Spain

260 Name results for Spain

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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!

Wulfe, James, 1724-1783, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2273
  • Person
  • 1724-19 June 1783

Born: 26 February 1724, El Puerta de Santa Maria, Cadiz, Spain
Entered: 29 August 1748, Seville, Spain - Baeticae Province (BAE)
Ordained: c 1754,
Died: 19 June 1783, Ferrara, Italy - Peruvianae Province (PER)

1751 or 1754 He went to Peru certainly there in 1754 and already ordained.
Procurator in several colleges.
At the time of the expulsion he was acting as Prefect of the Houses of Retreats and the Confraternity of Loreto at Arequipa. He survived a journey, and landed in Italy, where he joined other Spanish exiles. He died at Ferrara in 1783.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father James Woulfe 1724-1783
Fr James Woulfe was born in Puerto de Santa Maria in Spain of Irish parents, in 1724, and entered the Society at Seville in 1748.

By the year 1754 he was in Peru and already a priest. At the time of expulsion he was Acting Prefect of Houses of Retreat at Arequipa. He survived the horrors of the voyage home and landed in Italy, where he joined his exiled Spanish brethren.

He died at Ferrara in 1783.

Wright, Matthew, 1647-1711, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2271
  • Person
  • 20 September 1647-22 August 1711

Born: 20 September 1647, Madrid, Spain
Entered: 18 February 1668, Watten, Belgium - Angliae Province (ANG)
Ordained: 09 April 1678
Died: 22 August 1711, Dunkirk, Hauts-de-France, France - Angliae Province (ANG)

Son of Sir Benjamin and Jane (Williams) of Cranham Hall, Essex

◆ Came with three others (Charles Petre, Joseph Plowden and Andrew Poulton) under former ANG Provincial, John Warner, in 1689-1690 and was a Missioner in Ireland, Fr Warner as Confessor, the others in schools, and preaching in the country
(Cousin of Charles Petre??)

◆ The English Jesuits 1650-1829 Geoffrey Holt SJ : Catholic Record Society 1984
1684-1687 St Omer
1689-1690 Ireland
1691-1692 Ghent

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
WRIGHT, MATTHEW, admitted on the 18th of February, 1668: was rector of Watten from 1694 to 1698 : occurs Prefect of Studies at St. Omer s College in 1704 : for the Four last years of his life was Rector of Ghent, but actually died at Dunkirk, on the 22nd of August, 1711, aet. 64.

Woulfe, Gaspar, 1673-1748, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2269
  • Person
  • 04 January 1673-29 October 1748

Born: 04 January 1673, Ireland
Entered: 27 August 1691Bologna, Italy - Venetae Province (VEM)
Ordained: c 1701, Mantua, Italy
Final Vows: 02 February 1709
Died: 29 October 1748, Bologna, Italy - Venetae Province (VEM)

Alias de Lupis

1724 Went to Rome 24 March 1724

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
1693-1700 After First Vows he was sent for studies in Rheotoric and Philosophy to Parma, and then to Mantua for Theology, and Ordained c 1701. After Ordination he was not sent to teaching due to frail health,mainly his eyesight, but became known as a prudent Spiritual Director in Bologna
1701-1714 Sent as Minister to Ravenna, Brescia and the Noviciate at Novellara.
1714-1724 He was sent as Operarius at the Church in Bologna.
1724-1731 Sent to Scots College Rome as Prefect of Studies
1731-1732 Sent to Spain for health reasons and became Spiritual Director at the Irish College Salamanca. Rector at Irish College Salamanca where he was able to restore some peace in the College after the deposition of John Harrison, not least because he was seen as something of an outsider. he remained in this job for about eighteen months,
1732 He returned to Bologna and ministered in that city until his death while visiting one of the Churches 29 October 1748. His was considered to be an excellent Spiritual Director.

White, William, 1583-1625, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2257
  • Person
  • 1583-19 September 1625

Born: 1583, County Waterford City, County Waterford
Entered: 1605, Seville, Spain - Baeticae Province (BAE)
Ordained: 1611, Salamanca, Spain
Final Vows: 15 September 1622
Died: 19 September 1625, Irish College, Santiago de Compostela, Spain - Castellanae Province (BAE)

Cousin of Thomas White - RIP 1622 and Stephen White - RIP 1647; Relative of Peter White - RIP 1678 and Thomas White - Ent 30/09/1612, LEFT 12/11/1618

Had read Theology
1614 At Santiago Missioner and Confessor
1617 In Ireland Age 34 Soc 13
1621 In Ireland Age 39 Soc 17 Mission 8. Now Valetudinarian
1622 In East Munster
1625 At Compostella Age 41 Soc 23. Missionary and Superior of Irish Seminary at Compostella
In Carlow College there is a book marked “Missio HIB SJ Waterford Guliemus White”

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
A Writer; Brough up in Andalusia;
In the company of Thomas White and Richard Conway he took possession of Irish College at Santiago de Compostella, April 1613, the King having ordered that it should be place under the care of Irish Jesuits.
1613-1622 In East Munster
A good Theologian and Preacher
He is named in a letter of Christopher Holywood (alias Thomas Lawndry) Superior of the Irish Mission 04 November 1611 (Irish Ecclesiastical Record January 1874)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of John and Anastatia née Comerton. Cousin of Thomas White (RIP 1622),
Had studied Humanities and Philosophy under John Flahy in Ireland, and then he entered the Irish College Salamanca 06 March 1602 before Ent 1605 Seville
1607-1611 After First Vows he was sent to studies at Royal College Salamanca, was Ordained there c 1611 and then sent to the Irish College Salamanca as Confessor.
After that he was sent to the Irish College Santiago as Minister and on the Missions in Parishes locally
1615-1622 Sent to Ireland and Waterford where he worked as Operarius for seven years.
1623 Sent to Irish College Santiago to succeed his cousin Thomas White as Rector following his death September 1623. He was in declining health and the General decided he should go back to Ireland as soon as his successor could be nominated, but he died in Office 19 September 1625
His Spanish Superiors regarded him as endowed beyond the ordinary for government and preaching .

White, Thomas, 1556-1622, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2256
  • Person
  • 1556- 07 May 1622

Born: 1556, Clonmel, County Tipperary
Entered: 11 June 1593, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: pre Entry Valladolid, Spain
Died: 07 May 1622, Irish College, Santiago de Compostela, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

Older Brother of Stephen - RIP 1647; Uncle of Peter White - RIP 1678; and Thomas White - Ent 30/09/1612, LEFT 12/11/1618; Cousin of William White - RIP 1625

Brother was Mayor of Clonmel
Before he entered he was Rector of Irish Seminary (Salamanca??). Salamanca SAT 1592 “Este Padre es Irlandes y està fuera “T or Y”)??) no se sabe lo particular del” C 08/09/1601
Studied 3 years Casus.
1606 Age 50 Soc 12 - was 9 years Rector of Irish Seminary Salamanca. Helps in Irish, English and Scotch business
1617 Ib CAST Age 60 Soc 24
His portrait is at Irish College Salamanca
In Irish Ecclesiastical Record 1922 pp578-597 there is an article on Fr Thomas White and the Irish College Salamanca. It appears to contain some first hand information and would be read to advantage by anyone wishing to give a life of him (JPR)

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronolgica” :
First Rector Irish College Lisbon 1593
With William White and Richard Conway he took possession of Santiago, Compostella (cf IER September 1874)
Mentioned honourably in a letter of Henry Fitzsimon 26 October 1611 (Irish Ecclesiastical Record March 1873)
Founder of Irish College Salamanca 1592, which was the first, or one of the first establishments the Irish Catholics obtained on the Continent after the Reformation
Juvencius (“Hist SJ” xiii p215) says he was an elderly secular priest at the time, and that he entered the Society, after putting the College (Salamanca) under the charge of our Fathers, under whose charge it remained until 1762 (expulsion of Jesuits from Spain). He was a man of great piety and zeal, and a great pillar of the Irish Church.
(cf his life by William McDonald DD in IER 1873)

Note from Bl Dominic Collins Entry
About a year after he arrived in Spain, he met Fr Thomas White, Rector of Salamanca, and by his advice entered the Society. Two of his fellow novices were Richard Walsh and John Lee

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Priestly education seems to have been provided mostly by an unknown Bishop uncle at Santiago and otherwise at Valladolid (according to Luis de Valdivia who wrote his obituary).
What seems certain is that members of White's family had settled in or near Santiago, e.g. Baiona. The year of Thomas's ordination cannot be determined but if we can trust all the details in the obituary notice it was the Bishop uncle who Ordained him. It was at Valladolid that White first conceived the idea of organising a regime of life for wandering Irish scholars who wished to study for the priesthood. But it was at Salamanca 22 August 1592 that his work was placed on a permanent basis by the generous foundation effected by the King of Spain. All this before Ent 11 June 1593 Villagarcía.

After First Vows the whole of his life as a Jesuit was to be devoted to the education of Priests for Ireland.
1596-1603 First Rector Irish College Salamanca
1604 He visited the General at Rome to discuss the future of Salamanca and ways and means of promoting the Jesuit mission in Ireland. It seems he also visited Ireland that year but his stay cannot have been for more than a few weeks
1606-1608 Rector Irish College Lisbon
1612 Acting Superior at Santiago
1619 Acting Superior at Santiago until his death there 07 May 1622

The foregoing summary of his periods of offices seems almost to indicate periods of enforced leisure after his extensive journeyings in quest of alms for the support of his students or for that matter of any needy Irish student who wished to pursue his Priestly studies. His success as an organiser was known to Dr. Christopher Cusack who repeatedly asked the General to send White to help him with his own work for Irish seminarians in Belgium.

◆ Royal Irish Academy : Dictionary of Irish Biography, Cambridge University Press online :
White, Thomas
by Terry Clavin

White, Thomas (1556–1622), Jesuit and founder of Irish colleges in Europe, was the son of Pierce White of Clonmel and was born into one of the most staunchly catholic families in Ireland. A younger brother Stephen (qv) was a celebrated Jesuit antiquarian. His uncle Peter ran a famous catholic school in Waterford, where Thomas White was probably first taught. By 1582 he was studying theology in Valladolid and in 1593 he became a Jesuit. The city had a small community of Irish scholars at the time, most of whom were in great want. White took them into his house, providing for them out of his own resources. In the summer of 1592 he brought the students before King Phillip II at the royal villa of St Laurence; the king granted them some money. However, White sought another audience with the king, petitioning that he endow the Irish with a college. On 2 August 1592 the first Irish college on the continent was established at Salamanca, with White as its vice-rector and spiritual director.

Thereafter White dedicated himself to organising and furthering Irish academic life in Spanish territory, being also greatly pre-occupied with the Irish colleges founded in Lisbon, Santiago and Seville, acting as rector for the latter two. His stewardship of the college in Salamanca provoked controversy in May 1602 when ‘Red’ Hugh O’Donnell (qv) and Florence Conroy (qv) petitioned on behalf of the provinces of Ulster and Connaught against him. The northerners won out and in 1605 a Spanish superior was appointed. But the new system was not a success and in 1613 White was reinstated as head of the college. Although he never returned to Ireland, he received a steady stream of reports from missionaries there, many of whom were educated in his colleges, who constantly drew attention to the persecution of Irish catholics. He died 28 May 1622 at Santiago.

John Coppinger, Mnemosynion to the catholics of Ireland (1608); Edmund Hogan, Distinguished Irishmen of the 17th century (1894), 48–70; Patrick Power, Waterford and Lismore (1937), 25; T. Corcoran, ‘Early Irish Jesuit educators’, Studies, xxix (1940), 545–60; William Burke, History of Clonmel (1983 ed.), 464–9

Note from Paul Sherlock (Sherlog) Entry
Like many of his contemporaries, he left Ireland for Spain, aged 16, to study at the Jesuit-run Irish College at Salamanca. He landed in Bilbao in May 1612 and reached Salamanca at the beginning of July. Together with Thomas Vitus (Wyse), a fellow-student from Waterford, he was admitted to the Society of Jesus at Salamanca on 30 September 1612

Note from Bl Dominic Collins Entry
He moved to Spain, where he met an Irish Jesuit, Fr Thomas White (qv), at Corunna and, experiencing a change of heart of truly Ignatian proportions, he applied to enter the Society of Jesus. Due to his age and previous career, he was initially refused but was finally accepted as a brother-novice at the Jesuit College at Santiago de Compostela in late 1598

◆ James B Stephenson SJ The Irish Jesuits Vol 1I 1962
EARLY IRISH JESUIT EDUCATORS
Thomas White of Clonmel (1556-1622)

The outstanding figure in the constructive work for Irish Education, done by Irish Jesuits within the century 1540-1640 either within Ireland or abroad, was that of Father Thomas White of Clonmel. The two historians of his birthplace and of his diocese, Canon William Burke (History of Clonmel, 1907, pages 457-469) and Canon Patrick Power (Waterford and Lismore, 1937, page 24), following up the researches of Dr Edmond Hogan SJ, agree in giving the year of Thomas White's birth as 1556, the year of the death of St. Ignatius of Loyola. They also concur in stating that Thomas White and the more celebrated Father Stephen White SJ, (born 1574) were brothers, sons of Pierce White and brothers of James White, Vicar-Apostolic of Waterford; another brother, chief magistrate of Clonmel, was deposed from that civil office in 1606 as being a recusant Catholic. Near relatives, Patrick and Nicholas White, were heavily fined in Castle Chamber, at Dublin Castle, for refusal to attend Anglican services. In the entry lists (1601 1619) of the Irish College, Salamanca, more than one White is set down as a Waterford diocese student, coming from the school of Master John Flahy, who sent some fourteen students to the University of Salamanca in those years. In 1608 John Coppinger (Mnemosynion to the Catholics of Ireland) tells of how Father Thomas White, a Jesuit since 1593, devoted himself to the most practical academic service of organising Irish student life at Valladolid, Salamanca, Lisbon, Seville, and St. James of Compostella.
Was it not great charitie of Father Thomas White, naturall of Clonmel, seeing so many poor scholars of his nation in great miserie at Valladolid, having no means to continue their studie nor language to begge, having given over his private commoditie, did remcollect and reduce them to one place, which he maintained by his industrie and begging ?

Thomas White, as Canon Burke notes, was at Valladolid by 1582. Having in the summer of 1592 presented his assembled students to King Philip II at his Royal Villa of St. Laurence beside the city, he got from the King a large initial sum for housing, an annual grant for maintenance, and this Royal letter :

To the Rector, the Masters, and the Members of the University of Salamanca.

The young Irishmen who have been forming a kind of community in the city of Valladolid have decided to go to your city, in order to avail of the advantages there placed at their service for progress in Letters and Languages. A house has been prepared for them, in which they purpose to live under the direction of the Jesuit Fathers.

Besides providing for them a substantial annual grant, I desire them to deliver to you this letter, to charge you, as I now hereby do, to regard them as highly recommended to you. Favour and assist them to the utmost of your power. They have left their own country and all dear to them there for the service of God our Lord and for the preservation of the Catholic Faith; they declare their determination to return there to preach it and, if need be, to suffer martyrdom for it. They are to have in your University the good reception that they promise themselves. I am certain that you will see to this being done. With your aid and with what I feel sure of from the City of Salamanca (to which also I now write), these young Irishmen will be enabled to pursue their studies in content and freedom, and so will give full effect to their purpose.

Given at Valladolid, this second day of August 1592
Yo el Rey

Hieronimo de Cassell
A Secretis

Over the following thirty years (1592-1622) Thomas White laboured indefatigably at this great Catholic and national service. He was thus the initiator of the Irish Colleges in Spain, rapidly succeeded by those of France, Italy, Flanders, Bohemia. Always associated with the great Catholic Universities, they secured for our students, that fine university training, general and professional, which easily enabled them to outrank over all Europe, as at Paris, Louvain, Salamanca, Prague, the work essayed at the decadent Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and other heretical centres. The prestige thus everywhere achieved for Catholic Irish students, both in academic training and office, as well as through published works, on the lines initiated and on the foundations well laid by Thomas White or Clonmel and his Irish collaborators in Spain, was expanded and enhanced down to the destructive years of the French Revolution. Fr White's death at Santiago, on 28 May 1622, was thus most fittingly recorded by a Spanish pen “

This day, Sunday, at seven in the morning, Our Lord called to the reward of his labours and merits Father Thomas White. He died of fever, at the age of sixty-four and in the thirty-fourth year of his religious life. During that period he had worked with apostolic spirit in the service of God and of the Catholic faith, which, through the means of the Colleges which he had founded in Spain, has been preserved in Ireland. His life and virtues, so well known in the Society of Jesus, cannot receive full justice in this brief letter, His thoughts and desires were all for the glory of God and for the progress of the Colleges for which he toiled unceasingly. On the road and in the duties of an external character on which he was almost constantly engaged, Father White was a singularly recollected man, assiduous in prayer and meditation. Always resigned to the will of God, he never asked Him for anything (so he said shortly before his death) which was not accorded to him. God always blessed his petitions by moving the minds of Chapters, Prelates, and Princes with whom he was brought into contact to aid his work by their alms and gifts; they knew him well for a man of great zeal and rare virtue. He practised great mortification, and even in advanced years kept in use every day the hair shirt and discipline.

He was most simple both in dress and in manner; his usual food every day was a little bread and cheese, which he ate while journeying along the roads. To the lay fold whom he met he gave great edification; to his students he was a living model of piety. Through his efforts many religious institutes were filled with excellent members, and his native country received many holy priests and bishops, who acknowledge that under God they owe everything to Thomas White.

In his last illness he gave great evidence of the holiness of his life; and though death came unexpectedly while he was still organising this College of Santiago, he made very perfect acts of
conformity to God's will, bewailing his not having served Him more fervently. In the fifteen days of his illness he received Holy Communion three times and had Extreme Unction in good time. As we closed the commendation of his soul to God, he peacefully breathed his. last; his countenance retained all the appearance of life, All this gives us a special pledge of heaven; but we are greatly grieved for the loss to the Colleges of this Father, the Protector of his country. His death has caused a profound sensation in this City, where it is deeply lamented.

Father White's opening period of work for the new Irish College at Salamanca extended almost continuously from 1594 to 1605; it was often varied by his apostolic questings, described in this letter of Father de Castro SJ, composed and despatched from Santiago de Compostella on the very day of his holy and happy death. He was again Rector at Salamanca from 1617, and was constantly concerned with the sister Irish foundations : Lisbon stabilised by 1593, Santiago founded in 1612, Séville founded 1619. Midway in those three decades of unremitting toil, King Philip III had given its full formal rank as a foundation of the Spanish Crown to the “Royal College of Irish Nobles” (El Real Colegio de Nobles Irlandeses), the title borne to this day by this ancient and most fruitful foundation for our race and faith.

Timothy Corcoran SJ

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father Thomas White 1558-1622
Fr Thomas White was born in 1558 of a family in Clonmel which gave many priests to the Church. His brother James was Vicar-Apostolic of Waterford, and another brother was the famous Fr Stephen White SJ. Thomas entered the Society when already a priest at 30 years of age.

His name should ever be held in benediction, for it was he who first started the idea of founding Colleges for the Irish on the Continent. In this way, he was instrumental in founding Valladolid, Salamanca, Lisbon, Seville and Santiago. It was he too who petitioned the General to establish the office of Procurator General for the Irish Mission, which post Fr James Archer was first to fill.

Fr Thomas died on Sunday May 28th 1622, 64 years of age after 34 spent as a Jesuit. In his obituary by Fr de Castro we read : “we are left overwhelmed with grief for what all the Colleges have lost in this Father and Protector of his country, and his death has created a profound sensation in this seminary and city, where it is bewailed with tears.

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
WHITE, THOMAS.The only occasion that I find this Father mentioned is in a letter of the 22nd of August, 1607. He was then in Spain, with F. James Archer. I cross him again six weeks later. F. Fitzsimon, in the Preface to his Treatise on the Mass, printed in 1611, mentions him.

White, Stephen, 1575-1647, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2255
  • Person
  • 1575-23 April 1647

Born: 1575, Clonmel, County Tipperary
Entered: 13 October 1596, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: c 1601, Salamanca, Spain
Final Vows: 06 January 1613, Dilingen, Germany
Died: 23 April 1647, Galway Residence, Galway City, County Galway

Younger Brother of Thomas - RIP 1622; Uncle of Peter White - RIP 1678; Thomas White - Ent 30/09/1612, LEFT 12/11/1618; Cousin of William White - RIP 1625

His name appears on a list of 8 who got a BA from Salamanca University in 1595 and then entered
1597 At Villagarcía College Age 22 Soc 6. Already a BA and studying Theology
1600 At Salamanca studying Theology Age 25 Soc 3
1603 Age 29 Soc 7. Professor of Arts at Salamanca University
1605 Came from CAST to GER SUP
1606-1609 At Ingolstadt lecturing in Theology. Age 32 Soc 10 and a Doctor of Divinity. Confessor and “Oreses Religiosorum in Convictu”
1610-1323 At Dilingen teaching Sacred Scripture “vires mediocres”
1612 Professor of Scholastic Theology at Dillingen and Pres of Casus. Confessor
1623-1627 Went to Pont-á-Mousson (CAMP) - Confessor and Spiritual Father to Germans
1628-1630 At Metz Confessor, Spiritual Father and Prefect of Cases
1630 Came to Irish Mission
Usher praised White in his Collectanea 1621 Tom V & VI)

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronolgica”:
c1617 he was in Bavaria
1634 Distinguished Professor of Theology (IER)
The Protestant Archbishop Ussher in “Primordia” p 400 calls him a man of exquisite knowledge in the antiquities, not only of Ireland, but also of other nations.
Robert Nugent, Superior of Irish Mission in a letter from Kilkenny 10 January 1646 to Charles Sangri, speaks of his works which he had sent to censors for examination.
Professor of Theology at Dillingen, Ingolstadt and Pont-à-Mousson etc.; Writer; Antiquarian;
Called a “Polyhistor” by Raderus, Colgan and others on account of his extraordinary learning.
(cf Oliver Stonyhurts MSS; Dean Reeves “Memoir of Stephen White”; de Backer “Biblioth. des Écrivains SJ”; De Buck “Archéologie Irlandaise”)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Had already graduated with a BA in Arts and in Theology abroad before Ent 13 October 1596 Villagarcía
1598-1601 After First Vows he was sent to Royal College Salamanca for studies and was Ordained there c 1601
1601-1605 Taught Philosophy at Irish College Salamanca
1605-1609 To the disappointment of his Spanish Superiors he was withdrawn by the General from CAST and appointed to a Chair of Theology at the College of Ingolstadt in the Upper German Province (GER SUP). At the end of two years here he was reported to the General as having departed from the ratio studiorum in his teaching. His lectures were represented to the General as “partly temerarious, partly dangerous and in great part to be retracted”,
1609 In September 1609 General ordered that Stephen be dismissed from his post and sent back to Ireland. But his health was never robust and his physician decided against the return journey to the Irish Mission. Later the General was to learn that White had not been so unorthodox, he had merely been expounding the opinions of Vasquez and was not the only Jesuit who approved of that scholar's teaching.
1610-1622 He was sent to the College of Dilingen, and he was not reinstated as a professor of Theology for the next two years. But this temporary disgrace incurred at Ingolstadt proved to be providential. The two years of freedom from the lecture-hall were not spent idly by Stephen. From this time dates his interest in the rich manuscript materials for Irish history and hagiography buried away in German monastic libraries. By Autumn, 1612, he had composed a work on the lives of Irish Saints but the General ordered that the book be submitted to rigid censorship in case it might cause offence to people of other countries. That same Autumn, he resumed his theology lectures in Dilingen, and was congratulated by the General who warned him, however, not to deflect from the 'sententia ordinaria". During these years he was professor, for a time, of Sacred Scripture. He remained in Dilingen as professor of dogmatic theology until 1622
1622-1627 Ever since 1620 White was anxious to leave the Upper German province and in 1622 was allowed to pass to CAMP where he was assigned to the University of Pont-à-Mousson. Although he had been advised in advance that he could not expect a Chair in that University, he taught Theology in fact there over the next three years, although his status might be better described, perhaps, as coach and not professor. But the five years, 1622/27, spent by him at Pont-à-Mousson were mostly taken up with historical research. For within a year of his arrival, 1623, he had ready for the press his celebrated “Apologia pro Hibernia”. But the General stopped the printing of this work at Antwerp.
1627-1630 He was transferred to Metz but held no teaching post there.
1630-1644 The General in response to requests from the Irish Mission allowed White to return to Ireland. Very little is known with certainty about his career on the Irish Mission. There is no mention of his name again in the sources until 1637 when the CATS simply recapitulated his past career but gave no hint of his address or occupation that year. It also said that his was in poor health. That Winter he wrote to the General asking that the Will which he had made at Dilingen before his final profession should be implemented to the benefit of the Irish Mission. His well-known letter to John Colgan O.F.M., 31 January 1640, implies that he had been engaged in research work ever since his return to Ireland and that he had spent the previous decade for the most part at Dublin where he had access to the library or Archbishop James Ussher.
1640 His later years, after the Puritan occupation of Dublin were spent in Galway. Correspondence of 1644 and 1646 indicates that he had a work approved for publication. He died sometime in or after 1646. Stephen White was one of the most remarkable Irish scholars of his time. His ability as philosopher and theologian was widely acknowledged in Spain, Germany and France. But his enduring fame rests upon his pioneering work in unearthing the manuscript treasures that preserved so much of the story of Ireland's past. He transcribed manuscripts for the Bollandists, for John Colgan, for James Ussher. Both the latter acknowledged their indebtedness to him. His magnum opus, the “Apologia pro Hibernia”, did not see the light until two centuries after his death but Lynch had a precis of the work before him when he was writing his “Cambrensis Eversus”.
White was the first Irish writer to voice the national tradition which rejected as spurious the grant of Ireland by Pope Adrian IV to Henry II of England. Though his troubles at Ingolstadt gave him the heaven-sent opportunity of turning to historical research, it is to be noted that his contemporary Irish fellow- Jesuits seem to have had no appreciation whatever of his contributions to Irish historical scholarship. Indeed there is plenty of evidence to hand that he was plagued by members of the Irish Mission with invitations to return during his years at Ingolstadt, Dilingen and Pont-à-Mousson. When he returned to Ireland in 1630 he had very probably little facility in speaking either Irish or English after his forty years abroad. The mission itself was unable to furnish him with the library facilities needed for his research work. Yet taking into account all the successes, misunderstandings and disappointments that mark his career, he will always be regarded as the most eminent Irish Jesuit produced in the Old Society. He died at Galway 23 April 1647.

◆ Royal Irish Academy : Dictionary of Irish Biography, Cambridge University Press online :
White, Stephen
by Terry Clavin

White, Stephen (1574?–1646/7), Jesuit priest, academic, and antiquary, was born in Clonmel, the son of Pierce White. His was a remarkable family, two of his brothers also being priests: James was vicar apostolic of Waterford and Lismore and Thomas White (qv), a Jesuit, was the founder of the first Irish college on the continent. Another brother was deposed as mayor of Clonmel in 1606 for refusing to take the oath of supremacy. He was probably educated in the catholic school at Clonmel before travelling to study at the Irish college at Salamanca founded by his brother about 1590. After graduating BA, he entered the Society of Jesus on 13 October 1596 at Villagarcia. He remained at Salamanca, continuing his studies in theology, and obtained a doctorate of divinity about 1605.

In 1602 he taught a one-year course in humanities at Salamanca, marking the start of a distinguished academic career, and followed this up with a three-year course in mental philosophy. Such was his reputation that he was appointed to the chair of scholastic theology in the University of Ingoldstadt, one of the most distinguished universities in Germany, inaugurating his lectureship on 7 January 1606. In 1609 he went to lecture in the University of Dilingen on the Danube, being first professor of scholastic theology, and librarian of the university, and by 1612 confessor of the religious orders. He remained there for fourteen years, becoming one of the most accomplished theologians in Germany. After departing Dilingen he retired from academic life, being confessor to the Germans at Pont-à-Mousson, Champagne (1623–7), and spiritual father at the college of Metz (1627–9).

After 1611 two factors led him towards the study of Irish history. First, there had been little contact between Ireland and continental Europe since the early middle ages; the little that was known about Ireland tended to be from invariably hostile English sources. Second, Scottish antiquarians, capitalising on the fact that prior to the late middle ages the inhabitants of Ireland had been called Scots, claimed the Irish scholars and missionaries, who were a ubiquitous presence across the continent in the early medieval period, as their own. This opportunistic attempt to deprive Ireland of its saints and scholars, and of its best case for being a civilised Christian nation, did not go unchallenged, not least from White. He was aided in his scholarly labours by his academic contacts. Dilingen received students from abbeys and monasteries all over Germany and beyond, facilitating his access to vast reservoirs of ancient manuscripts relating to Ireland.

White wrote his Apologia pro Hibernia adversus Cambri calumnias between 1611 and 1613, declaring ‘The sole purpose of my writing is to defend the injured reputation of the old Irish whom I, and my fathers, for four hundred years have shared a common fatherland.’ He refuted the allegations of the twelfth-century Welsh author Gerald (qv) of Wales whose Expugnatio Hibernica justified the Norman conquest of Ireland through portraying the natives as barbaric and semi-pagan. The Apologia demolished such allegations but was marred slightly by his highly personalised attacks on Gerald. Although White was of Norman ancestry, he identified with the Gaelic Irish. During his career he wrote many works glorifying Ireland's past and refuting the Scots’ claims. He also transcribed a number of manuscripts on the lives of early Irish saints. However, none of his works was published during his lifetime, partly because of a lack of funds but also because of the politically sensitive nature of the material. A generous scholar, he freely shared his writings and discoveries with his contemporaries; others prospered from his unselfish spadework while he remained in comparative obscurity. His knowledge was such that he was accorded the title of ‘polyhistor’, or walking library.

The Irish Jesuits had frequently requested his transfer to Ireland, and in late 1628 he returned to his homeland, after an absence of thirty-eight years, to teach in a Jesuit college just established in Dublin. However, in January 1629 it was suppressed by the government. He returned to his native diocese of Waterford and Lismore, where the teacher who had lectured in some of Europe's most renowned academic institutions spent his autumn years teaching street children. During the late 1630s he was based in Dublin, and at this time embarked on his most celebrated and remarkable antiquarian collaboration. He several times met James Ussher (qv), Church of Ireland primate of Ireland and one of the most brilliant scholars of his age, who shared White's passion for Irish history. Ussher showed him his library and praised his learning. In return White gave Ussher his manuscripts on the lives of the early Irish saints.

After the start of the 1641 rebellion he fled Dublin to settle in Galway city. By then he was too infirm to carry out any more work or to become involved in the turbulent events of the 1640s. While in Galway he met John Lynch (qv), whose Cambrensis eversus was based on White's Apologia. His most likely date of death is shortly after January 1646 but some accounts have him alive in April 1647.

Burgundian Library, Brussels, xxi, nos. 7658–61; The whole works of Sir James Ware concerning Ireland, ed. and trans. W. Harris (1745–6), ii, 103; John Lynch, Cambrensis eversus, ed. Matthew Kelly (Dublin Celtic Society, 1848–52), ii, 394; Stephen White, Apologia pro Hibernia adversus Cambri calumnias, ed. Matthew Kelly (1849); William Reeves, ‘Memoir of Stephen White’, RIA Proc., xiii (1861); DNB; Edmund Hogan, ‘Worthies of Waterford and Tipperary’, Waterford ASJ, iii (1897), 119–34; William Burke, History of Clonmel (1983), 457–64

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father Stephen White 1576-1646
In the estimation of historians and antiquarians, both Catholic and Protestant, Irish and continental, Fr Stephen White was a scholar of the first order. He was a nan of encyclopaedic knowledge, with a bent for antiquities. His contribution to the Annals of the Four Masters and their invaluable help in their compilation is attested warmly and generously by Michael Colgan, the greatest of them.

Born in Clonmel of a family which gave many illustrious sons to the Jesuits, he joined the Society at Villagarcia in 1596, and having pursued a brilliant course in the various continental colleges, professed Philosophy and Theology for many years in Germany and France.

A long wished for project in education, an Irish University, was started in Back Lane Dublin in 1629. Fr Stephen was sent home to profess in it. Its life span was short. For the next ten years Fr White spent most of his time teaching young boys in Waterford.

On the outbreak of the Confederate War he went to Galway, where he died an old man of 72 in 1646.

His works include : “Apologia pro Hibernia’, “Geste Dei”, “De Sanctis et Antiquitate Hiberniae” together with numerous philosophical and theological tracts. A great deal of these works are lost, indeed were never published through fear of exacerbating the English authorities.

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
WHITE, STEPHEN. This Irish Father deserves a fuller eulogium than I am able to supply. He was the author of some historical pieces relating to Ireland, in confutation of the assertions of Giraldus Cambrensis. The Rev. John Lynch, who had the custody of this valuable MS mentions it in Chapter I and XIV of his “Cambrensis Evcrsus”, printed in 1662, and expresses his deep regret that a considerable part of it was lost during the Civil Wars. Archbishop Usher, an excellent judge of these matters, in p. 400 of his Primordia, gives F. White the character of being “a man of exquisite knowledge in the Antiquities, not only of Ireland, but also of other nations”. In a letter of F. Robert Nugent, Superior of his brethren in Ireland, and addressed from Kilkenny, the 10th of January, 1646, to F. Charles Sangri, I read what follows.
“I have given the commission to four of our Fathers diligently to examine the works of F. Stephen White, and to forward their judgment to your paternity, conformably to the directions you have recently sent us. His works are various, and as our Fathers live in places very distant from each other, and notwithstanding the most Reverend Bishops, (who are ready to defray the expenses of the printing), as also the supreme Council very earnestly insist, that a certain work of his, “De sanctis et Antiqititate Ibcrniae” be instantly sent to the Press, I find it difficult and next to impossible to resist their reasonable demand, since the Manuscript itself has been perused by several them, and has been pronounced not only worthy of being printed, but highly necessary for the credit and advantage of this Kingdom. Therefore I have written again to the Examiners, that each would privately report their opinion on this work as soon as possible to your Paternity; though all in their letters to me greatly extol it, and declare it most worthy to issue from the Press. But 1 am unwilling to allow any work to be printed that can give just cause of offence to any person : and yet there is less cause of apprehension in this case, as this book merely treats on the Saints and Antiquity of the Kingdom of Ireland”.

White, Peter, 1608-1678, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2254
  • Person
  • 1608-08 July 1678

Born: 1608, Waterford City, County Waterford
Entered: 10 January 1627, Seville, Spain - Baeticae Province (BAE)
Ordained: 1635, Granada, Spain
Final Vows 18 October 1643
Died: 08 July 1678, Jerez de la Frontera, Spain - Baeticae Province (BAE)

Brother of Thomas White - Ent 30/09/1612, LEFT 12/11/1618; Nephew of Thomas White - RIP 1622; and Stephen White - RIP 1647; relative of William White - RIP 1625

Had studied Logic before Entry
1629 First Vows at Seville College
1633 At Granada College in 3rd year Theology
1648 Rector of Irish College Seville
1651 In Carmona College BAE Age 45 Soc 25. Taught Humanities, was Operarius, Minister, Procurator and Rector
1655 At Cadiz Confessor

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Nephew of Thomas White. Relative or Archbishop Walsh and Wise (the Grand Prior)
1661-1666 Rector at Seville - “well known through Europe for his splendid qualities” says Father de Leon
His letters 1642-1646 are in Salamanca
He was a favourite Spiritual Director in Madrid.

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Nephew of Thomas White (RIP 1622) and a near relative of Archbishop Thomas Walsh of Cashel.
He had received his early education at Irish College Santiago before Ent 10 January 1627 Seville
1628+1635After First Vows he was sent for studies to Seville (1628-1631) and then to Granada where he was Ordained 1635. he finished his studies with a “Grand Act”
1635-1638 He did a year of Tertianship and was then sent to teach at BAE Colleges
1638-1645 He was sent to Madrid as Procurator of the Irish Seminaries and the Irish Mission
1645-1647 He returned to BAE
1647-1650 Rector Irish College Seville
1650-1656 He was sent to Cadiz as Operarius and Prefect of the Church
1656-1666 he was reappointed Rector of Irish College Seville
1666 He was sent to Jerez as Operarius and died there 08 July 1678
He was originally designated for the Irish Mission and was actually sent there in 1638, but then it was decided that the best work he could do for the Irish Mission was at Madrid and the Irish College in Seville.

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
WHITE, PETER. All that I can glean of him is from a letter of F. John Young, written from the Irish College at Rome, the 26th of October, 1661, in which he states that F. Peter White was then the Rector of the Irish College at Seville.

White, Nicholas, 1598-1628, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2253
  • Person
  • 1598-03 October 1628

Born: 1598, Clonmel, County Tipperary,
Entered: 15 April 1615, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: c 1623, Salamanca, Spain
Died: 03 October 1628, Irish College, Santiago de Compostella, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

1617 In CAST Age 18 Soc 2
1625 At Logroño, Spain
1627-1628 At Logroño (??) - Rector being Paul Sherlock - Concinator and Confessor

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
DOB 1599 Clonmel; Ent c 1609 or c 1615; RIP pre 1626 or November 1628 Santiago
He was Rector at Compostella before 1626 or 1628 (cf Foley’s Collectanea where DOB is given as 1599 and Ent 1615)
(Letter of Diego Ovalle alias for James Wale, to Luke Wadding OSF, in St Isidore’s, Rome)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Richard and Joan also née White
Had spent a little while at the Irish College Salamanca before Ent 15 April 1615 Villagarcía
1617-1623 After First Vows he was sent for studies first to Monforte for Philosophy and then Royal College Salamanca for Theology where he was Ordained c 1623
1623-1625 He was briefly teaching at Logroño
1625 He was appointed Prefect of Studies at Irish College Santiago. In his brief career while there he proved a tower of strength to the students who were not always sympathetically treated by the Spaniards. He also made representations o the General to use all his powers to expand the work of the Irish seminaries by setting up a Procuratorship at Madrid. He also succeeded Paul Sherlock there as Rector (1628), and died there 03 October 1628.
He had volunteered for the Irish Mission, but this was never taken up.

White, Martin Francis, 1633-1693, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2250
  • Person
  • 11 November 1633-18 June 1693

Born: 11 November 1633, Waterford City, County Waterford
Entered: 07 November 1651, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: c 1661, Valladolid, Spain
Final Vows: 15 August 1675
Died: 18 June 1693, Waterford Residence, Waterford City, County Waterford

1658 At Bergara College teaching Grammar CAST. Has good talent, much progress in Philosophy. Age 25 Soc 7
1660 At Valladolid in Theology
His name appears on several books showing he belonged to Waterford Residence (Foley 836)
Could be referring to a Martin Francis White who enters in 1671

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Father Morris’s “Excerpts” give the RIP date
There are several books in Waterford College with his name and the words “Resid Waterford SJ”

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
1653-1657 After First Vows he was sent to study Philosophy (in which he showed-talent)) and then to Vergara (Basque Bergara) for Regency (1655-1675)
1657-1661 He was sent to St Ambrose, Valladolid for Theology and was Ordained there c 1661.
1661-1666 After completing formation he was made a Naval Chaplain, and according to a report “gave proof of mature and heroic virtue in an engagement in the Spring of 1664”
1666-1670/71 He was to have taken up the Rectorship at the Irish College, Seville, but the General changed his mind and appointed Ignatius Lombard instead. He instead succeeded Lombard as Procurator at Madrid
1670/71 Sent to Ireland and Waterford where he worked zealously until his death there 08 June 1693

White, John Michael, 1724-1755, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2247
  • Person
  • 01 July 1724-18 February 1755

Born: 01 July 1724, County Meath and Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 23 March 1746, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: 21 September 1751, Royal College Salamanca, Spain
Died: 18 February 1755, Dublin Residence, Dublin City, County Dublin

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” : :
1750 Was in Dublin

His letters 1740-1753 are at the Irish College Salamanca

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
A Meath family but probably brought up in Dublin as he received his early classical education at the Dublin Jesuit School under Milo O’Byrne and John Ward. He also made some Priestly studies at Santiago and Salamanca before Ent 24 March 1746 Villagarcía

1748-1752 After First Vows he was sent to Royal College Salamanca and was Ordained there 21 September 1751
1752 He was sent to Ireland immediately after Tertianship and sent to a parish in Dunboyne (temporary or permanent is uncertain). he was already in poor health and he died in Dublin Residence 18 February 1755

(A long interesting letter describing his return journey from Spain and his first experiences in Ireland, has survived in the Salamanca papers).

White, James, 1660-1722, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2246
  • Person
  • 28 September 1660-05 October 1722

Born: 28 September 1660, An Daingean, County Offaly
Entered: 08 March 1680, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: c 1685, Salamanca, Spain
Final Vows: 28 August 1693
Died: 05 October 1722, St Ignatius College, Valladolid, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

Uncle of James Evers (White) - Ent 06/03/1703; LEFT 01/11/1716

1690 At Logroño CAST teaching Philosophy
1715-1716 Prefect at Irish College Poitiers (With, Witus)
1720 A St Ignatius College Valladolid, Operarius
Was a Doctor of Divinity, taught Grammar, Philosophy and Theology 19 years

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
1703-1709 At Salamanca
1721 At Valladolid
He was in CAST when Hugh Thaly, in a letter of 20 February 1686 earnestly requests that he be sent to the Irish Mission
A letter of his in 1720 is preserved at Salamanca.

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Patrick and Isabel née Wafer
Born Sragh, near Philipstown
Had studied at Santiago and begun Theology at Salamanca before Ent 08 March 1680 Villagarcía
1682-1686 After First Vows he was sent on a brief Regency and then to Royal College Salamanca for Theology where he was was Ordained c 1685
1686-1696 After his Tertianship representations were made to have him sent back to the Irish mission but his Spanish superiors, who appreciated White's exceptional ability, detained him. So he was sent to teach at Logroño and then to take a Chair in Theology at Valladolid
1696-1711 He was sent to Compostella, where he held a Chair in Theology and graduated DD
1711-1720 Because there was some dispute between the Cathedral Chapter and the University (where he was teaching) he returned to Valladolid again to a Chair of Theology.
1720 He resigned from teaching and was sent as Operarius to the Jesuit Church at Valladolid where he died 05 October 1722

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
WHITE, JAMES, was in the Province of Castile, in the early part of 1686, as I find in F. Hugh Thaly’s letter of the 20th of February that year. His services were then urgently demanded for the Irish Mission.

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”.

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

Waters, George F, 1853-1888, Jesuit scholastic

  • IE IJA J/438
  • Person
  • 03 October 1853-12 November 1888

Born: 03 October 1853, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 12 November 1884, Loyola House, Dromore, County Down
Died: 12 November 1888, Canary Islands, Spain

Part of the Leuven Belgium community at the time of death

by 1888 at Leuven Belgium (BELG) studying

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Son of Judge Waters.

He studied Rhetoric at Milltown and Philosophy at Louvain.
His health was failing, so he was sent to the Canary Islands, where he died 12 November 1888.

Warner, John, 1628-1692, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2232
  • Person
  • 1628-21 November 1692

Born: 1628, Warwickshire, England
Entered: 30 December 1662, Watten, Belgium - Angliae Province (ANG)
Ordained: 1653 pre entry
Died: 21 November 1692, St Germain-en-Laye, France - Angliae Province (ANG)

Son of Robert of Ratley, Warwickshire

Father Provincial of English Province (ANG) 1679-1683

◆ MacErlean Cat Miss HIB SJ 1670-1770
Came with four others (Charles Petre, Joseph Plowden, Andrew Poulton and Matthew Wright) in 1689-1690 and was a Missioner in Ireland, Fr Warner as Confessor, the others in schools, and preaching in the country

◆ The English Jesuits 1650-1829 Geoffrey Holt SJ : Catholic Record Society 1984
1687 College of St Ignatius (Royal Chaplain)
1688 London then Maidstone prison then St Germain
1689 Ireland

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
WARNER, JOHN, of Warwickshire: after teaching Philosophy and Divinity in the English College at Douay, and publishing under the name of Jonas Thamon, the refutation of the Errors of Thomas White in a 4to Vol. intitled “Vindicicae Censurae Duacenae” 1661, he embraced the pious Institute of St. Ignatius, towards the end of December, 1663. For four years he was Professor of Theology at Liege : was then sent to the English Mission, whence he was recalled to be Rector of Liege, in 1678. On the 4th of December, the year following, he was declared successor to the martyred Provincial F. Whitbread, (alias Harcourt.) He assisted in that capacity at the l2th General Congregation of the Society at Rome, which began its Sessions on the 21st of June, 1682, and concluded on the 6th of September, that year. On this occasion he supplied to F. Matthias Tanner copious materials for his “Brevis Relatio” a work so often referred to in these pages. This fact is distinctly stated by F. Henry Sheldon, to the General Charles de la Noyelle in the year 1700, where speaking of F. M. Tanner literary labors, he says “adjutus maxime a P. Joanne Warner Provinciale Angliae, cum simul Congregationi XII Romae intercssent”. At the expiration of his triennial Government the Ex Provincial was named Rector of St. Omer’s College. Towards the end of December, 1684, a fire broke out in the night which consumed the greater part of the College; but as the Annual Letters state “nemo adolescentium qui istic non exiguo numero supra 180 litteris operam dant, in summa consternatione ac perturbatione, detrimentum quid piam ab improvisa flamma passus est quod singulari Deipae, cut illi devotissimi sunt, Patrocinio adscribitur”. The Rector exerted himself wonderfully in its Restoration : he had the comfort and delight of witnessing its rapid resurrection like the Phenix from its ashes in every respect more commodious and splendid than before “novum jam Collegium multo splcndidus, multoque commodius est excitatum”. Ann. Litt.
In the course of the year 1686, King James II selected F. Warner for his Confessor : and he could not have chosen a man of more integrity, moderation and prudence, and more averse to political intrigue. When the Revolution burst into a conflagration, F. Warner was exposed to imminent danger. He was twice a prisoner, 1st. at Gravesend, then at Maidstone; and would have been consigned to the Tower if a nobleman had not managed under a forged Pass, to convey him safely abroad. Rejoining the King in France, he afterwards accompanied his Majesty to Ireland, and finally to St. Germain, where he died on the 2nd of November, 1692, aet. 61. “maximumque sui desiderium el Serenissimo Regi et toti Aulae reliquit."
Whilst a Jesuit, this learned Divine published a Treatise entitled

  1. “Stillingfleet still against Stillingfleet, or the examination of Dr. Stillingfleet against Dr. S. examined” By I. W. 8vo. 1675, pp.279.
  2. “A Revision of Dr. George Morlei s Judgment in matters of Religion, or an answer to several Treatises written by him upon several occasions, concerning the Church of Rome, and most of the Doctrines controverted betwixt her and the Church of England. To which is annext a Treatise on Pagan Idolatry”. 4to. 1683, pp. 286.
    From p. 129, to the end of the work is in Latin.
  3. “Ecclesiae Primitivae Clericus”. 4to. 1686, pp. 233. A luminous and valuable work. Whilst it inspires in Priests a love of their holy vocation, it encourages peace, kindness and concord amongst all ranks of the Clergy, Secular and Regular. “Reddat nobis Dominus omnibus labium electum, ut invcemus omncs in nomine Dei et scrviamus in Humero Uno”. Sophoniae, iii. 9.
  4. His last work “A Defence of the Doctrine and Holy Rites of the Roman Catholic Church, from the Calumnies and Cavils of Dr. Burnett’s Mystery of Iniquity unveiled”. The 2nd Edition, with a Postscript to Dr. R. Cudworth, appeared in 1688, London. 8vo. pp. 323.

