 at Loyola Hong Kong - studying
by 1948 at Australia (ASL)

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
Cyril Peyton entered the Society at Emo Park, Ireland, 12 November 1932, was a junior at Rathfarnham, philosopher at Tullabeg, and then went to Hong Kong, 1938, to study Chinese. He went to Australia and Canisius College, Pyrnble, for theology, 1941-44, and then returned to Ireland where he did tertianship at Rathfarnharn, 1946-47.
He returned to Australia and the parish of Hawthorn in 1948, did pastoral work residing at St Aloysius' College, Milsons Point, 1949, spent a few years teaching at Riverview and then returned to Ireland in 1953. He was stationed at the Crescent, Limerick, and died when he took some medicine, intended for external application, internally.
Peyton was a,very eccentric person, though this was not obvious in his outward appearance or behaviour. When at Riverview he seemed to be altogether erratic and unreliable. He was a man who found ordinary living difficult.

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 21st Year No 1 1946

Frs. John Carroll, Kevin O'Dwyer and Cyril Peyton, of the Hong Kong Mission, who completed their theology at Pymble recently, left, Sydney on December 9th on the Aquitania for England via the Cape. They hope to be home by the end of January. They are accompanied by Fr.. Vincent Conway, an old Mungret boy, member of the Vice Province. All four will make their tertianship in Rathfarnham next autumn.

Irish Province News 23rd Year No 1 1948

Fr. Peyton left for Australia on the “Mauretania” on 31st October in company with Fr. Conway, a member of the Viceprovince. Fr. Kevin Carroll, also a member of the Viceprovince, left Shannon Airport on 3rd November for New York, bound for San Francisco and Sydney. Mr. Monahan left Southampton on the “Queen Mary” on 20th November for New York; he took boat at San Francisco on 12th December for Sydney which he reached on 4th January. He will be doing his first year's philosophy at Loyola, Watsonia in the coming year.

Irish Province News 30th Year No 4 1955

Obituary :

Father Cyril Peyton 1911-1955

Cyril Peyton was born in Dublin on 29th March, 1911. He was an only son and had only one sister, whom he predeceased. He spent six years at the Dominican Preparatory School, Wicklow, before going to Clongowes, where he remained for five years. In 1928 he went to Trinity College, Dublin, where for two years he studied Experimental Science and where he obtained Honours in all his exams,
He entered the Society on 12th November, 1932. He finished his Science Degree in Rathfarnham in two years and after two years Philosophy he was sent on the Chinese Mission. While he was in Hong Kong, war broke out, so that he went to Australia for Theology and Ordination. Returning to Ireland after the war, he spent some time in Belvedere before Tertianship, after which he returned to Australia to labour as operarius and master in Melbourne and Sydney. He came back to Ireland in 1952, and was assigned to the teaching staff of the Crescent, where he remained till his untimely death on 27th July, 1955, at the age of 44.
On the Sunday morning on which he was taken ill, Fr. Peyton had said the seven o'clock Mass in the Church. After his thanksgiving he came to the refectory as usual to tell the servant that he would be back in ten minutes for his breakfast. He did not come back until half an hour later, when he told some of the Fathers that he was feeling very ill. They helped him back to his room, and summoned the doctor and Fr. Minister. He was anointed before being brought to hospital, where in spite of every medical attention he died on Wednesday, fortified by the rites of the Church. From what Fr. Peyton told the doctor and Fr. Minister, it is clear that a tragic mistake had caused his death. Instead of his morning dose of salts he had selected from the many powders on his shelf an irritant disinfectant powder, which quickly caused the uncontrollable haemorrhages from which he died.
Fr. Peyton's death came as a great shock to his community. For though he never was one to shine in community life, he was always kindly, quiet and reserved, considerate and sympathetic to those in difficulties. Always most regular in his observance, he was an early riser, and was frequently to be seen in the chapel at odd moments during the day. He was zealous for the honour of Our Lady and was very devoted to Our Lady of Fatima. Up to his death he was chaplain to a Praesidium of the Legion of Mary. Ever eager to do spiritual work, he was ready at any time to hear confessions in the church. In his work in the classroom, he was patient and kind, well liked and respected by the boys.
Fr. Peyton was a fine athlete, and an expert at tennis and golf. Golf was his chief recreation, and we may quote from the Limerick Leader to show how he was appreciated by his fellow golfers :
“Fr. Peyton was an enthusiastic member of the Limerick Golf Club, with whose members he was highly popular and respected, for his courteous, gentle and amiable disposition. No more pleasant partner nor opponent could be found, and he brought all the great characteristics that were his in private life on to the course. His company was eagerly sought and time passed speedily and pleasantly during a game with Fr. Peyton. His absence will long be felt by those fortunate to have known him”.
One of the priests of St. Munchin's College said that there was no member of the Crescent community so well known and liked in St. Munchin's as Fr. Peyton. Indeed it was only after his death that one realised how many friends he had made during his few years in Limerick. And we may add that many of his friends were poor and simple people. One poor man and his wife said that they would pray for him to the end of their days, for his great kindness to them for the last few years.
Fr. Peyton's funeral was attended by great crowds of both clergy and laity, and by most of the boys of the College. He was laid to rest in Mungret by the old Abbey of St. Nessan. May he rest in peace.

