Born: 21 April 1942, Piltown, Co Kilkenny
Entered: 27 September 1977, Manresa House, Dollymount, Dublin
Ordained: 06 June 1965, St Mary’s Cathedral, Kilkenny (pre Entry)
Final vows: 22 April 1990, St Francis Xavier’s, Gardiner St, Dublin
Died: 19 April 2023, Cherryfield Lodge, Milltown Park, Dublin

Part of the Manresa Community at the time of death

Older brother of Bishop Martin Drennan

FSS

    Born :  21st April 1942     Piltown, Co Kilkenny
    Raised :    Piltown, Co Kilkenny
        Early Education at Kilkenny NS; CBS Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary; St Kieran’s, Kilkenny; San Diego Diocese; Gregorian University, Rome, Italy

6th June 1965 Ordained at St Mary’s Cathedral, Kilkenny
27th September 1977 Entered Society at Manresa House, Dollymount, Dublin
27th September 1979 First Vows at Manresa House, Dollymount, Dublin
1978-1979 John Austin House - Second Year Noviciate; Vocational Counselling at John’s Lane; Assistant Retreat Director in Rathfarnham
1979-1988 Campion House - Vocational Counselling
1988-1989 Tertianship at St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg and Campion House, Osterley, London
1989-1993 Gardiner St - Superior; Vocational Counselling; Director of Works
22nd April 1990 Final Vows at St Francis Xavier’s, Gardiner St, Dublin
1993-2000 Manresa House - Director of Ignatian Centre and Retreat House; Directs Spiritual Exercises
1994 Rector; Bursar
1999 Spiritual Direction at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, Co Kildare
2000-2003 Clongowes Wood College SJ- Spiritual Director at St Patrick’s College National Seminary & Pontifical University
2003-2010 Milltown Park - General Secretary CORI (to 2007)
2005 Vice-Rector
2007 Child Protection Delegate; Spirituality Delegate
2010-2012 Loyola House - Child Protection Delegate; Spirituality Delegate
2012-2023 Manresa House - Rector; Child Protection Delegate; Spirituality Delegate; Directs Spiritual Exercises
2021 Directs Spiritual Exercises; Building Programme; Healthcare

https://jesuit.ie/news/mike-drennan-sj-his-legacy-lives-on/

Mike Drennan SJ: His legacy lives on

Fr Mike Drennan SJ died peacefully, surrounded by his family, at Cherryfield Lodge nursing home, Milltown Park, Dublin on 19 April 2023.

Archbishop Dermot Farrell of Dublin, four other bishops, and many priests joined the Jesuits and people from all over Ireland for Fr Mike’s funeral Mass in St Francis Xavier’s Church, Gardiner Street, Dublin on 24 April, followed by burial at Glasnevin Cemetery. Fr Mike is predeceased by his brother Martin, former Bishop of Galway, who died only five months ago.

Fr Mike was born in 1942 and raised in Piltown, County Kilkenny. He was educated at Kilkenny NS, CBS Carrick-on-Suir in County Tipperary, and St Kieran’s secondary school in Kilkenny. He trained for the diocesan priesthood in St Kieran’s diocesan college, Kilkenny, and was ordained at St Mary’s Cathedral, Kilkenny in 1965. He ministered in San Diego Diocese, USA, and studied psychology at Gregorian University, Rome.

Fr Mike entered the Jesuits at Manresa House, Dollymount, Dublin in 1977, and worked in the field of vocational counselling for many years while living at John Austin House, Campion House, and Gardiner Street in Dublin.

After taking Final Vows he served in numerous roles, including as Director of Manresa Jesuit Centre of Spirituality, Dublin; Spiritual Director at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth; Secretary General of CORI (Conference of Religious in Ireland), and Child Protection Delegate for the Irish Jesuit Province. He was a skilled spiritual director and gave retreats all over Ireland for many years.

He recently published a book on the ministry of spiritual direction entitled See God Act (Messenger Publications) ». He also completed a full liturgical year of gospel inspiration points for the Sacred Space book (2024) and online prayer website – a job normally done by at least 12 people, according to John McDermott, Director of Sacred Space, who greatly appreciated the work he did and the insights he shared. “His work will help the prayer of many thousands of people down the years to come,” says John; “His inspiration still goes on.” As Fr Tim Healy SJ said in his homily at the funeral Mass, “What Mike did he did with energy and creativity. During the pandemic, for example, with the help of Piaras Jackson at Manresa, he recorded hours of video and presided over hours of Zoom meetings in online retreats for diocesan priests.”

Regarding this new online presence, Piaras Jackson noted that “The pandemic seemed likely to narrow his scope and limit his ability to minister, but he mastered Zoom and was chuffed to find himself featuring on videos where he offered material for hope and meaning at a confused time. Casual YouTube surfers looking for snappy upbeat content may have quickly slid past his presentations, but those who knew and trusted him appreciated their thoughtful and rich content and welcomed how Mike was reaching out and relating rather than waiting it out or staying silent; for him, this was “keeping in contact as best we can” – communicating, not about himself, but opening new perspectives and meaning for others. And it’s important to say that all of Mike’s activity sprung from his own prayer; having invited us Jesuits in Manresa to commit to a time of daily prayer together during the lockdowns, I value the memory of how Mike was faithfully present day after day in our community chapel.”