Ward, John, 1704-1775, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2229
  • Person
  • 02 February 1704-12 October 1775

Born: 02 February 1704, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 28 October 1725, Madrid, Spain - Toletanae Province (TOLE)
Ordained: 1734, Murcia, Spain
Final Vows: 24 February 1742, Clonmel
Died: 12 October 1775, Dublin City, County Dublin

Superior of Mission 1760-1773

1768-1770 Superior of Ireland (Arch Ir Coll Rom XIX 97,102)
“Method” (ie of conversing with God) translated by Fr Ward SJ was published again by P Wogan 1799 at Dublin, and an irish version of it in Maynooth (Vol 97) “Mod labartha le Dia, Aistrighe ón Fraincis le PW do choimthinól Iosa”. Clodbualite le P Vhogán a m-Ath Cliatrh 1799. Iar n-a chur Ó Saxbeurla a nGaoildelg le Micheál Ó Longain is an mbliain 1834 (p815 Foley)

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
1736/8 Sent to Ireland
1752/5 Superior of Dublin Residence and Preacher
1768-1773 Superior of Irish Mission. He received Fr Betagh’s Final Vows. With General Ricci’s permission, he sent a considerable sum of money to relieve the Italian Fathers at the Suppression. Cardinal Marefoschi tried in vain to arrest him and obtain his money, which he had held for Irish ex-Jesuits. (cf Father Bracken’s MS. Hist., and Thorpe’s Letters)
Probably the author of “Method of Conversing with God” Translated from the French by John Ward.
Writer; Superior of Mission; Taught Philosophy in Dublin for two years

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Had studied Humanities at the Dublin Jesuit School before Ent 28 October 1725 Madrid
1727-1734 After First Vows he was sent for studies to Murcia where he was Ordained 1734
1734-1738 After a year of Tertianship he taught Philosophy at Palencia
1738 Sent to Ireland and Dublin where he taught at the Jesuit School and gave classes in Philosophy after the death of Canon John Harold
He succeeded Stephen Ussher as Superior of the Dublin Residence and was Consultor of the Mission for many years.
1760 Superior of Irish Mission. It was the time when the enemies of the Society were uniting their forces to procure its extinction. His advice to his companions was “God tries his elect, as gold in the furnace, and in this manner finds them worthy of Himself”. He was the last Superior of the Irish Mission when the Society was suppressed, and was one of the signatories of the acceptance of the Papal Bull of Suppression 07 February 1774.
Like many other Jesuits of the day, they were convinced of the innocence of the Society, and also that it would some day be restored. During the remainder of his life he was trustee of the ex-Jesuit funds which were carefully administered in the hope that they might help the Mission when restored at some future date.
He died at Dublin 12 October 1775

◆ 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 yopu 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.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ The Irish Jesuits Vol 1 1962

John Ward (1760-1774)

John Ward was born at Dublin on 2nd February, 1704. Having studied humanities at the Society's College of Dublin, he went to Spain, and entered the Novitiate of Madrid on 28th October, 1725. In 1727 he was sent to the College of Murcia, where he made his simple vows as a scholastic on 1st November, 1727, and spent the next eight years of his life at philosophy and theology and his tertianship. He was Professor of Philosophy in the College of Plasencia from 1735 to 1730, when he returned to Ireland. He was stationed in Dublin, and engaged in teaching Latin and philosophy in our college in that city. On 24th February, 1742, he made his solemn profession of four vows in the Jesuit church at Clonmel. He was Superior of the Dublin Residence and Consultor of the Mission for many years. He was appointed Superior of the Mission about the beginning of the year 1760. It was a time when the enemies of the Society were uniting their forces to procure its extinction. Fr Ward's advice to his subjects was: “God tries his elect, as gold in the furnace, and in this manner finds then worthy of Himself”. He was still Superior of the Mission when the blow fell, and he submitted himself to the Papal Brief, and subscribed a document, signed on 7th February, 1774, by the members of the Society in Dublin, accepting the Pope's decision. Conscious of the innocence of the Society, Fr Ward and the other Irish Fathers were convinced that the Society would one day be restored, and in that hope they resolved to save what they could until such time as the Holy See would re-incorporate them. Fr Ward was appointed trustee by his companions, but he did not survive long, for he died at Dublin on 12th October, 1775.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father John Ward 1704-1775
Fr John Ward was the last Superior of the Mission before the Suppression of the Society, ending a line which began with Fr Christopher Holywood, and numbering 32 Superiors, some holding office for a second time.

He was educated at our College in Dublin, where he was born in 1704. His studies were completed in Spain, where he entered the Society at Madrid in 1725.

Returning to Ireland in 1738, he taught Latin and Philosophy in our Dublin school. After being Superior of the Dublin Residence for many years, he was made Superior of the Mission in 1760, a post which he held for fourteen years.

Convinced that the Society would be restored, he, together with the remaining Irish Fathers, resolved to save whatever possessions they had. Fr Ward was appointed Trustee, but he died soon after in Dublin, on October 12th 1775.

To him is attribute the translation of a work in French, entitled “A Method of Conversing with God”.

◆ MacErlean Cat Miss HIB SJ 1670-1770
Loose Note : John Ward Mission Superior
Those marked with
were working in Dublin when on 07 February 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
WARD, JOHN, born in the County of Dublin, in 1705; at the age of 19, and on the 18th of October, 1724, entered the Society in the Province of Toulouse; was admitted to the solemn Profession of his Order, on the 24th of February, 1742. I find by the catalogue of 1755, that he had been on the Mission then for the last seventeen years, and was Superior of his Brethren in Dublin. Obit 12th of October, 1775.

Walsh, Richard FitzRobert, 1582-1644, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2224
  • Person
  • 1582-13 March 1644

Born: 1582, Waterford City, County Waterford
Entered: 20 April 1599, Santiago de Compostella, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: 1607, Valladolid, Spain
Final Vows: 06 April 1614
Died: 13 March 1644, Waterford Residence, Waterford City, County Waterford

Educated at Irish College Douai, studying Philosophy and Theology
1606-1607 At Valladolid College Age 23 Soc 7 (Rector was Luis de la Puente, and William Morgan was also there)
1611 At Salamanca Professor of Arts Age 30 Soc 12
1614 At Logroño College Age 38 Soc 16
1617 “Valesius” in CAST age 35 Soc 19
1619 At Burgos CAST Age 38 Soc 20
1625 At Ávila College Age 42 Soc 24. professor of Philosophy and Preacher in Spain
1637 Good in all - fit to preach or be Superior
A letter from Richard Walsh SJ to Fr Luke Wadding November 1642 may be seen in Franciscan MS p78 (says he was Soc 24)
Was he a fellow novice of Dominic Collins?

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronolgica” :
Brother of Dr Thomas Walshe, Archbishop of Cashel, and was born at the time when his parents were imprisoned for the faith
1617 In CAST and a distinguished Preacher (Irish Ecclesiastical Record August 1874)
He is honourably mentioned in a letter from James Comerford, dated Madrid 21 September 1607 (Oliver, Stonyhurst MSS)
Father St Leger says he was celebrated as a Preacher in Spain and Ireland

Note from Bl Dominic Collins Entry
About a year after he arrived in Spain, he met Fr Thomas White, Rector of Salamanca, and by his advice entered the Society. Two of his fellow novices were Richard Walsh and John Lee

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Robert and Anastatia née Strong. Elder Brother of Archbishop Thomas Walshe of Cashel
1601-1607 After First Vows he was sent for Philosophy to Compostella and then for Theology to St Ambrose, Valladolid where he was Ordained 1607
1607-1613 After his studies he was sent to teach Philosophy at the Royal College Salamanca.
1613-1623 It was noticed that he possessed a special aptitude for preaching and he was now assigned to that ministry which he exercised successively at Logroño, Burgos, Pamplona and Ávila. He became known to court circles but was warned by the General that his proper vocation was teaching or preaching and not political intervention for his country.
In 1624/25, Walshe corresponded with the celebrated Franciscan, Luke Wadding whom he asked to use his influence to have him received into the Franciscan Order where he could help his country, something he could not do in the Society. Wadding's replies letters Walshe have not survived, nor is there any evidence that Wadding betrayed to the General the confidences of Walsh but he could quite honourably have suggested to the General that Spain was no place for the Waterford Jesuit.
1626 Sent to Ireland and Waterford and became Superior of the Residence in 1641, and died in Office 13 March 1644

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
WALSH, RICHARD. In a letter of F. James Quemerford, dated Madrid, the 28th of September, 1607, I read “F. Richard Walsh hath ended his studies, and is gone to his third Probation : it is likely he shall begin a course of Philosophie in the Seminarie of Salamanca, if the Spaniards prevaile not, that procured to have him for themselves. The Englishe of Valladolid hath sought him, and many others cast an eye upon him. I hope such as need him most, and unto whom he may doe the greater good, shall have him. He was liken to go with F. Padilla to Rome, and he was appointed for it; but the Spaniards fearing our F. Generall, if he did once see him, could not suffer him to com back to Spaine, stayed him”. I meet with this Father at Waterford in April, 1642, in a declining and hopeless state of health.

Walsh, James, 1646-1695, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2220
  • Person
  • 19 March 1646-02 January 1695

Born: 19 March 1646, County Dublin
Entered: 07 January 1671, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: Salamanca - pre Entry
Final Vows: 02 February 1682
Died: 02 January 1695, Bilbao, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

Had studied 3 years Philosophy before Ent
1675 At Compostella teaching Grammar and Philosophy - talented teacher
1678 At Monreal “ing-opt”
1681-1685 At Pamplona - a talent for teaching Theology. Has taught Grammar, Philosophy and Theology (Moral and Scholastic). Progress in preaching.
1690 Was Rector at Salamanca and taught Theology

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Patrick and Isabel née Russel
He had made Priestly studies and Santiago and Salamanca and was ordained at Salamanca before Ent 07 January 1671 Villagarcía
1673-1677 After First Vows he was sent to teach Philosophy at Irish College Santiago
1677-1678 Sent to teach Philosophy for a year at Monterey
1679-1686 Sent to teach Dogmatic Theology at Pamplona
1686-1692 Rector Irish College Salamanca, and held Office for six years until his health determined he should relinquish it.
1692 Sent to Bilbao to teach Moral Theology and he died there 02 January 1695

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
WALSH, JAMES Another Father of this name was living at Compostella, in 1686.

Walsh, James, 1582/3-1636, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2219
  • Person
  • 1582/3-06 March 1636,

Born: 1582/3, County Waterford
Entered: 1628, - Castellanae Province, Spain (CAST)
Died: 06 March 1636, Huesca, Aragon, Spain - - Castellanae Province, Spain (CAST)

1617 “James Waleus” in CAST Age 35 Soc 15
1618 Prof 4 Vows, teaching or taught Philosophy 3 years
1619 At Compostella
1622-1625 At Oviedo College CAST teaching Philosophy and Moral Theology
1628-1633 At Compostella Minister Age 45 Soc 27. Fit to teach and preach (1633 Age 54)
1637 Is declared good in all and fit to teach Philosophy
Also stated in Catalogue that O Valle died in 1628
O Valle was Superior if Irish College St Iago in 1628 (cf letters in Franciscan Archives Dublin under word “Compostella” (Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” 35)

Walsh, Edward, 1605-1640, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2216
  • Person
  • 1605-26 August 1640

Born: 1605, County Waterford
Entered: 1625, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: c 1633, Valladolid, Spain
Died: 26 August 1640, León, Spain (in transit to Ireland) - Castellanae Province (CAST)

1628 At Compostella Age 22 Soc 3. Best talent, read a distinguished course in Logic
1633 At Salamanca 3 year Theology Age 26 Soc 8
1639 At Irish College Salamanca Age 32 Soc 15. Lectures in Controversies - appears to have succeeded Fr Sherlock in this chair. Very proficient with a talent for Preaching.

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
1634 In CAST (Irish Ecclesiastical Record August 1874)
1639 Professor of Controversies at Salamanca, succeeding Paul Sherlock

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
1627-1633 After First Vows he was sent for Philosophy to Compostella and then for Theology to St Ambrose, Valladolid where he was Ordained c 1633
1633-1640 After studies he taught Humanities at Medina del Campo and was then sent to Irish College Salamanca to hold a Chair in Controversial Theology. He was regarded as a scholar of excellent ability.
1640 He was sent to Ireland, but died at León in the journey 26 August 1640

Wall, James, 1586-1640, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2214
  • Person
  • 1586-18 November 1640

Born: 1586, Waterford City, County Waterford
Entered: 23 April 1601, Oviedo, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: c 1611 Salamanca, Spain
Final Vows: 18 February 1618
Died: 18 November 1640, Waterford residence, Waterford City, County Waterford

Alias Wale

1617 “James Waleus” in CAST Age 35 Soc 15
1618 Prof 4 Vows, teaching or taught Philosophy 3 years
1619 At Compostella
1622-1625 At Oviedo College CAST teaching Philosophy and Moral Theology
1628-1633 At Compostella Minister Age 45 Soc 27. Fit to teach and preach (1633 Age 54)
1637 Is declared good in all and fit to teach Philosophy
Also stated in Catalogue that O Valle died in 1628
O Valle was Superior of Irish College St Iago in 1628 (cf letters in Franciscan Archives Dublin under word “Compostela” (Cat Chrn 35)

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
He was a learned and hardworking Missioner;
1617 Was in Spain (Irish Ecclesiastical Record)
1622 Came to Ireland
In Spain was known as “Diego Ovalle” (cf Foley’s Collectanea)
Came to Ireland eventually with a broken constitution, and after a few years service died in Waterford 18 November 1640. Irish Mission Superior Robert Nugent, in a letter 22 September 1640 praises him for his integrity, learning and zeal. A beautiful sketch is written of his life by Fr Yong, his director (Oliver, Stonyhurst MSS)
There is at St Isidore’s Rome a letter from Diego Ovalle to Luke Wadding

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Richard and Margaret née Lynet
Probably studied for a short time at Salamanca before Ent 23 April 1601 CAST
1603-1611 After First Vows he was sent for studies first to Compostella and then Royal College Salamanca where he was Ordained c 1611
1612-1616 After Ordination he taught Latin at the Irish College Salamanca
1618-1621 Sent to Irish College Santiago to teach Philosophy
1621-1633 Sent to teach Moral Theology first at Oviedo, then Salamanca and then Santiago. During these years he frequently helped out the Missions staff of his Province or worked in the local Church
1634 Sent to Ireland and Waterford, and he worked as Operarius until his death there 18 November 1640

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
WALLE, JAMES, returned to Ireland from Spain with a broken constitution, and after a few years service, died in November, 1640. F. Robert Nugent, in a letter of the 22nd of November that year, eulogizes this Father for his integrity, learning, and zeal.

Wadding, Thomas, 1594-1615, Jesuit scholastic

  • IE IJA J/2211
  • Person
  • 1594-18 November 1615

Born: 1594, Waterford City, County Waterford
Entered: 05 April 1610, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Died: 18 November 1615, St Ambrose College, Valladolid, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

Son of Thomas and his 2nd wife Anastatia née Devereux. Brother of Luke, half-Brother of Walter Michael and Peter. 1st Cousin of Ambrose and Luke OFM

Fr St Leger in his sketch of Dr Walsh Archbishop of Cashel says there were 5 brothers of the Waddings “fratres germani” : Walter, Peter, Thomas, Daniel and Luke (Thomas is said to have entered round same time as his brother Luke - in Novitiate at Villagarcía together, but Thomas is year later)
1614 At Valladolid studying Age 20 Soc 4

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
One of five brothers who Ent Society according to St Leger’s Life of Dr Walsh

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Thomas and his 2nd wife Anastatia née Devereux. Brother of Luke, half-Brother of Walter Michael and Peter. 1st Cousin of Ambrose and Luke OFM
Had begun his studies at Irish College Salamanca 04 August 1609, before Ent 05 April 1610 Villagarcía - the same days as his brother Luke
1612 After First Vows he was sent to Valladolid for studies in Philosophy, which he completed, but died there a Scholastic 18 November 1615

Wadding, Michael, 1587-1644, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2209
  • Person
  • 1587-12 December 1644

Born: 1587, Waterford
Entered: 1609, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: c 1619, Mexico
Final Vows: 12 April 1626
Died: 12 December 1644, College of SS Pedro and Pablo, Mexico City, Mexico

Alias Godinez

Son of Thomas and his 1st wife Mary née Walsh. Brother of Walter and Peter. Half Brother of Luke and Thomas. 1st Cousin of Ambrose and Luke OFM

William Browne was his cousin and possibly Ignatius Browne as well (acc to Edmund Hogan)
1614 Has finished Philosophy and is in Mexico. Has taught Grammar in College of Mexico. Strong constitution.
1617 In Mexico Age 26 Soc 8

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Went to Mexico 1605; Professor of Rhetoric, Philosophy, Theology and Scripture; Missioner in Cinaloa; Rector of various Colleges; Writer on Mystical Theology; An extempore Latin Poet; A Spiritual Director of many souls eminent for sanctity.
A Priest of extraordinary holiness.
(In pen) By 1614 was in College of Mexico, had finished Philosophy, taught Grammar for two years and was strong.
1617 Was at Mechelen (Irish Ecclesiastical Record August 1874; de Backer “Biblioth. des Écrivains SJ”) (cf Dr P Powers Waterford Saints pp32-38)

◆ Fr John McErlean SJ :
1610 Set sail for Mexico as a Novice, and once there adopted the name “Godinez”
1619-1626 Worked as a missioner in the remote Province of Sinaloa, with as many as 5,400 Indians under his care
1626 Ordered by Fr General to recuperate, and was appointed Rector successively of the S Geronimo College at La Puebla de los Angeles (Puebla), S Ildefonso at Mexico City, Guatemala College, Mexico (now Guatemala), Oaxaca, Mexico and S Ildefonso at La Puebla de los Angeles (Puebla).
Zealous missioner and successful administrator, but also a saintly man demonstrated in his celebrated work on Mystical Theology

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Thomas and his 1st wife Mary née Walsh. Brother of Walter and Peter. Half Brother of Luke and Thomas. 1st Cousin of Ambrose and Luke OFM
A year after Entry at Villagarcía he set sail as a Novice for Mexico. Once he arrived in Mexico, he adopted the Spanish name “Godinez” for his surname.
1619-1626 After Ordination c 1618 he was sent to Sinaloa, northwest Mexico, where he had as many as 5,400 Christian Indians under his care.
1626 Worn out by his labours, he was recalled by order of the General in 1626 to recuperate his strength
Later he was appointed Rector of S Geronimo at La Puebla de los Angeles, then S Ildefonso at Mexico City, then Guatemala College, Mexico (now Guatemala), and Oaxaca College, Mexico.
Finally he died at the College of San Pedro and San Pablo Mexico City 1644
A successful missionary and administrator, he wrote a celebrated treatise on Mystical Theology

◆ Royal Irish Academy : Dictionary of Irish Biography, Cambridge University Press online :
Wadding, Michael
by Terry Clavin

Wadding, Michael (1591–1644), catholic missionary and mystic, was the son of Thomas Wadding of Waterford city and his wife, Mary Walsh. Thomas was a successful lawyer who served as chief justice of Tipperary and as mayor of Waterford in 1596, and provided legal advice to Sir George Carew (qv), lord president of Munster. He was a staunch catholic and his houses in Waterford city and in King's Meadow, Co. Waterford, acted as sanctuaries for priests. Inspired by the suffering and labours of these priests, Michael appears to have been set from an early age on a career in the clergy. About 1605 Michael went to the Irish college at Lisbon where he studied for two years, before joining the Irish seminary at Salamanca in September 1607. However, he left the seminary to join the Society of Jesus at Villagarcia on 15 April 1609. There he became a disciple of the renowned theologian and mystic Father Suarez. Wadding quickly decided he wanted to become a missionary in Mexico. On 15 May 1610 he was granted permission to do so, and he travelled to Mexico later the same year. He changed his name to Miguel Godinez, most likely for the convenience of his Spanish colleagues.

In Mexico he continued his studies and in 1612 he became professor in the college of Mexico. In 1618 he was sent on the mission to Sinaloa, a province on the extreme western coast of Mexico, facing the Gulf of California. Over the next eight years he endured an extremely harsh environment and the hostility to Christianity of many of the local tribes. On two occasions he had to flee for his life and he witnessed the death of two Jesuit colleagues and his own servant boy at the hands of the natives. After 1624 a plague wreaked havoc in the region and the missionaries were preoccupied mainly with tending to the sick and dying. He was particularly impressed by the spirituality of his fellow missionaries, and how many of them had ecstatic spiritual experiences during their period in the wilderness. Despite all the difficulties, he enjoyed some success and is credited with converting the Basiroas tribe. He was recalled from the mission soon after making his final profession of the four vows at Jepotzolan in Sinaloa on 12 April 1626.

By the year's end he was acting as professor of philosophy in the seminary at St Ildefonso at Puebla de los Angeles. Thereafter he appears as rector of the Jesuit college of Guatemala (1638) and as rector of the college of Puebla de los Angelus (1640). While he was teaching theology, he compiled his Treatise on mystic theology, which was based mainly on his experiences in Sinaloa. In Mexico he was widely regarded as a holy man and was distinguished for his knowledge of mystic theology. His Treatise was eventually published in 1681 and went through ten editions. Wadding died in Mexico 18 December 1644.

Edmund Hogan, ‘Worthies of Waterford and Tipperary’ in Waterford ASJ, no. 4 (1898), 73–82; Catholic Encyclopaedia (1913), xv, 524–5; P. Power, Waterford saints and scholars (1920), 32-8

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 2nd Year No 1 1926

Three centuries ago (1626) Fr Michael Wadding took the vows of the Society in Mexico. He was born in Waterford, and was a cousin of the famous Franciscan, Fr. Luke Wadding. He had two brothers Jesuits who won lasting reputations in some of the leading Universities of Europe.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father Michael Wadding 1587-1644
Michael Wadding was one of the celebrated Wadding family of Waterford. He is better known by his Spanish name, Michael Godinez. In fulfillment of his father’s dying wish, he set out with his brothers Ambrose and Luke for the continent, where he entered the Irish College at Lisbon. He became a Jesuit in 1609.

After eleven months noviceship at Villagarcia, where he became acquainted with the great Suarez, he volunteered for the then most arduous Mission, the Indians of Mexico. Here he laboured with zeal, amid incredible hardships, crossing the mountains by perilous paths, trudging with knap-sack on back, and parched with thirst over burning plains, swimming rivers, encountering wild beasts and wilder men, the saintly Jesuit carried the Gospel to the barbarian tribes. He saw two of his companions transfixed with arrows and a third clubbed to death.

His efforts met with miraculous success. |There was no single year in my time” he says, “in which the number of baptised pagans was less than 5,000. Some years it was over 10,000, and in the year 1624, the whole Province contained 62,000, and some time after 120,000 converts to Christianity”.

It was the sun baked solitude of blistering plains, in the gorges of might mountains and in the gloom of forests, where the feet of a European had never trodden, that Michael thought out the material which later he embodied in his “Theologica Mystica”. This book, which was written in Spanish, almost equalled the Imitation in popularity. It went into numberless editions, was translated into Latin and other European tongues, and for two centuries enjoyed a great reputation as a standard work on the spiritual life.

In 1616 he became Professor of Philosophy at the Seminary of St Idelfonso at Pueblo de los Angeles, in 1638 the Rector of the College of Guatemala, in 1640 Rector of Pueblo de los Angeles.

On September 12th 1644 he died in Mexico, with the reputation of a great saint and a great mystic.

Wadding, Luke, 1593-1652, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2208
  • Person
  • 1593-10 January 1652

Born: 1593, Waterford City, County Waterford
Entered: 05 April 1610, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: c 1618, Salamanca, Spain
Final Vows: 16 October 1626
Died: 10 January 1652, Imperial College, Madrid, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

Alias Gaudin

Son of Thomas and his 2nd wife Anastatia née Devereux. Brother of Thomas, half-Brother of Walter, Michael and Peter. 1st Cousin of Ambrose and Luke OFM

1619 at Monforte College teaching Latin
1625 At Valladolid Age 32 Soc 15. Teaching Grammar and Philosophy. Talent very good for teaching. Would be a good Superior
1626 In Spain. Prof 4 Vows. Talent, judgement and proficiency very good. A talent for teaching and government. Taught Philosophy and Theology
1633 At Salamanca Age 39 Soc 22 teaching Theology
1636-1639 At Valladolid teaching Philosophy and Theology
1642-1645 At Salamanca teaching Theology. Possesses excellent talent and judgement with much character and piety. Highly qualified to teach Theology. Has a talent for giving advice and transacting business. I believe a very good man to be a Superior. by 1645 has been Prefect of Studies.
1649 At Imperial College Madrid. Teaching Moral and “los estudios Reales”
In Waterford College there is a “Tirinus” with “Es de la Mission de Irlanda applicole con licencia de NP Geberal et Lucas Guadin SJ”

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
A Writer; One of the Wadding brothers SJ; Rector of Burgos; Prefect of Irish Mission; Professor of Theology at Salamanca, Valladolid and Madrid; A most distinguished man “quem summis aequiparare possis” (Litt Anuae Prov of Toledo); Ninve Volumes of his Theological MSS are preserved at Salamanca (Foley’s "Collectanea")
1617 In CAST (Irish Ecclesiastical Record, August 1874)
1642 At Salamanca, and Robert Nugent Irish Mission Superior in a letter of 24 April 1642 asks General Vitelleschi for his and his brother Peter’s services in Ireland, and again in another letter of 28 February 1643 (Oliver Stonyhurst MSS).
RIP 31 December 1650 or 01 January 1651. His death is alluded to in a letter or report of Fr Christopher Mendoza, Madrid 1675, as having occurred at St George’s College Madrid, but without date (cf Richard Cardwell’s transcripts of MSS SJ in the “Archives de l’État”, Brussels, Stonyhurst MSS)
“The Supreme Council of Ireland, to Fr Luke Wadding, of the Society of Jesus in Spain 28 June 1643 : Reverend Father, wee have sent back Father Talbot into Spain, to render humble and hearty thanks to his Catholicke Majesty fr the great affection he bears to our cause and nacion; and wee have authorised you as by our severall commissions you will finde to agitat our affairs as well at Courte as with the Prelates and Clergie of Spaine. We know your zeal to the cause and the care you have of your countrye” (Hogan)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Thomas and his 2nd wife Anastatia née Devereux. Brother of Thomas, half-Brother of Walter Michael and Peter. 1st Cousin of Ambrose and Luke OFM
Apparently he left Ireland as a young boy, and he had already studied Humanities at St Patrick’s Lisbon, and he had started Priestly studies at Salamanca 15 September 1608 before Ent 06 April 1610 Villagarcía the same day as his brother Thomas
1612-1619 After First Vows 06 April 1612 he was sent for studies to Royal College Salamanca and was Ordained there c 1618
1619-1622 He then taught Classics and later Philosophy and Theology for three years at Monforte
1622-1624 Taught Philosophy at Compostela
1625-1640 First teacher of Theology at St Ambrose, Valladolid
1640-1647 Teaching Theology at Royal College Salamanca
1647-1652 Teaching Theology at Imperial College Madrid (TOLE) where he died 10 January 1652
The Superior of the Irish Mission wanted to have Luke sent back to Ireland but the Spaniards refused to part with a scholar of his brilliance. Luke himself never lost interest in the Mission and was able to assist it with alms from friends in Spain
On the outbreak of the war in Ireland in 1641, he was able to counter the misrepresentations of the origin of the war circulated at the Spanish court by the English Jesuit, Thomas Babthorpe
He was also a Writer.

◆ Royal Irish Academy : Dictionary of Irish Biography, Cambridge University Press online :
Note from Paul Sherlock (Sherlog) Entry
In April 1642 and again in February 1643, Robert Nugent, superior of the Jesuits in Ireland, wrote to the general of the order, Viteilleshi, requesting the return to Ireland of Sherlock and another Irish Jesuit, Luke Wadding (a professor at Salamanca and cousin of the Franciscan Luke Wadding (qv) (1588–1657)), declaring both priests to be ‘absolutely necessary to this mission’ (Grogan, 94). Neither priest returned.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father Luke Wadding 1593-1651
Fr Luke Wadding was a cousin of Fr Ambrose Wadding SJ, and of Luke, the glory of the Franciscan order. The Jesuit Luke Wadding was born in Waterford in 1593, of which city his father, Thomas Wadding, was Mayor in 1596. In 1610 Luke Wadding entered the Jesuit noviciate at Villagarcia Spain, joining his younger brother Michael, who had entered the year before, and was followed the year after by his brother Thomas.

Fr Luke spent all his life in Spain, teaching Humanities and professing Philosophy and Theology in the various Colleges and Universities. In spite of repeated appeals by the Mission Superior Robert Nugent, he was never allowed back to work in Ireland. However, like his celebrated cousin, the Franciscan, he worked on behalf of the Irish cause on the continent. According to Richard Bellings “Fr James Talbot OSA and Fr Luke Wadding SJ, Professor of Divinity at Salamanca, procured 20,000 crowns for the Irish cause”.

He died in Madrid on 30th December 1651. In 1648 he had acted as Prefect of the Irish Mission, having under his charge the Irish Jesuit Colleges in Spain and Portugal, and in general to transact the business of the Jesuits in Ireland.

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
WADDING, LUKE, (brother to F. Peter Wadding ) was a native of Waterford, and of a Family fruitful in great men. F. Luke was living at Salamanca, and his brother Peter in Bohemia, in the year 1642. On the 24th of April, that year, the Superior of the Irish Mission, F. Robert Nugent, applied to the General Vitelleschi for the benefit of their services at home. In a letter of the 28th of February, 1643, he repeated his anxious wish for their return, “in Missione hac omnino neccssarii sunt”; but it is certain that the petition could not be granted.

Wadding, Ambrose, 1583-1619, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2207
  • Person
  • 24 February 1583-22 January 1619

Born: 24 February 1583, Waterford City, County Waterford
Entered: 11 January 1605, St Andrea, Rome, Italy - Romanae Province (ROM)
Ordained: c 1611, Ingolstadt, Germany
Died: 22 January 1619, Dilingen, Bavaria, Germany - Germanicae Superiors Province (GER SUP)

Brother of Luke OFM; 1st Cousin of Walter, Michael, Peter, Luke and Thomas

Alias Gaudinus

Had studied 2 years Philosophy before Entry
1607-1611 At Ingolstadt studying Theology. Repetitor Metaphysicorum in Boarding School. Socius to Fr Hoiss. President of the Major Congregation of BVM
1611 Age 28 Soc 6
1612-1619 At Dilingen teaching Physics, Logic, Ethics, Metaphysics and Hebrew. Confessor inchoarum. “Hypocauste” BV at Boarding School. Catechist of the Philosophers and Rhetoricians. Finished studies in 1612 but did not go to Tertianship because he could not be spared

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Elder brother of Luke OSF
An officer in early life.
1617 in Bavaria (Irish Ecclesiastical Record, August 1874)
A man of great talents and virtue; Writer; A perfect religious; Very devout to the Blessed Sacrament; Knew “Imitation” by heart;
Professor of Philosoophy; Director and Professor of Moral Theology to 150 religious of various Orders at Dilingen (1611-1619); Superior of the Convictus of St Jerome.
About ten writings of his were published at Dilingen in 1312 and 1613.
Named in a letter of Christopher Holiwood alias Thomas Lawndry, Irish Mission Superior of 04/11/1611
(Cf Sketch of this most distinguished man in “Hist. Prov. Super. Germaniae SJ” and in de Backer’s “Biblioth des Écrivains SJ”)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Walter and Anastatia née Lombard. Brother of Luke OFM. 1st Cousin of Walter, Michael, Peter, Luke and Thomas
Had already studied two years Philosophy at Salamanca before Ent 11 January 1605 Rome
1607-1611 After First Vows he was sent to Ingolstadt for studies and was Ordained there by 1611.
1611 From the end of his formation he held a Chair of Philosophy at Dilingen until his death there 22 January 1619
Father Holywood tried to get the General to have him sent to Ireland in 1616, but Wadding's services were deemed urgently required at Dilingen.

◆ Royal Irish Academy : Dictionary of Irish Biography, Cambridge University Press online :
Wadding, Ambrose
by Terry Clavin

Wadding, Ambrose (1583–1619), Jesuit and university teacher, was born 24 February 1583, the son of Walter Wadding and his wife, Anastatia Lombard, both of Waterford. He was an older brother of the famous Franciscan Luke Wadding (qv). Following the deaths of both his parents in 1602, Ambrose left Waterford to study philosophy in the Irish college at Salamanca for a year or two, before joining the Spanish military. However, after narrowly escaping death during a naval battle, he decided to become a priest and eventually joined the Jesuits, entering the novitiate of San Andrea in Rome on 11 January 1605. He studied philosophy there for a year and in 1606–7 travelled to the University of Ingolstadt in Germany to study theology for four years. He demonstrated great piety and showed an aptitude for mathematics and other related subjects.

In 1610 he was repetitor of metaphysics in Ingolstadt and vice-president of the major congregation of the Blessed Virgin, and a year later he was superior of the clerics in the college. Having completed his theology studies, he was appointed professor of physics in the University of Dilingen, Germany, in 1612. Over the next few years he held various professorships in the university, before settling as professor of ethics and Hebrew from 1615. At Dilingen he also administered a nearby hostel, St Jerome's, which housed students from religious orders. In October 1616 the Irish Jesuits requested his transfer to Ireland, but the Jesuits at Dilingen blocked this, saying that he was too important. Always in poor health, he died 22 January 1619 at Dilingen, leaving behind nine printed philosophical theses and a manuscript on moral theology. His early death was mourned by his academic colleagues, who greatly admired him for his learning.

Edmund Hogan, ‘Worthies of Waterford and Tipperary’, Waterford and South-East Ireland Archaeological Society Journal, iv (1898), 3–13; P. Power, Waterford saints and scholars (17th century) (1920), 64–6

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father Ambrose Wadding SJ 1584-1619
Ambrose Wadding was the brother of the famous Franciscan Luke. His mother and father both died of the plague in 1602, and Ambrose was sent, by the direction of his dying father, to be admitted at the Irish College, Salamanca. He had some idea of entering the army or navy in Spain, but changed his mind and entered the Society at Rome in 1605, eight months before his brother Luke became a Franciscan.

He soon made his name for learning and holiness. All his life he spent as Professor, filling at various times the Chairs of Theology, Logic, Physics, Ethics and Hebrew at the University of Dilingen. He could not be spared for his tertianship.

In spite of valiant efforts on the part of Fr Holywood and his own ardent desires, he never returned to labour in Ireland..

He left behind his none philosophical treatises besides an MSS on Moral Theology, now in the Benecdictine Monastery of Engelberg,

He died on January 22nd 1619, at the early age of thirty-five.

Vincent, Richard, 1599-1630, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2206
  • Person
  • 1599-30 July 1630

Born: 1599, Fethard, County Tipperary
Entered: 1624/5, Tarragona, Spain - Aragonae Province (ARA)
Ordained: Salamanca - pre Entry
Died: 30 July 1630, College of Perpignan, France - Aragonae Province (ARA)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Peter and Cecilia née Everard
Had previously studied and was Ordained at Irish College Salamanca before Ent 1624/25 Tarragona
One of the very few Irishmen to join in ARA
1626-1627 After First Vows he was sent to Zaragoza for a year studying Theology
1627-1628 He was sent as Operarius at the Church of the Professed House in Valencia. He was anxious at this time to return to Ireland and the General was sympathetic to his request. But his health was deteriorating.
1628 Sent to Perpignan as Minister, but died of consumption there two years later 31 July 1630

Ussher, Stephen, 1701-1762, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2199
  • Person
  • 22 June 1701-10 January 1762

Born: 22 June 1701, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 09 November 1718, Bordeaux, France - Aquitaniae Province (AQUIT)
Ordained: 1731, Poitiers, France
Final Vows: 02 February 1736, Dublin
Died: 10 January 1762, Irish College, Poitiers, France - Aquitaniae Province (AQUIT)

Alias Nevill

Grandnephew of John Ussher - RIP 1698

Family had provided two Bishops in Ireland : Anglican Bishop Henry Ussher and Anglican Primate James Ussher

1720 First Vows 11 November 1720 at Pau AQUIT
1720-1723 Philosophy and Theology in AQUIT
1727 At Luçon Seminary under the name of “Neville” teaching Grammar, Humanities and Rhetoric
1727-1732 At Irish College Poitiers studying Theology and in charge of Boarders
1732-1733 Tertianship at Marennes AQUIT
1734-1745 Stephe Neville (vere Usher) is on Irish Mission. Usher is mentioned in Richard Kirwan’s letters (1750-1754) as at Poitiers. He also metions F Reilly and F Cahill as connected with that house.
1745-1751 Rector at Irish College Poitiers
1752 Rector At Irish College Rome
1755-1762 Rector Irish College Poitiers with Thomas Brennan Minister, Thomas Gorman Operarius and William Nowlan Temp Coadjutor

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Three Entries (1&2) Stephen Ussher; (3) Stephen Nevill

(1&2) Stephen Ussher
DOB Ireland; Ent c 1739 Rome or AQUIT (in pen); RIP 1762

1752 In Rome having come 16 October 1751 (in pen)

“Arret de la Cour” says : “Etienne Ussher of the Irish College, Poitiers, died February 10, 1762”

(1) Stephen Nevill
DOB probably Cork; Ent c 1720 AQUIT;

1728 AT Irish College Poitiers in 2nd year Divinity. (CAT of Irish College Poitiers)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
DOB 22 June 1701 Dublin; Ent 09/11/1718 Bordeaux; Ord 1731 Poitiers; RIP 10/01/1762 Poitiers

Son of Patrick and Elizabeth née Creagh (or Nulty?), and grandnephew of John

He had a classical education at Irish College Poitiers before Ent 09 November 1718 Bordeaux

1720-1733 After First Vows he was sent for studies to Pau. He then was sent for four years Regency to AQUIT Colleges, after which he was sent to Grand Collège Poitiers for Theology, and he was Ordained there 1731.
1733-1746 He was sent to Ireland and the Dublin Residence, becoming the Superior there in 1736. During this time he also served as a Curate at Mary's Lane Chapel.
1746-1751 Sent as Rector to Irish College Poitiers
1751-1754 Rector of Irish College Rome being replaced 14 June 1754
1754 Sent back to Poitiers to act as Rector again. He died in Office a few weeks before the dispersal of the community due to the dissolving of the Society in France 10 January 1762

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
USHER, STEPHEN. With regret I have to admit that I have barely recovered his name.

Ussher, John, 1613-1698, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2198
  • Person
  • 14 October 1613-14 December 1698

Born: 14 October 1613, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 23 October 1632, Tournai, Belgium - Belgicae Province (BELG)
Ordained: c 1638, Bourges, France
Final Vows: 14 October 1652
Died: 14 December 1698, Dublin Residence, Dublin City, County Dublin - Romanae Province

Alias Walterson
Granduncle of Stephen - RIP 1762
Grandnephew of Anglican Bishop Henry Ussher and second cousin of Anglican Primate James Ussher
(Coll HIB ROM XII 36); RIP 14 December 1698 Dublin
Parents William and Mary Kennedy (cf Memoirs of the Usher families” Rev William Wright, Dublin 1689)
Studied Grammar and Humanities in Dublin under Jesuits, and Philosophy at Douai
1636 At Bourges FRA studying Theology
1650 Catalogue Ent 1629 Taught Humanities and Philosophy. Age 37. Came to Mission in 1639 and now teaching Grammar
1655 At Irish College Seville (The Rector is Spanish). Master of Conferences
1666 Consult of Dublin Residence. Preaches often and administers the Sacraments. Imprisoned for 2 months. Exiled to Spain for 4 years. On Mission 27 years.
John Usher writes from Ossuna 09 May 1657 to Fr Young, Rector Irish College Rome and mentions Fr Quin’s imprisonment and desires to be remembered to Br Howyard, Richard Quin etc

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Cousin of Ignatius Gough and of James Ussher’s family
Early education was in Humanities and two years Philosophy before Ent, and then four years Theology in the Society.
Imprisoned and deported for the Catholic faith.
Taught Humanities for four years and Philosophy; Prefect of a Sodality and Prefect of Studies (HIB CATS - ARSI);
1649 At Kilkenny, aged 35 and 18 years in the Society,and was teaching Rhetoric (Oliver, Stonyhurst MSS)
1666 Living at Dublin Residence and a Consultor there, engaged in Preaching and administering the Sacraments.
After two months imprisonment he was deported to Spain for four years (HIB CAT 1666 - ARSI)
Ignorant of Irish language, as were three others of the eleven native Dublin Jesuits of his day

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Walter and Mary née Kenedy. Granduncle of Stephen.
Had received classical education at the Jesuit School Dublin and then Philosophy at Douai before Ent 23 October 1632 Tournai
1634-1638 After First Vows he was sent to Bourges for Theology and was Ordained there c 1638
1638-1654 He was then sent to Ireland and Kilkenny where he taught Humanities. He became a member of a group who defended the “Supreme Council” against the “censures” issued by the Nuncio Rinuccini.
1654-1658 After the fall of Kilkenny he found his way back to Dublin but was arrested and deported, 1654, to Spain. With William Malone he found refuge at the Irish College, Seville where Malone was appointed Rector and Ussher himself, Prefect of Studies. On the death of Malone he was appointed Rector but the local Provincial refused to carry out the orders of the General and intruded a Spaniard in Ussher's place.
1658 Ussher sent back to Ireland and worked in Galway until Restoration, after which he came back to Dublin, and where he held various posts over a long period of time : Socius to the Mission Superior; Consultor of the Mission; Procurator of the Mission. He died in Dublin 07 December 1698 and was buried in St. Catherine's churchyard.

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
USHER, JOHN. This Father was living in the early part of 1649, at Kilkenny : he was then 35 years old, of which he had spent 18 years in the Society. He was actually teaching Rhetoric. He was still living in the winter of 1663.

Tyrrey, Francis, 1610-1666, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2197
  • Person
  • 03 October 1610-03 May 1666

Born: 03 October 1610, Cork City, County Cork
Entered: 30 September 1631, Tournai, Belgium - Belgicae Province (BELG)
Ordained: c 1639, Avignon, France
Final Vows: 06 February 1653
Died: 03 May 1666, Cork City, County Cork

Parents Robert and Ellen Sarsfield
Studied Humanities in Ireland and Philosophy at Douai
1639 At Avignon College Age 28 Soc 8 teaching Grammar and studying Theology
1649 Given at Cork
1650 CAT DOB 1607 Cork. Came to Mission 1640, Prof of 4 Vows. Taught Humanities. Superior of Residence for 2 years. Preacher and now a Missioner.
1666 CAT Is in Connaught, then living near Cork. Consultor of the Mission. Giving Missions, administering the Sacraments, Catechising and Preaching. 28 years on the Mission

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Brother of Dominic, Viscount of Limerick, whose descendant is the Spanish Marquis de Canada (cf Louis Power Esq below)

He studied Humanities and two years Philosophy and four Theology at Avignon before Ent 30 September 1631. He knew Irish, English, French and Latin.
1636 Prefect of the Conference and Confessor at Irish College Seville 07 February 1636
1640 Sent to Ireland. Taught Humanities for five years, was a Preacher and Confessor for eight, Superior of Waterford Residence for two, and a Missioner in Cork for 10 (HIB Catalogue 1650 - ARSI)
Mercure Verdier - Visitor to Irish Mission - describes him as an eminent Preacher, very prudent, learned and zealous in maintaining religious discipline. He was alive in Ireland 1659 (Oliver, Stonyhurst MSS)
1666 He was Superior in Waterford, though living in Cork and engaged on the Mission there (HIB Catalogue 1666 - ARSI) Eloquent, learned and zealous.

Louis Power Esq writes from Gibraltar :
There is a family here of Irish descent, of the name Terry. Different members of it emigrated to Spain from about the date of the non-fulfilment of the Treaty of Limerick, by iniquitous Government of William II, to about the middle of the last century. One of the family, Irish born, came as Minister to London from the Spanish Court, about the later end of the reign of Philip V (the first Bourbon monarch). He was known as the Marquis de la Canada. Of this family two were Fathers of the Society of Jesus, and one died during the siege of Limerick. From the same father as this priest descend my friends whose pedigree I have been allowed to examine - it is a translation of the original English, obtained from the Herald’s Office Dublin, which the member of the family who emigrated to Spain towards between 1755 to 1765 brought with him to Malaga. Its genuineness is beyond dispute...
This family was connected with the Villiers family (of the famous Dukes of Buckingham), though Sarah Villiers, sister of the Duke, who married into the Sarsfield (the French-Irish Brigade Earl of Lucan), and had large estates near Cork, some of which now belong to the Stackpoole family.
1505-1511, 1511-1519 and 1525, William, Edward, Patrick, David and William Terry respectively Governors of Cork; 1514 and 1529 Edmund and Patrick Terry were chief magistrates in Cork, and 1538-1588 and 1591, William, Richard, Dominic, Richard, William, Stephen, Edmund and David were all respectively Sherriffs of Cork. 1604-1625 Edmund, David, Dominic, David, Patrick, William and David were Mayor of Cork.
William, the Sherriff in 1554 was descended from Richard de Terry, who temp. Henry II, married Elizabeth, sister of the Earl of Desmond. This William was one of the twenty-four notables who on 18/07/1574 signed a declaration against Elizabeth I, to sustain the Catholic religion, pledging themselves, in spite of risk and forfeiture to carry out their engagement.
Dominic Terry died in defence of Limerick against the rebel Parliament. He has a brother (not named in the genealogical table) a Priest SJ, who suffered for the faith along with Galfrido Galway (Godfrey Galway) a Catholic gentleman. This Father appears also to have been at the time on King Charles I side in Limerick. All its members have suffered much for the faith and the Stuarts.
There are now in Spain, two branches of this family left, one represented by the Marquis de Canada, who signs his name Tirry, instead of Terry, and another, a wealthy banker in Cadiz.