◆ The Clongownian, 1956

Obituary

Father Cyril Peyton SJ

Cyril Peyton came to Clongowes in 1923, from the Dominican Preparatory School, Wicklow. He spent five years in Clongowes, before going to Trinity College, Dublin, in 1928. There he studied Experimental Science, obtaining Honours in all his examinations.

He entered the Society of Jesus in November, 1932, and after having finished his Science Degree and done two years Philosophy, he went on the Chinese Mission. While he was in Hong Kong, war broke out, so that he went to Australia for Theology and Ordination. Returning to Ireland after the war, he spent some time in Belvedere and later went back to Australia to labour as master in Melbourne and Sydney. He came home in 1952 and was assigned to the teaching staff of the Crescent, where he remained until his untimely death on 27th July, 1955, at the age of forty-four.

Fr Peyton's death came as a great shock to his community. For though he was never one to shine in community life, he was always kindly, quiet and reserved, considerate and sympathetic to those in difficulties. He was an early riser and was frequently to be seen in the chapel at odd moments during the day. He was zealous for the honour of Our Lady and was very devoted to Our Lady of Fatima. Up to his death he was chaplain to a Praesidium of the Legion of Mary. Ever eager to do spiritual work, he was ready at any time to hear confessions in the church. In his work in the classroom he was patient and kind, well liked and respected by the boys. Fr Peyton was a fine athlete, and an expert at tennis and golf. Golf was his chief recreation, and we may quote from the Limerick Leader to show how he was appreciated by his many friends.

“Fr Peyton was an enthusiastic member of the Limerick Golf Club, with whose members he was highly popular and respected, for his courteous, gentle and amiable disposition. No more pleasant partner or opponent could be found, and he brought all the great characteristics that were his in private life on to the course. His company was eagerly sought and time passed speedily and pleasantly during a game with Fr Peyton. His absence will long be felt by those fortunate to have known him”.

One of the priests of St Munchin's College said that there was no member of the Crescent Community so well known and liked in St. Munchin's as Fr Peyton. Indeed, it was only after his death that one realised how many friends he had made during his short time in Limerick. And we may add that many of his friends were poor and simple people, One poor man and his wife said that they would pray for him to the end of their days, for this great kindness to them for the last few years.

Fr Peyton's funeral was attended by great crowds of both clergy and laity, and by most of the boys of the College. He was laid to rest in Mungret by the old Abbey of St Nessan. May he rest in peace.

Pexton, John, 1821-1904, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/370
  • Person
  • 30 June 1821-25 July 1904

Born: 30 June 1821, Mountmellick, County Laois
Entered 23 January 1851, Clongowes Wood College SJ, Naas, County Kildare
Final Vows: 02 February 1862
Died: 25 July 1904, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Nephew of John Pexton Sr, who lived most of his life at Clongowes - RIP 1860

He made his Postulancy at Clongowes under Father Bracken before formal Ent.
Almost all of his life in the Society was spent at Tullabeg. The exceptions were a short stay at Gardiner St where he was the janitor, and 1893-1896 when he was Infirmarian and Manductor of the domestic staff at Milltown.
1896 He returned to Tullabeg, and he died there 26 July 1904.
He was a shoemaker by trade and he proved very useful when Tullabeg was a College.
He was dear to all for his innocence and piety, and he served the Society well for 62 years, as a model of obedience and uprightness.

Pexton, John, 1789-1860, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/1981
  • Person
  • 24 June 1789-18 May 1860

Born: 24 June 1789, Mountmellick, County Laois
Entered: 09 October 1821, Clongowes Wood College, Naas, County Kildare
Final Vows: 08 September 1837
Died: 18 May 1860, Clongowes Wood College, Naas, County Kildare

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Uncle of John Peston Jr, who lived most of his life at Tullabeg - RIP 1904

He was a shoemaker by trade, and appointed to this task in Clongowes, and remained at this job for more than forty years. With his care and diligence, he won the esteem of both Superiors and students. Even in his advancing years, he did not stint on hard work. He also taught many others the trade of shoemaking.
He died piously and peacefully in Clongowes 18 May 1860

Note from John Nelson Entry :
He took his Final Vows 02/02/1838 along with eleven others, being the first to whom Final Vows were given since the Restoration in Ireland. The others were : Philip Reilly of “Palermo fame”; Nowlan, Cleary, Mulligan, Michael Gallagher, Pexton Sr, Toole, Egan, Ginivan, Patrick Doyle and Plunkett.

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