As he lay in repose in Cherryfield on Sunday 23 April, a steady stream of people from all over the country came to say a final farewell and offer their condolences to his family, including brothers John, Paddy, and Jim. Many shared stories of how much Fr Mike had meant to them. It was clear that all through his lifetime he had encountered many people from a variety of backgrounds and all of them held one thing in common, namely the esteem and genuine affection they felt for him.

Mary Rickard, Health Delegate for the Jesuits, noted that it was fitting that he spent his last weeks in Cherryfield when in earlier times as a board member for over fifteen years he was centrally involved in setting up both the Milltown community building and Cherryfield Lodge nursing home as a centre of excellence for older or convalescing Jesuits from home and abroad.

At a meeting of the board just after his burial Mary Rickard, as Chair, read out the prayer attributed to St Ignatius which she felt summed up Fr Mike’s life of dedicated service to God: “Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve; to give, and not to count the cost, to fight, and not to heed the wounds, to toil, and not to seek for rest, to labor, and not to ask for reward, except that of knowing that we are doing your will.”

At the end of the Mass, Fr Mike’s nephew Karol spoke warmly of the man who was his uncle and summed up well the effect Mike’s short illness and premature death had on his fellow Jesuits. “It was like an earthquake,” he said. He will be sorely missed. But his videos are available on Manresa’s YouTube » and ‘Retreats @home’ ». They will surely remain valued by the many who were blessed by Mike’s generous life; the conclusion of his first video appearance is poignant as Mike offers an Easter blessing » before walking away.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

Born: 01 February 1715, Clonmel, County Tipperary
Entered: 04 May 1741, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: Salamanca, Spain - pre Entry
Final Vows: 15 August 1755
Died: 13 September 1791, John’s Lane, Dublin

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
He died in the Augustinian House at John’s Lane
Great Preacher; Professor of Humanities
1752 In Dungarvan
1761-1766 Rector at Salamanca
Note from Gaspar Stafford Entry :
1739 One of the Examiners of Father Lisward (Dr McDonald and de Backer “Biblioth. des Écrivains SJ”)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Hugo and Kathleen née Norris
Had studied at the Irish Colleges of Santiago and Salamanca where he was Ordained before Ent 04 May 1741 Villagarcía
1743-1745 After First Vows sent to Royal College Salamanca for further studies
1745-1750 Taught Humanities at León and for a time was Minister
1750-1761 Sent to Ireland and Dungarvan where he worked for eleven years
1761-1765 Rector of Irish College Salamanca
1765 Sent to Cadiz to arrange the business of the Mission and then to Ireland and the Dublin Residence. There is little record of his work in Ireland after his return until the suppression of the Society.
He was one of the signatories to the instrument accepting the suppression and became incardinated in Dublin diocese. he was a Curate at St. James's parish but in consequence of some difference with the PP he went to live with the Augustinians in John's Lane and ministered at their chapel, where his sermons attracted large numbers, until his death 13 September 1791

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father Edward Lisward 1715-1791
Fr Edward Lisward was the pioneer of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Ireland. He was Parish priest of our parish in Waterford from 1750-1761. There he founded a Confraternity of the Sacred Heart, the first in Ireland, anticipating by more than fifty years the Confraternity founded in Dublin by Archbishop Murray in 1816.

Fr Lisward had done his studies in Spain, and there he had drank in the devotion from Fr Bernard de Hoyas, who in turn had imbibed it from Fr Gilifret in France, who himself was a disciple of Blessed Calude la Colombière. So, the devotion came to Ireland in a direct line from its original sources.

Fr Lisward was born in Clonmel, the son of Hugh Lisward and Kathleen Morris. He entered the Society in 1741, and was Rector of Salamanca after his period in Waterford from 1761-1766.

He died in Dublin on September or December 13th 1791, in the Augustinian House at John’s Lane.

◆ Clongowes Wood College SJ HIB Archive Collection - SC/CLON/142

Edward Lisward 1715-1791
Edward visward, son of Hugo and Kathleen née Morris was born in Clonmel in February, 1715 and made his ecclesiastical studies at Santiago and Salamanca He was already a priest when he was received into the Society at Villagarcia, 4 May 1741. After his noviceship he was sent to complete his theological studies at the Royal College,Salamanca. From 1745 to 1750 he taught humanities and was also Minister at the College of Leon. On his return to Ireland he was assigned to work in Dungarvan and district and exercised his ministry there until summer 1761 when he was appointed rector of the Irish College Salamanca. Three years later he returned to Ireland. On his return to Ireland he seems to have settled in Dublin, certainly after the suppression he lived and died at the Augustinian monastery at John's Lane. He had already officiated at St James’ Parish but he left it in consequence of some difference with the Parish Priest.

Note, St James's Parish registers C of I “Burials: September 15 Rev. Mr Lisworth, Thomas St”.

◆ MacErlean Cat Miss HIB SJ 1670-1770

Loose Note : Edward Lisward
Those marked with were working in Dublin when on 07/02/1774 they subscribed their submission to the Brief of Suppression
John Ward was unavoidably absent and subscribed later
Michael Fitzgerald, John St Leger and Paul Power were stationed at Waterford
Nicholas Barron and Joseph Morony were stationed at Cork
Edward Keating was then PP in Wexford

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
LISWARD, EDWARD, was born at Clonmel on the 1st of February, 1715, and joined the Society at Salamanca, on the 5th of May, 1741. Nine years later he revisited his native Country as a Missionary, and was placed by Superiors at Dungarvan. After his Profession of the Four Vows, on the l5th of August, 1755, I can no longer trace him.