◆ Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Robert and Elinor née Sarsfield
Had studied Philosophy at Douai before Ent 30 September 1631 Tournai
1633-1635 After First Vows he remained in Tournai to complete his Philosophy.
1635-1639 He was thens sent to Avignon (LUGD) for Theology and was ordained there c 1639
1639-1647 Sent to Ireland he taught school at Cork and taught School, Preached and administered the Sacraments for about six or seven years.
1647-1649 Superior at Waterford Residence and then deposed by William Malone the Mission Superior eighteen months later, citing poor health and scrupulosity as reasons. The Visitor Mercure Verdier strongly disapproved of Malone's action, saying in his 1649 Report, that Tyrry had been deposed because he had taken the Nuncio’s part in observing the interdict, and having preached freely in defence of the Nuncio. By the time Verdier made his Visitation, Tyrry was already back in Cork..
1649 Sent back to Cork and worked in and around the city during all the “Commonwealth” regime. At the Restoration the General ordered the Superior of the Mission to assign a companion to Father Tyrry to share his labours. He died in Cork 03 May 1666

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
TYRER, FRANCIS At the age of 15 he joined the Society, After filling the office of Superior at Waterford, he was stationed at Cork, where Pere Verdier met him early in 1649. He reports him to be an eminent Preacher, very prudent and learned, and zealous for religious discipline. He was living in Ireland, on the 10th of June, 1659; but after that date I can trace him no longer.

Talbot, John, 1610-1667, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2172
  • Person
  • 1610-18 November 1667

Born: 1610, Carton, County Kildare
Entered: 1625 - Lusitanae Province (LUS)
Ordained: 1636, Évora, Portugal
Final Vows: 06 May 1656
Died: 18 November 1667, Dublin Residence, Dublin City, County Dublin

Older brother of Peter Talbot - LEFT 1659 (Archbishop of Dublin 1669; RIP November 15, 1680

Foley’s "Collectanea" :
I think there were three John Talbot SJs as follows :
(1) John Talbot DOB 1609; Ent 1626 Portugal;
(2) John Talbot DOB 1611 Kildare; Ent 1632; Irish Mission 1638 Preacher, Confessor and Professor of Humanities; RIP after 1666
(3) John Talbot DOB 1619; Ent c 1637; - had been at St Alban’s Valladolid before Ent Belgium 1637. Not traced in ANG Catalogues
One of these was a brother of Peter, the two others were probably an uncle and cousin of his

1628 Age 18 Soc 3 studying at Coimbra LUS
1634 At Valladolid
1636 At St Anthony’s College Lisbon
1649 CAT Given at Cork (30 after his name)
1650 CAT Teaching, Confessor and Concinator. Came to Mission in 1639 is Age 39.
1666 CAT Consultor of Mission living at Dublin, Catechising and Administering the Sacraments. On the Mission 26 years
“Peter Walsh said when Fr J Talbot died ‘There is one honest Jesuit’”
“Wilson’s Friar Disciplined” p 93 printed in 1694 says Fr J Talbot had influence with General Preston

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Son of William 1st Baron of Carton and Alison née Netterville. Brother of Richard, first Duke of Tyrconnell by James II and Viceroy of Ireland. Brother of Dr Peter Talbot, formerly SJ and Archbishop of Dublin. Brother of Robert 2nd Baron of Carton. (HIB Catalogues and Dr Peter Talbot’s “Friar Disciplined”) Cousins of the Netterville’s SJ.
Early years in the Society were at Évora, Portugal, and he studied Theology for three years in the Society. He knew Irish, English, French and Latin.
He taught lower schools for three years and was a Preacher and Confessor for eight years. (HIB CAT 1650 - ARSI)
1666 Consultor of Irish Mission and living in Dublin. He was engaged in administering the Sacraments and had been on the Mission twenty-six years. (HIB CAT 1666 - ARSI)
Esteemed good Preacher; like most of his Irish contemporaries, he spoke Irish, English and one or more of the continental languages.
Dr Peter Talbot in his “Haersis Blackloiana” says “Évora gave many orthodox Theologians to the Catholic faith, and among others, my brother John Talbot, a distinguished defender of the faith”. (cf Foley’s Collectanea, which also states that the HIB CAT 1650 says that he is a native of Kilkenny, born 1611 and Ent 1629)
Dr Peter Talbot in his “Friar Disciplined” says to the famous Peter Walsh “Mr Walsh, Father John Talbot, of whom you said when he died (as if it were a rarity of kind of miracle) ‘There lies a honest Jesuit’ assured me, that, after his brother Sir Robert Talbot Had...”
Dr Peter Talbot in his “Haeresis Blackloiana” p 250 says that he himself had studied in Rome with such gifted Jesuits (orbis miracula) as Tirrell, Maurus, Telin (an Irishman - Teeling?), and the younger Palavicino, and was appointed to teach Philosophy at Évora, which has given so many outstanding Theologians to England and Ireland, and amongst others, Father John Talbot, my brother, a distinguished defender of the Roman Faith”
He is probably the Jesuit named by Mercure Verdiere, Visitor to the Irish Province, in a letter 24 June 1649, as John James Talbot, then thirty years of age, and residing with his mother, “in oedibus nobilium” (Oliver, Stonyhurst MSS)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Sir William of Carton and Alison nee Netterville (daughter of John Netterville of Castletown, Co. Meath) Brother of Peter (later Archbishop of Dublin).
1627-1636 After First Vows (unclear if Noviceship was at Lisbon or Coimbra) he was sent for studies to Coimbra and then Évora where he was Ordained 1636
1636-1640 Had been teaching Latin at St Anthony’s, Lisbon, but very keen to be sent to Ireland.
1640-1652 Sent to Ireland where he worked from his mother’s house. He spoke Irish as well as English
1652-1654 Sent back to Europe and was in the company of his brother Peter (later Archbishop of Dublin), who was visiting various European courts to solicit help for Charles II
1655 Sent back to Ireland and he worked initially near Galway and then Dublin alternately, and ended at the Dublin Residence as a Consultor of the Mission (1664), where he died 18 November 1667

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
TALBOT, JOHN JAMES. This Father is mentioned in Pere Verdier’s Report of the 24th of June, 1649, as being 30 years old, of a robust constitution, but living with his mother, “in oedibus nobitium” without office.

N.B. There was another F. Talbot, whom I meet with in the town of Galway, early in 1649 : he is described as being about 40 years old, Professed of the Four Vows, and then teaching Grammar.

Sweetman, Leonard, 1708-1751, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/416
  • Person
  • 01 August 1708-07 December 1751

Born: 01 August 1708, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 29 May 1724, Seville, Spain - Baeticae Province (BAE)
Ordained: 29 May 1733, Granada, Spain
Final Vows: 15 August 1742, Clonmel, County Tipperary
Died: 07 December 1751, Antequera, Spain - Baeticae Province (BAE)

1742 Makes Profession of 4 Vows at Clonmel before Fr Thomas Hennessy, his Superior and teacher of Irish
At Clongowes are many of his books marked “Lenardus Sweetman SJ Res Dublin”. Seems to have been a learned man of scientific and antiquarian tastes. In Nary’s “History of the World” he writes - Leonardus Sweetman, SOoc IHS Resid Dublin, emit an 1738”

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Passed a brilliant course of Philosophy and Divinity at Granada
1734 Dean at Seville College
1735 Sent to Ireland (Dr McDonald’s letter to Hogan)
1750 At Dublin Residence (in a book in Clongowes - Leonard Sweetman, Res Dublin SJ)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of James of Dunboyne and Punchestown
Early education was at the Dublin Jesuit School under Milo O’Byrne and Michael Murphy, before Ent 29 May 1724 Seville
1726-1733 After First Vows he was sent to Granada for studies and was Ordained there 29 May 1733
1733-1734 Made Tertianship at Granada
1734-1735 Sent as Minister to Irish College Seville
1735-1742 Sent to Ireland and the Jesuit School in Dublin
1742-1746 Sent back to Spain for health reasons, and proposed for a Chair in Philosophy at Granada
1746-1748 Sent to teach Moral Theology at Cadiz, but had to retire for health reasons
1749 Tried to accept a Chair in Philosophy at Córdoba, but he was not able for it and retired to Antequera, where he died 07 December 1751
His carta necrologica mentioned his devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and he may well have been the first Jesuit to have introduced the devotion to Dublin
He had never wanted to leave Ireland and go to Spain, but his physical frailty made the rigours of Ireland in penal times impossible for him. So it was the Mission Superior, Thomas Hennessy, who made the decision for him.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father Leonard Sweetman 1708-1751
Father Leonard Sweetman was born in Dublin of a pious and distinguished family in 1708. He received his early education from the Jesuits. From his early youth he showed great signs of holiness, so that he was known among his companions as “the little Jesuit”. At the age of sixteen he entered the noviceship of St Louis at Seville.

Having completed his third year probation he was sent back to Ireland, where he laboured with extraordinary zeal and amid great hardships. He won back many heretics to the fold. On August 15th he made his solemn vows at Clonmel. On the same day, an order reached him from Fr General Francis Retz, recalling him to Spain. Whereupon he immediately set out for the port of embarkation, Waterford, with no other luggage than his breviary and the clothes he stood up in.

In Spain he professed Philosophy and Theology until his health broke down, and e then devoted himself to Apostolic work. He wrought numerous conversions among the Protestant merchants of Cadiz. He died at the age of 43 in Antequera in Andalusia, on December 7th 1751. He was always remarkable for his devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Our Lady.

Sweetman, Jerome, 1634-1683, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2168
  • Person
  • 30 September 1634-07 October 1683

Born: 30 September 1634,County Meath / County Dublin
Entered: 15 August 1652, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: 1659, Salamanca, Spain
Final Vows: 15 August 1669
Died: 07 October 1683, Talavera de la Reina, Castile-La Mancha, Spain - Toletanae Province (TOLE)

1655 At Compostella Age 22 Soc 3. Studying 3rd year Philosophy.
1660 At Pamplona College as Minister. Good talent and judgement
1665-1672 At Oviedo CAST teaching Grammar and Minister
1675 Not in Catalogue
Taught Philosophy and Theology at Ávila (no dates)

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
1674 Procurator of Irish Mission, Madrid
Names in a letter of Christopher Mendoza, Madrid dated c 1675 -He was procurator at Madrid (A Copy at the Archives de l’État, Brussels, is given in “Collectio Cardwelli” Vol iii Oliver, Stonyhurst MSS)
Accused by Titus Oates and mentioned in the false narrative (cf : “Records SJ” Vol v, pp 97 seq)
Mentioned occasionally in the “Note and Letter-book” of Father John Warner, ANG Provincial, and now in the Cambridge Public Library.
His letters are in Salamanca

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
1654-1659 After First Vows he was sent for studies first to Compostella and then Salamanca where he was Ordained 1659
1659-1664 Sent as Minister and teaching Humanities at Pamplona and then Oviedo
1665-1669 Rector Irish College Santiago. He was known also to conduct parish missions from there.
1669-1672 Taught Moral Theology at Oviedo and later at Avilá.
1672-1682 General appoints him as Rector at Irish College Seville, at the request of the students, but he pleaded his indifferent health against acceptance of the post. Instead, on the representations of the Superior of the Irish Mission, Jerome was appointed Procurator of the mission and of the Irish Colleges (Santiago, Salamanca, and Seville) at Madrid, and against the opposition of the Provincial of TOLE
1682 Out of the blue he was commanded by a Royal Decree to leave Spain forthwith. The charges against him cannot now be specified but it can be surmised that the sum of his offence had something to do with his success in winning financial help for the Mission and Colleges to the (alleged) detriment of the Spanish Jesuits establishments. Protests and memorials from the Irish in Spain failed to move the King. The General pronounced him innocent of the charges and arranged for him to settle in the province of Portugal. He died on his way there at Talavera 07 October 1683

Stanihurst, Peter, 1599-1627, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2149
  • Person
  • 01 November 1599-27 May 1627

Born: 01 November 1599, Brussels, Belgium
Entered: 18 September 1616, Mechelen, Belgium - Flanders Province (FLAN)
Ordained; 15 March 1625, Antwerp, Belgium
Died: 27 May 1627, San Sebastian, Spain - Flanders Province (FLAN)

Brother of William - RIP 1663

Son or Richard and Ellen Copley (Richard - -RIP Brussels 1618 - studied for 6 years after the death of his wife) brother of William
Fellow Novice of Jan Berchmans
1626 A P Stanihurst is in the FLAN-BEL Province
In 1639 he wrote 10 “distichs in Theobald Stapleton’s “Irish Catechism” where he signs P Stanihurstus, Societ. Jesu, Hibernus
An Eloquium on him in “Arch de l’état, Brussels", Carton 1005 I, died 29 June 1627

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Son of Richard and Helen née Copley and cousin of Protestant Bishop Ussher. Brother of William
Studied Humanities at Brussels under the Jesuits before Entry.
Fellow Novice of Jan Berchmans
Irish Mission Superior asked the General to send hoim or his brother William to teach at the irish College Compostella
Death date RIP 27 May 1627 Spain (before FV - Carton 1005 I. Archives de l’État, Brussels; Hogan’s Irish List; Mechelen Album)

Note regarding Peter and William Stanihurst taken from the leaves of Oliver, Stonyhurst MSS by Fr Morris SJ :
1644 Stanihurst : since about the year 1630, a good Father of the Society that lived in this town (Louvain) preached here on holidays. He was cousin german to the Superioress and her sister; he was named Father Stanihurst, whose mother was their father’s own sister, married to an Irish gentleman of good worth in his own country (St Monica’s Chronicle p 497) The Superioress, elected 25/02/1637, was Sister Mary Copley (St Monica’s Chronicle p 497). She and her sister Helen were daughters of William Copley of Gatton, Surrey, and heir of Lord Thomas Copley, Baron of Wells (ibid p120), that is Sir Thomas Copley who claimed the Barony of Wells. Richard Stanihurst, the father of Peter and William, became Chaplain to their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess Albert and Isabella, after the death of his wife Helen Copley (ita P Waldack). Of James Stanihurst, the father of Richard, Father Edmund Campion says in the preface to his “History of Ireland” : “Notwithstanding, simple and naked as it is, it could never have growen to any proportion in such post haste, except I had enterd into such familiar societie and daylie table talke with the worshipful esquire, James Stanihurst, Recorder of Dublin, who beside all courtesie and hospitality, and a thousand loving turnes not heere to be recited, both by word and written monuments, and y the benefit of his own library, nourished most effectively mine endeavours. Dublin 1633, reprinted 1809”
Richard Stanihurst was uncle to Ussher and cousin to Henry Fitzsimon. He wrote several works on which we see Sir J Ware’s “Irish Writers”, Webb’s Irish Biography. he became a priest upon his wife’s death, and Chaplain to the Archduke of Austria.
Barnaby Rich, Gent, in his “Description of Ireland” says R Stanihurst was a great alchymist. Father Holiwood often wrote to the General to have Peter and William sent to Ireland (Hogan)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Richard and Helen née Copley. Brother of William. His Grandfather James was sometime Recorder of Dublin.
Contemporary in Noviceship of Jan Berchmans
1618-1623 After First Vows he was sent first to Antwerp and then to Bruges for studies. The he was sent on a year of Regency at Bergues Saint Winoc. Although born in Belgium, he was considered eligible for the Irish Mission, and in fact the Irish Mission Superior had hoped that he might do a Regency at the Irish College Santiago.
1623-1625 He was then sent back to Antwerp for Theology and he was Ordained there 1625
1625 He was then appointed a Naval Chaplain and so was living at Dunkirk. During the year 1626/27, when his ship put in at San Sebastian, he set out for Madrid. It is known that he preached to the sailors in Holy Week (Easter Sunday was on 4 April 1627, and that he died shortly after.

Stafford, Nicholas, 1663-1695, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2147
  • Person
  • 27 January 1663-10 August 1695

Born: 27 January 1663, A Coruña, Spain
Entered: 28 March 1680, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: c 1686, Valladolid, Spain
Died: 10 August 1695, Irish College, Santiago de Compostela, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
(cf Father Morris’s Louvain Transcripts “Catal. Defunctorum”)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Philip and Catalina
After First Vows he was sent for studies to Valladolid and was Ordained there c 1686
After his formation was complete he taught Humanities for a while at La Coruña, and later sent to teach Philosophy at Logroño
1692 He was sent to teach Philosophy at Irish College Santiago, where he died 10 August 1695

His “carta necrologica” mentioned his zeal for the preservation of the Faith in Northern Europe, and the example of sincere piety which so impressed the students from Ireland

Stafford, Gaspar, 1698-1743, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2146
  • Person
  • 10 May 1698-21 February 1743

Born: 10 May 1698, Wexford Town, County Wexford
Entered: 17 October 1723, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: 27 November 1729, Salamanca, Spain
Final Vows: 15 August 1738, Salamanca, Spain
Died: 21 February 1743, Irish College, Salamanca, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

1732 Rector of Salamanca

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Writer
1730-1743 Rector of Salamanca and Professor
1739 One of the Examiners of Father Lisward (Dr McDonald and de Backer “Biblioth. des Écrivains SJ”)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of James and Maria née Devereux
Had begun his Priestly studies at Irish College Salamanca before Ent 17 October 1723 Villagarcía
1725-1727After First Vows he was sent to teach Humanities.
1727-1729 He was then sent to Royal College Salamanca for Theology. He was Ordained there 27 November 1729
1729-1731 Sent to San Sebastián to teach Humanities
1731 Rector of Irish College Salamanca, and he died in Office 21 February 1743
Father Stafford's apostolic zeal and sound learning were well known to contemporary superiors of the mission and many requests were made to the General to have him sent back to Ireland. His Spanish Superiors fought for and held on to him.

St Leger, William, 1599-1665, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2143
  • Person
  • 1599-09 June 1665

Born: 1599, County Kilkenny
Entered: 08 October 1621, Tournai, Belgium - Belgicae Province (BELG)
Ordained: 20 March 1627, Cambrai, France
Final vows: 15 August 1635
Died: 09 June 1665, Irish College, Santiago de Compostella, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

Alias Salinger
Superior of Mission 29 June 1652-December 1652 and 16 July 1661-09 June 1665

Mother was Margaret Duingyn (Duigin?)
Studied Humanities at home and at Antwerp, Philosophy at Douai, was MA
1625 in 1st year Theology at Douai
1637 ROM Catalogue Good in all, fit to teach Humanities
1649 In Kilkenny (50 after his name)
1650 Catalogue DOB 1697. A Confessor and Director of Sodality BVM. Prefect of Residence many years and Consultor of Mission. Age 53, Superior of Kilkenny Residence and of Seminary at Compostella for 6 years
1654 Exiled from Clonmel
1655 Rector of Irish Seminary St Iago CAST
1658 At Compostella Age 57 Soc 36. A Superior at various times in Ireland. Rector and Provincial in Ireland. Rector Irish College. Taught Grammar.

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Studied Humanities, two years Philosophy and four years Theology in Sicily before Ent. Knew French, English, Irish and Latin.
Taught Humanities for many years; Was Confessor and Director of BVM Sodality; Superior of Residences and Consultor of Irish Mission for many years.
1650 Superior at Kilkenny College, and then moved to Galway when Kilkenny was captured.
1651 He was obliged to flee Ireland, escaped to Spain and succeeded John Lombard as Rector at Compostella, and he died there 09 June 1665 aged 66
He wrote the life of Archbishop of Cashel, Thomas Walsh. 4to Antwerp 1655 (Oliver, Stonyhurst MSS)
Writer; Prisoner; Exiled with great cruelty; Professor of Humanities; Rector of Compostella Residence; Superior of the Irish Mission; Of great gentleness and prudence; Educated in Sicily and Belgium (cf Foley’s Collectanea)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan :
Son of Thomas and Margaret née Duigan
Early education was at Antwerp. He also graduated MA and D Phil at Douai before Ent 08 October 1621 Tournai
1623-1627 After First Vows he was sent a year of Regency at Douai and then stayed there for Theology, and was Ordained at Cambrai 20 March 1627
1628 Sent to Ireland and Kilkenny, and was later Superior at the Kilkenny Residence, and then Rector of the College. He identified himself with the small group of Ormondist partisans in the Kilkenny community whose approval of the Supreme Council's defiance of Rinuccini was reported to Rome and caused the General to send Mercure Verdier on Visitation to the Irish Mission.
1652 Superior of the Mission on 29 June 1652, but six months later was deported to Spain. He arrived in San Sebastián and was then sent to the Irish College Santiago, where he continued as Superior of the Irish Mission until 27 June 1654.
1654-1661 Rector of Irish College Santiago an Office he held for seven years
1661 Reappointed Superior of the Irish Mission 16 July 1661 but ill health prevented him from returning to Ireland. This meant there were two Superiors of the Irish Mission - William in Spain, and Richard Shelton in Ireland. He died at Santiago 09 June 1665

◆ Royal Irish Academy : Dictionary of Irish Biography, Cambridge University Press online :
St Leger, William
by Terry Clavin

St Leger, William (1599–1665), Jesuit, was born in Co. Kilkenny in September 1599, the son of Thomas St Leger and his wife Margaret Duignan. He left Ireland to study classics at Antwerp and philosophy at Douai and graduated MA and D.Phil. On 8 October 1621 he entered the Society of Jesus at Tournai. Ordained a priest at Cambrai on 20 March 1627, he was professed of the four vows of his order on 15 August 1635. In 1628 he had returned to Ireland, where he taught at Kilkenny city. Following the 1641 rebellion and the establishment in 1642 of the Catholic Confederation of Ireland, St Leger was prominent as a supporter of an alliance with the protestant royalists led by James Butler (qv), earl of Ormond. Nonetheless, in 1646 St Leger supported the decision by GianBattista Rinuccini (qv), papal nuncio to Ireland, to excommunicate those who adhered to the peace between the supreme council of the confederation and Ormond.

However, when Rinuccini excommunicated the supporters of the supreme council's cessation with the protestant forces in Munster in the summer of 1648, St Leger strongly opposed him. Rinuccini was particularly bitter over the refusal of St Leger, and the Jesuit order in general, to back him in 1648. After the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–52), St Leger was appointed superior of the Irish Jesuits on 29 June 1652, but he was obliged to flee to Spain in January 1653 after the authorities banished all catholic clergy from Ireland upon pain of death. He settled in Spain, where he became rector of the Irish college at Compostela. In 1655 he published a life of Thomas Walsh (qv), archbishop of Cashel during the confederate period. This work was criticised by Rinuccini's supporters for failing to mention the controversies of 1648 and St Leger's own role in them. In 1661 he was re-appointed head of the Jesuit mission in Ireland but ill health prevented him from returning home to assume this position. He died 9 June 1665 at Compostela.

Comment. Rinucc., vi, 188; Edmund Hogan, Chronological catalogue of the Irish members of the Society of Jesus (n.d.), 30; The whole works of Sir James Ware concerning Ireland, ed. and trans. W. Harris (1764), ii, 144; Gilbert, Contemp. hist., i, 277; Gilbert, Ir. confed., vi, 69, 277, 314; Michael J. Hynes, The mission of Rinuccini (1932), 131, 265; ODNB

◆ James B Stephenson SJ The Irish Jesuits Vol 1 1962
William St Leger (1652-1654)
William St Leger, son of Thomas St Leger, or Salinger, and Margaret Duigin, was born in the county of Kilkenny in September, 1599. He went to Belgium in 1617; studied rhetoric at Antwerp and philosophy at Douay, where he gained the degrees of Licentiate and Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy. He entered the Novitiate of the Society at Tournay on 8th October, 1621. After teaching grammar a year at Douay, he studied theology there for four years, and was ordained on 20th March, 1627, at Cambray. He returned to Ireland in 1628, and was usually stationed at Kilkenny, where he made his solemn profession of four vows on 5th August, 1639. He was Superior of the Kilkenny Residence and Director of the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin for many years. Then he became Rector of the College at Kilkenny, Consultor of the Mssion, and, finally, on 29th June, 1652, Superior of the Mission. When on 6th January, 1653, an edict banishing all priests from Ireland within ten days was published, Fr St Leger was lying ill in a friend's house at Kilkenny, but his weakness won him no respite. He had to be carried on a stretcher for twenty Irish miles to a seaport, where he was put on board a ship bound for San Sebastian, where he arrived before 26th April, 1653. After some time he took up his residence at the Irish College of Santiago. He continued Superior of the Mission, though resident in Spain, until 27th June, 1654, when he became Rector of the Irish College of Santiago, a position he held for the next seven years.

William St Leger (1661-1663)
Fr William St Leger (for whom vide supra 1652-54) was appointed Superior of the Irish Mission on 16th July, 1661, but was prevented by ill-health from returning, so that for the next two years there were two Superiors of the Irish Mission, one in Spain, Fr William St Leger, and one in Ireland, Fr Richard Shelton. Fr St Leger died at the Irish College of Santiago on 9th June, 1665. He was an accomplished Latinist, and to his pen we are indebted for many treatises which throw light on the state of the Catholic religion in general, and on the history of the activities of the Society of Jesus in Ireland in particular, from the earliest times down to the year 1662.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father William St Leger 1599-1665
William St Leger was born in Kilkenny in 1599.

Having joined the Society at Tournai he returned to Ireland after his ordination in 1628. He was a fluent speaker of English, Latin and Irish and taught classics for many years. He became Superior of the Kilkenny Residence, Director of the Sodality, Consultor of the Mission, and finally Superior in 1652. His zeal for souls made him a special object of hatred for the Puritans.

When an edict was published in 1653 banishing all priests from Ireland within ten days. Fr William was lying ill at a friends house, He was transported on a stretcher to the nearest seaport and put on a ship bound for San Sebastian. He made port in April, having been at sea since January. He took up residence at the Irish College Santiago, where he became Rector for seven years.

In 1661 he was again appointed Superior of the Irish Mission, but through ill health never returned to Ireland. For two years there were two Superiors, Fr St Leger in Spain and Fr Richard Shelton in Ireland. The difficulty was resolved by Fr St Leger’s death at Santiago on June 9th 1665.

We are indebted to him for many treatises on the State of the Catholic Religion and of the Society of Jesus in Ireland at that period. He is also the author of a life of Thomas Walsh, Archbishop of Cashel who died in Compostella.

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
ST. LEGER, WILLIAM. The 1st time that I meet with him is in a letter written by him from his native place, Kilkenny, on the 3rd of January, 1646-7, wherein he speaks in the highest terms of the merits of Peter Francis Scarampi, the Oratorian, and Envoy of the Holy See to the Irish Nation. Pere Verdier found him two years later superior of the College at Kilkenny. When that City was taken, he removed to Galway. In 1651, the success of the Puritan faction compelled him to seek safety in flight. Retiring to Compostella, he ended his days in peace, on the 9th of June, 1665, aet. 66. We have from his pen the Life of Thomas Walsh, Archbishop of Caascll, 4to. Antwerp, 1655, who died at Compostella.

St Leger, John, 1713-1783, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2142
  • Person
  • 23 August 1783-22 May 1783

Born: 23 August 1713, Waterford City, County Waterford
Entered: 25 April 1729, Madrid, Spain - Toetanae Province (TOLE)
Ordained: 1737, Murcia, Spain
Final Vows: 1752
Died: 22 May 1783, St Patrick’s, Waterford City, County Waterford

Uncle of Robert St Leger - RIP 1856, and a nephew of John St Leger RIP 1868

For Entry was taken to Spain by a Sergeant of the Irish Brigade (told to Fr Hogan by John St Leger)
1754 Baptises Hannah - 10 year old daughter of Matteus Ryan of Newfoundland
1758 Baptises a young woman (age 22) from Newfoundland
He left many MS, sermons. Seems very familiar with “Bourdaloue” (Louis - a French Jesuit and Preacher)
In a book of Waterford Residence there is signed “Johan St Leger 1743”
Thrift’s Index of Irish Wills gives 1783 as date of John St Leger PP Waterford

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Nephew of Fathers Robert and John St Leger
Taught Humanities for five years in Spain
1742 Sent to Ireland
1752 & 1755 Acting PP in Waterford, where he built St Patrick’s Chapel ad Residence.
He was an eloquent Preachers, and left a large number of sermons MS.
A serjeant of the Irish Brigade was sent to bring him to a Continental College.

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
According to the tradition of his granduncles (Fathers Robert and John St Leger who died last century) he was brought to Spain by a sergeant of the Irish Brigade sent over to Ireland for the purpose
1731-1737 After First Vows he studied Philosophy at Oropesa and was then sent to Murcia for Theology and was Ordained there 1737
1737-1738 Made Tertianship at Murcia
1738-1742 He was sent to teach Humanities at Villarejo
1742 Sent to Ireland and Waterford where he spent the rest of his life. He served at St Patrick’s Parish, a Church which 200 years later still serves local needs. At the Suppression he was incardinated into the local Diocese. He became PP in succession to Simon Shee, and at the Suppression of the Society was incardinated into the local Diocese. He died 07 June 1783 (as per tombstone at St Patrick’s in Waterford) and was buried at St Patrick’s in the St Leger tomb (His death was recorded in the Dublin Evening Post of 07 June 1783)

◆ Fr Joseph McDonnell SJ Past and Present Notes :
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.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father John St Leger 1713-1783
Fr John St Leger was born in Waterford on August 23rd 1713, and entered the Society in Toulouse in 1729. Having taught Humanities in Spain for five years he came back to the Irish Mission in 1742.

With the aid of his friends in Spain he built the Church and Residence of St Patrick in Waterford, and for 31 years had charge of the parishes of St Patrick and St Olave in that city.

At the Suppression of the Society, the Bishop Dr William Egan declared St Patrick’s a Parish Church, and appointed Fr St Leger as its Parish Priest, with Fr Paul Power as his curate.

He died in 1783 aged 70 years, beloved and esteemed by all, as the vast concourse at his funeral testified.

◆ MacErlean Cat Miss HIB SJ 1670-1770
Loose Note :
John St Leger
Those marked with * were working in Dublin when on 07 February 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

Took the Oath of Allegiance 13 December 1775

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
ST. LEGER, JOHN ( Salingerus, Uncle to FF. Robert St. Leger, D.D,), and Vicar Apostolic of Calcutta, and his brother F. John St. Leger) born at Waterford, on the 23rd of August, 1713; entered the Society in the Province of Thoulouse, on the 25th of April, 1729, and came to the Irish Mission thirteen years later. With the assistance of his Irish friends in Spain, he built at Waterford a Chapel for the Residence of the Society, and a good dwelling House. It was called St. Patrick’s. At the Suppression of the Order, Dr. William Egan, then Bishop of the Diocese, declared it a Parish Church, and appointed F. St. Leger its first Parish Priest and F. Paul Power his associate. To this day, the memory of these holy Men is in benediction. To the credit of the Bishops of Waterford, let it be remembered that whilst an Ex-Jesuit was living, no other was appointed Parish Priest of St. Patrick’s.

Shortall, Michael, 1607-1629, Jesuit scholastic

  • IE IJA J/2133
  • Person
  • 1607-19 December 1629

Born: 1627, Kilkenny City, County Kilkenny
Entered: 01 January 1624, Villarejo, Spain - Toletanae Province (TOLE)
Died: 19 December 1629, Murcia, Spain - Toletanae Province (TOLE)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Had begun his Priestly studies at Irish College Salamanca 01 January 1622, two years before Ent 01 January 1624 Villarejo
After First Vows he was sent to Murcia to continue his studies and showed himself there to be a student of high promise. Although he had been expected to eventually go work on the Irish Mission, he died at Murcia 19 December 1629

Sherlock, Paul, 1595-1646, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2127
  • Person
  • 14 August 1595-08 August 1646

Born: 14 August 1595, Waterford City, County Waterford
Entered: 30 September 1612, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: 05 June 1621, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Final Vows: 18 October 1628. Irish College Salamanca, Spain
Died: 08 August 1646, Irish College, Salamanca, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

Alias Sherlog

1614-1622 At Valladolid Age 18 Studying Theology, proficiency above mediocrity
1617 In CAST Age 18 Soc 4
1625 At Compostella Age 28 Soc 13. More than ordinary ability for preaching. He is confessor and Preacher
1626 In Spain
1633-1645 Rector of Irish College Salamanca. Has been Lecturer on Controversial subjects. A man of much learning with a talent for composing commentaries on the Scriptures. Excellent disposition, talent and judgement. Best talent for Government, teaching and commenting on Scriptures. In addition excellent at conducting business with people of the world. Much prudence and learning, firmness in dealing with others. Talent for writing and governing. A Religious spirit.
Left his books to the Irish Jesuit Mission, but especially for the Residence at Waterford.

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Was of a Waterford family, but it has been seen stated that he was born in Wexford; Writer of commentaries on Holy Writ; Professor of extraordinary virtue and held in great esteem in Spain. (Foley’s Collectanea)
He obtained a high repute both as a Theologian and Administrator, and was Rector at Salamanca and Compostella for twenty years.
1631-1646 Rector of Salamanca (Irish Ecclesiastical Record September 1874). he was also a Professor of Controversy for seven years, and also for a time of Sacred Literature and Theology, wit a great repute for learning. As a result he was chosen as Censor of Doctrine by the Sacred Inquisition. he assiduously applied himself day and night to a study of the ancient Fathers. Weak health prevented him from leaving even more evidence of his learning and erudition.
He was a man of austere life, who subjected his body to severe inflictions in daily disciplines, hair-cloths and other practices; was much given to prayer and devoted to our Blessed Lady, fasting and other mortifications on the vigils of her feasts. Some are of the opinion that he received Divine Illustrations in prayer, and assistance in the rapid composition of his writings.
A Catalogue of Irish Jesuits for 1617 ((Irish Ecclesiastical Record August 1874) states his age at that time to be 18, and four years in Society.
He is identical with a Fr “Paul Shirley” noticed in “Records SJ” Vol V p 475, in a note citing Dodd’s “Church History”, who mistranslates the name given by Southwell as Sherlogus into Shirley.
Southwell in “Biblio Script SJ” makes an interesting note about him : he was of a family of clan of Waterford (Menapiensis); born on the vigil of the Assumption 1595, of devoted Catholic parents; was admitted to the Society on the day before the Kalends of October 1612 at the Irish College Salamanca
(In pencil) Wrote a sketch of William Bathe
(cf de Backer “Biblioth. des Écrivains SJ” for his writings) (cf Archivum Hibernicum Vol VI pp 157-74 for a biography)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Walter and Bela (Beatrice) née Leonard. Brother of Patrick
He had spent three months at Irish College Salamanca before Ent 30 Septmber 1612 Villagarcía
He completed his Noviceship at Medina del Campo
1614-1617 After First Vows he was sent to St Ambrose, Valladolid for Philosophy.
1617-1621 he then was sent for Theology first at Valladolid and then to finish at Compostela where he was Ordained 05 June 1621, and graduated with a “Grand Act”
1621-1622 He was then sent to Valladolid to teach
1622-1624 He taught at Monterey and Pamplona
1624/25-1628 Rector of Irish College Santiago after the death of William White
1629-1646 Rector of Irish College Salamanca 01 May 1629, succeeding Thomas Briones. For most of his active life in the Society he was occupied with administration but this did not prevent him from engaging in the deeper study of theology, particularly in Holy Scripture. (His published works are listed in Somervogel) For the historian, however, the 'autobiographia' written in 1643 is of most interest. He died in Office at Salamanca 08 August 1646
Like his brother Patrick, Paul also volunteered for service on the Irish Mission

◆ Royal Irish Academy : Dictionary of Irish Biography, Cambridge University Press online :
Sherlock (Sherlog), Paul
by Deirdre Bryan

Sherlock (Sherlog), Paul (1595–1646), Jesuit priest and theologian, was born in August 1595 at or near Waterford city, reputedly the son of Walter Sherlock and his wife Beatrice Leonard. He was a descendant of James Sherlock of Gracedieu who, in 1494, was granted extensive lands in Co. Waterford by Henry VII in reward for his family's loyalty to the Tudor monarchy. The Sherlocks, who served frequently as mayors of Waterford city between 1492 and 1642, were one of the foremost catholic mercantile and landowning families of east Waterford.

As a young boy Sherlock attained a proficiency in Latin under the tutelage of a catholic schoolmaster in Waterford. Like many of his contemporaries, he left Ireland for Spain, aged 16, to study at the Jesuit-run Irish College at Salamanca. He landed in Bilbao in May 1612 and reached Salamanca at the beginning of July. Together with Thomas Vitus (Wyse), a fellow-student from Waterford, he was admitted to the Society of Jesus at Salamanca on 30 September 1612. He spent the first two years of his novitiate at Villagarcia and Medina del Campo before travelling to Santiago de Compostela in 1614. Over the next seven years he studied philosophy and theology at the Jesuit college at Valladolid and at Santiago, where in 1621 he was ordained. In 1624 he succeeded Thomas White (qv), who had died in 1622, as rector of the Irish college at Compostela; four years later he was appointed rector of the Irish college at Salamanca, where he remained until his death in 1646.

A highly educated man, Sherlock taught scholastic theology and divinity both at Salamanca and Compostella. He published many theological works which earned him considerable praise from scholars in Spain and France. His most important work was a combination of ecclesiastical history and devotional commentary based on the text of the Song of Solomon; it was published in three folio volumes: Anteloquia ethica et historica in Canticum Canticorum (Lyons, 1634), Commentarium in duo priora capita Cantici Canticorum (Lyons, 1637), and Commentarium in reliqua captia Cantici Canticorum (Lyons, 1640), all three volumes being reprinted in Venice in 1641. He dedicated the work to Fernando de Vera, bishop of Cuzco, whose financial generosity, combined with the earnings accrued through publication, were sufficient to enable Sherlock to found a library at the Irish college at Salamanca. Two other works, written under the pseudonym of Paulus Leonardus, were also published: Responsio ad expostulationes recentium quorundam theologorum contra scientiam mediam (Lyons, 1644) and Antiquitatum Hebraicarum Dioptra (Lyons, 1651).

In April 1642 and again in February 1643, Robert Nugent, superior of the Jesuits in Ireland, wrote to the general of the order, Viteilleshi, requesting the return to Ireland of Sherlock and another Irish Jesuit, Luke Wadding (a professor at Salamanca and cousin of the Franciscan Luke Wadding (qv) (1588–1657)), declaring both priests to be ‘absolutely necessary to this mission’ (Grogan, 94). Neither priest returned.

Sherlock's religious practices of flagellation, wearing hair shirts, and fasting eventually eroded his health. It was believed by some that he received direct communication from heaven while praying and writing. He died 9 August 1646 at the Irish college, aged 50 years, and was buried in Salamanca.

After his death the Jesuits claimed that the library he founded at the Irish college was the property of their society and not the university. Four Irish students of the college took proceedings in the court of the chancellor of the university, successfully recovering the books acquired by Sherlock. In 1919 a six-foot brass plaque was erected in Waterford's catholic cathedral commemorating a unique group of priests, native to the diocese, who were eminent in the church both at home and abroad. Paul Sherlock is among those commemorated.

J. Ware, The writers of Ireland (1764), 120–21; DNB; Anon. [attributed to Mother Mary Berchmans / Margaret Mary Sherlock], ‘Distinguished Waterford families: Sherlock’, Journal of the Waterford and South East Ireland Archaeological Society, ix (1906), 120–28, 171–5, x (1907), 42–4, 171–83; Amalio Huarte (ed.), ‘El. P. Paulo Sherlock: una autobiografia inédita’, Archiv. Hib., vi (1917), 156–74; P. Power, Waterford saints and scholars (1920); K. Kelly, ‘Father Paul Sherlock S.J.’, Decies: Journal of the Old Waterford Society, i (1976); William Nolan and Thomas P. Power (ed.), Waterford: history and society (1992), 189, 218; Patrick Grogan, ‘The Sherlocks of Waterford’, Decies: Journal of the Old Waterford Society, lvi (2000), 81–94; ODNB

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father Paul Sherlock 1593-1646
Paul Sherlock of Waterford entered the Society at the age of 17 at Salamanca. As a Theologian he gained a great reputation, and was equally successful at government. For twenty years he was Rector of the Irish Colleges at Salamanca and Santiago.

He had very weak health, nevertheless he led a very austere life, and subjected his body to severe inflictions in daily disciplines, hair cloths and other penances. He himself says in a diary meant for publication :
“Here in Santiago I determined to wrote on the Canticles of Solomon, and to that end I have studied indefatigably, desiring in this way to imitate the Fathers of the Church. I did without a great part of my sleep at night. I continued in Salamanca for two or three years with greater rigour, for the cold nights of that place were especially mortifying. In 1629 I began to prepare the first volume of the work on the Canticles of Solomon for the press. To this end I received great strength from a vision of St Brendan the Irish Abbot”.

He died on August 9th 1646 at the age of 51, with a great reputation for holiness.

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
SHERLOCK, PAUL, was born at Waterford, on the 14th of August 1595. Well grounded in Classical literature, he entered himself in the Irish College at Salamanca, in 1612, and on the 30th of September the same year enlisted under the banner of St. Ignatius. As a Theologian he attained to the highest reputation; for his ability in governing he was equally distinguished; and for the long period of 20 years, during which he was Rector at Salamanca and Compostella, he secured the esteem and attachment of his Brethren and Subjects. Application was made to the General of the Order on various occasions by F. Robert Nugent, the Superior of the Irish Mission, that his services might he confined to his native country; but, under the circumstances, it was judged expedient to continue F. Sherlock in Spain, and at Salamanca he terminated his useful career on the 9th of August, 1646. Gifted with talents of the first Order, and indefatigable in labor, he would have left numerous evidences of his genius and erudition, if his constitution had been stronger, or his life more extended; still we had from his pen,

  1. “Antiloquia in Canticum Canticorum”. 3 vols. fol. Lyons, 1633, 1637, 1640, under the borrowed name of Leonardus Hibernicus.
  2. “Vindiciae Scientiae Media”. 4to, Lyons. 1644.
  3. A posthumous work, “De Hebraeorum Republica”. Fol. Lyons, 1651
    *I believe the Family of Sherlock or Schyrlock came from Chester, with the Bagots. - From Devonshire emigrated the Cogans, and Fitz-Stephens.

Sherlock, Patrick, 1583-1614, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2126
  • Person
  • 1583-18 August 1614

Born: 1583, Waterford City, County Waterford
Entered: 10 April 1602, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: c 1612, Salamanca, Spain
Died: 18 August 1614, Irish College, Santiago de Compostela, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

1607 At Compostella College
1611 At Salamanca College
1614 Age 30 Soc 13 has studied Theology 4 years - died suddenly

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
RIP in Spain probably between 1609 and 1617

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Walter and Bela (Beatrice) née Leonard. Brother of Paul
Had begun his Priestly studies at Irish College Salamanca before Ent 10 April 1602 Villagarcía
After First Vows his career is not clear but he was sent to Royal College Salanmanca for Theology and was Ordained there c 1612
After his formation was complete he was sent to teach Philosophy at Irish College Santiago, and died suddenly there 18 August 1614
From the contemporary correspondence we learn that he had volunteered to serve on the Irish Mission

Shelton, Richard, 1611-1671, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2123
  • Person
  • 01 February 1611-27 July 1671

Born: 01 February 1611, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 28 February 1629, Back Lane, Dublin
Ordained: 1637, Messina, Sicily, Italy
Final Vows: 01 October 1652
Died: 27 July 1671, Dublin City, County Dublin

Alias Nathaniel Hart

Superior of the Mission, 09 February 1658-1663

Sometimes went under the name “Tobias Walker and Nathaniel Hart and also Capitaneus” (HIV III pp 460-464)
Studied Philosophy 3 years and Theology 4 in Society
1633 At Douai studying Philosophy
1636 Not in CAT
1642 Prefect of Irish College Rome (Fr Malone was Rector) Was also Minister and Operarius
1649 Marked at Waterford (1629 after his name)
1650 Catalogue DOB 1607. Came to the Mission 1641. Confessor and Preacher. Age 43. Prof 4 Vows
1666 Catalogue Is dwelling near Dublin. On the Mission 22 years. Consultor of the Mission. Engaged in administering the Sacraments and refuting heretics. After 17 weeks imprisonment he was banished for 6 years.

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Two Entries plus one “Nathaniel Hart”
Knew English, Italian and Latin; Four years Theology in the Society; Taught Humanities; Distinguished Preacher and Confessor
1641 Sent to Ireland (HIB Catalogue 1650 - ARSI)
1666 In Dublin and engaged in missionary duties and in controversial disputations with heretics.
After being imprisoned for 17 weeks, he was deported for six years (HIB Catalogue 1666 - ARSI)
Robert Nugent in a letter dated Wexford 28/02/1643 states that he was daily expecting him from France.
Mercure Verdier the Visitor to the Irish Mission names him in his Report to the General 24 June 1649
He had been stationed at Waterford where he had great repute as a Preacher and teacher; A good Controversialist.
He accompanied the Countess of Beerhaven to Spain, and was then about forty years of age, and had spent twenty in the Society;
He died 1671 in Dublin, deserving well of the Society and elsewhere (Oliver, Stonyhurst MSS who calls him Robert)
A Belgian Catalogue mentions him as Richard Shelton arriving at the Professed House, Antwerp 12 September 1656, and leaving 24 April 1657

Nathaniel Hart Entry
Ent pre 1649; RIP post 1659
1659 Superior of Mission and wrote a letter to the General 15 June 1659
Probably identical with Mathias O’Heartegan (corrected in pencil beside to “Richard Shelton”) who had good reason to disguise his name.

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Had already studied Humanities and begun Philosophy before Ent 28 February 1629 Back Lane, Dublin
1631-1637 After First Vows he was sent to Douai for Philosophy and then to Messina in Sicily for Theology where he was Ordained 1637
1637-1641 He made Tertianship and he was sent as Minister and Operarius at Castrogiovanni and Messina.
1641-1644 He was actually sent to Ireland in 1641, but on his way he was kept for a year as Prefect of Studies at the Irish College Rome
1644-1646 Sent to Ireland and firstly to Galway where he taught Humanities
1646 He was sent as Chaplain to Countess Bearhaven on her journey to Spain
When he returned to Ireland he was first sent to Waterford and by 1650 to Dublin
1655 He was was betrayed and arrested in 1655 and deported to the Barbados. There he was not allowed to land there but sent back to Europe. He eventually landed at Antwerp in October, 1656
1657 In spite of his penalties threatened against priests who should care to come back after deportation, he returned to Ireland when appointed as substitute for the Mission Superior Thomas Quin, who had been arrested. He was himself arrested again on his way through England but succeeded in reaching Ireland in the summer of 1657
1658 He was formally appointed Superior of the Mission, 09 February 1658, His term of Office should have ended in 1661 but the newly-designated Superior did not come, and so he continued in office until 1663
He died in Dublin 27 July 1671
He wrote an account of the labours of the Society in Ireland during the thirteen years of the Cromwellian tyranny.
He stoutly opposed Peter Walsh's Loyal Remonstrance.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ The Irish Jesuits Vol 1 1962
Richard Shelton (1657-1663)
Richard Shelton was born in Dublin on 1st February, 1611. His early studies, as far as logic, were made at our Dublin College, and on 28th February, 1629, he entered the Society in the Novitiate of Dublin, recently established. When the heretics suppressed the Jesuit houses and confiscated them to enrich Trinity College, Richard Shelton had to seek his education abroad. He finished his philosophy at Douay, and then was sent to the Province of Sicily. There he studied theology for four years at Palermo, made his tertianship at Trapani, acted as Minister of the College of Enna, or Castro Giovanni, and as Confessor at the Professed House of Messina. In September, 1641, he left Sicily for Ireland. On his way he spent a year at the Irish College, Rome, as Prefect of Studies, under Fr William Malone as Rector. In Ireland he was stationed at Galway (1644-46), teaching, preaching, and confessing. He went as chaplain to the Irish soldiers that accompanied the Countess of Berehaven on her return to Spain, When he came back he was stationed first at Waterford, and then, at the end of 1650, in Dublin, where he made his solemn profession of four vows on 1st October, 1652. He was betrayed in the summer of 1655, and condemned to transportation to the Barbadoes, but before this sentence was carried out he was put on board a ship for Antwerp, and landed there in October, 1656. In spite of the penalties threatened against exiled priests who returned, Fr Shelton did not hesitate a moment when he was ordered to go and act as substitute for Fr Thomas Quin, Superior of the Mission, who had been arrested. He himself was arrested when passing through England, but succeeded in reaching Ireland in the summer of 1657. From being Vice-Superior he was formally appointed Superior of the Mission on 9th February, 1658. His term of office should have come to an end in 1661, but as the new intended Superior never came he continued as Superior till 1663. He wrote an account of the labours of the Society in Ireland during the thirteen years of Cromwellian tyranny. He also distinguished himself by his opposition to the Schismatical Remonstrance of the friar, Peter Walsh, OSF. Fr Shelton died at Dublin on 27th July, 1671.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father Richard Shelton 1611-1671
Richard Shelton was born in Dublin in1611 and received his early education as far as Logic in our school in Dublin. Furthermore he entered the novitiate in Dublin.

On the closing of our houses he went to the continent to complete his studies. He left Sicily in 1641 to return to Ireland, but spent a year en route as Prefect of Studies in the Irish College Rome under the Rectorship of Fr William Malone.

Arriving in Ireland he went to Galway for two years teaching and preaching. When the Countess of Berehaven retired to the continent, he accompanied her as Chaplain to Spain. On his return he was stationed at Waterford, then in Dublin, where in 1655 he was arrested and sentenced to the Barbadoes. However, the sentence was not carried out, but Fr Richard was banished to Antwerp. In spite of the penalties threatened him, he returned to once again to act as Superior for Fr Thomas Quin who had been arrested. He himself was full Superior of the Mission 1658-1993.

In correspondence he went by the pseudonym Nathanial Hart.

To his we are indebted for an account of the labours of the Society in Ireland during Cromwellian times.

He passed to his reward on July 27th 1671.

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
HART, NATHANIEL. All that I know of him is from his own brief letter, dated the 15th of June, 1659, which shews that he was then Superior of his brethren in Ireland.

SHELTON, RICHARD. In a letter of Father Robert Nugent, dated Waterford the 28th of February, 1643, he says “I daily expect Father Shelton from France”. From Pere Verdier s Report of the 24th of June, 1649, I collect that he had been stationed at Waterford, where he was in great repute as a Preacher; that he had then quitted for Spain, to accompany the Countess of Beerhaven thither; that he was about 40 years of age, of which he had spent 20 in the Society. He died in Dublin, as I find in Father Stephen Rice s Annual Letters, during the year 1671. “in Missions et alibi de Societate bene meritus”.

Shee, Simon, 1706-1773, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2114
  • Person
  • 28 May 1706-16 May 1773

Born: 28 May 1706, Kilkenny City, County Kilkenny
Entered: 28 January 1726, Seville, Spain - Baeticae Province (BAE)
Ordained: 09 January 1735, Seville, Spain
Final Vows: 17 March 1742, Clonmel
Died: 16 May 1773, Waterford Residence, Waterford City, County Waterford

Final Vows made at Clonmel to Fr Thos A Hennessy

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Described as a brilliant scholar and sound divine.
1738 Sent to Ireland from Seville and to Waterford
1752 & 1755 In Waterford and was a distinguished Preacher
(Curiously all his dates are the same as those of Michael Cawood in the HIB Catalogues of 1752 and 1755.)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Nephew of Patrick Shee, Bishop of Ossory
1728-1735 After First Vows he was sent for studies to Granada and then San Hermenegildo's Seville where he was Ordained 09 January 1735
1735-1738 After Tertianshipat Baéza he was sent as Operarius to Granada
1738 Sent to Ireland and Kilkenny, but because of the dispute between Bishop O'Shaughnessy and the PP (a brother of Simon’s) he was sent to the Waterford Residence, where he worked until 1759
1759 Sent to Cork, but returned to Waterford a year later and remained there until his death, which occurred suddenly while preaching a Sunday evening sermon at St Patrick’s 16 May 1773

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
SHEA, SIMON, of Leinster, was born on the 18th of May, 1706; joined the Order in the Province of Seville, on the 28th of January, 1726, and commenced his Missionary career in Ireland, twelve years later. He was Professed on the 17th of March, 1742. Waterford was the theatre of his zeal, where he was admired as a Preacher. He was living in 1755.

Salter, Philip, 1700-1754, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2088
  • Person
  • 01 July 1700-30 January 1754

Born: 01 July 1700, A Coruña, Spain
Entered: 07 September 1718, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae province (CAST)
Ordained: 1726/7, Valladolid, Spain
Final Vows: 02 February 1736
Died: 30 January 1754, Ávila, Spain - Castellanae province (CAST)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan Sj :
Son of Irish parents Philip and Margaret née Estafort or Stafford - he chose like many Irishmen in Spain, to use his mother's maiden surname
He had already begun Philosophy studies before Ent 07 September 1718 Villagarcía
1720-1723 After First Vows he studied Philosophy at Palencia
1723-1727 He was then sent for Theology at Valladolid where he was Ordained 1726/27
1727-1731 After completing Tertianship he taught Humanities at Monforte and León
1731-1734 He held a Chair of Philosophy at Segovia
1734-1742 He then spent some years as Missioner or Operarius at Villagarcía, Medina del Campo, San Sebastián, Pamplona and Avilá.
1742-1748 Sent to hold a Chair of Moral Theology at Ávila. He was forced by ill-health to retire from teaching but was a consultor of the College until his death there 30 Janaury 1754
He was regarded by contemporaries in Ireland as an Irish man and Irish Mission Superiors Ignatius Kelly and Thomas Hennessy, both tried to have him transferred to the Irish Mission

Salmerón, Alonzo, 1515-1541, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2087
  • Person
  • 08 September 1516-13 May 1585

Born: 08 September 1516, Toledo, Spain
Entered: 15 August 1534, Paris France
Ordained: October/November 1537, Venice, Italy
Final Vows: 22 April 1541, Rome, Italy
Died: 13 May 1585, Naples, Italy - Neapolitaniae Province (NAP)

◆ The English Jesuits 1550-1650 Thomas M McCoog SJ : Catholic Record Society 1994
With Paschase Bröet and Francisco Zapata, Salmerón stopped in unspecified English ports on their trip to Ireland via Scotland 1541.

Sall, Andrew Fitzjohn, 1624-1682, scholar and former Jesuit priest

  • Person
  • 29 November 1624-07 April 1682

Born: 29 November 1624, Cashel, County Tipperary
Entered: 08 November 1641, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain (CAST)
Ordained: 1648/9
Final Vows: 08 September 1658
Died: 07 April 1682, Dublin, County Dublin

Left Society of Jesus: 17 May 1674

Nephew of James Sall - RIP 1646; cousin of Andrew Fitzbennet Sall, RIP - 1686; Uncle of Stephen Sall - RIP 1722

Francis Finegan SJ Biographical Dictionary 1598-1773

Andrew Sall

According to most historians, Andrew Sall was the “Provincial” of the Jesuits who became a Protestant! here happened to be two comntemporary Irish Jesuit cousins. Society correspondence distinguishes between the two : Andrewas Sall Benedicti and Andreas Sall Joannis. Thes names, are, since Father Hogan’s time, rendered : Andrew Fitzbennet Sall and Andrew Fitzjohn Sall. The form FutzBennet has contemporary warrant outside the Society. I have not yet met with the form FitzJohn in contemporary documents.

The reader wikll be able to distinguish between the two and make up his mind that the Superior of the Mission did not apostasise.

-oOo-

Andrew Fitzjohn Sall

he was born in Cashel November 29, 1624, and he studied Philosophy for two years before he entered the Society at Villagarcía on November 8, 1640.

After his Noviceship he completed his Philosophy (the sources do not state where) and taught Humaniteis for two years at the Jesuit College of Compostella, he entered on his Theological studies in 1645 at the College of St AMbrose, Valladolid, and was ordained Priest there 1648/1649. Whether he made his tertianship at the end of his studies is uncertain.

By October 9, 1650, he was already Rector of the Irish College, Salamanca, and remained in office there until at least May 25, 1652. While at Salamanca he lectured in Controversial Theollgy. His next assignmant after Salamanca was that of Operarius at Oviedo (1655) and Pamplona (1658), where he was teaching Philosophy. Two years later he was teaching Philosophy or Theology at the College of Palencia, and was still, for all we know, at Palencia when he was recalled to the Irish Mission in 1664. He exercised his ministry in his native Cashel. Before he returned from Spain he had been admitted to the ranks of the solemnly professed of the Society on September 8, 1658.

In Cashel he proved himself an able Preacher, and is described in the Catalogues of 1666 as In confiutandis Jansenistis et heterodoxis potens. The General, however, in a letter of October 12, 1669 to the Superior of the Mission, Father Francis White, comunicated his apprehensiosn with regard to Fitzjohn Sall; “Keep Andrew Sall junior to his duty, and make him follow the example of Father Sall senior”.

It is a matter of general knowledge that Sall apostasised in the Church of St John, Cashel, on May 17, 1674. The following Jul 5, he preached before the Lord Lieutenant and Council a sermon in Christ Church, Dublin, giving his reasons for entering the established Protestant Church in Ireland.

His later history is of no concern to the Society, it has been dealt with in varius articles and pamphlets. It is enough to state here that the General issued directives that while members of the Irish Mission might answeer Sall’s doctrinal errors, no word should be used against him, likely to confirm him in his obduracy. The General hoped against hope that Sall would return to the Church.

He died unexpectedly in Dublin, April 7, 1862, and was buried at St Patrick’s Cathedral. Of his unhappy end, news was communicated by Archbishop John Brennan to Propaganda on May 1, 1682:-

Ne mese prossimo passato mori in Dublino Andrea Sll gesuita della diocesi Casselense, apostata dela fede. Si dice che volesse l’assistenza d’un sacerdote alla morte, ma non gli riusci, morendo subitamente.

(The article on Sall in the DNB (by R Bagwell) is quite untrustworthy so far as concerns Sall’s career in the Society. Foley, surprisingly, translates Andrew Fitzbennet Sall from Liège to Spain to make him Rector at Salamanca. he doesn’t make him leave the Church, however. It is to Hogan’s credit, in spite of the fact that he worked very mucg at second-hand and leaned heavily on Foley, that he keeps distinct the careers of the two Andrews.)

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
F. Andrew Sall - This unfortunate man was born at Cashell, in 1612, and at the age of 23 joined the Society in the English Province. In 1642 he was studying the fourth year of Theology at Liege College. Re turning to Ireland, he so conducted himself as to he reported to the General of the Order, by Pere Verdier, who had met him in the course of his Visitation at Cashell, as “valde bonus et candidi animi”. When the Parliamentary supplanted the Royal Authority in Ireland, and many of the Regular and Secular Clergy fled from their savage persecutors, F. Sall remained behind, and did good service to Religion, chiefly at Waterford. But, at length, he was hunted out by the Priest Catchers From his own letter I learn, that after saying Mass, he was apprehended on the 22nd of January 1658, in the house of a respectable widow in Watetford. After thirteen months imprisonment, he was discharged from jail at the intercession of the Portuguese Ambassador; but condemned to perpetual exile. He reached Nantz in June, 1659 and was certainly there with F Thomas Quin on the 24th of February, 1660. Subsequently he went to Spain; and on his return to Ireland in 1663 was appointed Superior to his Brethren. This promotion, I fear, turned his head. A letter of F. Nicholas Netterville, a Jesuit of superior merit, to Fr. J. P. Oliva, dated Amiens, the 8th of February, 1667, satisfies me that F. Sall was then an altered man. No one becomes wicked on a sudden; and F Sall must have resisted many graces and warnings, before he publicly abjured the Catholic Faith in his native City, on the 17th of May, 1674. F. Stephen Rice, the Superior in Ireland, after stating to the said General the joy afforded to the Irish Mission by the erection of the new Seminary at Poitiers, observes, that their joy was clouded by the fall of this Brother, the first instance of apostacy of an Irish Jesuit. He adds that F. Sall had grown weary of the vows of poverty - had studied self-ease - had been addicted to vain glory, and much too fond of popular applause. Heresy showered on the miserable old man a profusion of titles and Church Preferments, of all which death deprived him, on the 6th of April, 1682. “Si Sal infatuatuin fuerit, &c.” If the salt have lost its savour, it is good for nothing, but to be cast out, and trodden under the foot of men. Yet in Peter Walsh he found an Advocate, if not an Admirer.

We may remark, that Harris’ account of this poor Renegade may, in many respects, be refuted by original documents, now extant.
A letter to me (Oliver) from the learned William Talbot Esq, dated Rool=klands, Wexford, 12 April, 1824, says “The Renegade Sall, in his last moments, called for a Cath clergyman, but none were allowed to see him”.

https://www.dib.ie/biography/sall-andrew-fitzjohn-a7901

DICTIONARY OF IRISH BIOGRAPHY

Sall, Andrew Fitzjohn

Contributed by
McCaughey, Terence

Sall, Andrew Fitzjohn (1624–82), scholar and sometime Jesuit, was born into an Old English family in the city of Cashel, Co. Tipperary; nothing is known of his parents. More than five Jesuits bore the name Sall (Sál, Sale). With such a background it is not surprising to find the young Andrew Fitzjohn Sall setting off in 1638 to study in Spain. He was to be there for seventeen years. His period on the staff of the college at Numacia and Villagarcia was probably routine. But not so his appointment to Pamplona, where he became advisor to El Conde de San Stephano and made his first acquaintance with Bishop Nicholas French (qv). He became rector of the Irish College in 1652 and was professor of controversial theology. An intention to change the direction of his career is suggested by the fact that he was serving as a pastoral substitute in Oviedo in 1655. Three years later, however, he was back in Pamplona teaching.

He returned to Ireland not later than 1665, and is not to be confused with his older cousin, and namesake, the superior of the order. As late as 12 October 1669 the general of the order in a letter says: ‘Keep Andrew Sall junior to his duty and make him follow the example of Fr Sall senior’, i.e. his cousin. The Ireland to which he returned was riven with the controversy associated with the loyal remonstrance of the Franciscan Peter Walsh (qv) and others, into which he readily entered. Association with the protestant archbishop Thomas Price (qv) aroused in him many misgivings about aspects of Roman catholic doctrine and practice. Later he acknowledged that he entertained the thought of separation from the Roman catholic church but resolved to spend the remnant of his days ‘retired and unknown to prepare better for the long day of eternity’ (Sall, True catholic and apostolic faith, preface). Later he prepared a paper, not for publication, which ‘dropped from me and fell into the hands of some’ (ibid.) who concluded that he had already become a protestant minister. The exchange of letters that took place between Fr Sall and Fr Stephen Rice in Dundalk is a sad one, Fr Rice offering to make amends for any offence so that ‘union at least of Christianity if not of religion may be entire among us’ (ibid.). For a variety of reasons the breach was not healed.

Sometime in the summer of 1674 Andrew Sall took up residence in TCD. Here he prepared and successfully defended his DD thesis. Here too he came under the protection of Dr John Fell (1625–86), who facilitated the work of scripture translation into various languages then being undertaken in Oxford. In July 1675 Sall took refuge in Oxford, where he remained till 1680. He saw no less than three books of a theological and polemical nature through the press during this period, but it can be no accident that on his return to Ireland he was drawn into translation work.

Sall's return to Ireland was prompted by a desire to assist Robert Boyle (qv) and his sister in their various translation activities. But one last activity he had to leave unfinished was the publication of the translation of the Old Testament by Murtagh King (qv) (Muircheartach Ó Cionga) and Séamas de Nógla (James Nangle), which had been made under the aegis of William Bedell (qv) in the 1630s. The translation had been rescued and preserved by Denis Sheridan (qv) (Donnchadh Ó Sioradáin), a protégé of Bedell, by whom it was given to Henry Jones (qv), bishop of Meath. Sall had already seen the text at Jones's house, and he expressed the view that ‘the Irish version of the Old Testament should be revised’. On the question of register, for instance, he had this to say: ‘This much in general I shall insinuate, that if I were fit to be a translator, of two ends men may aim at in such a work, the one of getting the credit of skill in the primitive ancient Irish, the other of benefiting common readers by expressions now in use, I would choose the latter . . .’ When he first came to examine the manuscript, Sall discovered it to be ‘a confused heap’, had it rebound, and hoped ‘to make up a complete Old Testament with the help of God and Mr Higgin’, i.e. Pól Ó hUigínn (qv), the Irish lecturer at Trinity College. He goes on to speak of what a labour it ‘will be to draw up a clear copy of the whole’.

Sall worked at the text of Bedell's Old Testament during the early months of 1682, and by 7 February he reported that eight chapters of Genesis had been written out from the manuscript ‘in very fair letter as clear as any print’. The scribe Mr Mullan, a bachelor of physic, had agreed to the rate of eleven pence a sheet, with the acquiescence of Dr Narcissus Marsh (qv), provost of Trinity College, and Ó hUigínn. Mullan supplied the first transcriptions under Sall's supervision. He also stayed at Sall's house, and Dr Sall says of himself that he would lay aside other duties so as to attend to this work. Actually he had just over two months left; he never returned to his other work, nor did he finish this work either. But for the time that was left he threw himself into it, both the work on the text and the administration of a subscription list.

In the course of all this Andrew Sall discovered – rather to his surprise at first, it would seem – that the project of making the scriptures available in Irish, and the scheme of proselytisation of which it was an essential instrument, were actually opposed by some within the protestant camp, while others remained at least ambivalent. ‘One of them had the gallantry to tell me in my face, and at my own table, that while I went about to gain the Irish (to God, I mean), I should lose the English.’

From November 1680 till his death (5 April 1682) he lived in Oxmanstown on the north bank of the River Liffey in Young's Castle (Michael Hunter and Edward B. Davis (ed.), The works of Robert Boyle (14 vols, 1999–2000), v, 608).

More information on this entry is available at the National Database of Irish-language biographies (Ainm.ie).

Sources
The doleful fall of Andrew Sall, a Jesuit of the fourth vow, from the Roman Catholick apostolic faith, lamented by his constant friend, Nicholas French (Douai, 1674); The unerring and unerrable church; or, An answer to a sermon preached by Mr Andrew Sall, formerly a Jesuit and now a minister of the protestant church, written by I. S. (1675); Andrew Sall, True catholic and apostolic faith, maintained in the Church of England . . . (1676); id., A sermon preached at Christ-Church in Dublin before the lord lieutenant and council, July 5, 1674; Michael Hunter, Antonio Clericuzio, and Lawrence M. Principe (ed.), The correspondence of Robert Boyle (6 vols, 2001)

Sall, Andrew FitzBennet, 1612-1686, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2084
  • Person
  • 20 December 1612-20 January 1686

Born: 20 December 1612, Cashel, County Tipperary
Entered: 20 December 1635, Watten, Belgium - Angliae Province (ANG)
Ordained: 19 April 1642, Liège, Belgium
Final Vows: 19 May 1645, Dublin City, County Dublin
Died: 20 January 1686, Cashel Residence, Cashel, County Tipperary

Superior of Mission 13 October 1663

Andrew Fitzbennet Sall & Andrew Fitzjohn Sall - very difficult to distinguish which dates belong to which
1639 At Watten as novice; 1639 At Liège in Theology
1642 At Liège in 4th Year Theology; 1642 At Villagarcía as novice
1645 At Compostella
1649 At Valladolid Age 27 Preaching and teaching Philosophy and Theology
1651 At Salamanca Lector Controversias
and
1655 At Oviedo Operarius and teaching Controversias
1658 At Pamplona College teaching Philosophy and Controversies. Was Rector of Irish Seminary at St Martin
1660 At Palencia College CAST
1665 In Dublin
1667 Superior of Irish Jesuit Mission
and
1657 Andrew Sall priests - about being left at liberty by the Marshalls at Waterford (Is this him?) cf Arch HIB Vol VI p 184
1650 Catalogue Marked at Clonmel in 1649. Amongst those declared fit to be Superior of Irish Seminaries in Spain. Now in Tertianship. Age 33, from Cashel, Ent 1636, came to Mission 1644. Is now Superior at Clonmel Residence
1655 Catalogue is not in CAST - confessor
1666 Catalogue Superior of Mission, lives mostly in Dublin. After 13 months imprisonment was exiled to France for 4 years. Was on the Mission 24 years. Also described as living at Cashel preaching and administering the Sacraments. A powerful adversary of the Jansenists and heretics. Is 2 years on the Mission (Foley thinks this is a nephew)
Report of 1666 is signed by “A Sallus” and he observes “for the last 2 years no one has died in this Mission - no one was dismissed thanks be to God”

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
He was a fellow student with Fathers John Clare and Andrew Lincoln at CAST

1642 A Fourth Year’s Divine at Liège (ANG CAT) - did four years Theology at Liège (1639-1642)
1644 Sent to Irish Mission
1648 Superior at Clonmel
1654 Rector of Irish College Salamanca, succeeding Father Reade in 1651
1666 Superior of Irish Mission residing in Dublin; Imprisoned for 13 months and deported for four years to France;

He was tried for his life twice; “valde bonus, et candidi animi”;
Was on the Irish Mission twenty-four years
Wrote a long life of Fr Yong SJ
(cf Foley’s Collectanea)

Left the following account of the fruit yielded by Irish College Salamanca AMDG :
“Sent to the Irish Mission, in less than sixty years three hundred and eighty-nine good Theologians for the defence of our faith, of whom thirty suffered cruel fortunes and martyrdom; One Primate, four Archbishops, five Bishops, nine Provincials of various religious Orders, thirteen illustrious writers, twenty Doctors of Theology, besides a great number of whose actions and dignities we have not heard, but who are known in Heaven, which has been thickly peopled by the illustrious children of the Church of Ireland”

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Bennet Sall and cousin of Andrew Fitzjohn Sall
Had studied Classics at Clonmel and Cashel under John Young and then went to Belgium and studied Philosophy at Irish College Douai before Ent 20 December 1635 Watten
1638-1642 After First Vows he was sent to Liège for Theology and was Ordained there 19 April 1642
1642-1643 Made Teriianship at Ghent
1643-1649 Sent to Ireland and Clonmel where he taught Humanities
1649-1658 Superior at Cashel Residence until the Cromwellian occupation there when he moved to Waterford (1652)
1658 Arrested and thrown in prison 22 January 1658. Through the intercession of the Portuguese in London an order for his release was sent by Cromwell to the authorities in Ireland, who agreed unwillingly adding other conditions of their own, and he was released 22 February 1659
1659 Joined Thomas Quin in Brittany
1662-1663 Sent to Ireland around the same time as Quin in October, he arrived in Waterford, until his appointment as Superior of the Mission
1663-1666 Appointed Superior of the Mission 13 October 1663 at Dublin. At Dublin where the controversy over Peter Walsh's Remonstrance was uppermost in all minds, he distinguished himself by his defence of the faith and the rights of the Holy See. He was summoned to appear before the Lord Deputy and Council on 11 July, 1664, but as nothing could be proved against him he was freed from further harm. At the National Congregation of the Clergy of Ireland he refused to sign any of the “ Sorbonne Propositions”, 22 June, 1666.
During his term of office, Father Sall wrote reports on the state of affairs in Ireland for the years 1663, 1664 and 1665
1666 On the appointment of his successor 03 July 1666, he returned to his native district to exercise his ministry. It is likely enough he chose to leave Dublin to be near his cousin Andrew Fitzjohn Sall who was already causing anxiety by his failure to measure up to the standard of self-denial in obedience and poverty expected of him by his religious profession. The two cousins were now working in the same district. But if the former Mission Superior tried to influence his cousin in the right direction, his efforts proved in vain. (Fitsjohn Aall apostatised in Cashel 1674 and he died in Dublin 1682)
1675 At the Spring Assizes at Clonmel, 1675, Andrew was summoned to hear sentence of deportation passed on him - he had been cited by the Mayor of Cashel - but as he was unable to attend through illness, he received a respite until the following Assizes. On the next occasion sentence of deportation was deferred. In the event, the sentence of deportation was never executed. But, from the fragmentary records of the Clonmel Assizes of that period we can conclude that twice yearly up almost to the time of his death he had to submit to the harassment of making appearances in Court.
He died at the Cashel Residence 20 January 1686

◆ James B Stephenson SJ The Irish Jesuits Vol 1 1962

Andrew Sall (1663-1666)

Andrew Sall, son of Bennett Sall, was born at Cashel on 20th December, 1612. He studied classics at Clonmel and Cashel under Fr John Young: proceeded to Belgium and studied philosophy at Douay. On 20th December, 1635, he entered the Novitiate of the English Province at Watten in Belgium. He made his theology at Liège, where he was ordained priest on 19th April, 1642. After making his tertianship at Ghent, he returned to Ireland in 1644, and was engaged at Clonmel teaching humanities for five years. From 1649 to 1652 he was Superior of the Residence of Cashel, and for the next four years he laboured at Waterford, being for the last half of that time the only Jesuit there, In June, 1654, he made his solemn profession of four vows in Waterford. On 22nd January, 1656, he was betrayed by local spies, and confined in prison. Through the intercession of the Portuguese Ambassador in London an order for his release was sent by Cromwell to the Irish authorities, who granted it very unwillingly, adding conditions of their own. He was released on 22nd February, 1659, and went to Brittany, where he joined Fr Thomas Quin. Returning to Ireland about the same time as Fr Quin returned (October, 1662), he worked at Waterford, until his appointment as Superior of the Mission on 13th October, 1663, brought him to Dublin. At Dublin, where the controversy touching Peter Walsh's Remonstrance kept all minds in a ferment, he distinguished himself by his defence of the faith and championship of the rights of the Holy See. He was summoned to appear before the Lord Deputy and Council on 11th July, 1664, but as nothing could be proved against him, he was freed from further molestation. At the National Congregation of the Clergy of Ireland he refused to sign any of the Sorbonne Propositions (22nd June, 1666). During his term of office Fr Sall wrote reports on the state of affairs in Ireland for the years 1663, 1664, and 1665, After laying down his office of Superior, he continued to labour in the vineyard of the Lord for twenty years at Dublin, where he died on 20th January, 1686.

Addendum (1) Andrew Sall : From a recent accession to the National Library, MS 4908-9, we have been able to establish that Fr. Andrew Sall was living in Clonmel at least between the years 1675-1684.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father Andrew Fitzbennett Sall SJ 1612-1686
Fr Andrew Sall, like St Jude, suffered form the disadvantage of having the same name as the traitor, Fr Andrew Sall, who apostatised. For that reason he us usually given the cognomen Fitzbennett, from the name of his father Bennett Sall. He was born in Cashel on November 20th 1612. He studied the classics at Clomel and Cashel under Fr John Young, entering the Society at Watten, in Belgium, in 1635.

On his return to Ireland in 1644, he taught for five years at Clonmel. He then became Superior of the Residence at Cashel 1649-1652. He spent the next four years in Waterford, being for the last half of that time the only Jesuit there.

On January 22nd 1654, he was taken by spies and confined in prison. Through the influence of the Portuguese Ambassador in London an order came from Cromwell for his release, and he was permitted to proceed to Brittany where he joined Fr Thomas Quin.

He was then appointed Superior of the Mission 1663-1666.

At Dublin, where the controversy over Peter Walsh’s “Remonstrance” kept all minds in ferment, he distinguished himself by his defence of the Faith and the Holy See. He was summoned to appear before the Lord Deputy in 1664 but was let free.

At the National Congregation of the Clergy of Ireland he refused to sign any of the Sorbonne Propositions.

Laying down office in 1666, he laboured for twenty years on the Mission, dying in Dublin on January 20th 1686. The scene of his labours was Clonmel, 1675-1684.

Ryan, Wilfred, 1878-1949, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2081
  • Person
  • 30 September 1878-11 December 1949

Born: 30 September 1878, South Melbourne, Australia
Entered: 25 April 1895, Loyola Greenwich, Australia (HIB)
Ordained: 28 July 1912, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final vows: 02 February 1915
Died: 11 December 1949, Xavier College, Kew, Melbourne, Australia - Australia Province (ASL)

Transcribed HIB to ASL : 05 April 1931

by 1907 at Stonyhurst England (ANG) studying
by 1913 at Innsbruck Austria (ASR-HUN) studying
by 1914 in Florence, Italy (ROM) making Tertianship

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
Wilfred Ryan was educated at St Patrick's College, and Xavier College, Kew, before entering the Society at Loyola College, Greenwich 25 April 1895. After his juniorate there, he taught at St Aloysius' College, Bourke Street, 1901-06, before philosophy studies at Stonyhurst, 1906-09. Theology followed immediately at Milltown Park, Dublin, and at Innsbruck, 1909-13.Tertianship in Florence followed.
During his studies he continued to pursue his special interest in geology, studying in Germany, Spain, and Italy For his discoveries, especially a fossil hitherto undiscovered in Europe near the Dargle, he was admitted, upon the recommendation of professors of Cambridge, to a fellowship of the Geological Society.
Ryan returned to Australia and Riverview in 1914, where he taught, directed the choir and orchestra, and was, at various times, assistant director of the observatory, and lecturer in
philosophy at St John's College, University of Sydney.
From 1919-30 Ryan was a tutor in philosophy, geology and sociology, as well as minister and dean at Newman College, University of Melbourne. He was awarded an MA and a Dip Ed from the university. Ryan became a haven of hope for the many young men returning from their disillusioning experiences of the First World War. He had a great capacity for friendship, and the students enjoyed his bright and cheery personality He could understand their difficulties, and was approachable as an equal. Never for a moment did Ryan ever give the impression that he gloried in his learning or holiness, His modesty was obvious. He, with Jeremiah Murphy and Dominic Kelly, set the tone for Newman College of the future.
Then he became involved in parish ministry, 1930-48, at Norwood, and was superior and parish priest, 1940-48. He also lectured in philosophy at the University of Adelaide.
Ryan's final missioning was to Xavier College in 1948, where he was spiritual father until his death. He enjoyed these years, as he was much at home among the young. He was a very gentle, courteous, land, and learned priest, everyone's friend, and died suddenly when on a Sunday parish supply.

Note from Edward Pigot Entry
His extremely high standards of scientific accuracy and integrity made it difficult for him to find an assistant he could work with, or who could work with him. George Downey, Robert McCarthy, and Wilfred Ryan, all failed to satisfy. However, when he met the young scholastic Daniel O'Connell he found a man after his own heart. When he found death approaching he was afraid, not of death, but because O’Connell was still only a theologian and not ready to take over the observatory. Happily, the Irish province was willing to release his other great friend, William O'Leary to fill the gap.

Ryan, John, 1894-1973, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/452
  • Person
  • 19 February 1894-17 December 1973

Born: 19 February 1894, Castleconnell, County Limerick
Entered: 07 September 1911, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 31 July 1926, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1968, St Ignatius, Leeson Street, Dublin
Died: 17 December 1973, St Ignatius, Leeson Street, Dublin

Editor of An Timire, 1929-30.

Studied for MA at UCD

by 1920 at Drongen, Belgium (BELG) studying
by 1921 at Valkenburg, Netherlands (GER) studying
by 1922 at Sacred Heart Bonn, Germany (GER I) studying
by 1924 at Oña, Burgos, Castile y León, Spain (CAST) studying
by 1930 at Münster, Germany (GER I) making Tertianship

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 16th Year No 1 1941

Leeson St :
Fr. John Ryan has been nominated by the Government a Trustee of the National Library and a member of the Governing Board of Celtic Studies in the new Institute for Advanced
Studies.

Irish Province News 40th Year No 2 1965

Rev. Professor John Ryan, S.J., M.A., D.Litt.

Rev Professor John Ryan, S.J., had his secondary education at the Crescent College, Limerick, and thence entered the Jesuit Order. His Arts course in University College led to the B.A. degree with the highest Honours in Celtic Studies, 1917, the Travelling Studentship, 1918, and the M.A. degree, 1919. There after he spent a good many years abroad, acquiring incidentally, a remarkable equipment in modern languages; his philosophical studies were made at Louvain and Valkenburg, his theological partly at Oña, Burgos. The postponed Travelling Studentship years were spent at Bonn, 1921-23, where the illustrious Thurneysen found in him a pupil to whom, he declared, he had little new to offer. In 1931 Fr. Ryan presented his magnus opus, the volume on Irish Monasticism, for the D.Litt. degree, and became Lecturer in Early Irish History in the college. In 1942 he succeeded Professor Eoin MacNeill in the Chair of Early (including Medieval) Irish History, from which he retired in July 1964.
Among Fr. Ryan's many books and articles may be mentioned The Cain Adomnain (in Studies in Early Irish Law, 1936), The Battle of Clontarf (J.R.S.A.I., 1938), The Abbatial Succession at Clonmacnoise (in Feil-Sgribhinn Eoin Mhic Neill, which was edited by Fr. Ryan, 1940). Many other articles will be collected in a volume to mark the occasion of Fr. Ryan's retirement.
Fr. Ryan's knowledge of early Ireland can only be described as prodigious, his rich and exact information on one aspect being always available to illustrate another. As one of his colleagues puts it, "In answer to a question about an event in a particular century, the whole Ireland of the time would come to life-the political boundaries, the movement of peoples, the interplay of dynasties, the relation of Church and State, the tapestry of genealogies, and as well, for full measure, the impact of the outside world." A wonderful teacher, his rich and humane learning has been available to any enquirer just as readily as to his own students. To travel with him in any part of Ireland is, I am told and can readily believe, a fascinating experience. His familiarity with the genealogies in the Book of Ballymote is not greater than his acquaintance with the names over the shops in the modern towns and villages, and he would delight his travelling companion in tracing the links between the two.
Though Fr. Ryan's classes were never large, and though he was not much involved in the busy concerns of the college, we think of him as a great college man. Perhaps it is because his devotion to the Ireland of the past, which for him survives in the Ireland of the present, gives him a special attachment to the college and sense of its true function. His colleagues hope for a long continuation of his health and his studies, his friendly society and quiet enthusiasm.

Irish Province News 49th Year No 1 1974

35 Lower Leeson Street
The death of Fr John Ryan on Monday, December 17th, was a source of much grief to all at Leeson St. He was an exemplary religious and a great community man. We shall miss him. This issue carried an obituary. The Papal Nuncio presided at the Concelebrated Requiem Mass at Gardiner St. and messages of sympathy were received from the Archbishop of Dublin, the Archbishop of Cashel, Mgr Hamell of Birr, the President of UCD on behalf of the University and from many others too numerous to be mentioned here.

Obituary :

Fr John Ryan (1894-1973)

By the death of Fr John Ryan, the Province has lost one of its most distinguished and well-loved members. Fr Ryan had such a full life that it is difficult in a short space to do justice to it. However, for a start, the mere outline of his career will give some idea of the extent and high standard of his many activities.
He was born at Derreen, Castleconnell, Co. Limerick in 1894, was educated at the Crescent College, and entered the novitiate in 1911. He was one of the first band of Juniors in Rathfarnham in 1913, and was directed to take up Celtic studies in University College, Dublin. It is generally acknowledged that the selection of young men for special studies is not an easy matter, since so many extraneous factors may later frustrate the original plan. However, in the case of Fr Ryan, everything concurred to confirm the far seeing decision of his superiors. He proved himself to be a student of outstanding ability and unflagging industry, took his BA with high honours in 1917, the travelling studentship in 1918 and MA in 1919. He was fortunate in having as his professor such an eminent scholar as Eoin MacNeill, and this early association laid the foundations of a lifelong friendship. Fr Ryan had the happiness, a quarter of a century later, of being invited to edit the volume Féilsgríbhinn Eoin Mhic Néill, presented to his old professor on his retirement.
He then completed his philosophy at Louvain and Valkenburg, and took up his postponed studentship in 1921-23, when he resumed his Celtic studies at the university of Bonn, under the renowned Swiss scholar Rudolf Thurneysen. Here again a close friendship sprang up between professor and student. On the death of Thurneysen in 1940, Fr Ryan paid a worthy tribute to him in the pages of Studies, and recalled the happy hours he had spent in the Professor’s house, and how “when the coffee-cups had been cleared away, the talk would begin in earnest”. In 1923 Fr Ryan went to Oña, Burgos, for theology, and was ordained in 1926 at Milltown Park, After some more studies in Germany and Dublin, he was, in 1930, appointed lecturer in Early Irish History at University College, Dublin. He joined the Leeson St community, living at first in University Hall, where he was a popular figure among the students. A year later, he published his most important book, Irish Monasticism: Origins and Development, and was awarded the D Litt In 1942 he succeeded Eoin MacNeill in the chair of Early (including Medieval) Irish History, which he held until his retirement in 1964, when he was appointed Professor Emeritus.
For some years after his retirement, he led a comparatively active life, producing articles of a high standard from time to time. Later, his sight became impaired and his general health declined. He was, however, mentally alert and in his usual good spirits up to the day of his death, On December 17th he had a severe stroke. He rallied for a while and was anointed, but shortly afterwards became unconscious and died peacefully that evening.
As has been said, this bare outline alone reveals the quality of Fr Ryan's professional career. But to fully appreciate its greatness, it must be recorded that every stage of it was packed with activity. To begin with, from the start and to the end, he devoted himself most conscientiously to his main work, the teaching of his classes. His lectures were prepared with the utmost care, in fact, if they had a defect, it was that of being too meticulous. He was deeply interested in his students and most self-sacrificing in the help he gave them. In addition, he fulfilled with energy that other function of a professor, the promotion of his subject by research and writing. One sometimes heard the regret voiced that Fr Ryan had not written more. There was a grain of truth in this complaint, but only a grain. Fr Ryan began his career as a writer with his Irish Monasticism a large book which is still today a standard work. It has recently been twice republished, by the Irish University Press and by Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. He never again produced a full sized book. One can only guess at the reason for this. It may have been that his conscientious desire for complete accuracy of scholarship caused him to restrict himself to work in more limited areas, where he could be satisfied that he had mastered his subject completely. But in these lesser fields he was a prolific writer. I have before me a list-probably not exhaustive - of some sixty of his published articles, most of which are lengthy and scholarly monographs on every phase of Irish history. These appeared not only in Irish learned journals, Studies, The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, The Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, The North Munster Antiquarian Journal, Repertorium Novum, The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, but also in publications outside of Ireland, Religionswissen schaftliches Wörterbuch, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, Encyclopedia Britannica, New Catholic Encyclopedia, Acta Congressus Historiae Slavicae Salisburgensis, Annen Viking Kongree, Bergen; Die Religionen der Erde (ed. Cardinal König), Le Miracle Irelandais (ed. Daniel Rops), Actes du Congrés Internationale de Luxeuil. It was a source of satisfaction to Fr John that he had recently, in spite of failing health, been able to complete a valuable work, a history of the monastery of Clonmacnois, its bishops and abbots. This has been gladly accepted for publication by Bórd Fáilte, the Irish Tourist Board, and should appear shortly.
Apart from his routine lecturing, Fr Ryan was constantly invited to address learned societies on historical topics. Special mention must be made of the series of lectures on Irish Ecclesiastical History which, thanks to the generosity of the late Most Rev Dr John Charles McQuaid, he delivered yearly at the Gregorian University, Rome, between 1951 and 1961. Fr Ryan was at various times president of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, president of the North Munster Archaeological Society, a member of the Royal Irish Academy, of the Board of Celtic Studies in the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and of the Council of Trustees of the National Library. On several occasions he was invited by Radio Eireann to participate in the annual Thomas Davis memorial lectures on Irish history.
There was one department of his academic work that was particularly dear to Fr Ryan, which, indeed, could be described as being a personal hobby as well as a professional discipline. This was the history of Irish families. Allusion to this special interest was aptly made by Dr Michael Tierney in the presidential report of University College, 1963-64, in a tribute to Fr Ryan who had just retired : “To travel with him in any part of Ireland is, I am told, and can readily believe, a fascinating experience. His familiarity with the genealogies in the Book of Ballymote is not greater than his acquaintance with the names over the shops in the modern towns and villages, and he would delight his travelling companion in tracing the links between the two”. The report goes on to say: “We think of him as a great College man. Perhaps it is because his devotion to the Ireland of the past, which for him survives in the Ireland of the present, gives him a special attachment to the College and sense of its true function!”
Fr Ryan's interests were not confined to the academic world. His family had for generations been connected with the land, and he was keenly alive to the many problems which confront the farming community today. It was fitting that one of his great friendships - and he had many - was with another great Limerick man, Fr John Hayes founder of Muintir na Tíre. On the death of Fr Hayes in 1957, Fr Ryan paid to him in the pages of Studies a most moving tribute beginning aptly with a line from Goldsmith : “A man he was to all the country dear”.
What has been said so far concerns Fr John Ryan mainly as a scholar and teacher. But the picture would be incomplete were nothing to be said about him as a priest. He was a man of deep and solid piety, and strong loyalty to the Church, the Holy See and the Society. Though his natural bent of mind was conservative, he kept himself fully informed on modern problems, both religious and secular. His advice was constantly sought by clergy, religious and laity from all over the country. He would go to endless trouble to obtain the information sought by his correspondents, or to help them by his personal advice or the use of his influence on their behalf. In his younger days, he found time amidst all his other occupations to give a great many retreats both to priests and nuns, and even when he had to desist from this work, numerous religious communities continued to call on him as spiritual counsellor.
His religious brothers will remember him as a splendid community man, whose naturally unassuming character had not been in the least altered by his academic successes. He had the great gift of being genuinely interested in the work of others, and it was noticeable that when one discussed any topic with him, not only were his own views highly stimulating, but he seemed to make one's own views take on an added value.
Fr Ryan always gave the impression of being a happy man. Like all of us, he had his trials, disappointments, bereavements, ill-health at times, but to the end of his life he preserved a certain good humoured serenity, He had quite strong, sometimes almost impassioned views on various subjects, but he was devoid of all bitterness, and one felt that he preferred to agree with others rather than to differ from them. This happiness of mind sprang, no doubt, largely from his qualities of humility and selflessness, but also from the consciousness of the very full and satisfying life granted to him, spent according to the motto of the ancient writers with whom he was so familiar, dochum glóire Dé agus onóra na h-Éireann.

Ryan, Austin, 1904-1992, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2075
  • Person
  • 02 December 1904-26 September 1992

Born: 02 December 1904, Brisbane, Australia
Entered: 05 April 1923, Loyola Greenwich, Australia (HIB)
Ordained 24 August 1938, Leuven, Belgium
Final vows: 02 February 1942
Died: 26 September 1992, St Joseph, Hawthorn, Melbourne, Australia - Australiae Province (ASL)

Transcribed HIB to ASL : 05 April 1931

by 1930 at Granada, Spain (BAE) studying

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
Austin Ryan was educated at St Joseph's College, Sydney, and entered the Society in Sydney, 5 April 1923. His Jesuit training was wholly overseas, including philosophy in Spain. He gained a BA in classics from the University of Ireland, and a Licentiate in theology from Louvain. He was ordained, 24 August 1938, and later professed of the four vows. He retained his ability to read Spanish for the rest of his life. His story about scholastics having to don swim wear under the shower and being provided with a spoon to tuck in their shirts while dressing amused more modern scholastics.
After a few years of teaching at Riverview, 1941-42, Ryan was appointed professor of church history and oriental questions at the theologate, Canisius College, Pymble, 1943-46. He returned to Riverview teaching classics from 1947-52, followed by a year of pastoral ministry at St Ignatius' Church, Richmond. He spent some years between 1954-59 teaching experimental psychology to the scholastics at Loyola College, Watsonia, and was the prefect of studies and minister of juniors. He also edited the province periodicals “Hazaribagh” and “Province News”.
From 1960-69 Ryan was a brilliant and inspiring teacher of Latin, Greek, Italian and Hebrew at Corpus Christi College, Werribee, and was a wise and understanding spiritual father to the students. His integrity and unfeigned sincerity won him the respect of his students.
His next appointment was teaching Latin and Greek to the novices at Loyola College, Watsonia, 1970-72. He was far from happy here, and even talked about leaving the Society. One of the Fathers, believing that he was being helpful, continually reminded Ryan of his rubrical failures at Mass. From 1976-81 he returned to Riverview teaching Latin, Greek, French and German. This also was not a success, he was still very unhappy.
Apart from short postings at Campion College, Kew, and the provincial residence, from 1982-92, he remained at Campion College praying for the Society and tutoring in Greek, Latin, Italian and German.
Ryan was a truly international Jesuit, a gifted linguist and scholar, and a fine raconteur. He was lively at recreation with an inexhaustible fund of anecdotes. He worked hard all his life, and was always an available confessor. He suffered depression especially when he felt he could not cope with his work. The province was indebted to him for recording the 'curriculum vitae' of many deceased Jesuits.

Note from Frank Dennett Entry
He enjoyed the work as a Province Archivist, as it gave scope to his historical scholarship and precision. With the assistance of Austin Ryan he compiled a short biography of every Jesuit who had lived and worked in Australia.

Rowan, Edward, b.1855-, former Jesuit scholastic

  • Person
  • 20 March 1855-

Born: 20 March 1855, County Kilkenny
Entered: 29 January 1878, Milltown Park, Dublin

Left Society of Jesus: 26 October 1884

by 1884 at Oña Spain (ARA) studying

Rochford, Laurence, 1606-1649, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2063
  • Person
  • 1606-19 December 1649

Born: 1606, County Wexford
Entered: 02 February 1634, Seville, Spain - Baeticae Province (BAE)
Ordained: - pre Entry
Died: 19 December 1649, Wexford Residence

1636 At Irish College Seville - presides over disputaciones of the students
1637-1639 At Irish College Seville Consultor, Admonitor, Spiritual Father, Prefect and Superintendent of the Theologians and Philosophers

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
1634 In BAE (Irish Ecclesiastical Record)
1636 At Seville, February, was Prefect of Conference and Confessor
1638 Came to Irish Mission from Spain and stationed at Wexford
A joint letter from him and Oliver Eustace in favour of Dr French is at Trinity College.

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Was probably already a priest when he went to Irish College Seville 15 August 1630. He was a very brilliant student and in 1632 and 1633 was chosen to represent the College in the public disputations conducted in the city at the College of San Hermengildo. According to the Diario of the College, he had finished his studies with credit before Ent 02 February 1634 Seville
1636-1637 After First Vows he returned to Irish College Seville as Spiritual Father and Prefect of the public Oratory
1637 Given permission to be sent to Ireland and Wexford, for which he had volunteered where he spent all of his working life in Ireland, teaching Humanities and as Operarius
His date of death 19 December 1649 is somewhat dubious, as he is not mentioned in the Visitor Mercure Verdier’s exhaustive Catalogue of the Mission dated 24 June 1649

Roche, John, 1592-1624, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2045
  • Person
  • 1592-10 April 1624

Born: 1592, Ireland
Entered: 1619, Seville, Spain - Baeticae Province (BAE)
Ordained: Seville, Spain - pre Entry
Died: 10 April 1624, Cadiz, Spain - Baeticae Province (BAE)

1622 At Seville studying Theology Age 30 Soc 3

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Had studied at the Irish College Seville and was Ordained there before Ent 1619 Seville
1621-1622 After First Vows he was sent to San Hermengildo at Seville to continue studies
1622-1623 Sent as Spiritual Father to Irish College Seville. He was already suffering from Consumption, and so given permission by Fr General to return to Ireland in October 1623
1623 For the next few months he waited for a ship to Ireland but when at last he was on board, the ship was forced back by a storm and he died shortly afterwards at Cadiz, 10 April 1624
His obituary notice which is extant mentions his exemplary life both as a student at the Irish College and as a Jesuit. He had shown outstanding ability in his studies and was mature in all the virtues.

Roche, Ignatius, d 1739, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2057
  • Person
  • d 26 November 1739

Born: County Wexford
Entered: c 1703, Salamanca, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained:
Died: 26 November 1739, Monterey, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
1726-1729 Superior of Irish Mission
1730 Rector of Poitiers

Writes from Waterford 08 January 1734 and 25 May 1739

A Book of the old Waterford Library SJ read “Ign Roche SJ” 1739

Roche, Cornelius, 1571-1629, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2055
  • Person
  • 1571-06 June 1629

Born: 1571, Kilfenora, County Clare
Entered: 1601, Lisbon, Portugal - Lusitaniae Province (LUS)
Ordained: pre Entry
Final vows: 06 January 1629
Died: 06 June 1629, Galway Residence - Lusitaniae Province (LUS)

Alias Carrick

Studied 2 years Arts before entry
1603 In Philosophy at Coimbra (LUS)
1606 Hearing Confessions and helping Fr White at Madrid
1611 Minister at Professed House in Villaviciosa, Asturias, Spain, The Minister at Irish College, Lisbon, Age 43 Soc 10 has studied Philosophy and Theology
1614 Has been Rector at Irish College Lisbon for 5 years and still there in 1622 (Rector 9 years)
1617 In Portugal Age 49 Soc 19
1626 In Portugal

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Called “Tuamensis and Toumensis”
Praised by Father Fitzsimon as a benefactor of Irish education; Was of Thomond or Tuam Diocese
1617 In Portugal (IER August 1874)
Drew’s “Fasti SJ” records a death of a man of this name in Cadurci (Cahors), France 1633. He is described as most devout to the Blessed Eucharist, and when a youth, being reduced to death’s door by a dangerous sickness, he earnestly desired to receive Holy Communion, not so much by way of viaticum as of medicine, and, having partaken of the heavenly Food, he was instantly restored to health, to the amazement of the medical men. He was so inflamed with the love of God, that, when speaking of the Divine things, sparks were seen issuing from his mouth, inflaming the hearts of his auditors with the same affection.

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Had studied Humanities and Philosophy at Irish College Lisbon and was already Ordained before Ent 1601 Lisbon.
After First Vows he completed his studies at Coimbra.
1604-1606 Confessor at Irish College Lisbon
1606-1609 Minister at Vila Viçosa
1609-1620 Rector Irish College Lisbon
1620-1626 Procurator Irish College Lisbon
1629 Sent to Ireland in the Summer and to the Connaught Residence until he died June 1629

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father Cornelius Roche SJ 1575-1633
Cornelius Roche was born in Tuam in 1575. He entered the Society in 1596 and was in Portugal in 1617, where his name was written as De Rocha. It is recorded in the “Fasti Breviores” that he died at Carduci in (Cahors) France in 1633. He was most devout to the Blessed Sacrament.

When a youth being reduced to death’s door by sickness, he earnestly desire to receive Holy Communion, not so much by way of viaticum but as medicine, and having received, he was instantly restored to health, to the amazement of the doctors.

The “Fasti Breviores” says of him “He was so inflamed with the love of God that when speaking of heavenly things, sparks were seen issuing from his mouth”.

His name also appears in the Irish version as Cornelius Carrig.

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
CARRICK, CORNELIUS. I meet him at Madrid in August, 1607. He is mentioned with honor in F. Fitzsimmon’s Treatise on the Mass, 1611

ROCHE, CORNELIUS. All that I ferret out, is his existence in the early part of the 17th century in Spain.

Rian, James, 1630-1673, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/2044
  • Person
  • 1630-18 November 1673

Born: 1630, Cashel, County Tipperary
Entered: 10 July 1650, English College, Valladolid, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Final Vows: 02 February 1665
Died: 18 November 1673, Arévalo College, Ourense, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

1651 A Coadjutor Novice at Valladolid
1660 At Ourense CAST
1665 “Rian” lay brother at Turiensis College
1672 At Ourense College
A James Rian was in BAE in 1655, but the Catalogue writer does not know in which College

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
After First Vows he was succesively at Logroño and Villagarcía
1660 Sent to Ourense College where he died 18 November 1673

Reddan, Peter, 1606-1651, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2032
  • Person
  • 1606-11 August 1651

Born: 1606, Ratoath, County Meath
Entered: 14 April 1628, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: 1633/4, Salamanca, Spain
Final vows: 02 July 1642
Died: 11 August 1651, Irish College, Salamanca, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

Alias Read

1626 At Salamanca College Age 26 Soc 5
1639 At León College CAST
1642 At Salamaanca Lector Controversiarum. Excellent talent. Capable of teaching even the higher subjects, especially the moral and speculative. Would ve a good Superior and very good Operarius.
1645 At Compostella, Prof of 4 Vows. Teaching Grammar and Controversias. Missionibus cavavit!
1649 Rector of Irish College Samalmanca - he had been Minister and Professor of Scripture
His commentary on Maccabbees is quoted in Camb Eversus Chap XIII p122. The first book is available, the 2nd unpublished and available at Salamanca.

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Writer; Rector of Salamanca; A good Greek and Hebrew scholar; Professor of Scripture and Controversies at Salamanca (cf Southwell’s “Bibl. Scriptores SJ and de Backer “Biblioth. des Écrivains SJ” and Foley’s Collectanea)
Rector of Salamanca 1648 till his death
Short account of him in Irish Ecclesiastical Record September 1874

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Peter and Alison née Beardia (Ward or Peart)
He had already commenced studies at Irish College Salamanca before Ent 14 April 1628 Villagarcía
1630-1634 After First Vows he was sent for studies to the Royal College Salamanca and was Ordained there 1633/34
1634-1641 For the next few years he taught Humanities at Compostela and León, where he was also Minister.
1641-1644 Appointed to the Chair of Controversial Theology at Salamanca. In the CAST CAT of the that time he was described as able to be applied to teaching any branch of Theology.
1644-1647 Sent to Compostela as a member of the Mission staff
1647 Rector of Irish College Salamanca, and he died in office 11August 1651
He was a writer on Sacred Scripture and Controversial Theology. He published one volume (the second was not completed before his death) on the Book of Macchabees in the preface of which he records the death of his mother in the Calvinist massacre at Dunshaughlin 11 June 1642

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father Peter Reddan SJ 1606-1651
Peter Reddan (Reade) was a native of Meath who entered the Society in 1628 in Spain.

He was Rector of the Irish College Salamanca 1649-1651. As Professor of Scripture and controversy there, he was universally acknowledged by the learned world as an outstanding Greek and Hebrew scholar.

He was also a noted writer. His works include a commentary on the Book of Maccabees, the first volume of which was published in folio at Lyons in 1651, a copy of which can be seen at Trinity College Dublin today. The second volume was in the library at Salamanca, and is now in Maynooth.

Fr Reddan died in 1651.

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
REDAN, PETER, a native of Meath, joined the Society at Salamanca, in 1628. For several years he was Rector of the Irish College in that City, where he died on the 1st of August, 1651, aet. 44, leaving behind him the reputation of a good Religious, and an excellent Greek and Hebrew Scholar. The first volume of his Commentary on the Books of the Maccabees was published in folio at Lyons, in the year 1651. The second volume, ready for the press, was in the College library at Salamanca, when Father N. Southwell edited the Bibhotheca Scriptorum, S. J. in 1676.

Prendergast, Walter Ignatius, 1609-1637, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2010
  • Person
  • 1609-28 October 1637

Born: 1609, Clonmel, County Tipperary
Entered: 1625, - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: c 1636
Died: 28 October 1637, Monterey, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

1636 At Salamanca College Age 27 Soc 12. Studying Philosophy and Theology and teaching Grammar. Good talent.

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Nothing is known of his career except that in the CAST Catalogue 1635 he was now a priest at Royal College Salamanca having completed his studies and taught in CAST Colleges since his Noviceship. He was, in the estimation of his Superiors, a fit person for future government in the Irish Colleges. He died at Monterey College 28 October 1637.

Power, Paul, 1732-1795, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/2006
  • Person
  • 16 April 1732-22 February 1795

Born: 16 April 1732, County Waterford
Entered: 08 September 1750, Madrid, Spain - Toletanae Province (TOLE)
Ordained: c1759, Alcalá, Spain
Final Vows: 02 February 1768
Died: 22 February 1795, St, Patrick's, Waterford

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
1783 Succeeded Father St Leger as PP of St Patrick’s Waterford
1793 Fathers Power, O’Halloran, O’Callaghan, Mulcaille and Betagh (the five survivors) met and agreed to confide the funds to Father O’Callaghan to be kept for the Restored Society.

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Nicholas and Helena née Keating
Studied at Irish College Salamanca from 07 August 1748 for two years before Ent 08 September 1750 Madrid. He originally expressed his desire to join the Society and his Rector at Salamanca John O'Brien gave him a letter of introduction to the Provincial of Toledo : “He is 18 years of age, of good health, great ability, of a peaceful disposition and well inclined, of good appearance and with none of those impediments mentioned in our constitutions. He is of good parentage, upright and Catholic. He has a first cousin of his name, a merchant of Seville, who has offered to defray the expense of his entering”.
After First Vows he was sent to Alcalá for studies and was Ordained there c 1759
1759-1762 He was then sent to teach Humanities at Villarejo
1762 Sent to Ireland and the Waterford Residence. At the Suppression he was incardinated at Waterford, and continued to minister at St Patrick’s. He succeeded Fr St Leger as PP in 1783 and died there 22/02/1795

◆ 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 yopu 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 14/06/1806 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 07/07/1809 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 anto 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 Provy 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.

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
POWER, PAUL. All that I can glean of this Father is, that he was appointed joint executor with F. Callaghan to Rev. John Fullam’s will. It is painful to the compiler of these notes to be able to offer so little information, but he hopes to sharpen the industry and zeal of others. His object is merely to gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

Porter, Nicholas, 1724-1802, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1996
  • Person
  • 10 December 1724-25 August 1802

Born: 10 September 1724, El Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz, Spain
Entered: 07 September 1741, Watten, Belgium - Angliae Province (ANG)
Ordained: 1748
Final Vows: 02 February 1759
Died: 25 August 1802, Chiesa del Gesù, Rome, Italy - Romanae Province (ROM)

1772 ROM Catalogue At English College Rome Spiritual Father of Church, Repetitor, Consultor

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Born El Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz, Spain of Irish parents
Probably a kinsman of Nicholas Porter, merchant and Mayor of Waterford in 1689.
1754 Missioner at the College of the Holy Apostles, Suffolk
1763 Spiritual Father at English College Rome briefly and then Valladolid (ANG Catalogue 1763)
1767 Banished with his brethren from Spain 14/ April 1767
1771 At English College Rome as Spiritual Father
Minister at Ghent; Prefect at St Omer

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
PORTER, NICHOLAS, born at Porto S. Maria, near Cadix, the 10th of September, 1724. His Father was English : his Mother was Spanish. In 1741, he entered the Novitiate, and 18 years later became a Professed Father. For a short time he lived in the English College at Rome; thence departing for Spain, was involved in the storm that burst on his brethren, the 4th of April, 1767, and was banished from that kingdom. Previous to the general suppression of the Order, this good-natured little man settled himself in Rome, and for a short time was Spiritual Father in the English College there, but subsequently accepted the situation of Tutor to the sons of Mr. Denham, the Banker in Strada Rosella. When that Banker failed, F. Porter retired to St Carlo : and strange to say, got himself initiated in the Third Order of St. Francis. Soon after this, he quitted Rome for Naples, and attached himself to the Family of Palomba, wealthy Merchants in that City. In 1797, he returned to Rome, and was admitted into the Giesu, where he was a fixture until his pious death, on the 25th of August, 1802, set. 78.

Porcell, John, d 1714, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1995
  • Person
  • d 15 May 1714

Died: 15 May 1714, Santiago de Compostella, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

◆ In Old/15 (1)

Plunkett, Patrick, 1704-1733, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1990
  • Person
  • 1704-26 December 1733

Born: 1704, Connaught, Ireland
Entered: 13 September 1720, Bordeaux, France - Aquitaniae Province (AQUIT)
Ordained: c 1732, Poitiers, France
Died: 26 December 1733, Galway Residence, Galway City, County Galway - Romanae Province (ROM)

At time of entry the only Connaught man in the Society (Ignatius Roche letter of 1732)
1723-1727 at College of Pau AQUIT teaching Grammar
1727-1729 At Limoges teaching Humanities and Rhetoric
1729 At Angoulême
1729-1733 At Irish College Poitiers studying Theology

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
1722-1724 After First Vows he was sent to study Philosophy at Pau
1724-1729 He was then sent on Regency teaching at Limoges and Angoulême.
1729-1733 At the request of the Irish Mission Superior he was then sent to Grand Collège Poitiers for Theology and was Ordained there c 1732
1733 Sent to Ireland following repeated prayer and requests, but died three months later at the Galway Residence 26 December 1733. He had been in poor health during his studies

Pichardo, Augustine, d 1744, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1985
  • Person
  • d 15 February 1744

Died: 15 February 1744, Seville, Spain - Baeticae Province (BAE)

◆ Old/18 has “Pihardo” (2nd founder of Irish College Seville) RIP 15 February 1744 Seville (BAE)

Peza, Eduardo de la, 1878-1953, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1982
  • Person
  • 26 November 1878-05 April 1953

Born: 26 November 1878, Puebla, Mexico
Entered: 07 September 1897, Loyola Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST for MEX)
Ordained: 30 July 1911, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final vows: 25 February 1916
Died: 05 April 1953, Residencia de la Votiva, Mexico City, Mexico - Mexicana Province (MEX)

by 1912 came to Tullabeg (HIB) making Tertianship

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280 :
He Entered the Society 1897 at Loyola Spain for the Province of Mexico.
After First Vows he studied Rhetoric at Burgos and then Philosophy at Oña, Spain.
1904-1906 He was sent to Mexico for regency at Mascarones College and Guadalajara College
1906-1911 He returned to Oña and Hastings, England for Theology
1911-1912 He made Tertianship at St Stanislaus College Tullabeg, Ireland
1913-1915 He was sent home to Mexico and Mascarones College, Mexico City, and he also worked around the city.
1916-1924 He was sent to teach Theology in Montreal, Canada
1925-1931 He came to Australia and Corpus Christi College, Werribee to teach Theology. He was lent to Australia to give some strength to the Diocesan Seminary when it was in its infant stages. He was a man of keen intellect and considerable learning, and was a good Professor. He could be a little oversensitive and downcast when things did not go as he wished. He asked on a number of occasions to leave Corpus Christi, but was, with difficulty, persuaded to stay. He was also highly valued as a retreat giver, especially to Priests.
1931-1932 He was engaged in pastoral work in Toronto, Canada
1932-1941 He returned to Mexico as a Chaplain to English speaking Americans and doing pastoral work
1941 He was Superior at the Enrico Martinez Residence, and held the same office at Residencia de la Votiva in Mexico City from 1952

His contemporaries believed him to be a great Jesuit., very intelligent, a good and generous friend with a large heart. he had a strong character and somewhat austere appearance. He made a good impression on all he met.

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 6th Year No 3 1931
Werribee :
Fr. de la Peza has been recalled to Montreal. When the hour of his departure arrived a very large contingent of the students gathered on the railway platform. With them were all the available Fathers of Corpus Christi and representatives of other houses. Fr. de la Peza was evidently moved at the kindness shown to him. A rousing three cheers accompanied the moving off of the train.
At Sydney there were other demonstrations of farewell, particularly an entertainment given by the Rector of Riverview, in which the Apostolic Delegate and other representative clerics took part, and in which complimentary speeches were made referring to the departing Father's success as a preacher, professor, and giver of clerical retreats.

Pascual, Josef, 1892-1945, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/1968
  • Person
  • 13 December 1892-21 August 1945

Born: 13 December 1892, Santa Maria del Camí, Mallorca, Spain
Entered: 01 February 1915, Gandia, Valencia, Spain - Aragonite Province (ARA)
Professed: 15 August 1916
Died: 21 August 1945, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain - Aragonite Province (ARA)

by 1925 came to Riverview, Sydney, Australia (HIB) working

O'Sullivan, Thady Beare, 1596-1684, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1960
  • Person
  • 02 July 1594-22 February 1684

Born: 02 July 1594, Meanus, County Kerry
Entered: 26 December 1622, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: c 1622, Salamanca, Spain - pre Entry
Final Vows: 05 August 1639
Died; 22 February 1684, Royal College, Salamanca, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

Son of Arnissius O’Sullivan and Cecilia Carty

1625 Minister of Irish College Salamanca Age 33 - 1626 given as in Spain
1628 at Oviedo College, Minister Age 32. Has talent and mature judgement
1633 Came to Mission was Rector of Compostella
1637 ROM Catalogue “because he has always been alone, Informationes cannot be had
1649 At Waterford (55 after name)
1655-1684 Irish College of Salamnca. Confessor, was Superior of the College (1669-1675). Is very proficient in letters. Age 61 Soc 37
Is this the one of whom and English spy wrote “There is one Sir Teage O’Sullyvan...an earnest preacher of Popery...in Waterford” and “James Sherlock doth reteyne in his house one Doctor Teige O’Swillivan, a Jesuyt Semynary” (Kilkenny Arch Journal Vol I Part I pp82-83

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
He was of the O’Sullivan Mór or the O’Sullivabn Beare Clan. He was a cousin of Count (Conde de) Berehaven
Studied Theology for four years in the Society, and knew Irish, English, Spanish and Latin
Was Rector at Compostella
1633 Sent to Irish Mission and became a Superior of Limerick Residence for five years (1646).
Mercure Verdier in his 1649 Report to the General on the Irish Mission found Thady at Waterford aged c 55, and reports him as eminent for virtue. learning and nobility. He possessed talents for business and public oratory, was a descendant of the ancient Irish, had few equals and ought to be promoted to the office of Superior of the Irish Mission”. (cf Oliver, Stonyhurst MSS)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Dermot and Cecilia née McCarthy
Had studied at Santiago and Salamanca where he was Ordained 1622 before Ent 26 December 1622 CAST
After First Vows he was sent for further studies to Santiago
1629 Rector of Irish College Santiago
1633 Sent to Ireland and initially was in Kerry, but was later sent to Limerick where he became Superior.
He was at Waterford when Mercure Versier came on his Visitation 1748-1749. In Verdier’s Report to the General he praised Thady's gifts of character and intellectual ability. He considered him well fitted to be Superior of the Mission.
At the Cromwellian conquest he went to England and worked among the Irish there. He was arrested and sentenced to death but his sentence was commuted to one of deportation.
He found refuge in CAST and spent many years as an Operarius at the Church attached to the Royal College Salamanca, where he died 22 February 1684.
After the Restoration the Irish Mission Superior tried to have him sent back.
He was a scion of the House of Bearhaven and the Earl of Bearhaven before his death appointed his Jesuit cousin executor of his will.

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
O’SULLIVAN, THADAEUS, Pere Verdier, so often mentioned, found this Professed Father at Waterford, and states that he was about 55 years of age. that he was eminent for virtue, learning, and nobility; that he possessed talents for business and Pulpit Oratory : that he was a descendant of the ancient Irish; that he had few equals; and that he ought to be promoted to the rank of Superior of his brethren, or Consultor of the Mission.

O'Rourke, Laurence, 1715-1749, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1953
  • Person
  • 06 January 1715-15 July 1749

Born: 06 January 1715, Clinagh, Drummully, County Fermanagh
Entered: 13 August 1734, Tarragona, Spain - Aragonsnsis Province (ARA)
Ordained: 1743, Valencia, Spain
Died: 15 July 1749, Galway Residence, Galway City, Ciounty Galway

Fr Francis Finegan SJ
DOB 06 January 1715 Drummully; Ent 13 April 1734 Tarragona ARA; Ord 1743 Valencia;
One of the very few Irishmen to be associated with the ARA Province
After First Vows he remained in Tarragona for a year of study.
1737-1740 He was sent for Philosophy at Gandia
1740-1743 Then he was sent for Theology at Valencia where he was Ordained 1743
1743 Sent to Gandia College to teach Humanities, and two years later as Operarius at the Church in Gandia

O'Phelan, Maurice, 1693-1772, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/1944
  • Person
  • 16 January 1693-20 December 1772

Born: 16 January 1693, County Waterford
Entered: 22 September 1724, Peru Province - Peruvian Province (PER)
Final Vows: 23 September 1741
Died: 20 December 1772, El Puerto de Santa María, Spain - Peruvian Province (PER)

Cousin of Marcus O’Phelan (PER) Entered 21/09/1725; LEFT 24/11/1745

◆ Fr John MacErlean Sj :
1726-1772 After his noviceship he taught the lower classes in St Paul’s College for twelve years.
After that he was engaged in domestic duties till his health broke down in 1758.
His whole life seems to have been passed in the Collegium Maximum of St. Paul at Lima, where he was living old and infirm in 1767, when the order of expulsion arrived from Spain.
In spite of his feeble state, he survived the hardships of the voyage, and arrived in Spain, where he was put ashore at Puerto de Santa Maria. He died there a few years later, on 20th December, 1772, in his eightieth year.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Brother Maurice O’Phelan 1693-1772
Br Maurice O’Phelan was born in Waterford in 1693, and became a Jesuit in Lima in 1724.

After his noviceship he taught in the lower classes in the school for 12 years. From that time on he was engaged in domestic duties until his health broke down in 1758.

His whole life seems to have been spent in the Collegium Maximum of St Paul at Lima, where he was living old and inform in 1767 when the order of expulsion arrived from Spain. In spite of his feeble health, he survived the voyage and came to Puerto de Santa Maria.

He died there a few years later on December 20th 1772 in his 80th year.

O'Neill, John, 1716-1760, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1936
  • Person
  • 11 May 1716-03 January 1760

Born: 11 May 1716, St Germain-en-Laye, Paris, France
Entered: 07 September 1740, Watten, Belgium - Angliae Province (ANG)
Ordained: 1739
Final Vows: 02 February 1751
Died: 03 January 1760, St Stanislaus, Exeter, Devon, England - Angliae Province (ANG)

Older brother of William Nelson O’Neill RIP 1770

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Two Entries

O’Neill alias Graddell
DOB 11 May 1716 St Germain-en-Laye, Paris; Ent 07 September 1740 Watten; FV 02 February /1751; RIP 06 January 1760 St Stanislaus, Cornwall
Brother of William Nelson (O’Neil) - RIP 1770. Born at the Court of the exiled Stuarts
Served the ANG Missions at St Stanislaus, Cornwall where he died

◆ In Chronological Catalogue Sheet

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
GRADELL, JOHN. His true name was O’Neil : was born 11th May, 1716. Having ended his studies at Paris, he became a candidate for the Novitiate at Watten. A few years later his Superior sent him to the Cornish Mission, which he cultivated until his death, on the 6th of January, 1760.

O'Meagher, Dominic P, 1703-1772, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1929
  • Person
  • 17 March 1703-20 September 1772

Born: 17 March 1703, San Sebastian, Spain
Entered: 14 October 1717, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: 21 September 1726, Salamanca, Spain
Final Vows; 08 September 1736
Died: 20 September 1772, Bologna, Italy - Castellanae Province (CAST)

Older brother of Daniel RIP 1772

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of John and Julia née Cruise (de la Cruz) brother of Daniel
Received a special dispensation for Ent 14 October 1717 Villagarcía, as he was only 14 years old
After First Vows he remained for Juniorate at Villagarcía and then he was sent to Salamanca for studies and was Ordained there 1727.
1730-1733 Taught Philosophy at Compostela
1733-1737 Prefect of Studies first at Royal College Salamanca and then San Ambrose Valladolid
1737-1742 Taught Theology at Valladolid
For reasons of health he had then to be relieved of his scholastic posts but he served his Province well as an Operarius at Oñati and San Sebastián until the expulsion of the Society from Spain, 1767
He found refuge at Bologna, Italy and died there 20 September 1772 on the eve of the Suppression
The superior of the Irish Mission, Ignatius Kelly, asked the General to have the Meagher brothers assigned to the Irish Mission but Spanish Superiors determined to hold on to these brilliant brothers

O'Meagher, Daniel, 1706-1772, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1928
  • Person
  • 11 October 1707-24 March 1772

Born: 11 July 1707, San Sebastián, Spain
Entered: 23 May 1723, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: 30 November 1732, Valladolid, Spain
Final Vows: 06 January 1741, Bergara
Died: 24 March 1772, Castel San Giovanni, Piacenza, Italy - Castellanae Province (CAST)

Younger brother of Dominic RIP 1772

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of John and Julia née Cruise (de la Cruz) brother of Dominic
After First Vows he studied Philosophy at Palencia and Theology at St Ambrose, Valladolid where he was Ordained 30 November 1732
1737-1740 After Tertianship he held a Chair of Philosophy at Bilbao and later at Orduña.
1744-1750 He held a Chair of Philosophy at Santander.
1750 He lost his memory completely and had to be cared for in the community, yet notwithstanding this infirmity he accompanied the exile of his Spanish brethren in 1767
He died at Castel San Giovanni 24 March 1772
The superior of the Irish Mission, Ignatius Kelly, asked the General to have the Meagher brothers assigned to the Irish Mission but Spanish Superiors determined to hold on to these brilliant brothers

O'Mahony, Conor, 1594-1656, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1923
  • Person
  • 1594-28 February 1656

Born: 1594, Muskerry, County Cork
Entered: 17 March 1621, Portugal - Lusitaniae Province (LUS)
Ordained: 21 December 1619, Seville, Spain - pre Entry
Final vows: 16 August 1636
Died: 28 February 1656, Professed House, Lisbon, Portugal - - Lusitaniae Province (LUS)

Alias Cornelio de San Patricio

Had studied 3 years Theology at Seville before Ent
1625 At Irish College Lisbon, Prefect of Theologians and Philosophers
21628 Teaches Theology at College of St Miguel, Azores
1633-1636 A Master of Arts, now teaching Casus at Évora
1639 At Irish College Lisbon teaching Moral and Scholastic Theology
1642-1656 At Professed House Lisbon, Confessor, Concinator, Teaching Moral and Special Theology
Published “Disputatio de Regno Apologetica Hibernia”. This was republished by Trinity College to incite odium against Catholics and prevent their emancipation (Foley 476)

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Writer; Professor of Theology at Évora and elsewhere; described as very brave and pious; was a great light in Moral Theology in Lisbon (“Annales” Franco). A celebrated man of his day.
He rendered great service during an earthquake and eruption in San Miguel, Angra, Azores
Harris “Writers of Ireland”, where he mentions that he published under the name Constantine Marullus “Disputatio apologetica et manifestiva de jure Regni Hibern : pro Catholicis Hibernis adversarus haereticos Anglos”, quarto, Frankfort, 1645. Book 1, p 121. Harris was bitter against him, and gravely asserts that Gregory XIII, who had then been dead and buried for fifty-seven years, granted a Bull in 1642 to Owen Roe
(cf Gilbert’s “History of Affairs in Ireland” part ii pp 668 and 739; Foley’s Collectanea - where he is called Constantine or Conon O’Mahony )

Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Had studied and was Ordained at Irish College Seville 21 December 1619 before Ent 17 March 1621 Portugal (While he was still engaged in his studies he was expelled from the College but received back after he had expressed repentance for his fault) Then he Entered a year later in Portugal.
Once he Entered in Portugal he used the name “Cornelio de San Patricio”
After First Vows Sent as Prefect of Studies to Irish College Lisbon
1626 Sent to the Azores as Professor of Moral Theology at San Miguel, Angra, quickly establishing a high reputation throughout Portugal. During the 1630 earthquake at San Miguel, he showed resourcefulness and courage in bringing help and consolation to those rendered homeless by the disaster.
1633-1639 Sent to Évora to teach Moral Theology. He had graduated MA - but unclear if this was in Spain or Portugal.
1639-1642 Sent to Irish College Lisbon to teach Moral Theology
1642 Operarius at the Professed House in Lisbon, where he died 28 February 1656
His celebrated book “Disputatio Apologetica et Manifestativa de Iure Regni Hiberniae pro Catholicia Hibernis adversus Haereticos Anglos ” possibly makes him considered as the first Irish “separatist” of modern times. This book was circulated in Lisbon, but bears the name of a non existent publisher in Frankfurt. The book was denounced by João IV of Portugal, an ally of England. O’Mahony proposed that the solution to Irelands problems might be the election of a King of old Irish stock, and also urged war to the death of all English Protestants in the country. The thesis of the book was used by the Confederation of Kilkenny to attack the position of Eoin Ruadh. It was a century and a half later, with Wolfe Tone and the United Irishmen before this thesis was proposed again. O’Mahony’s book was reissued in Dublin in 1826 by those who wished to raise anger against the Catholic Church and the Emancipation movement.

◆ Royal Irish Academy : Dictionary of Irish Biography, Cambridge University Press online :
O'Mahony, Conor
by Tadhg Ó hAnnracháin

O'Mahony, Conor (1594–1656), Jesuit academic and author, was a native of Muskerry, west Co. Cork. Little of his early life is known until his entrance into the Irish College at Seville, probably in 1614, where he studied philosophy and theology for three and four years respectively, ultimately graduating as master of arts and doctor of divinity. He was admitted to minor orders on 7 June 1618 and was ordained a priest on 21 December 1619. The following year he was almost expelled from the college for unspecified misdemeanours. In 1621 he entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus in Lisbon and took the name ‘Cornelius a Sancto Patricio’. In and around 1626 he went to the college of San Miguel in the Azores, where he was to spend seven years as professor of moral theology. He is also recorded as having performed great service to the victims of an earthquake and eruption at Ponta Delgada in 1630. O'Mahony held the chair of moral theology at the university of Evora (1633–5), and in 1636, the year of his final profession as a Jesuit, was transferred to Lisbon, where he became professor of dogmatic theology for five years.

The experience of living in Portugal during the Braganza revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs and, almost certainly, personal acquaintance with several of the Jesuit scholars who provided intellectual justification for the Braganza position, were of critical importance in conditioning his own reaction to rebellion in Ireland and the formation of the Confederate Catholic Association in 1642. In 1645 he published in Lisbon the text on which his historical reputation rests, the Disputatio apologetica de iure regni Hiberniae pro catholicis Hibernis adversus haereticos Anglos, a two-part work consisting of a ‘disputatio’ and an ‘exhortatio’.

O'Mahony's purpose was to demonstrate that the ‘Hiberni’, a generic term which he used to denote all the catholics of the island, had the right to reject the authority of the monarchs of England over Ireland. In the ‘disputatio’ he first rehearsed a series of arguments which might be advanced to legitimise English authority, and then proceeded to attack them. His arguments were intensely legalistic and the historical underpinning was somewhat weak. The second part of the ‘disputatio’ was relatively stronger. It adapted the work of Bellarmine, Suarez, and Molina to build a case that, even if English monarchs had once legitimately ruled over Ireland, the Irish retained the right to eliminate their authority because of the lapse into heresy of Charles I and his two predecessors. The ‘exhortatio’ that followed, drawing heavily on biblical example, urged the Irish people to choose a new catholic and native monarch and to eliminate all the remaining heretics in the island.

Although emotional resonances with O'Mahony's book can be detected in some manuscript material produced after the rebellion of 1641, it received almost no public support among the audience for which it was avowedly written, the Confederate Catholics of Ireland. The book ran counter to the dominant current in Irish catholic political ideology, which stressed the legitimacy of Stuart rule. In 1645, the year of its publication, even the clerical convocation, the most militant group within the association, dismissed out of hand the idea that Charles was not the confederates’ legitimate king. Radical catholics within the association opted to refer to the confederate oath of association to justify their objectives, rather than to O'Mahony's dangerously divisive argumentation. Moreover, the frank approbation in the ‘exhortatio’ for the killing of 150,000 protestants since the initial rebellion was particularly unwelcome to the great mass of the Confederate Catholic leadership, who wished to avoid any link to the alleged massacres of 1641. The confederate executive ordered that copies of the book should be burned by the common hangman, and evidence has survived that the city of Galway independently expressed its abhorrence for the book and its author. Peter Walsh (qv) is also said to have preached nine sermons against the book in Kilkenny.

Although it attracted little support in Ireland, O'Mahony's text did contribute to the divisions that racked the confederate association in the later years of the decade. It was feared in some quarters that his book was intended to provide the theoretical underpinning to an attempt by Owen Roe O'Neill (qv) to wrest the sovereignty of Ireland from the Stuart monarchy. O'Mahony's work also increased the difficulties of the papal nuncio Rinuccini (qv), who was suspected of plotting to establish papal suzerainty over Ireland and who was accused in Rome by Sir Kenelm Digby of tolerating the Disputatio apologetica. Rinuccini may also have refused to hand John Bane, a parish priest in Athlone, over to secular justice after he was discovered with a copy of the book in his possession. For his part the papal nuncio related some of the hysteria evoked by the text to the fears of secular landowners that O'Mahony's arguments might be used to delegitimise their continued possession of former monastic property. The divisive effect of the book seems to have been heightened by the general lack of knowledge concerning the true identity of its author. This may well have been a conscious decision on the part of O'Mahony, as the title page of the book gave a bogus place of publication. Alternatively, the reference to Frankfurt as the place of publication in the title imprint may have been a device to escape the attentions of the Portuguese censor.

As it transpired, the efforts of the English ambassador, Sir Henry Compton, resulted in two separate condemnations of the text in Portugal on 6 April and 5 December 1647, although no action seems to have been taken against O'Mahony. In the post-confederate period the Irish Jesuit did reveal himself as the text's author to Patrick Plunkett (qv), bishop of Ardagh. Having been in good health, he died suddenly 28 February 1656 at the Jesuit House in Lisbon.

After his decease, copies of the Disputatio were never common: the authors of the Commentarius Rinuccinianus, for instance, had never seen the text but it did enter into later Irish protestant mythology. In 1689 Richard Cox (qv) described it as ‘a most treasonable and scandalous book’ and observed that it was not publicly condemned by the congregation of catholic clergy in Dublin in 1666. A small number of copies of the work were reprinted, apparently in 1826, probably as part of the campaign against catholic emancipation.

Peter Walsh, The history and vindication of the loyal formulary of Irish remonstrance (1674); Edward Borlase, The history of the Irish rebellion (1680); Richard Cox, Hibernia Anglicana: or the history of Ireland from the conquest thereof by the English to the present time (1689); G. Aiazzi, Nunziatura in Irlanda di Monsignor Gio. Baptista Rinuccini arcivescovo di Fermo negli anni 1645 à 1649 (1844); Records of the English province of the Society of Jesus, vii, pt ii (1883); Stanislaus Kavanagh (ed.), Commentarius Rinuccianus, de sedis apostolicae legatione ad foederatos Hiberniae catholicos per annos 1645–9 (6 vols, 1932–49); J. P. Conlon, ‘Some notes on the Disputatio apologetica’, Bibliog. Soc. Ire., vi, no. 5 (1955), 66–77; P. Ó Fionnagáin, ‘Conor O'Mahony, S.J. (1594–1656): separatist’, O'Mahony Journal, xvi (1993), 3–15; Tadhg Ó hAnnracháin, ‘ “Though hereticks and politicians should misinterpret their goode zeal”: political ideology and catholicism in early modern Ireland’, Jane Ohlmeyer (ed.), Political thought in seventeenth-century Ireland: kingdom or colony (2000), 155–75

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father Cornelius O’Mahony SJ 1594-1656
Constantine O’Mahony was born at Muskerry County Cork and became a Jesuit in 1621. When his formation was complete, he professed Philosophy at Lisbon.

In 1645 he published his “Disputatio Apologetica et Manifestiva de Iure Regni Hiberniae pro Catolicis Hibernis Adversus Hereticos Angles”. It was published under the pen name Constantine Marillus. The thesis of the book was that the supreme authority of a nation lies in the representatives of the people, the teaching of St Robert Bellarmine and Suarez. The book gave great offence to the Supreme Council at Kilkenny, and had the distinction of being publicly burnt in the market place of the same town. It was reprinted in Dublin in 1827, 100 copies. The book is singled out for special mention and attack by Hector McPherson in his book called “England’s Fight with the Papacy” in the chapter entitled “The Jesuits in History”. McPherson says that O’Mahony was regarded as “a great light in moral Theology in Lisbon, according to Roman Catholic circles”. Harris in his “Writers of Ireland (p121) describes O’Mahony as “a Jesuit of most virulent temper”. However, we are warned by Oliver and his colleagues, that Harris’ opinion of the author and his work must be received with caution – “much is heavily grounded on hearsay evidence”.

Fr O’Mahony was often called Cornelius a Santo Patricio. He was alive in 1650 at Lisbon, though very old

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
MAHONY, CONSTANTINE, born at Muskerry, in the County of Cork,and often called “Cornelius a Sancto Patritio” Harris, p. 121, Book I, of the writers of Ireland, describes him as “a Jesuit of a most virulent temper”, and says that he published a book under the feigned name of Constantine Marullus, entitled, “Disputatio Apologetica et Manifestiva de Jure Regni Hiberniae pro Catolicis Hibernis adversus Haereticos Anglos”, 4to. Frankfort, 1645. Harris’s character of the work and of its author must be read with caution : much is evidently grounded on the hearsay of enemies. One assertion, that Pope Gregory XIII, had granted to Owen Rowe O’Neil a Bull in 1642, “whereby all the actors in the bloody massacre of the foregoing year are blessed”, is the compound of the vilest absurdity and most atrocious falsehood. That good old Pope had been honestly dead and buried 57 years before the appearance of this Irish Bull. F. Mahony was still living in 1650, at Lisbon, but far advanced in years.

O'Holohan, John, 1923-2018, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/824
  • Person
  • 31 March 1923-19 April 2018

Born: 31 March 1923, Drumcondra, Dublin
Entered: 06 September 1941, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Ordained: 28 July 1955, Milltown Park , Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1959, Mungret College SJ, Limerick
Died: 19 April 2018, Cherryfield Lodge, Dublin

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

Brother of Colm O’Holohan - RIP 1998

by 1958 at Gandia, Valencia, Spain (TARR) making Tertianship
by 1994 at Orlando FL, USA (NOR) working
by 2001 at Simpsonville SC, USA (NOR) working
by 2004 at Lancaster SC, USA (NOR) working

Early education at Loreto Convent Bray, CBS St. Canice's NCR; Belvedere College SJ

1943-1946 Rathfarnham - Studying Arts at UCD
1946-1949 Tullabeg - Studying Philosophy
1949-1952 Belvedere College SJ - Regency : Teacher; Studying H Dip in Education at UCD (49-50)
1952-1956 Milltown Park - Studying Theology
1956-1957 St Mary’s, Emo - Assistant Socius; Bursar; Teacher; Confessor;
1957-1958 Gandia, Valencia, Spain - Tertianship in Palacio del Santo Duque
1958-1960 Mungret College SJ - Teacher
1960-1965 Belvedere College SJ - Teacher; Directs Conf VdP; Editor of “Belvederian”
1965-1966 Chivuna Mission, Zambia - Studying CiTonga
1966-1978 Chisekesi, Zambia - Teacher ; Spiritual Father; St John Berchmans Sodality; Editor “Canisian” at Canisius College, Chikuni
1969 Transcribed to Zambia Province [ZAM] (03/12/1969)
1978-1981 Mazabuka, Zambia - Teacher and Spiritual Father at St Edmund’s Secondary School
1981-1982 Sabbatical
1982-1986 Zomba, Malawi - Acting Rector; Professor of Moral Theology; Directs Pastoral Ministry at St Peter’s Major Seminary
1986-1987 Luwisha House, Lusaka, Zambia - Teacher at Juniorate; Writer, Director National Apostleship of Prayer, Edits Newsletter
1987-1988 Spokane, WA, USA - Pastor at The Ministry Institute
1988-1992 DeLand, FL, USA - Assistant Pastor at St Peter's Catholic Church
1992-2000 Orlando, FL, USA - Assistant Pastor at Holy Family Catholic Church
1992 Transcribed to Irish Province [HIB] (24/11/1992)
2000-2003 Simpsonville, SC, USA - Associate Pastor at St Mary Magdalene Catholic Church
2003-2009 Lancaster, SC, USA - Pastor at St Catherine Catholic Church
2007 Pastor at St Joseph Parish, Chester, SC; Pastor at St Michael’s, Great Falls, SC
2009-2018 Gardiner St - Writer; Chaplain St Monica’s; Locum in Mater Hospital; People’s Church in Clongowes
2014 Prays for the Church and the Society at Cherryfield Lodge

◆ Jesuits in Ireland : https://www.jesuit.ie/news/remembering-john-oholohan-sj/

Remembering John O’Holohan SJ
Fr John O’Holohan SJ died peacefully at Cherryfield Lodge, Dublin on 19 April 2018 aged 95 years. Prayers were said at Cherryfield Lodge on 22 April, and his funeral Mass took place at Milltown Park Chapel on 23 April, followed by burial at Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.
Born in 1923, John grew up in Drumcondra, Dublin and was educated at Belvedere College SJ in Dublin City. He entered the Jesuit novitiate at St Mary’s, Emo, County Laois in 1941. He studied arts at UCD and philosophy at Tullabeg, County Offaly. He did his regency as a teacher in Belvedere while also studying for the Higher Diploma in Education at UCD. He was ordained in 1955 after further studies in theology at Milltown Park, Dublin. John continued to teach in Jesuit schools in Ireland and did his tertianship in Spain.
In 1965, John went to the missions in Zambia. There, he learned the Chitonga language, taught in schools, and ministered as Spiritual Father among other roles. He was transcribed to the Zambia Province in 1969. He continued to mission in Zambia except for a period as a key formator in St Peter’s Major Seminary in Malawi from 1982-1986. He was the national director of the Apostleship of Prayer in Zambia from 1986- 1987.
In his later years, John worked in pastoral ministry in the United States from 1987-2009. First in Washington state as pastor, then in Florida as assistant pastor, and later as associate pastor and pastor in South Carolina. In the meantime, he was transcribed to the Irish Province again. He returned to Ireland as a member of the Gardiner Street Community in Dublin where he was a writer among other positions. Notably, John celebrated his 90th birthday in 2013, and he finished the day by watching reports of the election of Pope Francis.
He moved to Cherryfield Lodge nursing home in 2014 where his family visited him very often, and he was most appreciative of the care he received there. John died peacefully on the evening of 19 April in the loving care of the staff at Cherryfield. He is deeply regretted by his sisters Dympna Cunningham and Nesta Tuomey, his brother-in-law Larry, his nephews, nieces and extended family, his Jesuit Community and by many friends in the United States.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

The Early Years – in appreciation of my brother John Terry O’Holohan SJ by Nesta Tuomey
As I often told you your influence on me when I was growing up gave me my strong faith in Jesus Christ and your loving chats about God and the saints so interesting and inspiring, they led me to know and want to love Him from an early age. When you took my sister and myself on walks in the Botanic Garden I particularly remember your stories about Wopsy, the little angel, who was always getting into trouble but when he saw the error of his ways he was penitent and tried to do better. He was the role model for me when I was as young as five or six and I loved hearing about him and all the adventures he had. When you were appointed to Belvedere College you would often bring the boys’ essays home with you and allow us to read them, even, at times, to allot marks in order of excellence. All very exciting and heady stuff for ones as young as we were then. Of course, you would put your own marks on the actual copies but it taught us literary appreciation and perception. I remember being intrigued by the letters A.M.D.G. written at the top of each copybook page. When I asked, you explained what the letters stood for – Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam which was the Latin motto for the Society of Jesus founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola and meant ‘To the greater glory of God’. We enthusiastically imitated the Belvedere boys and put A.M.D.G. at the top of our exercise copies until the Sacred Heart nuns at our school in Leeson Street gently bid us to desist.
Undoubtedly, you passed on to us your own fervour and love of St. Ignatius and when you were ordained you chose to spend your Tertianship at Valencia in Spain, despite the rigorous regime this would entail. When you returned to Ireland after a year away, you could speak Spanish and loved to tell us of St. Ignatius and how he came from a very wealthy family and what a proud aristocratic man he was. How when his leg was severely injured by a cannon ball at the Battle of Pamplona he courageously endured the agony of having it broken again and set without benefit of anaesthetic, rather than endure the mortification of walking for the rest of his life with a limp. During his long convalescence, as his leg slowly healed, he underwent a religious conversion. The only books available to him were the lives of the saints but, before long, he found them very much to his taste, and was inspired by the courage and sacrifice of the men and women who showed their burning love in their unconditional service of God. Giving up his great wealth, he resolved to live a life of poverty and sacrifice, doing everything to the greater glory of God, later founding the Society of Jesus. I read the books you gave me including the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and learned discernment and how to make the right decisions but that was not until I had reached a more mature age.
Back in my childhood I very much liked hearing of St. Ignatius’s life and generosity and how when St. Francis Xavier was very strict on new novices and inclined to send them away from the seminary St. Ignatius always gave them a second chance and took them in again by the back door. That was the saint for me, I decided, he was just like Jesus Christ compassionate and ready to forgive and I found myself very much drawn to the order you had chosen to join. From what you told me I was aware that at the age of seven you knew that you wanted to become a priest and it was through your influence on your pupils at Belvedere that a great many joined the Jesuits and were ordained priests. I was no saint myself and in those early years when I used to complain about having to set the Sunday lunch table while my older sister sat listening to you, you told us the story of Mary and Martha, pointing out that in listening to Jesus and letting her sister cook and set tables ‘Mary had chosen the better part’, as indeed she had. But I could never really like Mary or Martha and would have much preferred to be sitting comfortably listening to your stories myself, particularly, when you had such a wonderful way of engaging our interest. You often told us the Bible was the most exciting book ever written, certainly it was the most blood thirsty too. The stories of David and Jonathan’s great friendship and Saul’s jealousy came alive when you told them, making me long to read them for myself.
You were always very generous with your time and I particularly loved the way you would keep front seats for us at the Belvedere College operas. How we loved Gilbert and Sullivan and came to know all the songs. I can still see you young and vigorous, your soutane flying out behind you, as you came smiling towards us. There were our ‘Lemmo’ parties when you financed a bottle of fizzy lemonade and the luxury of Mikado biscuits with jam and marshmallow topping. You would play cards with us, simple games of ‘Snap’ or ‘Beggar My Neighbour’ and there would be a sweet as the winner’s prize. My mother used to laugh and say you could see no wrong in us, I suspect she would have liked us to be more like model children but was forced to put up with the reality.
On looking back, it was on our walks as children and later when you came to spend your leave from Africa with myself, my husband and children, becoming their friend as you had become mine, that our friendship blossomed and grew. I am so thankful you entered into our lives from the beginning enriching them by your affectionate presence, always stirring us gently to an awareness of Jesus and telling us how important it was to put him first in our lives. Somehow you always saw the best in us no matter what and by your unstinting friendship and wise counselling helped us to become more worthy, less selfish, less self- orientated. Undoubtedly, you helped and guided so many others while abroad on the missions in Africa and during your time spent in America as a Jesuit priest. By your ministry you have touched so many lives. At 86 you returned home to Ireland, having been pastor to three parishes in South Carolina, where you had a driver who brought you to the distant towns to say the weekend masses. You took on so much having always expressed the desire to ‘work while there was work to be done’, always of the mind that you would go anywhere a priest was needed; in your eighties even offering your services on an American troop ship. When the officer with a smile in his voice asked, ‘Do you mind my asking, Father, how old you are?’ you told him your age, adding ‘Well, even if I can’t go on board I can set up a confessional on the dock,’ adding the sobering observation, ‘Many of those young soldiers will never come back from Afghanistan and it may be the only time they will have an opportunity to confess before death.’
With your passing, I feel as though I have lost my best friend but believe and take consolation from the fact you have gone to a better place and you are now with Jesus whom you served so faithfully and for so long. With all my love and thanks until we meet again.

◆ The Belvederian, Dublin, 1966

First Impressions of Zambia : Father John O’Holohan SJ (OB 1941)

Lusaka - The Capital
The darkness was falling as we landed at Lusaka airport. I was surprised at the modern and efficient aspect of the streets and traffic arrangements. The people were the main interest. There was great variety of colours, black, brown, and white. The bulk of business seemed to be run by Europeans and Indians. Lusaka has a population of 118,800 of whom 13,800 are non-Africans. It seemed to me like a large country town in Ireland, but it, is growing steadily in population and popularity. I stayed at the parish church of St Ignatius which was built by Father Dermot Murphy (OB 1933), now Father Minister in Canisius College. The PP is Father Denis O'Connell SJ, who taught as a scholastic in Belvedere from 1950 to 1953. On Sunday I said the 10.00 am Mass and preached at four Masses.

I left Lusaka next day with Father Arthur Clarke SJ, the Rector of Canisius College, to drive south to the Chikuni Mission Headquarters. As we drove on in the brilliant sunshine between acres and acres of bush country which covers so much of central Africa, and glimpsed the round huts of the Africans between the trees, I realised that I was now really in the heart of Africa. From the moment I stepped onto African soil I noticed a change of atmosphere, the tempo of life seemed slower, outside the city the clock went back hundreds of years. The heart-throb of Africa beat slowly and steadily like drums at evening.

Chivuna Mission Station
The main road south is a very good one most of the way. Sometimes it degenerates into a narrow strip of tarmac so that it is necessary to shift onto the clay surface when passing cars. This can be quite dangerous, clouds of dust rendering visibility almost nil. About 27 miles on we passed over the great Kafue river where I saw my first hippos, ten of them were wallowing in the warm water near the bridge. After 50 miles more we stopped at Mazabuka to call to see to ever cheerful Father Tom O'Meara, SJ from Mallow. Our next brief stop was at the bishop's house in Monze, 120 miles from Lusaka. There we turned off the main road to drive west over the dirt road to Chivuna 27 miles in the bush. As the swift Africa twilight merged into darkness we reached the mission station situated on a slight elvation. The Superior, Father Bernard Collins SJ, gave us a hearty welcome. He knows Belvedere well; he taught there both as scholastic and a priest. In fact he taught me Greek for the Intermediate Cert in 1939 . Now I was coming back to sit in a desk before him in Central Africa and study Citonga, one of the thirty different Bantu dialects in use in Zambia. Of all the languages I have studied there is only one which bore any resemblance to Tonga, and that Hebrew. Fortunately the letters used are the same as in English, but the whole structure and syntax of the language is different. Most languages vary their tenses and cases, modulating their terminations; Tonga do the reverse, it changes its prefixes and makes the noun, adjective and verb undergo complicated changes to preserve this kind of agreement. Some words evoke memories of English, either by chance or because they are from the English. Some examples interesting words are: mutwe - head, bong - brains, impongo - goat, taata - father; baama - mother, muntu - man, bantu - me The Ave Maria begins: “Wabonwa Mari ozwide luse, Mwami nkwali kuli nduwe ..

Each day we rose at 5.00 am - 5.30 to 7.00 was spent in prayers and celebrating Mass. Classes began at 8.00 and ended at 10.00 am The rest of the day was spent most in private study varied by sessions with a African tutor. The usual course is one year - I was trying to do it in three months - was very painful, and I felt a new sympathy for my pupils in Latin and Greek in Belvedere.

Life in the Bush
When I was told I was going to spend three months in the bush I was prepared for very primitive conditions. At Chivuna I found a well-built house with running water, gauze over the windows and electricity from 6.00 to 9.30 p.m. nightly. The last convenience was due to the presence of a large educational settlement beside us. The Irish Sisters of Charity run very efficiently a large secondary and primary school for girls. They had a machine generating electricity and we shared its light. Beside the convent there is a clinic run by the Sisters which rivals seriously the reputation of any local medicine-men. Zambia is ful of strange contrasts; it is straddling two worlds. In the cities you are in the twentieth century; in the bush you seem to be almost in the stone age. Only a hundred yards from my room there were people living in a manner that was ancient when Caesar invaded Britain. They live in round huts made of bricks, mud or straw. Their staple food is maize seasoned with meat, fish, vegetables, nuts, according as fortune favours them.

One day at the building site near us I saw a devoted wife bringing dinner to her husband at midday: she had two dishes perched on her head and when she presented them to him she did so on her bended knees. There is no doubt who is the official master in the home. In the African tradition the woman is held to be inferior to the man, and virtually his slave. All this is changing now with the rapid improvement of living conditions and education in Zambia. When a girl is through a secondary school she is able to secure personal independence. Boy or girl finishing secondary school has great opportunities for good positions in the country. Even if a boy fails his exams he can still get a job.

Many European teachers have come out to Zambia on a contract to teach for two years. They are doing great work. Many more are needed. Zambia is about nine times the size of Ireland, but its population is less than four million. It is a wealthy country and is spending great sums on education. For five years all education, books, etc, are free. The great need is for teachers, The Government is pouring twenty million pounds into new schools, hospitals and administration centres, and building contractors are so overloaded that they cannot begin to meet the demand for private housing. The new buildings in Chivuna are being built by the Irish firm of Sisk. Signs of progress are everywhere. Africans driving ox carts are passed in a cloud of dust by Africans speeding by in Chevrolets. Near prirnitive huts you see fine modern bungalows springing up. At night I heard the drums beating in the darkness and distance; near the parish church I saw workmen sitting around a fire with a transistor blaring out the top ten. People come to the clinic for treatment for all sorts of ailments; some still consult local quacks and are much influenced by them. Sometimes the sick person comes to the doctor to try to have the medicine-man's failure remedied. One day a youth of 19 came in to the clinic, “I am bewitched”, he said. The Sister laughed at his fears, took his temperature; he seemed in perfect health. He insisted he was going to die. His friends came in and added helpfully “Yes, he is going to die, he is bewitched”. True enough later the healthy young man died. His friends came and took the body away. It is very hard to explain such things.

I have made many forays into the bush in a Landrover to bring people to hospital, sometimes it has been at night alone with a rather formidable looking African complete with club, as a guide. Always I have found them gentle and courteous. Up to very recent times the Tonga people were shamefully neglected. They are fast becoming the complete controllers of their own destinies. They are fortunate in having such a remarkable man as President Kaunda as their leader. He is a man of Christian principles, moderate and idealistic. He welcomes help from Europeans; the white missionary is welcome and respected. There is a great chance for the Catholic Church here.

O'Grady, Peter, 1907-1993, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1909
  • Person
  • 23 May 1907-16 June 1993

Born: 23 May 1907, Bocadh, County Laois
Entered: 14 November 1939, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly (HIB for Oregonensis Province - ORE)
Ordained: 01 April 1933
Final vows: 02 February 1950
Died: 16 June 1993, Spokane WA, USA - Oregonensis Province (ORE)

Did novitiate in Ireland 1939-1941
by 1942 at Milltown (HIB) studying 1941-1943
by 1947 at Rathfarnham (HIB) making Tertianship

◆ Fr Francis Finegan : Admissions 1859-1948 - Alumnus of Irish College Salamanca

O'Galvan, Patrick, 1706-1773, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1906
  • Person
  • 29 October 1706-22 December 1773,

Born: 29 October 1706, Belcaire, Alets-les-Bains, Occitanie, France
Entered: 14 December 1753, Madrid, Spain - Toletanae Province (TOLE)
Ordained: - pre Entry
Final Vows: 02 December 1758
Died: 22 December 1773, Genoa, Italy - Toletanae Province (TOLE)

1757 Socius to the TOLE Novice Master

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Patrick (a colonel in the Spanish Army who was killed at the siege of Barcelona 1714, who called himself Lord of Pobblegalvan, and was professed cavalier of the Order of Calatrava) and Leonora née O’Keeffe both originally from Cork.
Its is possible that he was born in Cork and brought to France at an early age, and that the record in the Novice Entry Book records the family property rather than place of birth.
Already Ordained before Ent 14 December 1753 Madrid

1755-1758 After First Vows he was sent to act as Socius to the Novice Master at Madrid.
1758-1762 He was then sent as Procurator for TOLE at the Imperial College Madrid. He was eminently qualified for this position, as before entry he had studied civil law.
1762-1767 He as appointed as an Operarius at the Church in Madrid.
1767 He was exiled at the expulsion of the Society in Spain, and found refuge at Genoa, Italy, where he died 22 December 1773

O'Dwyer, Charles, 1729-1772, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1894
  • Person
  • 1729-20 January 1772

Born: 04 September1729, Borja, Zaragoza, Spain
Entered: 30 March 1749, Seville Spain - Baeticae Province (BAE)
Ordained: 23 December 1755
Died: 20 January 1772, Bagnacavallo, Italy - Philippine Province (PHI)

Deported from the Philippines 12 May 1768

◆ Fr John MacErlean SJ :
1752 Left for Philippines and after completing studies went to work in Tubig and other places among the natives, especially the Tagulos.
1769 Expelled along with other Jesuits and arrived in Italy - worn out by hardships he had endured he died in 1772 at Bagnacavallo, Italy.

O'Donnell, Thomas J, 1906-1983, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/325
  • Person
  • 04 February 1906-30 March 1983

Born: 04 February 1906, Dublin
Entered: 01 September 1924, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 31 July 1938, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1941, Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin
Died: 30 March 1983, Cherryfield Lodge, Dublin

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

Early education at Belvedere College SJ and Castleknock College, Dublin

by 1929 at San Ignacio, Sarrià, Barcelona, Spain (ARA) studying
by 1946 at St Xavier’s, Bombay (ARA) teaching
by 1954 at Rome, Italy (ROM) - writing
by 1963 at Rome, Italy (ROM) Vatican Radio

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 21st Year No 1 1946

Fr. Thomas O'Donnell left Liverpool on the Mauretania for Bombay on Saturday, October 20th, He arrived in Bombay on November 3rd. He writes :
“In the science faculty here (St. Xavier's College) one of the many departments is devoted to cinematography and sound. It has its own private cinema-theatre. I am lecturing on Roman History to a B.A. honours group, two lectures a week. I am taking charge of the College sodality, and am already booked for two sermons, one on St. Francis Xavier in the College, and the other on St. John Berchmans in our church here”.

Irish Province News 21st Year No 2 1946

IN ALIIS PROVINCIIS DEGENTES :

India :
Fr. T. O'Donnell gave the Lenten Sermons in St. Peter's Church. Bandra, Bombay, on “Christ Crucified in the World To-day."

◆ The Belvederian, Dublin, 1984
Obituary
Father Tom O’Donnell SJ
Fr Tom O'Donnell SJ, whose voice we heard for many years from Radio Vatican, died on 30th March 1983. For two years on and off Tom had been unwell and had spent quite a while in hospital on two or three occasions. But, when on the last visit it was at length discovered he had a tumour on the liver and cancer in a lung, we knew that Tom's. time was limited, and thank God, we were right. For we feared he might have to suffer great pain before his death for a fairly long period. But, his time was indeed limited and he faded away to a quiet and painless death.

De mortuis nihil nisi bonum means that we should pass over in silence the faults and emphasise only the virtues of the dead; well for me, who knew Tom pretty intimately for 58 years, I am glad to be able to say with sincerity that his death was the moment of truth, the moment when Tom's great virtues caused his failings to disappear or rather appear as the petty faults what enhanced rather than diminished his really exceptional virtues.

The first of his virtues was his charity in word and deed. He spoke no uncharitable word. There was no bitterness in his make-up. He felt kindly to all his brethern, and was always ready to oblige. I would like to emphasise this last quality. He had it to a quite exceptional degree, ready to put himself to great trouble at any time to relieve someone of a burdensome task or procure something in town for : someone, the procuring of which involved strenuous leg work.

As a priest he taught for some years in Rathmines Technical School as well as sharing in the teaching of the Juniors in Rathfarnham. From there he was sent to teach at our High School in Bombay from where he had to return after two years with severe stomach ulcers, and enter St Vincent's hospital immediately to undergo a major operation, involving the loss of half his stomach. Following the sudden death of one of the Clongowes community, he was called upon to fill the vacancy for half a year. After this he went to Emo as minister for a year and thence to Milltown to profess Church History for eight years. If one were cynical, one could say that superiors were using his humility and sincere spirit of obedience to plug holes they found difficult to fill.

His next appointment was a novel one - for the majority of us, ancients - and indeed an exciting, if exacting task. ie, news editor and broadcaster in English at Vatican Radio, and finally beggar-in-chief in the USA and Australia to raise funds for a more powerful Vatican Radio. After fifteen years on this last task, his health again began to give trouble and he had to return home. After a year giving retreats in Manresa, he came to Ciongowes where he spent fifteen years doing once again a variety of tasks, none of great note till his death.

I said earlier on that Tom's faults - for he had a few - rather enhanced that detracted from the solid virtues of the man, He was somewhat vain - a fault innocent indeed but one that laid him open to much leg pulling by brethern, but he never resented or showed anger to the jokers and was all the more liked by them. Of pride, that really nasty vice, Tom bad not a particle. He had, I might say, a child-like reverence for those in authority in the Church and in the Society, a virtue so unIrish that it too gave many a good natured laugh to us, his friends, who were very Irish in this matter. Before finishing I must remind his friends and inform the rest that Tom was above all a man of deep faith and trust in God, and a fruit and proof of this was the great patience he showed in his many illnesses and operations, and never so much as in his last illness; and in each hospital he was respected and loved by his nurses for his patience, of course, but especially for his gratitude to them all for their services to him. Rest in peace.

◆ The Clongownian, 1983 & ◆ Irish Province News 58th Year No 3 1983
Obituary

Father Tom O’Donnell SJ

Fr Tom O'Donnell died on the 30th of March. For two years, on and off, he had been unwell and had spent quite an amount of time in hospital on two or three occasions, But, when on the last visit it was discovered that he had a tumour on the liver and cancer in a lung, we knew that Fr Tom's time was limited, mercifully-so as over a fairly long period we feared he might have to suffer great pain before his death. But his time was indeed limited and he faded away to a quiet and painless death.

“De mortibus nihil nisi bonum”, meaning that we should pass over in silence the faults and stress only the virtues of the dead. For me, as someone who knew Fr Tom pretty intimately over fifty-eight years, I am glad to be able to say with sincerity that his death was the moment of truth; the moment when his great virtues and qualities appeared.

The first of his virtues was his charity in word and deed. He spoke no uncharitable word. There was no bitterness in his make-up. He felt kindly to all his brethren and was always ready to oblige. He was obliging to a quite exceptional degree, ready to put himself to great trouble at any time to relieve some one of a burdensome task or procure 'some thing in Dublin for someone, the procuring of which involved a lot of leg work. Fr Tom was also an obedient man. If one scans briefly his career in the Jesuit Order, those of us who know what a trial it can be to have to change course even once, can realize what a humble and truly obedient soul Fr Tom was for he had to change direction often. As a priest he taught for some years in Rathmines technical school as well as sharing in the teaching of Jesuit students in Rathfarnham. From there he was sent to teach at our High School in Bombay from where he had to return after two years with severe stomach ulcers and enter Vincent's Hospital immediately to undergo a major operation, involving the loss of half his stomach. He came to Clongowes then where he spent the first half of the year as study prefect and the second half as prefect of studies in place of Fr Charles Barrett who had died suddenly at a cup match. From Clongowes he went to Emo as minister for a year and thence to Milltown to profess Church History for eight years. His next appointment was a novel and indeed an exciting, if exacting task. He was appointed news editor and broadcaster in English on Vatican radio and finally beggar-in-chief in the USA and Australia to raise funds for a more powerful Vatican radio transmitter. After 15 years at this last task, his health again began to give trouble and he had to return home. After a year giving retreats in Manresa House, in Dollymount, he came to Clongowes where he spent the next 15 years doing a variety of tasks, including editing the Clongownian.

Of Fr Tom's faults - for he had a few - it can be said that these rather enhanced than detracted from the solid virtues of the man. He was somewhat vain - a fault innocent indeed but one that laid him open to much leg pulling by his brethren. But he never resented or showed anger at the teasing and was consequently all the more liked. Of pride, that really nasty vice, Fr Tom had not a particle.

He had, I might say, a child-like reverence for those in authority in the Church and in the Society of Jesus - a virtue so unIrish that it too gave many a good natured laugh to his friends, who were very Irish in this matter.

Above all, Fr Tom was a man of deep faith and trust in God and a proof of this was the great patience he showed in his many illnesses and operations, and never so much as in his last illness where he displayed great patience and especially gratitude to all those who served him.

May he rest in peace.

Gerard O'Beirne SJ

O'Daly, Bernard, 1619-1645, Jesuit scholastic

  • IE IJA J/1887
  • Person
  • 1619-05 July 1645

Born: 1619, Galway City, County Galway
Entered: 1638, Villarejo, Spain - Toletanae Province (TOLE)
Died: 05 July 1645, Oropesa, Toledo, Spain - Toletanae Province (TOLE)

1644 was at Oropesa (TOLE) teaching Grammar for 4 years

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Had already completed two years Philosophy before Ent 1638 Villarejo TOLE
After First Vows he was sent on Regency, first to Plasencia and then or Oropesa where he died 05 July 1645

O'Connor, James Henry, 1679-1724, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1880
  • Person
  • 24 July 1679-04 January 1724

Born: 24 July 1679, County Wexford
Entered: 10 January 1703, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: - pre Entry
Final Vows: 25 March 1713
Died: 04 January 1724, Irish College, Santiago de Compostella, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

Alias Henriquez

A Priest on Entry
1706 at Soria CAST teaching Grammar

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Two Entries for James Harrison (there is another called James Harrison who uses the alias Henriquez, but perhaps this is more correctly an Entry for James O’Connor)
Studied at Santiago and Salamanca. Was prudent, zealous, energetic (Dr McDonald)
1712-1724 Rector of Santiago (cf Foley’s Collectanea) Professor of Rhetoric, and converted many Protestants. Held in great esteem at Compostella (cf euolgium in IER March 1874 written by a Spanish Jesuit). A Spanish Father had been appointed in 1710, but did not get on well with the students, who petitioned for a Rector from their own nation.
See a beautiful account of him in a letter of Père Joseph Payral, 09 January 1724, announcing his death (Irish Ecclesiastical Record ER March 1874, p 251)
Letters of his are at Salamanca

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of James and Mary née Harrison (in Spain he was known as Henriquez, a Spanish form of his mother’s surname)
Had studied at Salamanca where he was Ordained before Ent 10 January 1703 Villagarcía
1705-1712 After First Vows he was sent to Soria to teach Humanities
1712 Rector Irish College Santiago and died in office 04 January 1724
His obituary notice paid tribute to his ability in government and the inspiring example of his religious life.

O'Connell, Michael, 1688-1726, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1876
  • Person
  • 28 September 1688-29 December 1726

Born: 28 September 1688, Ireland
Entered: 07 September 1707, Hodder, Stonyhurst, England - Angliae Province (ANG)
Ordained: 1715
Died: 29 December 1726, St Ignatius College, London, England - Angliae Province (ANG)

1714 at Liège studying Theology

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Three Entries (1) Michael O’Connell; (2) No Ch Name Connell; (3) Michael Connell
(1) Michael O’Connell
DOB 28 23 September 1688 Ireland; Ent 07 September 1707; RIP 1726 England
1714 Second year Theology at Liège
1723 Procurator at Ghent
Minister at Valladolid; Of good talent and singular prudence (Foley’s Collectanea)
(2) No Ch Name Connell
DOB Ireland; Ent pre 1716; RIP post 1716
(3) Michael Connell
DOB 23 September 1688 Ireland; Ent 07 September 1707 ANG; RIP 1726 England
1719-1724 Minister and Procurator at Ghent
1724 Minister at Valladolid

O'Connell, Jeremiah, 1937-2020, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/450
  • Person
  • 02 July 1937-17 November 2020

Born: 02 July 1937, Shortcastle, Mallow, County Cork
Entered: 07 September 1955, St Mary’s, Emo, County Laois
Ordained: 10 July 1969, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 17 September 1975, Mukasa, Choma, Zambia
Died : 17 November 2020, John Chula House, Lusaka, Zambia - Zambiae-Malawi Province (ZAM)

Transcribed HIB to ZAM, 17 September 1975

Early education at Clongowes Wood College SJ

1955-1957 St Mary’s, Emo, County Laois
1957-1960 Rathfarnham Castle - Studying
1960-1962 St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg - studying Philosophy
1962-1963 Loyola, Spain - studying Philosophy
1963-1965 Chivuna, Monze, Zambia - Regency, studying language, then teaching at Canisius College, Chikuni
1965-1966 Belvedere - Regency, teaching
1966-1970 Milltown Park - studying Theology
1970-1974 Canisius College, Chikuni - teaching
1974-1975 Mpima Seminary, Kabwe, Zambia - teaching
1975-1989 Mukasa Secondary School, Choma, Zambia
1989-1992 Canisius College, Chikuni, Zambia - Maintenance
1992-2004 St Ignatius, Lusaka, Zambia
2004-2005 Jesuit Community, Claver House, LeConte, Berkeley CA, USA - sabbatical
2005-2018 Mukasa Jesuit Community, Choma, Zambia
2018-2019 Lusaka House, Lusaka, Zambia
2019-2020 Luwisha House, Lusaka, Zambia - John Chula House

O'Callaghan, Richard, 1728-1807, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1867
  • Person
  • 25 September 1728-15 June 1807

Born: 25 September 1728, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 15 January 1753, Seville, Spain - Baeticae province (BAE) for Philippinae Province (PHI)
Ordained: 1753, Seville, Spain - Pre Entry
Died: 15 June 1807, Upper Church St, Dublin

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Had studied at Seville before Ent.
Spent many years in the Philippine Islands, where his tongue was split by the savages through hatred of his zeal and faith.
1771 Sent to Ireland in November 1771. There he preserved the funds of the Old Society for the Restoration, to which he always looked forward with confidence, and he may be called the founder of the Restored Society in Ireland. He was a very holy man and rejoined the Society at the Restoration.
He died 15 June 1807 in Dublin and is buried at the family plot in Ardcath, and not at the Convent in George’s Hill, as Oliver, Stonyhurst MSS has it.
Note from then Thomas Tasburg Entry :
Father R O’Callaghan’s sister was cured by an application of the above relic (Hogan)

◆ Fr John MacErlean SJ :
Educated at the English College Seville, where he was Ordained in 1728 and Ent for the Philippines Mission
1755 Arrived Manila on 14 July 1755 and did two years Theology
1757 Working on the Missions with natives (one one occasion his tongue was slit to stop him preaching his doctrine!)
1768 Minister at Residence of Barugo on the island of Leyte when Jesuits were expelled on 12 May 1768
1769 Arrived in Italy from Philippines and the General agreed for him to return to Ireland
1771 Arrives in Ireland and worked in Dublin during the suppression in 1773
1804 Entered the Restored Society
1807 Died in Dublin revered for his holiness

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Had already completed his Studies at English College Seville and was Ordained before Ent there 15 January 1753 Seville
After First Vows he was sent to the Philippines and arrived 14 July 1755. He completed his studies at Manila and worked in the Philippines until the Society was expelled from Spain and Spanish territories.
1774 He arrived from the Philippines in Spain he was instructed by the General to join the Irish mission and was back in Dublin by 07 February 1774, to sign the instrument accepting the suppression of the Society.
He was then incardinated into the Dublin diocese and served as a curate at St Mary's Lane Chapel. He was appointed “Fidei Commissarius” of the diocese in succession to John Fullam when he died.
At the partial restoration of the Society in 1804 he renewed his solemn profession and died a Jesuit, 15 June 1807.

◆ 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 yopu 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 14/06/1806 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 07/07/1809 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 anto 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 Provy 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 Richard O’Callaghan 1728-1807
Fr Richard O’Callaghan had the distinction of entering the Society before its Suppression, of living right through that sorrowful period, and of rejoining on its Restoration.

He was born in Meath in 1738, and after studying for seven years at the English Seminary of the Society at Seville, he became a Jesuit.

After his ordination he was sent as a missioner to the Philippine Islands where he laboured with great zeal for many years. On one occasion he was wounded by savages and taken prisoner, and only released on the payment of a good ransom.

Shortly before the Suppression he returned to Ireland in 1771, where he worked in the parish of St Michan’s. During the weary years of waiting for the Restoration, he never ceased to pray for that happy event. “To him” says Oliver “his country must be indebted for his honourable and generous efforts for the education of youth and the re-establishment of his brethren”. He was one of the Trustees of the Province Funds. The supreme consolation of his life was the actual renovation of his Vows as a Jesuit in the Restored Society, which he did in the presence of Fr Marmaduke Stone, Superior of the Restored Jesuits in England.

During his ministry at St Michan’s, Fr Richard usually resided with his good friends the Doyle’s at No 76 Upper Church Street Dublin. Attacked by his last illness, the Doyles transferred him to their country house at Cabinteely, where he passed to his reward on June 15th 1807, and is interred in Arcath Cemetery.

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
CALLAGHAN, RICHARD, was born in 1728. After studying for seven years in the English Seminary at Seville, he enlisted under the banner of St. Ignatius : and, I have been told, soon after his promotion to Holy Orders, was sent to the Mission in the Philippine Islands, were he resided several years, and was wounded on one occasion by the Savage Islanders, for his zealous labours in the Gospel. In November, 1771, as I ascertain from one of his letters, he returned to his native country, and, within two years, had to weep over the dissolution of the Society of Jesus. Yet he never lost hopes of its revival : and, to use his own words, he “ever ardently wished for the renovation of his Profession, and without any change of mind in this point”. At the first news of its restoration he hurried to rejoin his ancient colours. To him his country and religion must ever be deeply indebted for his honourable and generous efforts for the education of youth, and the re-establishment of his Brethren. The Venerable Patriarch died at 76, Upper Church-street, Dublin, on the 15th of June, 1807, and was interred in the Chapel of St. George’s hill, but without any inscription. “Sem per honos nomenque tuum laudcsque manebunt”.

◆ Interfuse

Interfuse No 34 : September 1984

PORTRAIT FROM THE PAST : RICHARD O’CALLAGHAN

Roland Burke Savage

A finely-researched article on Father Richard Callaghan (1728 1807), a man described as one of the langely forgotten links between the original & the restored Society of Jesus in Ireland

In the living tradition of the Province Fr Thomas Betagh (1738-1811), has long been revered as the link between the old Irish Mission and what is now the Irish Province; it is true that he was the school master of the majority of the young men who re-founded the Irish Mission but he was by no means the only former Jesuit who inspired them. While not wishing to question the part played by Betagh, I wish to focus attention on the largely forgotten Richard Callaghan; from the facts that I shall record here I contend that Callaghan was the greater benefactor of the Irish Mission. He was the only former Irish Jesuit to renew his solemn profession (May 1803) in the partially restored Society. He was greatly disappointed that Betagh did not join him in doing so; so grieved was he that a certain friction developed between them. To be fair to Betagh it is only right to state his view: be thought the Pope's oral approval to be an insufficier.. foundation for the partial restoration; he held that as the Society was suppressed by an official Brief so its restoration must be grounded on an equally official Brief. In addition as Vicar General to Archbishop Thomas Troy, he was torn by conflicting loyalties.

Richard Callaghan was born in Dublin on 25 September 1728. He made his studies and was ordained a secular priest in the English College, Seville. On 15 January 1753 he entered the Society in Seville for the Philippine Province. On completing his noviceship he set out for Manila where he arrived on 14 July 1755. Unfortunately there are no annual letters covering that period in the Roman archives so the account of his work there is scanty. He spent his first two years repeating his theology in Manila. Then he worked in the islands of the Pintados and the Visayas, on one occasion the natives split his tongue in hatred of the doctrine he taught. In 1768 the Spanish Government ordered the expulsion of the Jesuits in the Philippines; at that time Callaghan was Minister and Missioner in the residence of Barugo in the Island of Leyte, one of the Visayas. From there he boarded the frigate San Carlos bound for Acapulco in Mexico, the first stage on his way back to Italy. Not being a Spaniard, be was not entitled to the pension which the Spanish Governnent paid to the expelled jesuits. Before returning to Dublin he made his profession of the 4 vows in Genoa on 12 January 1771. The autograph of his vow formula is in the Roman archives.

With nine other Jesuits working in the Archdiocese of Dublin, Callaghan formally accepted the Brief of Suppression from Archbishop John Carpenter on 7 February 1774. It may be of interest to cite the document he signed :

    We, the undersigned of the Suppressed Society
of Jesus, anxious to manifest our ready
obedience to the command of the Holiness,
hereby declare that we accept fully and
simply the apostolic Brief suppressing the
Society, and conformable to the tenor of the
Brief, we acknowledge ourselves brought back
to the state and condition of secular priests
under the complete obedience of his
Illustrious and most Reverend Ordinary.

In testimony of which we have signed our
names this seventh day of February 1774.

RICHARD CALLAGHAN

The first signature followed by the remaining eight.

Though later on, as we shall see, Archbishop Carpenter came to recognise the quality of his new subjects, promoting theo to positions of responsibility, he was far from being sympathetic towards them at the outset. To instance this by two examples we may first cite his letter to Dr Nicholas Sweetman, the Bishop of Ferns, who made plain to hin his deep distress of the suppression. Replying to Sweetman, Carpenter lets himself go:

    Why, in the name of wonder, should be aggregate to ourselves the power of judging an affair on
which we have not the least right to pronounce? ................ The Brief, in order to preserve peace
and prevent animosities, has very wisely forbid the entering into any dispute concerning the
suppression, nor can I at all perceive what reasonable end such a controversy would answer.
I must confess that I never received a letter that astonished me so much as your last has
done. It must surely have been written when the storm of passion was up, and calm reason
absent from the helm. for your comfort let me observe to you that the members of the
suppressed Society are now become members of the most perfect and most illustrious body of
men (the order of St. Peter) that ever was or ever will be on the face of the earth, and one
that never has suffered, and never will suffer dissolution or suppression. Reflect on this,
and be pacified and consoled.

Three months earlier (11 December 1773) Carpenter suggested to Cardinal Marefoschi that whatever capital the Irish Jesuits held should be confiscated and given to the Irish Colleges in Europe. In replying Marefoschi said the Irish College in Rome was badly in need of £300. A debt of at least £1,600 was due to the Dublin residence arising from an old mortgage on the estate of Castle Browne; this mortgage Carpenter and his Vicar General Dowdall, took upon themselves to compound with John Browne, then on his death bed, for £300. Browne, a just and religious man, would have paid the Society in full had not his directors decision prevailed. Fullam adds had he not timely alienated the rest of our property, they might have seized upon the whole and left us as beggars.

The rest of the property was not great: somewhat short of £8,000. It remained over from what was left of the property of the Irish College in Poitiers and what remained of the gift of Catherine Breganza destined for a foundation, never made, in Athlone. Were it not for injudicious speculation by the Father in charge of the funds in Paris in 1750's the Irish Mission fund would have been worth much more.

The reader may have wondered what all this has to do with Richard Callaghan. To help him understand what may appear to be an un justifiable degression, in 1793 Callaghan became the custodian of the former Mission Fund.

On the death of John Ward in October 1775 the last Superior of the old Irish Mission, the property devolved on John Fullam. As the remaining fifteen former Jesvits were convinced that one day the Society would be restored, they were anxious to keep the capital intact. Three fathers were chosen to discuss with Fullam how their property was to be dealt with. John Austin, Henry Nowlan and Joseph Halloran. These four proposed that the capital should be untouched and chat from the interest arising from it each should receive an annuity or £50 a year during their lifetime. All accepted this arrangement which continued until Fullam's death in 1793. In his will he named Richard Callaghan as his Executor Callaghan called together the four remaining survivors to discuss the future of the fund. They confirmed Callaghan as the guardian of the fund but instead of allowing themselves 250 a year, they decided, against Callaghan's wishes, that the interest should be divided equally between the five so that they would have money for various charitable purposes. On Fullam's sisters death he willed his personal property should be added to the fund, bringing it up to almost £16,000.

In addition to their decision to make the interest available to then, they discussed the future of the fund. With the revolution in France at its height, the prospect of the restoration of the Society in the immediate future did not appear bright. As their numbers were so few it was necessary to decide what should become of their patrimony. An agreement was signed binding the last three survivors, in the event of the Society not being restored, to consult with some of the Irish Bishops how best the money could be used in endowing some college for the education of secular priests for work in Ireland.

Callaghan was never satisfied with this agreement as he considered it did not sufficiently safeguard the rights of the Society but as things were so unsettled he thought it better to defer the matter.

Though fully occupied by his work as Curate in St. Andrew's (old Townsend Chapel) and in St. Mohan's (Mary's Lane Chapel) he never forgot the possibility of a restored Society; he knew that the Society still had a precarious existence in White Russia depending on the oral approval of the Pope, Pius. A letter written from Leghorn by a former Irish Jesuit, Peter Plunkett, on 1 July 1794 reveals the way he was thinking and what Fullam also had in mind before he died:

    Russia is by no means fit for rearing missioners for your country. Besides the climate which is
intensely rigid and the language which is extremely difficult, the breeding and manners
are somewhat uncouth ............. taste for the pulpit and polite literature neglected.
Consequently, all thought of Russia should be laid aside in my opinion as a place unfit for
those who are not natives and unfit moreover for answering the wishes of our dear friend
(Fullam who from his private means left £50 for 10 years to the Vicar General in White Russia),
Europe is too: unsettled and precarious to think of making new establishments. When peace is declared

I doubt not in the least of seeing the Society also restored at least in some parts of Italy and Spain. This last country I would prefer for putting into execution the intentions of Mr Fullam.

At the request of the Czar Paul I, Pius VII by the decree Catholicae Fidei (7 March 1801) publicly recognised and formally approved of the Society in White Russia. Anticipating a more general restoration Callaghan sent Peter Kenney and three other young men to St. Patrick's College, Carlow on 6 June 1801 to study humanities with å view to preparing them for entry into the Society: these four were followed by seventeen more students whose pensions Callaghan paid from the Mission fund.

Shortly after the election of Pius VII, the gentlenen of Stonyhurst, as they styled themselves, asked the Vicar General, for the second time, to receive them back into the Society. The Vicar, Gruber, thought it better to consult the Pope before doing so. Writing from Leghorn on 21 December 1801, Peter Plunkett told Callaghan that a Brief had been sent to the Court of Moscovey authorizing the Vicar General of the Jesuits there to assume the title of General and to act throughout the whole Russian empire with the full powers annexed to that dignity authorizing him moreover to take under bis inspection and government all the missions of those countries towards the east that bordered on the said empire. He added. that Cardinal Brancadara, who alone the Pope consulted in drawing up the Brief, said: “The Brief is such that you all may well be contented with”.

Gruber, the General, then wrote to England:

I notify your Heverence that I have received from Cardinal Consalyi from Home an explanation of the
Brief concerning the aggregation to us with regard to those outside (ad exteros). The said Cardinal replied
that it was true that the Holy Father in the Brief had restricted our existence. to Russia but by that His Holiness
did not wish to prevent others in non-Catholic or Catholic countries from aggregating to us provided they
did not open new professed houses; suon faculty inheres in the Brief, since without it, it would seem that the
Society could not maintain itself. So the field is open. His Holiness could not reply more clearly.

In March 1803, at William Strickland’s suggestion, Gruber named Marmaduke Stone, a professed father of the old Society, as English Provincial: he commissioned Strickland to admit Stone, the Superior of the gentlemen of Stonyhurst, to solemn profession and then to install him as Provincial of England. Stone took his vows on 22 May 1803 and shortly afterwards he re-admitted six members of the former English Province with Nicholas Grou, the well known spiritual writer and Richard Callaghan who journeyed over from Dublin to Stonyhurst for the ceremony.

Before renewing his profession he told Stone that he had made his will transferring the Mission fund and his own personal property to him whom he had named as trustee for the future Irish Jesuits. Before returning be handed his will to Stone.

Four years later Callaghan died on 15 June 1807 with the reputation of being an outstandingly zealous priest; in 1852, forty-five years after his death he was described as “the great Callaghan”. On hearing of his death Stone and Sewell crossed over to Dublin where Betagh introduced them to an eninent Catholic Attorney named Browne. He advised them to take possession of Callaghan's effects and papers without the slightest risk from his relations in virtue of the will they produced. Browne also advised them to have all the debentures transferred to Stone's name. In an amusing sentence in his letter to Wright, Stone tells how he found £4,000 in cash under the floorboards of Callaghan's sitting room: “it is lucky”, he writes, “that I was made acquainted with Callaghan's secret repository three years ago”.

Both Stone and Sewell were greatly taken by Betagh's kindness and concern for them: they had earlier formed a wrong impression largely because of his failure to rejoin the Society which had so disappointed Callaghan. Betagh told them that he was leaving £200 and his library to Stone in trust for the future Irish Mission, The highlight of their stay was when he brought them to dine with the Doyles of Church Street to meet five Irish Bishops.

When Callaghan's affairs were settled Sewell noted on 30 August 1807 that £30,000 had been lodged with Wright's of London in trust for the future Irish Mission. Callaghan's wisdom in transferring the Mission funds to Stone will become clear in the sequel.

Early in the year of Callaghan's death Archbishop Thomas Troy of Dublin wrote a long letter to Cardinal Di Pietro alleging misappropriation of the funds of the former Irish Jesuits. He asked the Cardinal to write to Stone at Stonyhurst firmly and decisively and “to threaten him with suspension if he does not transfer the funds...”. His agent in Rome, Luke Concannon OP, in a covering
dated 14 July 1807 enclosing Di Pietro's answer, wrote that he thinks “the Jesuits havo outwitted Propaganda and all of you and you'll never get a farthing out of them now..... It is not known whether the Jesuits exist or not in the British Empire; De Pietro believes they do not, but cannot swear to it ... Such an artful and political body of men (as the Jesuits) never existed”.

In an earlier undated letter Concannon expressed amazement at the obstinacy of the old ex-Jesuit Callaghan. Dr Carpenter was too indulgent. Callaghan will now be pleased that the Society survives in the persons of the Abbé O'Connell and the Abbé Plunkett, both ex-Jesuits.

The next move is a letter from Propaganda to Archbishop Troy, dated 23 January 1808, stating that a letter is being sent to Stone about all the ex-Jesuit funds: the Arcbbishop is to forward to Rome all documents relevant to the same. Under the date 5 May 1808. We have a draft reply in which Plowden (the English Master of novices) makes two points succinotly: (1) three former Irish Jesuits are still alive: Fr. Betagh (Dublin), Peter Plunkett (Leghorn) and James Connell (Rome); (2) does the Archbishop wish “to invoke the spiritual power to invalidate the will of a British subject?” This last point is a reference to the statute of Praenunire. There is no evidence in the Dublin diocesan archives of a letter based on Plowden's draft. There is a letter from Concannon, dated 8 October 1808, upbraiding Troy for giving up the Callaghan affair and urging him to take the matter up again with Di Pietro.

Plowden supplies us with the end of the story in a letter, dated 20 November 1808: in it be records that “Archbishop Troy is satisfied that Mr Stone will fairly employ the property in question. Mr Granger says the affair is now closed and settled”. (1) + (2)

(1) To make for easier reading I have deliberately omitted all references as this is meant to be a straightforward popular account.

(2) In his Biographical Dictionary of Irish Jesuits in the old Society, Fr Francis Finegan SJ, in a brief notice of Callaghan states that he was appointed Fidei Commissarius by Archbishop Carpenter. I failed to trace where he got the information so I asked him these two questions, What was the function of Fidei Commissarius? and what was his source for his statement? He said he had forgotten.
I deliberately omitted this matter from text as I have a source for every statement in it.

Interfuse No 47 : Easter 1987

The Suppression in Ireland

Roland Burke Savage

There were sixteen Jesuits working in Ireland when the Society was suppressed. Here's what happened to them and to their money during the forty years of darkness. The story has a happy ending.

Without entering into details about the Suppression it will be enough to recall that the enemies of the Jesuits in Europe, rationalists and free thinkers for the most part, were not satisfied with Pombal's victory in Portugal from where he expelled them in 1759; with Choiseul's dissolution of the Society in France in 1762; or with the deportation of the Jesuits from Spain by Charles III in 1767. What they wanted was the total destruction of the Society as a religious order; relentlessly they pressed forward to achieve their purpose. Clement XIII exerted all his efforts to defend the Jesuits but his successor Clement IIV, four years after his election, yielded to mounting pressure from the Bourbon governments, more especially from Spain. Accordingly, without any judical process, Clement suppressed the Society by the Brief Dominus ac Redemptor dated 21st July, 1773.

of the sixteen Jesuits then working in Ireland, the eleven working in Dublin formally accepted the Brief of Suppression from Dr. Carpenter, Archbishop of Dublin, on 7th February, 1774; four others accepted it in Waterford and the remaining one in Wexford.

John Ward, who had been the superior of the Irish Jesuit nission from 1760 to 1773, was the first of the suppressed Jesuits to die. Shortly after his death in 1775, the remaining fifteen survivors met in Dublin. They elected John Fullam as chairman; all were convinced that the Society would some day be restored and so they drew up an agreement to safeguard the future of the mission fund, sadly depleted some twenty years before by financial failure in France. At that meeting and at a subsequent one on Fullam's death in 1793, they decided to leave their capital intact and to allow each of them and annuity of £50 a year as long as he lived. At Fullam's death the fund stood and £8,650 but it was more than doubled by his leaving his own private money to be added to the fund on the death of his sister. Though he does not appear to have been as well known as Austin or Betagh, he had many staunch friends and admirers among the better-off Catholics who showed their esteem for him by giving him considerable gifts of money from time to time. In some instructions regarding his will he modestly attributed their largesse to their regard for the Society to which he had belonged.

John Austin was born in New Street (then called Austin's Grounds) near Kevin Street, Dublin, on 12th April, 1717. Battersby, the well-known Dublin bookseller and publisher of the directory, tells how young Austin, who went to school near St. Patrick's, one day rattled of impromptu Latin verses to divert some youngsters from butchering a faithful old dog. Being told of these verses and much struck by the talent they displayed, Swift sent for Austin's parents and asked them what they wished to make of the boy. When the Dean heard that they hoped he might become a priest, he told them to send him to the Jesuits who would make a man of him. There is a tradition that the Dean went further by offering to pay some of the expenses involved.

Whether that tradition be true or not, John Austin entered the Society of Jesus at Nancy in the Champagne Province on 27th November, 1735. He studied at Pont-à-Musson in Lorraine, at Rheims where he was ordained priest, and at Poitiers where the Irish Jesuit mission had its only continental college.

In 1750, Austin returned to Dublin to work as an assistant priest in St. Michael's chapel, Rosemary Lane, Though he is best remembered as a great schoolmaster, it is well to recall some of his other activities. Contemporary evidence stresses his immensely energetic and generous disposition; besides his church work, the mass, the confessional and the pulpit, he was tireless in visiting the sick and the poor in the garrets or cellars, constantly giving away all he had. The more prosperous Catholics, knowing his disposition, were liberal in their gifts to him: they knew he kept his door open to all in need.

He was much in demand as a preacher, and may be said to have begun the practice of 'charity sermons' which raised 30 large a part of the revenue for various good works in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Dublin. A touching proof of the Patrician Orphan Society's gratitude to Austin is found in the silver medallion presented to him on 17th March, 1776, still preserved in Clongowes.

Austin's school in Cook Street quickly established itself as the leading classical academy in the city. Among pupils in its early years were Thomas Betagh, later to return from France as a Jesuit priest to assist him and, after his death, to carry on and extend his work; John O'Keeffe, the dramatist, who tells “how from Greek, Latin and French acquired under Father Austin, to whose school in Cook Street I went, my fancy soon strayed to Shakespeare”.

The dissolution of the Society of Jesus in France in 1762 brought welcome assistance to him by the home coming of James Philip Mulcaile and Thomas Betagh. Mulcaile took up duty in Mary's Lane chapel; in addition to starting an elementary school for boys and help Mary Teresa Mulally to open a small school for girls of the parish in 1766, he taught in Austin's school.

Four years after Mulcaile's return, Thomas Betagh arrived in Dublin. Born on 8th May, 1738, in Kells, Co. Meath, where his father was a tanner, he received his classical education in Austin's school in Cook Street. He entered the Society of Jesus at Nancy on 3rd November, 1754; graduated master of arts at Pont-à-Musson in Lorraine, taught humanities for four years before beginning his theological studies also at Pont-à-Musson and was ordained on 24th May, 1766. In the following year, he began his work as assistant priest in Rosemary Lane. Of all the Jesuits of the old Society his career is the most fully recorded in the newspapers and magazines of the period and in the folklore of old Dubliners, many of whom treasure engravings or busts of him which depict him characteristically as a hunchback.

With Mulcaile and Betagh to help him, Austin was able to expand his school work and moved to a larger house in Saul's Court, off Fishamble Street. He also set up a boarding house to provide for boys from the country; one such was Daniel Murray from Arklow, later to become Archbishop of Dublin. Other pupils included Michael Blake, later bishop of Dromore, William Yore, a future vicar general in Dublin and Charles Stuart, later Provincial of the Augustinians.

Austin died on 29th September, 1784, after a tedious illness. An English traveller visiting Dublin in 1789 was surprised to find a neat and elegant obelisk in St. Kevin's churchyard commemorating a Catholic priest only a few years dead. This obelisk was removed when Dublin Corporation turned St. Kevin's churchyard into a public park; it has now been restored and may be seen inside the main gate on Camden Row.

That Betagh and Mulcaile maintained with success Austin's work is evident from the relatio on the state of his diocese sent to Rome in 1790 by Dr. Patrick Plunkett, bishop of Meath. He reported that there was a remarkable school in Dublin presided over by two secular priests who had belonged to the Society of Jesus and that he had adopted it as a seminary for his diocese.

On Fullam's death the care of the mission fund devolved upon Richard Callaghan who as a young priest had worked for many years in the Philippines where his tongue was slit by one of the islanders in hatred of his faith and zeal. In August, 1793, Callaghan with four other surviving members of the old Society discussed the future of the fund. With the Revolution at its height in France, the prospect of the restoration of the Society in the immediate future did not appear bright; as their numbers were becoming so few it was necessary to determine what should become of their patrimony. An agreement was signed binding the last three surviving members, whoever they should be, in the event of the Society not being restored, to consult with some of the Irish bishops as to how best the money could be employed in endowing some college for the education of secular priests for work in Ireland.

Callaghan was never satisfied with this agreement as he considered it did not sufficiently safeguard the rights of the Society, but as things were so unsettled he thought it better to defer the matter. He knew that the Society still led a precarious existence in White Russia, depending on the oral approval of Pius VI who feared to commit himself in writing.

A happy turn of events brought new hope. At the request of the new Czar, Paul I, Pius VII by the decree Catholicae Fidei (7th March, 1801) publically recognized and formally approved of the Society in White Russia. Anticipating a more general restoration, Callaghan sent Peter Kenney with three other young men to St. Patrick's College, Carlow, on 6th June, 1801, to study humanities with a view to preparing them for entry into the Society: these four were followed by seventeen more students, whose pensions Callaghan paid from the mission fund.

-oOo-

Events now took another turn. On the suppression of the Society the English Jesuits were allowed to continue their college in Liège as an academy for the education of secular priests for the English mission and for a certain number of lay boys. In 1786, while living as secular priests in community, they petitioned the vicar general in Russia to receive them into the Society; the vicar had to refuse their request as his jurisdiction was confined to Jesuits living in White Russia. Eight years later, on the outbreak of the revolutionary wars in the Netherlands, they crossed to England with their students and established themselves at Stonyhurst near Blackburn, Lancashire, put at their disposal by Thomas Weld of Lulworth Castle, Dorset.

Shortly after the election of Pius VII, the gentlemen of Stonyhurst, as they were styled, again asked the vicar general to receive them back into the Society. The vicar, Gruber, thought it better to consult the Pope before doing so. Writing from Leghorn on 21st December, 1801, Peter Plunkett told Callaghan that a Brief had been sent to the Court of Moscovy authorizing the vicar general of the Jesuits there to assume the title of general and to act throughout the whole Russian empire with the full powers annexed to that dignity; authorizing him moreover to take under his inspection and government all the missions of those countries towards the east that bordered on the said empire. He added that Cardinal Brancadara, whom alone the Pope consulted in drawing up the Brief, said: "The Brief, he assured, is such that you all may well be contented with'. Plunkett then suggested that there should be no difficulty in getting privately a Brief to cover England and Ireland. He added, however, that James Connell, also a former Irish Jesuit and then secretary to Cardinal Rinuncini in Rome, consulted Brancadara who advised seeking a Brief for Ireland alone as the vicars apostolic in England were hostile to the Jesuits.

In March, 1803, at William Strickland's suggestion, Gruber named Marmaduke Stone, a professed father of the old Society, as English Provincial: he commissioned Strickland to admit Stone, the Superior of the Stonyhurst community, to solemn profession of the four vows and then to install him as Provincial of England.

Stone took his vows on 22nd May, 1803, and shortly afterwards he re-admitted six members of the former English Province, with Nicholas Grou, the well-known spiritual writer, and Richard Callaghan who had journeyed over to Stonyhurst for the ceremony.

Before renewing his profession, Callaghan told Stone that he had made a will transferring the Irish Jesuit mission fund and his own personal property to him whom he had named as trustee for the future Irish Jesuits.

On hearing of Callaghan's death, Stone and Sewell crossed over to Dublin on 25th July, 1807, where Betagh introduced him to an eminent Catholic attorney named Brown who advised them to take possession of Callaghan's effects and papers without the smallest risk in virtue of the will they produced. Brown also advised them to have all the debentures transferred to Stone's name. In an amusing sentence in his letter to Wright, Stone tells how he found £4,000 in cash under the floorboards: “it is lucky that I was made acquainted with Callaghan's secret repository three years ago”.

When Callaghan's affairs were settled Sewell noted on 30th August, 1807, that £30,000 had been lodged in England for the benefit of the future Irish mission.

Early in the same year Archbishop Troy wrote a long letter to Cardinal di Pietro alleging misappropriation of the funds of the former Irish Jesuits. He asked the Cardinal to write to Stone at Stonyhurst “firmly and decisively” and “to threaten him with suspension if he does not transfer the funds... He (Troy) has always been friendly with the Jesuits, giving them parishes and appointing one his vicar general (Father Betagh)”.

His agent in Rome, Father Luke Concannon, OP, in a covering letter dated 14th July, 1807, enclosing Cardinal di Pietro's answer, wrote that he thinks “the Jesuits have outwitted Propaganda and all of you and you'll never get a farthing out of them now.. It is not known whether the Jesuits exist or not in the British Empire; di Pietro believes they do not, but cannot swear to it... Such an artful and political body of men (as the Jesuits) never existed”.

In an earlier undated letter, Concannon expressed amazement at the obstinancy of the old ex-Jesuit, Fr. Callaghan. Dr. Carpenter (Dr. Troy's predecessor as Archbishop of Dublin) was too indulgent. Callaghan will now plead that the Society survives in Rome in the persons of the Abbé O'Connell and the Abbe Plunkett, both ex-Jesuits'.

The next move is a letter from Propaganda to Archbishop Troy dated 23rd January, 1808, stating that a letter is being sent to Stone about all the Irish ex-Jesuit funds; the archbishop is to forward to Rome all documents relevant to same. Under the date 5th May, 1808, we have a draft reply to Archbishop Troy written by Plowden in which he makes two points succinctly: (1) three former Irish Jesuits still alive: Fr. Betagh (Dublin), Peter Plunkett (Leghorn) and James Connell (Rome). (2) Does the archbishop wish “to invoke the spiritual power to invalidate the will of a British subject?”. This last sentence is a reference to the statute of Praemunire.

There is no evidence in the Dublin diocesan archives of the letter based on Plowden's draft; there is a letter from Concannon dated 8th October, 1808, upraiding Troy for giving up the Callaghan affair (the ex-Jesuit funds) and urging him to take the matter up again with Cardinal di Pietro.

Plowden supplies us with the end of the story in a letter dated November 20th; in it he records that “Archbishop Troy is satisfied that Mr. Stone will fairly employ the property in question. Mr. Granger says that the affair is now closed and settled”.

-oOo-

To complete the restoration of the Society in England, Stone founded a noviciate at Hodder Place about a mile from Stonyhurst. Here on 26th September, 1804, Peter Kenney with four other Irishmen and seven Englishmen began their noviceship with Charles Plowden as their master. Tempting though it be to follow Kenney through Hodder, Stonyhurst and Palermo where he was ordained, the aim of these pages rules this out: the starting point must be his return to Dublin on 1st September, 1811, six months after Betagh's death. In his Palermo journal he had recorded, “God forbid that I should ever be a Superior, especially over the Irish”; before setting out for Dublin, however, he found himself appointed Superior by the Provincial of Sicily, later to be confirmed by the General in Russia. On arrival in Dublin, he learned that Stone held £32,000 for him in trust to rebuild the Irish mission.

Foremost in Kenney's mind from the outset was the setting up of a boarding school but he knew that he would have to wait for the arrival of the second batch of his confrères not due to finish their studies in Palermo until the summer of 1814. Stone wrote to him early in 1812 to tell him that he met Dr. Moylan in London who 'would welcome a college in Cork and (he) though that Dr. Power in Waterford'. Even before this Kenney, knew that Dr. Plunkett, Bishop of Meath, would also be glad to have him in Meath.

Meanwhile he lost no time in settling into other work while his plans matured. First he lodged in the house in Cook Street where Betagh had lived and before long he moved across the Liffey to No. 3, George's Hill to Mulcaile's old home. He gave his attention to what was near at hand: helping the nuns in George's Hill with conferences and advice, hearing confessions in St. Michan's, preaching there and in other city churches.

Kenney was not long in Dublin before Dr. Troy asked him to become vice president of Maynooth, as Dr. Everard, the president, had become seriously unwell. For many reasons Kenney was slow to accept this responsible position, especially as he was not twelve months back in Ireland: in the end he agreed to act for the academic year 1812-13, on condition that Dr. Troy's coadjutor Dr. Daniel Murray held the presidency.

In the autumn of 1813, Kenney began negotiations with General Michael Wogan Browne for Castle Browne which he had inherited on the death of his brother; as the estate was heavily in debt he was anxious to find a purchaser for the house and some of the land. Situated some twenty miles west of Dublin near the village of Clane, co. Kildare, Castle Browne seemed suitable for Kenney's purpose. Daniel O'Connell, always cautious in questions of title, was fully satisfied that the property was confirmed by letters patent of King Charles II. Long before the deal was completed, the anti-Catholic faction raised hue and cry. Despite it, Kenney was satisfied to buy the house and 219 acres for £16,000. The deed of conveyance from Browne to Kenney was signed on 4th March, 1814. Kenney's sharpened sense of history led him to deem that day Founders' Day, as the purchase was made possible for the foresight and generosity of his predecessors.

Hansard recorded in full detail a debate in the House of Commons on 17th May, 1814, initiated by Sir John Cox Hippsely who asserted that it had come to his knowledge that nearly £30,000 had been remitted from Rome to Ireland for the purpose of purchasing lands. Sir Henry Parnell told the House that Mr. Kenney had put into his hands the prospectus of his establishment; the whole object which it aimed at was neither more nor less than the education of young persons; it did not even exclude those the Protestant religion. Sir Henry Newport, MP for Waterford, said that he had looked into the statute book and could not see what objection could be raised against the conduct of Mr. Kenney.

Replying to the debate, Robert Peel told the Commons that he had interviewed Mr. Kenney and had received from him the prospectus of his school. The only point Kenney refused to divulge was how he came by the money which he asserted was his private property. Peel told him that he must not be surprised if the same feeling which had induced the British Government to confiscate the property of the Jesuits in Canada should induce them at least to watch with the utmost diligence and suspicion an institution established and superintended by one of the order, supported by funds, the origin and nature of which were totally unaccounted for.

The debate is best summed up in an entry in Charles Abbot's Diary under the date 23rd May, 1814:

“Peel called by appointment... talked over the foundation of the school at Clongrove (sic) Wood, late Castle Browne, Kenney's conversation with him asserting the £16,000 to be his own funds, though how obtained he refused to disclose; and that when his vow of poverty was objected to him in bar of his being the proprietor of such funds, he said the vow was only simple not solemn. To all questions he generally answered by putting some other questions instead of giving an affirmative or negative”.

On 18th May, 1814, Clongowes Wood College received its first pupil, James MacLorinan, of Dublin.

O'Brien, John, 1708-1767, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1853
  • Person
  • 20 December 1708-02 May 1767

Born: 20 December 1708, Waterford City, County Waterford
Entered: 22 October 1725, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: 11 November 1734, Salamanca, Spain
Final Vows: 02 February 1743
Died: 02 May 1767, Franciscans, Santander, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

1766-1767 At Valladolid Operarius, Prefect of Health and Priests Sodality. Confessor of Tertians and Church
Taught Grammar, Philosophy, Theology and Concinator
Rector for 6 years and Procurator of CAST

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
1739-1743 Professor of Philosophy at Valladolid, and also Minister and Spiritual Father there
1743-1760 “Perhaps the most successful of all the Rectors of Salamanca and Seville.
His letters from 1741-1761 are at Salamanca (Dr McDonald in Irish Ecclesiastical Record and in letters to Hogan)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Thomas and Mary née Carroll
Had studied at Irish College Santiago for one year before Ent 22 October 1725 Villagarcía
1727-1728 After First Vows he was sent for a year of Regency at Arévalo
1728-1735 He was then sent for Philosophy to Medina del Campo and then Theology at Royal College Salamanca where he was Ordained 07 November 1734
1735-1736 Tertianship at Valladolid
1736-1739 Sent to teach Humanities at Coruña and then Villagarcía
1739-1743 Sent to a Chair in Philosophy at St Ambrose, Valladolid
1743-1760 Rector of Irish College Salamanca 29 August 1743. The Superior of the Irish Mission, Thomas Hennessy, was annoyed by this appointment as he wanted O'Brien, a fluent Irish speaker, for work on the Mission
1760 At his own request, he was relieved of the burden of office at Salamanca. He had proven to be an excellent administrator and his Diario of the College kept faithfully throughout those years of his Rectorship is a valuable source of information for the history of the Catholic Church in Ireland.
He corresponded for many years with James Davin in Madrid, and many of the latter’s interesting and entertaining letters have survived.
He spent his last years as Operarius at Valladolid. At the expulsion of the Society from Spain he was too ill for the journey overseas. He found refuge with Franciscans at Santander where he died 02 May 1767

O'Brien, Henry, 1907-1976, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/312
  • Person
  • 23 May 1907-07 March 1976

Born: 23 May 1907, Rathmines, Dublin
Entered: 20 September 1924, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 24 June 1937, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 08 September 1942, Wah Yan College, Hong Kong
Died: 07 March 1976, St Francis Xavier Church, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Older Brother of John (Jack) O’Brien - Ent 01/09/1927; LEFT 18 June 1935

by 1929 at Eegenhoven, Leuven Belgium (BELG) studying
by 1932 fifth wave Hong Kong Missioners - Regency
by 1939 at St Beuno’s, Wales (ANG) making Tertianship
by 1960 at St Francis Xavier, Phoenix AZ (CAL) working

◆ Hong Kong Catholic Archives :
Father Harry O’Brien, S.J.
R.I.P.

Prefect of Studies at Wah Yan College, Hong Kong, before and after World War II and at St. Louis Gonzaga, Macau, during the war, died at Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A., on 7 March 1976, aged 68.

Note from Timothy Doody Entry
Another passage in this book also describes Mr. Doody busy amid shelling and bombing. During a lull in his billeting work he found a new apostolate. Two priests were sheltered in the M.E.P. Procure on Battery Path. Mr. Doody took up his position outside the Procure and boldly enquired of all who passed if they were Catholics, and, if they were, did they wish to go to confession. The results were almost startling. The most unexpected persons turned out to be Catholics, from bright young things to old China hands, and after the first start of surprise at the question in the open street in staid, pleasure-loving Hong Kong, they generally took the turn indicated by Mr. Doody and found Father Grogan of Father Fitzgerald of Father O’Brien ready to meet them inside.

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 21st Year No 4 1946

Leeson St :
We were very glad to have several members of the Hong Kong mission with us for some time: Frs. P. Joy, T. Fitzgerald, and H. O'Brien, while Fr. George Byrne has joined us as one of the community.

Irish Province News 22nd Year No 1 1947

Departures for Mission Fields in 1946 :
4th January : Frs. P. J. O'Brien and Walsh, to North Rhodesia
25th January: Frs. C. Egan, Foley, Garland, Howatson, Morahan, Sheridan, Turner, to Hong Kong
25th July: Fr. Dermot Donnelly, to Calcutta Mission
5th August: Frs, J. Collins, T. FitzGerald, Gallagher, D. Lawler, Moran, J. O'Mara, Pelly, Toner, to Hong Kong Mid-August (from Cairo, where he was demobilised from the Army): Fr. Cronin, to Hong Kong
6th November: Frs. Harris, Jer. McCarthy, H. O'Brien, to Hong Kong

Irish Province News 51st Year No 3 1976

Obituary :

Fr Harry O’Brien (1924-1976)

Harry O’Brien had the misfortune of spending most of his life too far away from those who knew him best. He went to Hong Kong as a scholastic, was not very successful at learning Chinese, but held posts which for a scholastic of those days were of high importance. He was prefect of studies, gamesmaster, editor of a monthly called The Rock, and in whatever spare time he had he gave instruction. Many of those he instructed are today well known Catholics in Hong Kong.
This work was really too much for him, and going back to Ireland for theology, he acknowledged that he was very tired. He was ordained in Dublin, and did his tertianship in St Beuno’s in north Wales. Even at that time, he was in pain from the incipient arthritis which was later to cripple him - and open the door to a new life in a new land,
After tertianship, Harry returned to Hong Kong, and was again appointed prefect of studies at our big day-school in Hong Kong, Wah Yan College. (This is the name given by the founder of the school, a Catholic layman, who chose part of the name of his native village and part of his own Chinese name for the school, which he later handed over to Ours.) This time Harry worked for about three years in Wah Yan.
Then came the Pacific war and the Japanese attack on Hong Kong, 8th December, 1941. During the fortnight's siege of the colony, the Jesuits who were then in Hong Kong helped to find food and shelter for the thousands of homeless who crossed from the mainland of Kowloon at the approach of the Japanese army. This was dangerous work, because the island of Hong Kong was shelled from about eight in the morning until light failed. The nights were mostly quiet. On one occasion Harry had to bring families from the dangerous houses at sea-level facing the harbour and the Japanese guns, to the quieter, safer heights of the Peak, a fashionable district about 1800 feet above the sea, and at the time considered a “good” address. He risked his life, because the road to the Peak was a carpet of bursting shells. When the British surrendered, on Christmas day, 1941, English, Americans, and those whom the Japanese called “enemy aliens” were imprisoned until the end of the war.
The city emptied. Chinese returned to their villages, Portuguese, Indians, Irish and a few Chinese took refuge in Macau, the small Portuguese enclave on the China coast about forty miles west of Hong Kong. The Portuguese organised centres for the refugees from Hong Kong: large houses, a few small hotels and some Vacant government offices. In these centres the refugees found shelter, a minimum of food-mostly rice. But there was no school, and these young people from Hong Kong had nothing to do all day but roam the streets, and at night, sit at the doors and look at the moon.
The Portuguese governor of Macau and the British consul first got the idea of a school for the refugees, and they approached Fr Paddy Joy, then Superior of the Mission. The Portuguese government agreed to give a house, books, and a small salary to the staff. Harry was made prefect of studies and superior of the Jesuit community of five. He called the school Gonzaga College, or Luís Gonzaga College, as it is still known by its past pupils. Scholarly by nature and discipline, Harry directed this school through the turmoil of the war years, with an authority which inspired respect, and a kindness which made him loved. During these years in Macau, Gonzaga College had in all about 200 students. Of this number, eight are now doctors, seven are professors in American and Canadian universities: one is a lecturer in marine biology in the University of Hawaii, and three are architects: which is not a bad record for any school.
But these three years of war broke Harry - physically. He returned to Hong Kong again as prefect of studies in Wah Yan College. He was in constant pain, and arthritis was crippling him. But none knew of his pain - except his “doctor”, as he used to call the chiropractor whom he visited daily. He wasn't getting better, so the Superior of the Mission, Fr Tom Ryan, did the big thing and the wise thing. He sent him to the famous Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The doctors there said that Harry could not return to Hong Kong or to the humid Irish climate. Fr Ryan arranged for him to go to the dry, desert climate of Arizona, and there in the small oasis of Phoenix, Harry worked for twenty six years.
In Phoenįx, Arizona, the Jesuits of the California Province have a large day-school (Brophy), much like Belvedere. Harry taught there for a while. But it was in the parish church of St Francis Xavier that he did the work by which he will be remembered. He had that rare and precious gift of putting everyone at their ease. Maybe this was due to his obvious holiness, or to his kindness, or to his sense of humour, or to a combination of all three. Whatever it was, the people of Phoenix - a shrewd and candid cross-section of America-loved and respected him. They showed this when he died. But they also showed it in a very practical way when he celebrated his golden jubilee in the Society two years ago, in 1974. The parishioners gave him a cheque for US $14,000. Part of this was used to remodel the kitchen of the presbytery, and on the wall is a brass plate which reads: “On the occasion of the 50th year in the Society of Jesus of Father Henry ‘Harry’ O'Brien, this room was remodelled”.
He got on equally well with the community. He was spiritual father, an authority on canon law and marriage cases, and a wise and kind confessor. After the evening visit to the blessed Sacrament, he would slip into the confessional near the domestic chapel.
He was never prominent in conversation, and whether right or wrong in his opinion, he was too clear-headed to be unjust. He spoke seldom, but when he did speak, he was worth listening to. He had a quiet, well-honed wit. But it wasn't barbed: it never hurt.
The stained-glass windows in the church of St Francis Xavier, Phoenix, were designed by Harry. Few of his contemporaries - in Ireland anyhow - knew that he was an artist of quality, with a nice feeling for colour and proportion, and more than an amateur knowledge of technique, especially of oil-painting. One of his portraits of a former superior of the parish - hangs in the community library. But he never took painting seriously. He told this writer that he didn't know enough about painting to be really good, and know too much to be really bad. For him, it was a supremely relaxing hobby, and nothing more.
Harry never returned to Hong Kong. He was invited, but he felt that he had not the strength for the journey, or the courage to face anew so much that was old. He was in poor health for months, and last September, 1975, cancer of one lung was discovered. The treatment - deep-ray therapy - was painful and unavailing. Harry died on 7th March, 1976.
Fifty priests from the diocese concelebrated the requiem Mass. Bishop McCarthy was represented by his vicar-general, and him self came later to pay his respects. Harry rested for a day in the church to which he had given his best years, the coffin bathed in the desert light from the windows which he designed. He was a holy priest, a loyal Jesuit, and a good friend. May he rest in peace.

Another Jesuit writes of Harry as follows:
When I arrived in Phoenix in December 1959 Harry O’Brien was already a living legend. His white hair and his frail figure gave him the appearance of a much older man, especially to the children of the parish, all of whom knew him well.
Harry had only been ten years in Phoenix then, but that was a long time, a lot longer than most other people. He had come to an area that was open country. Brophy College Prep, the Jesuit High School, was out in the fields north of town. Its beautiful mission chapel was the parish church. The parish priests lived in a converted garage, cooled in the 100 degree summer heat by an electric fan. They served a parish with no northern boundary.
Yet such was the population explosion in Phoenix in those days that during Harry's first decade in Arizona, St Francis Xavier parish built a new million-dollar church, a parochial school with 1,000 pupils, a girls' high school with 500 girls, a convent and a rectory with accommodation for a dozen priests. The whole surrounding area for miles and miles became one of the best residential areas in Arizona.
Because so many of the people were newcomers, and because Fr O’Brien had preceded most of them, and because he looked venerable, he was revered as the old parish priest who was there longer than anyone could remember.
Harry deserved the reverence. He was a true spiritual father to the parish, constantly absorbed in every aspect of parish life. He was the earnest preacher and the patient listener, especially in the confessional. He visited the school every day walking from class to class asking a few questions and answering the many that were put to him. He organised and taught an enquiry class for adults, that ran a course of twenty weeks or so and was immediately followed by another. He handled most of the cases for the marriage tribunal, always a tedious and time-consuming chore. And he visited the old folks and the sick in their homes. A lot of his “spare” time was spent in the parlour.
This list of tasks may seem routine. But in St Francis Xavier parish they were not routine. Harry did them all, and for the most part alone. The list is probably not complete, but hopefully it portrays the picture of an indefatigable man, a man consumed with zeal for the interests of God and of his people.
Since he touched so many lives so intimately, it is not surprising that his death, although not totally unexpected, was followed by outpourings of sorrow and even of disbelief. It is a beautiful tribute to this great priest that grown men were not ashamed to weep openly as the church of St Francis Xavier was filled to capacity on two successive evenings, for the rosary and for the Mass of the Resurrection.

At the requiem Mass for Harry O’Brien, it was Fr John E Hopkins (Calif.), who has completed fourteen years in Phoenix, who delivered the homily. He mentioned the constant arthritic pain from which Harry suffered, and went on:
“In his 68 years Fr. O'Brien spent over 34 as a priest, 26 of those years with us. In 1974 when he celebrated his 50 years in the Order, he asked me to preach a sermon at the Brophy chapel on the priesthood, because it meant so much to him. We can recall, those of us who heard him preach, the razor-like sharpness of his mind, the clarity of his ideas and his scholarly approach to the subject at hand. His interest in the Church was whetted by the decrees of Vatican II, and he was an avid reader and promoter of all the new ideas which came from the Council, to make the faith more meaningful to the people of the Church he loved
Like Xavier, who taught little children the truths of the faith and baptised countless people, Fr Harry taught the children in our parochial school for many years, and this work was his joy. His work of teaching was not limited to youngsters but like Xavier he taught adults as well in our religious Inquiry Forum, and like Xavier baptised countless adults”.

There is much about Fr Harry's China days in Fr Thomas F Ryan’s book “Jesuits under fire”.

◆ The Belvederian, Dublin, 1976

Obituary

Father Henry O’Brien SJ (1924)

Fr Henry O'Brien died in Phoenix Arizona this year. Fr Albert Cooney SJ, who was with Fr Harry during the Japanese attack on Hong Kong in 1941, and also in Arizona, has this to say:

“Harry was worshipped in our church of St Francis Xavier in Phoenix, and 100 priests and the vicar general concelebrated the requiem mass”.

The following sermon was preached by Fr. John Hopkins SJ :

“True doctrine was in his mouth, and no dishonesty was found upon his lips; He walked with me in integrity and uprightness, and turned many away from evil. For the lips of the priest are to keep knowledge, and instruction is to be sought from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts”. Malachy 2:6-7

Reverend Fathers, dear sisters, relatives and friends of Father Henry O'Brien:

We recall in a Jesuit Church each year at this time, some aspects of the life of St Francis Xavier because this is the time of the Novena of Grace. How frequently we are reminded of St Ignatius asking Xavier “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul?”

I am sure, that, my friend and your friend, Harry, heard these words many times in his youth and decided to enter the Society of Jesus and become a priest in order to serve God. We, who have known him here in Phoenix, have come to appreciate the spirit that was instilled into him in his early years. I am quite certain that his mother's sister, who is also his Godmother, and with us here tonight, will remember these moments in his early life.

We know and believe that a priesthood filled with years of assistance to others in instruction, in kindness in the confessional, in caring for the sick and the dying, in baptizing, marrying and counselling people, is the ideal of every priest, but a priesthood filled with these things and also with constant arthritic pain is not what would be considered an ideal life, yet, we who knew him, knew that this was his lot . . , something he accepted from the hand of God for the good of souls.

The love for the Society of Jesus as part of the universal Church should be the love that inspires all Jesuit priests. Like Xavier who thirsted for souls, so should we, and this is the love that sent Father O'Brien around the world in search of souls.

He entered the Society in Ireland, made his philosophy studies in Louvain, France, taught as a young scholastic in Hong Kong, studied theology in Milltown Park, Ireland ... tertianship in Wales, then back to Hong Kong for priestly work as a teacher, headmaster and prisoner of the Japanese until he came to us here at St. Francis Xavier Church as a gentle, kind, considerate, prayerful model of priestly life.

As Xavier travelled for many years, so did he always with the Ignatian idea of what more can I do for God? As Xavier went from the Indies to Japan and desired to go to China, so did he travel along almost the same route, but instead of Japan, he landed in Hong Kong.

In his 68 years Father O'Brien spend over 34 as a priest, 26 of these years with us. When he celebrated his 50 years in the Order in 1974 he asked me to preach a sermon at the Brophy Chapel on the priesthood, because it meant so much to him. We can recall, those of us who heard him preach, the razor-like sharpness of his mind, the clarity of his ideas and the scholarly approach to the subject at hand. His interest in the Church was whetted by the decrees of Vatican II and he was an avid reader and promoter of all the new ideas which came from the Council to make the faith more meaningful to the people of the Church he loved.

Like Xavier who taught little children the truths of the faith and baptized countless people, Father Harry taught the children in our parochial school for many years, and this work was his joy. His work of teaching was not limited to youngsters but like Xavier he taught adults as well in our religious Inquiry Forum, and like Xavier baptized countless adults.

St Francis Xavier wrote to Ignatius with news of his progress and eagerly awaited news from Europe. He was a missionary, who had left home, but he was very happy with news from home.
When Xavier was alive there was no such thing as radio or TV sets such as we have now, so it was by letter that he was kept aware of what was going on in the Society. Father O'Brien kept up to date on news from home by radio, TV and newspapers ... because even though he was an American citizen, part of his interest was still in Ireland, and the politics of that country, the Northern Ireland conflict, and the way his country was treated by the English nation. He also had a loving concern for his brother and sister and their families in Dublin. They will miss him as we will here.

The people of the world who do not know God may spend themselves in seeking temporal goods which death snatches away from them. We know that the privilege of the priest is that his labor and the goods he gathers by this labor lasts for all eternity. The hundred-fold and everlasting were promised to the apostles and their successors. The fruit of the labors of a priest is entirely spiritual and lasts for all eternity.

We know that the fruits of the labor of Xavier lasted through 200 years of persecution in Japan. The faith he inspired in the lives of the people was handed down from generation to generation. It is still there. The love of Christ was kept alive. The work of the missionary is recorded in heaven.

We here at St Francis Xavier Parish will remember Xavier's love for souls each time we enter the Church ... and we will also be reminded of the artistic talent of Father O'Brien when we look at the stained glass windows designed by him. We, who knew him well, know what enjoyment he received from his work as an artist, as well as a priest.

As long as this Church stands his talent will be recognized ... and when the years take their toll of this building, the faith that inspired the people who were touched by his generosity and kindness will last as did the faith of Xavier's converts.

To paraphrase St. Paul: “Father O'Brien you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech”

May you rest in peace!

O'Beirne, Gerard, 1905-1986, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/309
  • Person
  • 05 December 1905-13 May 1986

Born: 05 December 1905, Drumsna, County Leitrim
Entered: 14 November 1923, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 24 June 1937, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1943, Clongowes Wood College SJ
Died: 13 May 1986, Clongowes Wood College, Naas, County Kildare

by 1929 at San Ignacio, Sarrià, Barcelona, Spain (ARA) studying
by 1939 at St Beuno’s Wales (ANG) making Tertianship

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 61st Year No 3 1986
Obituary
Fr Gerard O’Beirne (1905-1923-1986)
5th December 1905: born. 14th November 1923: entered SJ. 1923-25 Tullabeg, noviciatę. 1925-28 Rathfarnham, juniorate (BA; 2nd-class honours in Greek and Latin). 1928-31 philosophy: 1928-30 Sarriá (Spain), 1930-31 Heythrop. 1931-34 Clongowes, regency, 1934-38 Milltown, theology (24th June 1937: ordained priest). 1938-39 St Beuno's, tertianship.
1939-52 Clongowes, assistant prefect of studies and teaching. 1952-60 Crescent: 1952-55 teaching, assistant prefect of studies; 1955-60 prefect of studies.
1960-69 Emo, giving missions and retreats.
1969-86 Clongowes, ministering in public church (1980-86, prefect of it); teaching (mainly Latin) until 1984. 13th May 1986: died.

All through his 63 years in the Society, Fr Gerry O'Beirne spoke with affection of his boyhood days on the banks of the upper Shannon, his family, his school-days at St Mel's College, Longford (the diocesan college of Ardagh and Clonmacnois), and his fellow-novices at Tullabeg. Fr Michael Browne, his novicemaster, was forever in his mind the ideal Jesuit: his words of wisdom and his advice left a deep impression on Gerry.
As a student he enjoyed his years at University College, Dublin, because with his retentive memory Latin and Greek came easy to him. His memory served him well throughout life: names sprang to his lips with ease. Friends, once acknowledged, he never forgot, not even when studying in Barcelona or later at Heythrop and St Beuno's. All the good things stood out in his memory, especially the tertianship year, when he experienced real Jesuit community life and the companionship which appealed so much to him.
For the rest of his life, apart from his nine years on the mission staff, he was a teacher. These mission years incidentally he found somewhat hard, I think because he came on that scene a little late in life. Teaching, on the other hand, suited him well. His eight years spent in the Crescent were happy, and he was the first to give credit to the many members of the community who helped him without his asking for help. He appreciated their spontaneous solidarity and support.
In 1969 he returned to Clongowes after an absence of seventeen years, and devoted what were to be the last seven- teen years of his life to teaching and especially to ministering in the public church. As regards the classroom, with his prodigious memory he could remember every boy who at any time sat at his feet. Many of his pupils remained friends of his for life. No one ever doubted him to be an extremely hard worker; the boys also realised this. During the summer rest periods he went on supply to various parishes in France. These supplies brought him pleasure and relaxation.
To his fellow-Jesuits Gerry was quite a character. His life was enshrined in anecdotes. How often we heard him preface his remarks with a phrase like 'Oh, he was a great friend of mine'. That simple phrase somehow revealed his humanity, his warmth and his loyalty. That same humanity served him well in dealing with people, especially diocesan clergy. Towards the end of his life, he found very hard his inability to walk as in the days of yore, and to come to terms with the eighth decade of his life; but above all he missed community talk, which meant a great deal to him.
For those who lived with him for long periods his devotion to morning meditation was striking. His spiritual life was simple and faithful. In a peculiar way he was a little afraid of death, and yet, as one of the Clongowes community said on the day of his funeral, the gospel phrase, “Well done, good and faithful servant”, suited Gerry to perfection. His last hours, full of peace, and his model death were a marvellous blessing for him and those who witnessed them. May the good Lord take care of him.

The second world war started on 1st September 1939, and on the same day I arrived in Clongowes, where I spent a week before school opened. That is when I met Fr Gerry O'Beirne. There was nothing much to do, and he often brought me out shooting with a :22. We set up tins on a convenient wall and shot them off it. The rifle wasn't very accurate; but it was typical of him to take the stranger under his wing. The next summer I met him in Kilkee with the Clongowes community on villa. The war years were quite limiting in many respects, but we cycled all over the county, pausing occasionally for meals packed by my mother and supplemented by tins of salmon, packets of biscuits and tins of peaches. We never brought a tin-opener, so the tins were opened by a mixture of rage and ingenuity.
We had him for Greek in I Grammar and I was terrified of him, probably because I never did any work and had every reason to be frightened. He strode around the classroom, up and down between the desks, providing an appalling hazard for anyone who was trying to read a novel. Before class he could be seen through the window walking and reading a textbook; on the stroke of the bell he would burst into the classroom with his gown and wings flying; the prayer was said; the books were opened; he cleared his throat and the performance began. He wasn't acting: he was being himself. On more than one occasion he burst into flames when the pipe which he thought he had extinguished smouldered into life in the pocket of his gown.
Outside the classroom he was interested in every school activity. He loved talking to the boys of Rhetoric and Poetry, and he was always surrounded by a group of disciples who listened to him with a mixture of awe and amusement as he expounded his political theories to audiences that were far more receptive - and tolerant – than his brethren. We knew what he thought of Churchill and Roosevelt, and I suppose we baited him occasionally, albeit very very carefully. The Higher Line debating society was one of his charges, and the motions were debated well in
advance; woe betide anyone who proposed a line of argument that was not in accordance with the party line; it was his party and so there was freedom of speech ... to agree.
When he had to take walks with the on playdays, he left a trail of stragglers scattered all over Kildare while he led a band of intellectuals, whose muscles were unaccustomed to such exercise, towards ever-receding horizons. When he reached what he was a reasonable goal, he would ask anyone who had kept up with him, “Has anyone any money?” No boys were allowed into shops, so he did the purchasing for the group, and distributed his load of sweets and biscuits and lemonade with a complete disregard for proportion in which the contributors had subscribed. He was against communism except in practice.
He was immensely strong and loved violent exercise. He organised a campaign of planting potatoes beside the Higher Line pavilion to provide food for the poor. Once again the less athletically-inclined disciples found themselves wielding spades and mattocks. Almost any ruse was used to slow down the rate of work and give sore muscles a rest. On one occasion he was challenged by the House shot-putter,who was also a Leinster champion, to a trial of strength. He would surely have won the encounter had not his challenger used a seven-pound shot while Gerry hurled the twelve-pounder truly impossible distances.
He planted thousands of saplings around the grounds, and constantly complained that he was denied the ration of chicken-wire that would have protected the young trees from the hares which abounded. As a result, every one of his 'striplings was eaten alive . . . the fate worse than death.
Schoolboys are fascinated by a man who is out of the ordinary, and in the Clongowes of the day, amid the proverbial caution and conformism of the other Jesuits, he was refreshing and outspoken. One of my clearest memories of those days was the way in which his confessional was besieged by the more criminally-inclined elements of boys that small world.
I lived with him in the Society and we became very close friends. Indeed, he inspired incredible loyalty among his real friends; it was all right for them to joke about him and quote his sayings: but let no one else do so or dare to mock him. When he was prefect of studies in the Crescent, there were hilarious meetings in his room when a gang of us tried to catch up with his paperwork for the Department, while he presided in state, puffing his pipe and discoursing on the the iniquities of whichever politician or gombeen-man, religious or secular, was being particularly iniquitous at the moment. Wherever he was, there was controversy, discussion, argument, denunciation, and life. He was a wonderful man.
I can see him now, standing at the vesting-press every morning for half an hour before Mass: he told me once, “It is the only way that I can be sure I make a meditation'. I remember also an occasion after a particularly pious “domestic exhortation” on prayer, when he muttered to me on his way out of the chapel: “I don't know what all the fuss is about; I say the Our Father’.” He was a wonderful man.
His sayings were innumerable and inimitable. Beware of imitations: they lack the genuine flavour ...
That man is digging his own epitaph ….
“I'll teach him to keep a civil tongue in his cheek , .. We'll certainly spill the beans for those fellows...”
He was immensely kind; he was totally dedicated to whatever work he was given; he was extraordinarily successful as a teacher, as a prefect of studies, as a missioner. He was unswervingly loyal to his friends. He was a most devoted priest. He was a wonderful man.

◆ The Clongownian, 1986
Obituary

Father Gerard O’Beirne SJ
Of Father O'Beirne's sixty-one years as a Jesuit, thirty-three were spent teaching in Clongowes. His love for Latin and Greek was deep and genuine. His prodigious memory helped him to remember every boy he ever taught in class: many of these he remained friendly with for life. Clongowes was his home and certainly his wish was to rest one day beside his old friends - Frs Cyril Power, Charles O'Conor, Tom O'Donnell, Jim Casey and Br Willie Glanville.

Those who were at school in the forties will recall vividly his work on the farm, his contribution to the war effort. Those who walked with him on Play Days during that same period will recall his lively conversation on all subjects; for his tastes were catholic indeed. While those who played golf with him, saw another side to his character, a side both human and loyal.

The trees beneath the Red House and the trees to the south-east of the cricket pavilion are a testimony to his vision as a young man. Having been blessed with brains to burn, Fr O'Beirne had a soft spot in his heart for boys with talent. Many saw him as direct, forceful, with strong views. Yet the boys took his remarks in their stride because they knew that he was an excellent teacher and an extremely hard worker, and had their interests at heart.

It would be true to say that Fr Gerry O'Beirne was considered a character. His life was enshrined in anecdotes. After all he was very human and had a heart of gold. His spiritual life was simple, straight forward and faithful. This aspect of his life was known mainly to his Jesuit Community. During the ten years spent on the Jesuit mission staff, giving retreats and missions up and down Ireland, he was helped by a strong voice with clear diction, sound judgment, and a very sympathetic approach to people and their problems. Towards the end of his life he devoted his time to the People's Church at Clongowes and, as one might expect, preached with vigour, never mincing his words and spoke with utter conviction on matters that he felt deeply about.

Being robust and energetic all his life, the last few years with deteriorating health were a great strain for him. Even the tiny white car had to remain idly parked for long periods outside the main hall door. He died so quietly, peacefully and so resigned that he earned his spiritual journey to the Lord. Many depart from a school like Clongowes and in time are forgotten. Fr O'Beirne's name, I feel certain, will be mentioned for along time to come, especially by his family whom he loved and also by many past Clongownians.

May the Lord bring him safely home.

KH SJ

Ó Neachtain, Peadar, 1709-1756, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1848
  • Person
  • 29 June 1709-28 October 1756

Born: 29 June 1709, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 25 May 1729, Madrid, Spain - Toletanae Province (TOLE)
Ordained: 1737, Toledo, Spain
Final Vows: 02 February 1749
Died: 28 October 1756, Murcia, Spain - Toletanae Province (TOLE)

Alias Ignatius Norton

Taught Rhetoric, Minis and Moral Theology. Was Prefect of Studies

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Son of Teig (son of William) O’Neachtan and his wife Catherina Birmingham, not Cruice as O’Reilly wrongly states in his “Irish Writers”. A man named Birmingham is called in Irish “MacFeorais” and a lady “Ni Cheoris:. Mrs O’Neachtan is called “mother of the reverend learned Father Peter O’Neachtan, of the holy Ordere of Jesus - do Naom Ord Iosa”
Note from John O’Neachton Entry :
A John O’Neachton wrote verses “on the death of Catherine Cruice, wife of Teig O’Neachton, and mother of Peter SJ. They began : “Catriona ni Ceoris an oigbean bus aille - Catherinea Cruice, the young woman (who) was beautiful” (O’Reilly “Irish Writers”)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Tadgh or Thady (poet) and Catherine née Nic Fheorais (Birmingham). Baptised by Canon Valentine Rivers (an alumnus of the Dublin Jesuit School)
Early education was at the Jesuit School in Dublin under Milo O’Byrne and then Philosophy at Canon John Harold’s Academy. In May 1728 with a letter of recommendation to the Rector, he headed for Santiago (the events of his journey are recorded in a poem by his father), and after a few months there entered the Irish College at Salamanca for a year before Ent 27 May 1729 Madrid
After First Vows he was sent for studies to Alcalà and for Theology to Toledo where he was Ordained 1737
1737-1743 Sent to teach Rhetoric to the Jesuit Scholastics at Villarejo
1743-1745 Sent to Alcalà to teach Philosophy
1745-1755 Sent to Murcia for a Chair of Moral theology.
1755 He was sent back to Alcalà to teach Moral Theology, but his health failed him afterwards and he had to resign. He moved to Murcia and died there 28 October 1756
In the Society Ó Neachtain was known by the anglicised version “Norton”. As an Irish speaker, The Mission Superior Thomas Hennessy had made representations to have him sent to the Irish Mission. His Superiors in TOLE had such a high regard for his gifts that they refused to release him.
His Obit pays tribute to a man of high intellectual gifts, which inspired so many of his Spanish students, though he was also much sought after by lay people as a Spiritual Guide.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father Peadar Ó Neachtáin 1709-1756
Peadar Ó Neachtáin was born in St Catherine’s Parish Dublin on June 29th 1709. He was the son of Seán Ó Neachtáin, the Irish poet.

Peadar received his early education from the Jesuits in their day-school in Dublin presided over by Fr Robert Eustace. He entered the Society abroad at the age of 19.

Éigse Vol 1 contains a long poem of his father’s written on his son’s journey across the seas. Fr Peadar is mentioned by O’Reilly, author if the Irish Dictionary, in a list of 400 Irish writers.

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
NORTON, or O’NEAGHTON, PETER, son of Teigh O’Naghton, by his wife Catharine Cruise. This Jesuit is mentioned by O Reilly, author of the “Irish Dictionary”, in an account of four hundred Irish Writers.

Nugent, Robert, 1580-1652, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1846
  • Person
  • 20 July 1580-06 May 1652

Born: 20 July 1580, Ballina, County Meath
Entered: 02 October 1601, Tournai, Belgium - Belgicae Province (BELG)
Ordained: 22 September 1601, Tournai - pre Entry
Final Vows: 04 September 1618
Died: 06 May 1652, Inishbofin, County Galway

Mission Superior 06 April 1627-1646

1603 At Tournai in Novitiate Age 27
1616 Age 39 Soc 15 Mission 9. Studied Theology at Louvain. Good theologian and Preacher. Choleric, but fit to be Superior
1621 Somewhat phlegmatic.
1626 Socius to Fr Holiwood
1636 Was Mission Superior in Ireland - In Dublin 1638
1649 At Kilkenny. By 1650 Vice Superior of Mission and previously Superior of Novitiate and Athlone Residence
1650 Catalogue Came on the Mission 1611. Studied Humanities in Ireland and 2 years at Douai, Philosophy and Theology at Douai. An MA and Priest on Entry
Letter of 27/08/1651 announced Fr Netterville’s death is at ARSI. Bishop Fleming writes of Robert Vester “hard worker” (Ossory Arch)
“Inisboffin surrendered 14 February 1652. Fr Nugent was not imprisoned there till then”. “Fr Hugent and his Harp - Coimbra I 319”
“Glamorgan in his letter signs himself “affectionate cousin” a reference to his relations to Inchiquin family

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Son of Oliver Nugent and Catherine née Plunkett. Brother of Nicholas (RIP 1656) Nephew of Lord Westmeath (Baron Delvin). Uncle of Lord Inchiquin
Had studied Humanities and two years Philosophy at Douai, graduating MA, before Ent and four years Theology after at Douai. He knew Irish, English, Latin and a little French. Admitted by Fr Olivereo FLA Provincial, he went to Tournai 02/10/1601 (Tournay Diary MS, n 1016, f 414, Archives de l’État, Brussels).
He was a distinguished and divine Preacher, a mathematician and musician (improving the Irish Harp, very much augmenting its power and capacity).
1611 Came to Ireland and was Superior of the Mission for about twenty-three years, Sent to Ireland and became Superior of the Irish Mission for up to twenty-six years (inc 1634 as per Irish Ecclesiastical Record), and then in 1650 for a second time as Vice-Superior;
Had been Superior at the Novitiate and of a Residence; A Preacher and Confressor for many years (HIB Catalogue 1650 - ARSI)
“Vir plane illustris” (Mercure Verdier in his Report to the General of the Irish Mission, 20/06/1649)
His enemy Peter Walsh calls him the “great mathematician”; Lynch in “Cambrensis Eversus” p 317, and “Alithinologia” p 113, praises his virtues and learning : “He had a singular knowledge of theology and mathematics, and a wonderful industry in relcaiming sinners, and extraordinary humility and self-contempt. In my own memory he made considerable improvement in the Irish Harp. He enclosed little pieces of wood in the open space between the trunk and the upper part, , making it a little box, and leaving on the right side of the box a sound-hole, which he covered with a lattice-work of wood, as in the clavicord. He then placed on both sides a double row of chords, and this increased very much the power and capacity of the instrument. The Fitzgerald Harp is probably his handiwork, or it is made according to his plan. According to Bunting, it has “in the row forty-five strings, and seven in the centre. It exceeds the ordinary harp by twenty-two strings, and the Brian-Boroimhe Harp by twenty-four; while in workmanship it is beyond comparison superior to it, both for the elegance of its crowded ornaments, and for the execution of those parts on which the correctness and perfection, it claims to be the ‘Queen of Harps’ - Ego sum Regina Cithararum - Buntings dissertation on the Irish Harp p27 (cf Foley’s Collectanea)
He is named in a letter from James Archer, Madrid 28/09/1607, and keenly sought after by Christopher Holiwood (alias Thomas Lawndry), the Irish Mission Superior. He was indeed sent, first as Socius to the Mission Superior, and then as Mission Superior. (Several of his letters are extant and Oliver, Stonyhurst MSS gives copious extracts, and he also notes Nugent’s resignation as Mission Superior 23/12/1646).
He is also mentioned in the Christopher Holiwood letter of 04 November 1611 (Irish Ecclesiastical Record April 1874), as having a district with Father Galwey under their care, both being assiduous in their labour.
He endured continuous persecution over seven years. As a result he generally only went out at night, and though the roads were always full of soldiers, with the aid of Providence, he managed to travel unharmed, and impelled by zeal.

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Oliver and Catherine née Plunket. Brother of Nicholas
Studied at Douai and was Ordained there the same year as Ent 02 October 1601 Tournai
After First Vows he was sent to Louvain for further studies
1608 Sent to Ireland working mostly in Meath and South Ulster, earning himself a reputation of an able Preacher in both Irish and English. He became secretary to Christopher Holywood and succeeded him as Vice-Superior or the Mission.
1627-1646 Superior of Mission 06 April 1627. For the next twenty years he carried on the policy of his predecessor with equal success so that the Mission became in all but name a Province of the Society. His first term of office came to an end in 1646 when the General acceded that he should be granted repose after so many years of government. In the later years in office he had resided in Kilkenny and Kilkea Castle which had been bequeathed to the Society by the Dowager Countess of Kildare. At the time of the Nuncio's “Censures”, he was at Waterford and with the community there observed the interdict. Yet he was accused (falsely) by Massari, auditor to Rinuccini, of having promoted the Ormondist faction and Rinuccini in turn reported the calumny to Rome. The Jesuit Visitor Mercure Verdier was able later to get Rinuccini to withdraw the charge but he, unfortunately, failed to correct the slanderous report even though he was himself heavily in debt financially to Nugent.
1651 After the death of George Dillon he was appointed Vice-Superior of the Mission until a new Superior could be chosen. He was now living in Galway, and his first care was to have shipped overseas for their studies the young scholastics, who had been evacuated from Kilkenny, and who were the future hope of the Mission.
On the approach of the Putians to Galway, because of the special hatred for him entertained by the Cromwellians, he withdrew to Inishboffin but was persuaded to set out for France, so that he could look after the interests of the Mission there . In spite of advanced years, he set sail on 11 April 1652, but his boat when within sight of France was blown back to Inishboffin. He was now ill from the hardships of such a voyage for one of his advanced years and six weeks later he died at Inishboffin 06 May 1652
He was beloved not only by his fellow Jesuits, but also by all who came in contact with him. He was regarded both within and outside the Jesuit Mission as one of the most prudent and inspiring Spiritual Directors.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ The Irish Jesuits Vol 1 1962
Robert Nugent (1627-1646)
Robert Nugent, son of Oliver Nugent, of Balena, in the diocese of Heath, and Catherine Plunkett, was born on 20th July, 1597. He completed the whole course of his studies at Douay, and having been ordained priest at Tournay on 22nd September, 1601, he entered the Novitiate of Tournay on 2nd October following. At the end of four years' theology he distinguished himself by a public defence of all philosophy and theology at Louvain. A year later (1608) he was sent on the Irish Mission, where he laboured in Meath and Ulster for many years, and obtained a high reputation
as a preacher both in Irish and in English. He acted as Secretary and Assistant to Fr Holywood, succeeded him as Vice-Superior on his death, and on 6th April, 1627, was formally appointed Superior. For the next twenty years he carried on the policy of his predecessor, with equal success, so that the Mission became in numbers, colleges, residences, and foundations a Province in everything but name, His first term of office came to an end in 1646, when the General acceded to his request that he should be given some repose for so many years of government.

Robert Nugent (1651-1652)

Fr Robert Nugent was ordered on 28th January, 1651, to act as Vice-Superior, until a new Superior should be appointed. He resided at Galway, one of the few places still held by the Catholics; but soon the approach of the Cromwellian armies forced him to retire to Inishbofin. While there he was requested to betake himself to the Continent, as the interests of the Society demanded his presence there. It was also known that the heretics bore him a peculiar hatred. In spite of his advanced years he obeyed promptly, and set sail about the 11th of April. The ship was driven back by contrary winds, when within sight of the French coast, and had to return to the port it had left. The tempestuous voyage was too much for the old man. He was put ashore, and carried to a poor hut, where he lingered on for six weeks. He died in Inishbofin on 6th May, 1652, and was buried on that island. His gentleness, gravity, prudence, learning, and skill as a director of souls endeared him to all. He was beloved not only by his fellow Jesuits, but by all who came in contact with him, especially by the nobility, the prelates, and the members of other religious Orders.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father Robert Nugent SJ 1597[1574]-1652
Fr Robert Nugent was the greatest and longest in office of the Superiors of the Irish Mission, with the exception of Fr Christopher Holywood.

He was born on the 20th July 1597 [1574], son of Robert Nugent of Balena in the diocese of Meath, and his mother being Catherine Plunkett. He was the uncle of Baron Inchiquin and cousin of Elizabeth, Countess of Kildare. He was already a priest when he entered the Society at Tournai in 1601.

He was sent on the Irish Mission in 1608, and he laboured in Meath and Ulster for many years, where he acquied a high reputation as a preacher in both English and irish. He acted as Socius to the ageing Superior Fr Holywood and succeeded him in office in 1627.

For the next twenty years he carried on the policy of his predecessor, so that the Mission became in numbers, Colleges and residences, a Province in everything but name.

In 1643 his cousin the Countess of Kildare donated Kilkea Castle, two miles NW of Athy, to the Jesuits for a noviceship. Here Fr Nugent entertained the Nuncio Fr Rinuccini for twenty days on his way to besiege Dublin. At the orders of the Supreme Council, he accepted charge of the Press at Kilkenny and also opened a noviceship there with six novices under Fr John Young.

On the collapse of the Confederate Cause Fr Nugent retired to Galway where he directed the Mission as Vice-Superior in 1651. He was ordered to the continent and set sail, but his ship was forced back and he died in Inisboffin on May 6th 1652, in a poor hut where he had lingered for six weeks.

It is interesting to recall that Fr Nugent, like Fr William Bath before him, was very interested in Irish Music. He actually improved the Harp in use in his time, by adding a double row of strings.

He suffered imprisonment in Dublin Castle for four years from 1616-1620, and during this period he composed Irish hymns set to old tunes which were popular in Ireland for years after his death.

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
NUGENT, ROBERT, brother of F. Nicholas, and uncle to Baron Inchinquin, was a man of the highest merit, “Vir plane illustris, omnique exceptione major”, as Pere Verdier describes him in his Report of the 20th of June, 1649. The first time that I meet with him is in a letter of F. James Archer, dated from Madrid, 28th of September, 1607. to F. George Duras, the Assistant of Germany, at Rome. After signifying the departure of FF. James Everard and Thomas Shine for the Irish Mission, he adds the anxious wish of their Superior, F. Holiwood, that FF. William Bath and Robert Nugent may follow them, as he has a station ready for them in the North of Ireland. F. Robert was sent to the aged Superior, who entertained the greatest esteem for him and made him his Socius during the latter years of his government. In the sequel F. Nugent was appointed Superior of his Brethren, and held that office for at least twenty years. Several of his letters are fortunately extant, which bear ample testimony to his sound discretion, unaffected zeal and piety, and conciliatory conduct. In one letter, the 31st of October, 1615, he prays to be released from the duties of Superiority, alleging that he is now in his 70th year a fitter age to prepare himself for eternity, than to be continued in his painful responsibility, and during such critical and eventful times.
In another letter of the 20th of January, 1646-7, after stating the difficulty of conveying letters to Rome, acquaints the Vicar F. Charles Sangri, that in virtue of the injunction of the late General Mutius Vitelleschi, and with the advice of his consultors, he had some time since directed one of his Rev. Brethren to compile a General history of the Irish Mission of the Society - that this work had been brought down to nearly the present most troublesome period that it was admirably and faithfully executed from authentic documents; but before the finishing hand could be put to his labours, the author died. F. Nugent could not ascertain what had become of the Manuscripts : it was well known that for some time they were buried underground; but whether any one had removed them from the secret place, and had transferred them elsewhere, he had not been able to discover. He adds, that he carefully kept by him the points of information which he received annually from each Residence of his Brethren; but that it would be a service of extreme danger, if not of ruin to them, to attempt to forward the papers to Rome, should the Puritans intercept them. In this letter he mentions, that at the express desire and command of the Supreme Council, he had accepted the charge of the press at Kilkenny : and also that he had hired a house in that town for the Novitiate; and early in February, F. John Young, who was a man of approved learning, and prudence, and distinguished for sanctity of manners, would begin to train the six Novices already admitted in the spirit of the Institute of the Society, and that there were many postulants for admission. He concludes with regretting that all hopes of peace had now vanished, in consequence of the imprisonment of Edward Somerset the Earl of Glamorgan a most staunch Catholic, who had been sent to Ireland by King Charles I, with full powers (with private authority independent of the Viceroy) to grant favourable terms to the Catholics. After he had concluded his treaty with the confederated Chiefs of Kilkenny, and had obtained from them a vote of ten thousand troops to be transferred forthwith to England, of which he had been chosen and appointed General; he no sooner had returned to Dublin, than the Viceroy committed him to close custody on the 26th of December last, and thus the whole negotiation and expedition had evaporated, and that now nothing was thought of but war. Before he resigned office into the hands of F. Malone, 23rd of December, 1646, he had been required by the Nuncio Rinnccini, to lend him the greater part of the funds of the Mission : (quatuor aureorum millia). This was vainly reclaimed by subsequent Superiors, and the Missionaries experienced great inconvenience and injury in consequence, as F. Wm. St. Leger’s letter, bearing date 16th of January, 1663, too well demonstrates. The last time that F. Robert Nugent comes across me, is in a letter of the 31st of August, 1650, where he is described as “antiquissimus inter nos”, but still not incapable of labor.

  • I have reason to suspect that the compiler was F Stephen White, of whom more in the sequel.
    *This Edward Somerset, was the eldest son of Henry, first Marquess of Worcester, the staunch Catholic Loyalist, who had suffered the loss of not less than three hundred thousand pounds in supporting the cause of Charles I!! In a letter now before me addressed by Earl Glamorgan to the General of the Jesuits, Vincent Caraffa, and dated from Limerick, 22nd of October, 1646, he expresses “impensissimum studium et amorem ergo, Societatem Jesu” and recommends his dearest Brother to the favourable attentions of his Reverend Paternity (Who was this Brother? John, Thomas, or Charles?) He ends thus : “Nihil magis invotis est, quam ut palam mortalibus omnibus testari mihi liceat quam vere et unice sim, &c. addictus planeque devotus GLAMORGAN”. He died in London on the 3rd of April, 1667.

Nugent, Christopher, 1603-1627, Jesuit scholastic

  • IE IJA J/1840
  • Person
  • 1603-23 October 1627

Born: 1603, Ireland
Entered: 09 July 1624, Seville, Spain - Baeticae Province (BAE)
Died: 23 October 1627 Coll San Hermenegildo, Seville, Spain - Baeticae Province (BAE)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
After First Vows he was sent to San Hermengildo in Seville for studies. he died there 23 October 1627

Nolan, Anthony A, b.1906-, former Jesuit scholastic

  • Person
  • 10 June 1906-

Born: 10 June 1906, South Circular Road, Dublin, County Dublin
Entered: 20 September 1924, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly

Left Society of Jesus: 10 May 1938

1928 He was sent to Granada, Spain for Philosophy but was unable to continue on account of Latin

Nash, Peter, 1581-1649, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1818
  • Person
  • 1581-27 August 1649

Born: 1581, Fethard, County Tipperary
Entered: 01 September 1609, Coimbra, Portugal - Lusitaniae Province (LUS)
Ordained: Salamanca pre entry
Final Vows: 1628
Died: 27 August 1649, Irish College, Lisbon, Portugal - Lusitaniae Province (LUS)

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Peter Naishe, by 1626 under the name Peter Ignatius (cf Foley’s Collectanea)
DOB 1582 Fethard; Ent 1608 Portugal; RIP post 1626 Portugal
In Lisbon : 1609; 1611; 1617; 1626

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ
DOB 1581 Fethard; Ent 01 September 1607 Portugal; Ord pre Ent Salamanca; RIP between 1649 and 1650 Lisbon
Son of William and Elena née Mulrony. He was probably a nephew of Andrew Mulrony and uncle of Nicholas Nash

Had already studied Humanities at irish College Lisbon and was briefly at Irish College Salamanca and was already Ordained before Ent 1609 Portugal without having completed the usual course of studies.

After First Vows he was sent to initially to Irish College Lisbon, where the LUS CAT states that he had completed Philosophy but only half a year of Theology. He was then sent to Évora, where he studied Theology for another year and a half.
1613/14 Sent to Irish College Lisbon and served positions of Minister and Procurator up to his death there between 1649 and 1654

Up to 1621 he was regarded as destined for the Irish Mission, but when his success in administration became recognised, he was left in Portugal to serve the interest of the students who would return as priests to Ireland.

◆ In Old/15 (1), Old/16 and Chronological Catalogue Sheet

◆ CATSJ I-Y has
1608 At Coimbra Age 26
1610 1649 At Irish College Lisbon - Minister and studying Philosophy and Theology

Nash, Nicholas, 1603-1620, Jesuit novice

  • IE IJA J/1817
  • Person
  • 1603-04 March 1620

Born: 1603, Fethard, County Tipperary
Entered: 12 March 1619, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Died: 04 March 1620, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

1619 Scholastic Novice at Villagarcía Age 16 - had finished his biennium of Philosophy

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Raymond and Helena née Hackett
Had already begun studies at Salamanca before Ent 12 March 1619 Villagarcía, where he died as a First Year Novice 04 March 1620

Nangle, Eugene, 1610-1660, Jesuit brother

  • IE IJA J/1814
  • Person
  • 1610-24 August 1660

Born: 1610: Drogheda, County Louth
Entered: 1641: Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Died: 24 August 1660: Bergara College, Gipuzkoa, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)

1642 A Novice coadjutor at Villagarcía Age 32
1645 At Salamanca College “adjutor procuratoris”
1649 In Spain
1651 At Burgos, companion of the Procurator
1658 At Bergara College CAST

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
His letters of 1647 and 1651 are at Salamanca

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ ;
After First Vows at Villagarcía he was Sent as assistant to the Procurator at the Royal College Salamanca, and over the next fifteen years he held similar posts at Burgos and lastly Vergara (Bergara), where he died 24 August 1660

Naish, Vincent, 1852-1913, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1813
  • Person
  • 29 August 1852-12 June 1913

Born: 29 August 1852, County Limerick
Entered: 07 February 1870, Milltown Park, Dublin
Ordained: 1889
Final Vows: 02 February 1891
Died: 12 June 1913, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada - Belgicae Province (BELG)

Part of the L’Imaculée Conception, De Lorimier, près Montréal, Canada community at the time of death

Transcribed HIB to BELG : 1888

by 1880 at Stonyhurst England (ANG) studying
by 1884 at Oña Spain (CAST) studying
by 1885 at St Beuno’s Wales (ANG) studying
by 1888 at Leuven Belgium (BELG) studying
by 1890 at Drongen Belgium (BELG) making Tertianship
In India for many years before Canada
1894 St Francis Xavier College, Chowringhee India (BELG) Rector
1896-1904 St Joseph’s, Darjeeling, India (BELG) Parish Priest
1904 St Francis Xavier, Liverpool
1905-1909 Holy Name Manchester ,

◆ Fr Francis Finegan : Admissions 1859-1948 - Transcribed into BELG Province 1888, and went to India

◆ The Clongownian, 1914

Obituary

Father Vincent Naish SJ

Advices from Canada in the June of last year brought the unexpected announcement of the death of the above-named distinguished ecclesiastic. Although born and educated in Ireland, the greater part of Father Naish's life was passed in foreign lands. Belvedere and Tullabeg Colleges were accountable for his early education, and in the latter establishment he was fellow student with many men whose public life is familiar to our readers, and among his class-fellows was the late Mr Alfred Blake, of Cork, whose rather sudden death caused such a sensation in the Four Courts two days ago. Father Naish came from an ancient and distinguished stock well known in Co Limerick, of whom the late Lord Chancellor Naish was not the least distinguished member. Early in his career as a Jesuit, after teaching for some six years in Clongowes and Tullabeg, he volunteered for work on the foreign mission, and although Irish by sympathy and every tie, he was attached to the Belgian Province of the Order, and consequently his work lay principally in India, which is one of the mission fields of that province. For several years Father Naish was engaged in that missionary work, and directed with distinguished success the great Catholic College of Calcutta. Later on he was recalled to Europe, and was well known as a preacher of eminence all over the North of England. As a missionary in Canada he laboured among his own countrymen in almost every town of any note from Labrador to Vancouver. He was a man of remarkable presence and of most distinguished gifts, both as a scholar and a preacher, and his loss will be deeply felt by those to whom he gave the unstinted labour of his later and riper years. With his immediate relatives much sympathy is felt, and those with whom his name was familiar thirty years ago will feel a pang of regret as they breathe a prayer for the eternal rest of a friend of very noble and winning character.

“Freeman's Journal” June 19th, 1913.

-oOo-

Rev Vincent Naish SJ, a distinguished Churchman and scholar, passed away at Moncton, NB, shortly after six o'clock last night (June 12th), death ensuing after an illness of three days' duration, Ten days ago the deceased went down to that city in company with Rev Father Gagnieur SJ, to conduct a mission in St Bernard's Church. At the close of the spiritual exercises last Sunday he contracted a severe cold, which later develop into pneumonia. On Monday he was removed to the City Hospital for treatment, but yesterday his condition became such that no hopes could be held out for his recovery. He remained conscious to the end, and was attended in his last moments by Father Gagnieur, as well as by the priests of St Bernard's. During his sojourn in India he made exhaustive studies of the Buddhistic, Islamistic, and other Oriental religions, and became authority on these branches. But it was as a missionary that he excelled. A powerful speaker, lucid of argument, with an eloquent and easy flow of language, backed by a seemingly inexhaustible fund of knowledge of men and things, he had that quality which made him tower far above many engaged in mission work. A man of deep piety and religious conviction, he was an inspiration his fellow members of the Jesuit Order, as well as to all those with whom he came in contact in the course of his missionary labours. Since his arrival in Canada, some six years ago, Father Naish was engaged exclusively in missionary work, and in the course of his activities along this line he has been heard in Catholic pulpits of almost every Canadian city from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

“Montreal Gasette”, June 13th, 1913.

Murty, Stephen, 1584-1621, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1811
  • Person
  • 1584-21 February 1621

Born: 1584, Waterford City, County Waterford
Entered: 03 April 1602, Villagarcía, Galicia, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Ordained: 1609/10, Salamanca, Spain
Died: 21 February 1621, Baiona, Spain (Salamanca) - Castellanae Province (CAST)

Part of the Irish College Salamanca community at the time of death

1611 At Valladolid College Age 27 Soc 9
1617 Stephen Murtye in Ireland

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
A “miracle in the matter of learning” and “admirabilis ingenii”; a very holy man; was buried with great honour near the high altar of the Franciscan Church of Baiona (cf McDonald Irish Ecclesiastical Rcord of 1873)

◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Richard and Joan née Grant
Had previously studied at Salamanca before Ent 1602 CAST
1604-1607 After First Vows he began Philosophy and then had a short Regency at Monforte de Lemos.
1607-1613 He was sent to Royal College Salamanca for Theology and where he was Ordained 1609/10. He then was sent for further studies to Valladolid, during which time he began to teach Philosophy. he was considered by his contemporaries to be exceptionally gifted, but all this was impaired by poor health
1613-1619 He was sent to Ireland and he spent four or five years in his native Waterford, but probably because of his health did not engage much in active ministry there.
1619 As his health improved it was thought that he could return to teach at Salamanca, and he was appointed to a Chair in Theology at Royal College. Unfortunately when he was there he contracted consumption. early on. So he headed back to Ireland for his health, but died at Bayonne, France while travelling home 21 February 1621

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father Stephen Murty SJ 1580-1637
At Bayonne in 1637, on his way back to Ireland died Fr Stephen Murty. He entered the Society in 1601 and in 1617 he was labouring in Ireland, where his zeal bore great fruit, bringing back a great number of heretics to the Church.

He was afterwards a professor of the Seminaries of Salamanca and Santiago, and was esteemed as a man of great holiness and learning. The Spanish Jesuit, Ferdinand de Castro writing f his ways “He never did an action which savoured of vanity, nor uttered a word to his own credit, though he had splendid talents, as we all know. He possessed a remarkable gift from heaven for bringing back heretics to the Church, and this he exercised during the seven years he spent in his native land. None ever saw him angry or heard him say a rash word, and in his long and painful illness, he was never heard to complain. On the contrary, his great characteristic was his conformity to the will of God. His confessor goes so far as to say that he had never committed a mortal sin in his whole life”.

He was buried with much honour and solemnity near the high altar of the Franciscan Church in Bayonne, and his funeral was attended by the Governor of the city, surrounded by his guard of soldiers, by the Mayor and other civic authorities.

◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
MORTY, Stephen In a letter of F. James Quemerford, dated Madrid, the 2nd of September, 1607, he says “B. Murtie was all these three months sick, he is now well, and like to prove a miracle in matter of Learning”. He united with great wit and capacity a remarkable share of industry, and an extraordinary grace of delivery.

Murphy, Luke, 1856-1937, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/267
  • Person
  • 12 March 1856-17 August 1937

Born: 12 March 1856, Rathangan, County Kildare
Entered: 13 September 1873, Milltown Park, Dublin
Ordained: 1887
Final Vows: 02 February 1894, Clongowes Wood College SJ, County Kildare
Died: 17 August 1937, Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Sydney, Australia

part of the St Aloysius College, Milson’s Point, Sydney, Australia community at the time of death

Brother of Peter Murphy Scholastic RIP 1872

Early education at St Stanislaus College SJ, Tullabeg, County Offaly

by 1886 at Oña Spain (ARA) studying
by 1893 at Drongen Belgium (BELG) making Tertianship
Came to Australia 1895

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
Luke Murphy entered due Society at Milltown Park, Dublin, 13 July 1873. His juniorate studies were at Roehampton, London, and philosophy studies at Stonyhurst. He taught Mathematics Italian and French at St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, 1879-85, before theology studies at Oña, Spain 1885-89. He taught Mathematics, Italian, French and Spanish at Clongowes, 1889-95, excluding 1892-93, when he did tertianship at Tronchiennes, Belgium.
He arrived in Australia 5 September 1895, and was soon after appointed rector of St Patrick's College, 25 June 1896, and afterwards rector of Riverview from 31 July 1897 until September 1900. His final appointment was to St Aloysius' College in 1903. During his time there he taught senior students and lectured at St John's College, University of Sydney.
Murphy was above all a scholar and a teacher for 52 years right up to a few days before his death. He does not seem to have been a successful administrator, but he liked teaching and did it well. He always showed interest in his former students. He preferred the quiet life, and seldom appeared in public, and made no remarkable pronouncements.
He was a humble and sincere man. He was remembered for his charm of manner, unfailing cheerfulness, thoughtfulness, urbanity, pleasant wit, devotion to duty, and exactness in fulfilling his spiritual duties. He was always eminently the priest.

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 12th Year No 4 1937
Obituary :
Father Luke Murphy
1856 Bom at Rathangan, Co. Kildare, 22nd May. Educated at Tullabeg.
1873 Entered at Milltown, 13th September
1875 Roehampton, junior
1876 Laval, Philosophy
1879 Tullabeg, Praef. Doc
1885 Oña (Spain) Theology
1889 Clongowes, Doc
1892 Tronchiennes, Tertianship
1893 Clongowes, Minister
1894 Clongowes, Doc
1895 Melbourne Australia, St Patrick’s College , Doc
1896 Melbourne Australia, St Patrick’s College , Rector
1897 Riverview Sydney, Rector, Cons Miss
1900 St Francis Xavier, Kew, Doc
1901 St Patrick’s College, Melbourne. Doc
1902 Loyola Sydney, Ad disp P Sup - Lect Phil in Coll St John
1903-1937 St Aloysius Milsons Point, Sydney, Doc
For 13 years Father Murphy was “Lect. Phil. in Coll. St John”. For 12 years, according to the Catalogue, he was: “Cons. Miss”. His last record in the Catalogue is as follows “Doc. an. 52 Mag.; Cons. dom an 33. He was then stationed at St, Aloysius College Sydney.

Father Luke Murphy left Ireland for Australia 42 years ago, so that, comparatively very few of the present Irish Province will remember him. Those who do remember him will certainly call to mind one of the most loyal and sturdy members that ever won the admiration of his fellow Jesuits. No doubt, Father Luke had a mind of his own, and when there was question of duty he held on to it right sturdily. Yet the fund of good humour with which he was filled kept him very far from anything like unpleasantness. He was an excellent companion, and enjoyed a joke or a lively recreation as well as any man.
His last record in the Catalogue, as given above, reads “Doc. an. 52 Mag”. There is no addition telling of teaching higher matter that would win in admiration, it is a plain, unvarnished “Doc”. This is not merely a pretty way of putting things. It had its stern reality in Fr. Luke's life. For 52 years he was face to face with all the drudgery, the monotony, the physical fatigue of the ordinary class-room, and these few words may well be put beside, and bear comparison with more attractive and catching records. It should be remembered that when Father Luke was over 80 years of age he was still to be found in the class-room, teaching little boys often stupid little boys or giddy little boys, the four simple rules of arithmetic, or trying to get in to their heads the mysterious, the seemingly incomprehensible beginnings of Algebra and Geometry.
And, who will deny it! Father Luke may be enjoying at this moment up in heaven a reward equal to that of those heroes who spent their lives, and often lost them in their efforts to bring the message of hope and salvation to the savage nations dwelling on the deserts or in the wild forests of the world.

◆ The Aloysian, Sydney, 1923

Golden Jubilarian

Father Luke Murphy SJ

The Jewish Law not only proclaimed the Sabbath rest on each seventh day, but also a Sabbath year, a “rest of the land”, each seventh year, and after seven times seven, for forty-nine years had passed, came the great fiftieth year of jubilee. This great fiftieth year was ushered in by a trumpet blast- & jobel-proclaiming to all the sons of Israel the beginning of the year of rest and rejoicing. In that year the soil was not tilled, all lands that had been sold were returned to their original owners or to the heirs of these, and all bundsmen of Hebrew blood were liberated from bondage.

On the 13th of September of this year Fr Luke Murphy entered on his jubilee year in the Society of Jesus, for fifty years ago, on the 13th of September, 1873, he knocked at the door of the novitiate of the Society at Milltown Park, Dublin. In the jubilee year of Fr Murphy we find little to correspond to the Jewish jubilee rest from ordinary toil, for in characteristic fashion he finds his rest in his usual routine work. But we certainly find something to correspond to the jubilee trumpet which ushered in the great holy, fiftieth year of the Jews in the innumerable letters and telegrams of congratulation which signa lised the 13th of September. They came from all points of the compass, from friends clerical and lay. Corresponding also in a slight degree to the public character of the jubilee trumpet were the feeling re ferences made, at the first social function of the Old Boys' Union after the 13th of September, to our much loved jubilarian. But still to compare such semi-public recognition of the excellencies of Fr Murphy to the blast of the jubilee trumpet would be hardly just and Fr Murphy, deprecated very strongly, in characteristic manner, the publication in the papers of the arrival of his jubilee year. Hence we take the oppor tunity of announcing in the College Maga
zine to all his friends the great good tidings.

The writer of this meagre appreciationi was first privileged to meet Fr Murphy when as a boy at Riverview in the late nineties he found him a Rector who mingled in a fine harmony the wine of sufficient sternness and the oil of great human syinpathy. He was always so full of appreciation for boyish difficulties, and kindness is certainly the characteristic which remains most in my memory of Fr. Murphy as Rector of Riverview.

The privilege of living with him in maturer years as a fellow worker at St Aloysius' College has deepened and confirmed this first impression. No wonder then is it that all the boys of Riverview who were privileged to have him as Rector have for him a feeling of real affection, an affection that the pass ing years have not chilled. A characteristic act of his as Rector, showing as it does the desire to help not only present but past boys of the College, was the foundation of the Riverview Old Boy's Union, for Fr Luke Murphy suggested and carried out the establishment of this Union.

The other great characteristic of Fr Murphy is a quiet steadfastness of purpose, the mark of him whom Horace extols as . “just, and tenacious of his project”. The work is always there-for twenty years now at St Aloysius' College he has taught the higher branches of mathematics to the boys --and done it always in the same unosten tatious, perfect manner. No wonder the boys know that he is an ideal master. Yet mathematics is only one of Fr. Murphy's strong points of learning. A deep theo logian and philosopher, a master of the classics, and of French and Spanish - he spent years of study in France and Spain - he never obtrudes his learning, and only those who know him intimately know how much of it there is.

As guide, philosopher, and friend above all to so many souls in Australia, Fr Murphy has the affectionate admiration of us all. The jubilee rest is not yet his, for at an age when many would ask for relief from teaching he still teaches a very full day. But with the satisfaction which must be his at the realization of all that he has attempted all that he has done, at least the joj of the jubilee year will be there. We know that Fr Murphy looks not for an earthly rest, but for the great Sabbath rest of eternity, and this, as it has been the strongest is the last impression one has of him. He is essentially a man who works not for th world's admiration and the world's rewards, and this we think is the reason of his continued, vivid interest in the arduous, the comparatively obscure work ofteaching, and of his excellence both as teacher and a man.

PJD.

◆ The Aloysian, Sydney, 1933

Diamond Jubilarian

Father Luke Murphy SJ

Ten years ago (1923) there appeared in “The Aloysian” a graceful tribute to Father Luke Murphy, for in the September of that year was celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his entrance into the Society of Jesus. Another decade has gone by, and this year his many friends and old pupils congratulated him on his Diamond Jubilee. We shall allow the curious to decide why the sixtieth year should be styled “Diamond” - and leave to them, also, the further puzzle as to what we shall call his next Jubilee - and we hope there will be the need for a suitable name. Now that he has contracted the jubilee habit, there does not seem to be any good reason why he should not continue to exercise it.

The fact that, probably, these pages will meet his severely critical eye, pre sents a difficulty; for it does not give one a full liberty of expression.

Father Murphy was born on May 22, 1856, and entered the Society of Jesus at the unusually early age of seventeen. He has now spent sixty years in Religion, and forty-five in the priesthood - surely, no ordinary record. But when we recall the varied activities of those long years, our admiration is greatly enhanced. His early studies: in the Society of Classics and general literature were passed in Roehampton, London; and he studied Philosophy for three years at Laval, France. From this latter period he brought with him that accurate knowledge of French which has been so beneficial to many generations of boys.

He excelled in two branches of educational work - two not often combined in the same teacher - namely in Languages and in Mathematics. In both of these he showed that rare accuracy and thorough carefulness in daily preparation, which made his teaching such a conspicuous success. Naturally he demanded accuracy and care from his pupils - as so many of them will now gratefully admit.

With a mind matured by a wide study of Literature and Scholastic Philosophy, and with the added culture acquired by foreign travel, it is not surprising that we find him early in his career as teacher entrusted with important classes in the flourishing College of St Stanislaus, Tullamore, Ireland. He prepared boys for public examinations in French, Italian and Mathematics, and for some time assisted in the direction of studies. After five years of this useful work, he was sent by Superiors to Oña, Spain, for four years study of Theology, and its allied branches, preparatory to ordination as a priest. Besides reading a distinguished course in Theology, he acquired a sound knowledge of Spanish - another weapon added to his armoury as teacher. Then followed the final year of training for life work - the Tertianship or second novitiate - at Tronchiennes, Belgium, on the conclusion of which he was appointed to the staff of Clongowes. Wood College,
Ireland, where he was one of the brilliant Masters who placed Clongowes in the very front of Irish schools. At Clongowes, too, during his later years there, he held the important post of Minister - no sinecure in a school of three hundred boarders, with a correspondingly large staff of teachers and domestics.

In 1896 he came to Australia - where for some years he was Rector, first, at St Patrick's College, East Melbourne, and then at St Ignatius' College, Sydney. Returning to Melbourne, he taught for a few years at Xavier College; but in 1902 he came back to Sydney - this time to St Aloysius College, Bourke Street. The next year St Aloysius was transferred to its present site, Milson's Point - and since then (1903) Father Murphy has played an invaluable part in the life of the school, both as teacher and, for some time, as Prefect of Studies. Nor were his energies confined wholly to the classroom: for he lectured in Philosophy at St John's College within the University of Sydney, from 1903 to 1914, and was Confessor to important Religious Communities during those years and almost continually since then. With an unselfishness and a methodical punctual ity quite characteristic he was always ready to offer his help in difficulties. I may refer to one instance. The Presentation Sisters established a foundation at Haberfield, a far-out suburb of Sydney. Their hopes of securing a chaplain were at the time very slender. His Eminence, Cardinal Moran, advised them to apply to St Aloysius' College. They did so, and the proposal seemed wild, and wild it was, considering the distance. When the matter was put before Father Luke, he accepted the onerous duty without a moment's hesitation. For about thirteen years he had to catch a boat from Milson's Point to Circular Quay somewhere around 6 am, had then a tram journey of forty minutes, and gave the good Sisters the consolation of daily Mass, said punctually at 7 am.

So far, we have only what is little more than an outline of the sixty years Father Luke has been a Jesuit. Those who lived with him at periods during : that long span, and those who worked side by side with him, have enshrined him affectionately in a space all his own. The severest test of a man is how he is rated by those with whom he lives in close relationships of domestic life. Most decent people are able to present a pleasing front to the casual acquaintance. Home-manners, and home-moods, are not as a rule our best - and precisely because one does not feel called upon to practise that self-control, which intercourse with strangers always exacts. One forgets that cheerfulness, thought fulness and urbanity might like charity, very well begin at home: for they are an exercise of that virtue, Father Luke has never forgotten, or it was natural for him to remember in practice, the kindness that is due to those with whom we live. The result is, that wherever one goes there will be found in the inquiry, “How is Father Luke?”, or in the message, “Remember me to Father Luke”, a warmth and sincerity that ring true. He could joke - yes, he could tease pleasantly; but the barb was always missing - yet, with such a swift mind, who could have pointed it more keenly-had he so willed? Many, both inside the Society and outside it, will recall his claims to “Kingship” over his “serf”, dear old Father Thomas McGrath, his wildly absurd outward seriousness; the vehement and (simulated) fierce repudiation by the venerable old man of all his claims to regal authority! How much innocent fun we had from those contests. Eheu fugaces!

When one looks round for some striking characteristics in Father Luke, several occur at once. There is his. extraordinary sense of duty. This has shown itself in his amazing punctuality - one of the compliments a gentleman pays to others. It has appeared also, in the scrupulous care he has invariably given to preparation for class-work during the forty-eight years he has been teaching in Secondary Schools, or in the preparation for any other task that superiors assigned to him. We doubt if he has ever omitted, in all that time, his evening revision of work for the following day. His sense of duty kept him sedulously along the paths allotted to him, and he shunned, as with horror, the limelight. Yet, with his wit, his command of expression and his learning, he could have adorned a more glittering stage than the humble plat form of a boys school.

Wordsworth addressed Duty as the “Stern Daughter of the Voice of God”. That, surely was and is Father Luke's conception of it - and he would have re echoed the same poet's sentiment:

“Stern Lawgiver! yet thou d'ost wear
The Godhead's most benignant grace”

There is the secret-the voice of duty was for him the “Voice of God” - a consolation and a support in the drabness of a hum-drum life.

Part, and no small part, of his fidelity to duty, was and is his exactness as to time, and place, and method in all the details of religious life. No trifling ef fort this, of self-denial. It is a martyrdom, as St Bernard says, not by reason of that heroicity of any one act, but by its long-continuance - in his case, for sixty slowly moving years.

There is yet another characteristic of our venerable and venerated Jubilarian. It is one which has impressed, not only those within, but hundreds outside, his religious brotherhood - namely, the priestliness of the man. This was seen in carriage and movement - never hasty or hurried; not pompous or affected; not self-conscious, but dignified and calm, as became a minister and ambassador of the Most High. It was thus he appeared, not only at the altar, but in public. Not that he was at all unap roachable. Far from it. He was always ready to enter into a chat with young and old, workers or employers, and discuss with them their special interests or occupations. His judgment was valuable, as was to be expected from one whose experience of men and things was so wide, and whose mental training in Philosophy and Theology was so full and so accurate. No wonder, then, that for over forty years he has been a member of the advisory councils in the various colleges where he lived.

I thank the Editor of “The Aloysian” for having given me the privilege of writing this appreciation of Father Murphy - an appreciation inadequate to its subject. But, deficient as it is, it may help to draw, from the obscurity where he would hide them, a few of the traits of a remarkable man, and a great Jesuit priest. In the “De Senectute” Cicero says: “Conscientia bene actae vitae, multorumque benefac torum recordatio, jucundissima est”. Surely, Father Murphy has that consciousness of a well-spent life, and the remembrance of many deeds well done and such a pleasure will sweeten the years yet to come. May those years be many and happy! We feel - in fact, we know - that his big heart, still as fresh las ever in kindliness and interest, will often turn towards the fellow-workers and the pupils of the past. That he should in prayer remember them, is the “envoi” with which we close this brief tribute to a valued and loyal friend.

PJ McC SJ

◆ The Aloysian, Sydney, 1937

Obituary

Father Luke Murphy SJ

The obsequies of the late Father Luke Murphy, SJ., veteran Irish Jesuit, who died in Sydney on Tuesday, 17th inst., took place on the 19th inst, in St Mary's temporary church, North Sydney, and the interment immediately afterwards in the neighbouring Gore Hill Cemetery. There was a crowded congregation, including more than 50 priests, representatives from communities of brothers and nuns, pupils from Loreto Convent, Kirribilli, and Monte Sant Angelo and other schools, as well as all the boys from St Aloysius' College.

Solemn Office of the Dead was intoned and Requiem Mass was celebrated, Very Rev Father E O'Brien PP, VF (representing his Grace the Archbishop of Sydney), presiding. The celebrant of the Mass was Very Rev Father Austin Kelly SJ (Rector of St Aloysius' College, Milson's Point); deacon, Rev Father W Allen SJ; sub-deacon, Rev Father T Perrott, SJ; master of ceremonies, Very Rev Father Peter J Murphy PP; and preacher of the panegyric, Rev Father T A Walsh SJ. The cantors of the Office were Rev Fathers J Byrne and B McGinley,

Father T A Walsh's Panegyric
In the course of an impressive panegyric, Father T A Walsh SJ, said:

We are gathered together this morn ing to assist at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered to God for the repose of the soul of Father Luke Murphy, so long associated with St Aloysius College. We are in the awful presence of death, the penalty of the primal sin, the debt we all must pay. But the image of death loses its terror when we recall the con soling words of Holy Writ. “Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord”. When we consider the personal sanctity of Father Murphy, his high ideals, his lofty aspirations, his sense of duty, his sincerity and charm of character, we may rightly place him among those devoted labourers in the vineyard who, blessing God, died in the peace of Christ.

Father Luke Murphy came from Kildare, Ireland, and entered the Society of Jesus as a youth of 18. His preliminary studies were made in England, France and Spain. Gifted with exceptional ability, Father Murphy attained the highest distinction in his philosophical and theological career. As a scholastic and priest in his own country he taught mathematics with singular success in the Jesuit colleges of Tullabeg and Clongowes Wood. He arrived in a Australia towards the end of 1896. Still continuing his teaching of mathematics, he became Rector of St Patrick's College, Melbourne, and afterwards Rector of St Ignatius' College, Riverview.

For 52 years Father Murphy taught regularly in the class rooms, and was attached to St Aloysius College for 35 years. He was a Jesuit for 62 years. There was nothing particularly spectacular about the life of Father Murphy. His life was hidden; he seldom appeared in public, he made no remark able pronouncements, nor did he con tribute articles to our various publications. Father Murphy was pre-eminently a schoolmaster, and devoted his time, his talent and energy to the education and sanctification of youth. He was amongst the humblest and sincerest of men; nothing pained him more than to hear his ability praised and his scholastic distinctions repeated. He scorned delights and lived laborious days serving his Divine Master in the heroic toil of the classroom.

A Man of Great Faith
On an occasion like this, before an assemblage of friends and pupils, it is only right to refer to some of the well known virtues of Father Murphy. He possessed a faith that saw God in everything. God was the beginning and the end of all, and he accomplished God's will with cheerful, ready submission to constituted authority. His literary attainments, classical learning and mathematical ability might have won him eminence from the highest intellectual centres, but the plain classroom and plainer blackboard were the scenes of his spiritual and scholastic successes. As a member of the Jesuit Order, Father Murphy was esteemed for his sincerity, his candour and unswerving devotion to duty. He asked no privileges, he sought no distinction, he taught to the end. Like a good soldier of Christ, he laboured in prayer, penance and the instruction of youth.

But the night cometh when no man can work, The earthly labours of Father Murphy have ceased. No more shall we hear his voice in the classroom, no more shall we be cheered by his genial presence at recreation, His work is accomplished, and his eternal destiny is decided by the All Just, Omnipotent God whom he adored and served. We, his Jesuit companions, will miss his kindliness, his cheerfulness and splendid accomplishments. He edified all by his religious life, his spirit of prayer, his amazing charity and generosity. The members of the diocesan clergy, the religious communities, the teaching Brothers and Sisters, revered the memory of Father Murphy. He was ever ready to assist them by his wise counsel, his learning and priestly ministrations. The pupils of St. Aloysius' College, both past and present, revered him, because they realised that his heart was bent on working for their advancement, not merely in the attainment of secular knowledge, but in the knowledge of the dignity and destiny of the soul.

We have loved him in life, let us not forget him in death. We shall offer our prayers for the speedy flight of his gen erous soul into the Mansion of his Master and Saviour, Christ the King. We shall remember him in our Masses, in our Communions, in our visits to the Blessed Sacrament. May the soul of Father Murphy speedily gaze upon the beauty and splendour of the Beatific Vision. May every power and faculty of his soul be filled with the glory of the elect. May he soon greet in the Kingdom of God his companions, Ignatius Loyola, St Francis Xavier, Stanislaus and Aloysius Gonzaga.

The Last Absolutions were pronounced by Father Austin Kelly SJ, who also recited the last prayers at the graveside in Gore Hill Cemetery. RIP

◆ The Patrician, Melbourne, 1937 & ◆ The Clongownian, 1938

Obituary

Father Luke Murphy SJ

It was with a real sense of personal bereavement that many thousands, priests, brothers, nuns, and scholars, learnt of the death of Reverend Father Luke Murphy SJ, at the Mater Misericordiae Private Hospital, North Sydney, on Tuesday, 17th August. He was still teaching right up to the preceding Friday, when he contracted a chill, which brought to a close a long and distinguished career of 52 years of unremitting labour in the classroom, thirty-five of which were spent at St Aloysius College, Misson's Point, Sydney. In addition to these long years devoted to the education of Catholic youth, Father Murphy gave generously of his time, his knowledge, his sympathy, and his strength to priests, brothers, nuns, and the laity in priestly ministration, in enlightened counsel, in spiritual direction. This servant, who loved his Master so well, was consoled at the end by the reception of the Last Sacraments, administered by Reverend Father J Rausch SM.

Father Murphy was born on May 22nd, 1856, at Rathangan, County Kildare, Ireland, and after completing his secondary education at St Stanislaus College, Tullamore, entered the Society of Jesus, at Miltown Park, Dublin, on September 13th, 1873. He was then sent to Roehampton, the Juniorate and Novitiate of the English Province of the Society, later going to Laval, France, where he read a brilliant course in philosophy, after which he returned to Ireland to teach for several years at his own Alma Mater. In 1886 he again went abroad, but this time to Oña, near Burgos, Spain, for his theological course, which he completed in 1889, being ordained priest, however, a year earlier. From Spain he went to Belgium for his tertianship, at the end of which he returned to Ireland to teach at Clongowes Wood College, County Kildare, where in his last year he was Minister.

In 1896 he came to Australia and soon after arriving in this country was appointed Rector of St Patrick's College, which position he relinquished in 1897 to become Rector of St Ignatius College, Riverview, Sydney. On completion of bis term of office at Riverview in 1901, he returned to St Patrick's for a few months till he was appointed Prefect of Studies at St Aloysius College, and it was there that he long taught mathematics with outstanding success; in addition he lectured in Philosophy at St John's College, within the University, from 1903 till 1934. Father Murphy was a deeply cultured man, being widely read in Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, English, History, Mathematics, Philosophy, and Theology, and this knowledge brought out and emphasised the priestly character of the man. No one was more intolerant of cant and sham than he, and yet no one more burning in loyalty, more tender in sympathy, more understanding in difficulties. Those who knew him, and they are legion, are the poorer by his death and not for many another from so many hearts will more fervent petition go to God that He will grant eternal rest to his soul. In Father Murphy, the Society of Jesus has lost a distinguished son, an obedient subject, an exact religious and a saintly priest. RIP

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