The Irish Province of the Society of Jesus is the local branch of the Society of Jesus, one of the largest religious orders in the Catholic Church, was formed in 1860, having been a Vice-Province from 1830. When Fr Peter Kenney SJ, led the Jesuits back to Ireland in 1814 after the Suppression of the Society (1773-1814) his first action was to open a new school at Clongowes Wood College. In the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century the Order was associated with training Catholics to take on a leadership role in the emerging independent Ireland.
Published
Deposited at the Irish Jesuit Archives from Irish Jesuit Provincialate.
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Born: 07 October 1832, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 30 September 1850, Issenheim, France - Franciae Province (FRA)
Ordained: 1867, Rome, Italy
Final Vows: 02 February 1870
Died: 23 August 1910, St Ignatius College, Manresa, Norwood, Adelaide, Australia
by 1854 at Laval France (FRA) studying Philosophy 1
by 1862 at Stonyhurst England (ANG) studying Philosophy 1
by 1863 in Rome Italy (ROM) studying Philosophy and Theology
by 1869 at Paderborn Germany (GER) making Tertianship
Early Australian Missioner 1870 - first to New Zealand 1879
◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
He made his Noviceship in France with William Kelly, and then remained there for studies with E Browne and Edmund Hogan.
1855 He was sent for Regency to Tullabeg teaching Grammar and the Choir.
1858 He was sent as Fourth Prefect to Clongowes with Joseph Dalton (1st) and William Delaney (3rd)
1859 he was sent to Tullabeg as Lower Line Prefect with Andrew H Rorke as Higher Line
1860/61 He was back at Clongowes.
1861 He was sent to Rome for Philosophy and Theology, and he was Ordained there 1867. William Delaney was a fellow Theologian there
1868-1869 He was sent to Paderborn for Tertianship
1869-1870 He was sent to teach Grammar at Tullabeg, and after his Final Vows 02 February 1870, he was immediately sent to Australia with Frank Murphy
1870-1878 He was sent as Prefect of Studies and Spiritual Father at St Patrick’s Melbourne.
1878-1890 He went to New Zealand with Thomas McEnroe, to Dunedin, at the invitation of Bishop Patrick Moran. There was a College started there which was not a success, and he returned to Australia in 1885 and to Riverview until 1890.
1890 He was sent to St Patrick’s Melbourne again as Spiritual Father.
1892 He was sent to Hawthorn as Operarius.
1899-1903 He was sent to Richmond as Operarius.
1903 He was sent to Norwood, Adelaide and he died there 23 August 1910
He was a holy, learned and hardworking man, and with his death disappeared the last of the Pioneer Irish Jesuits of the Australian Mission. He spent forty years there, but he never forgot old Ireland, and loved to think and speak of “The friends he knew long ago, Where the Shannon and Barrow and Blackwater flow”.
He was a great friend of the working man everywhere, and wrote articles in Michael Davitt’s “Labour World”.
Note from Thomas McEnroe Entry :
1878 He was sent with Joseph O’Malley to found a house in New Zealand which ended up being closed. Joseph O’Malley lived at Dunedin and Thomas lived at Invercargill.
◆ Jesuits in Ireland :
https://www.jesuit.ie/news/jesuitica-jesuits-in-new-zealand/
JESUITICA: Jesuits in New Zealand
There is no Jesuit house in New Zealand, though there have been false starts. There was a short-lived Jesuit mission in Invercargill, and Jesuits taught philosophy in the Christchurch seminary. Wicklow-born Bishop Moran of Dunedin wanted a Jesuit school, and in 1878 welcomed two Irish Jesuits, Joseph O’Malley and Thomas McEnroe, who opened St Aloysius’ College in Dunedin (pictured here), with fifteen boarders and six day-boys. But it was the bishop rather than the people who wanted the school, and it lasted only five years. The site became a golf course, in which the 14th hole is still called (incongruously for Jesuits) “the Monastery”.
◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
Joseph O'Malley was educated as a secondary student at St Stanislaus College Tullabeg, 1844-46, and entered the Society in France, 30 September 1850. He completed his juniorate there before regency which was done partly at Tullabeg and partly at Clongowes, 1855-61. He went to the Roman College for philosophy and theology, 1861-68, and to Paderborn, Germany, for tertianshdp. He returned to St Stanislaus College Tullabeg in 1869 teaching physics, and directing the choir. He arrived in Melbourne in May 1870, and until 1878 taught at St Patrick's College. He was also involved in pastoral work. In 1878 he was sent to New Zealand as superior of a college at Waikari, Dunedin. He remained there teaching until 1883 when he returned. He taught senior English at St Ignatius' College, Riverview, until 1890, organised a choir, instructed music and prefected the library. He was spiritual father for some years. In teaching he devised a system of mnemonics for the use of students. The system aimed at combining topical rhymes with catch words, each letter of which had a numerical value. He had a pamphlet printed for English history from the date of the Conquest, and another for European geography. Later, he was sent to St Patrick's College for two years, where he also helped the editor of the “Messenger”. Parish work followed at Hawthorn, 1892-98, Richmond, 1898-03, and Norwood, 1903-04. He returned to Riverview, 1904-5, and finally was in the parish of Norwood, 1905-10. From written accounts he seemed to have been a humorous, whimsical and original character, as well as a hardworking and self-sacrificing Jesuit. He wrote extensively about the education question in Victoria during the 1870s, and many articles in the Advocate. In 1875 he published a pamphlet Secular Education and Christian Civilization, and it would seem that this work had a large influence. It became something of a textbook for the Catholic protagonists pressing for a review of the Secular Education Act, a campaign that resulted in the second Royal Commission on Education. He was also an eloquent and vehement, not to say fiery, orator, and on at least one occasion displeased superiors for speaking too forcefully on some socio-political question. He was a great displeased superiors for speaking too forcefully on some socio-political question. He was a great friend of the working man everywhere, and wrote articles in Michael Davitt's Labour World. This did not please the Father General Anderledy or Father General Martin, the latter describing him as “Dyscolus turbulentusque”. However, this did not prevent him from being appreciated and loved by the faithful to whom he ministered. He was a popular retreat-giver for the clergy (by 1872 he had given the Melbourne priests retreat three times in a row. Apart from mnemonics, articles of his in the press covered the topics of temperance, smoking, “Modern Thought”, music, the Catholic Press, St Patrick, and the Catacombs. He attended the 1885 Plenary Council of Australasia as theologian to Bishop Moran of Dunedin - one of the seven Jesuits present at that Council in various capacities. O'Malley was a musician of real distinction, hence his involvement with choirs and music in whatever house he resided. He wrote a volume of compositions which was passed for publication, but which the publishers to whom it was offered - Sampson, Lord, Marston and Co - did not think would pay.
◆ Our Alma Mater, St Ignatius Riverview, Sydney, Australia, Golden Jubilee 1880-1930
Riverview in the ‘Eighties - A McDonnell (OR 1866-1888)
Fr Joseph O'Malley was like Fr Nolan, an old man. He was the Professor of English, History and Geography, and he was well qualified to discharge the duties of that office. He was a purist in English, but not a pedantic. one. He frequently pointed out that terms, which some considered “slang”, were perfectly legitimate words, which had become displaced by more unworthy ones. One Sunday at Religious Instruction class, one of the boys remarked that he would be satisfied if he had Fr. O'Malley's "show" of going to Heaven. Immediately one of the senior boys, who dearly loved to see a debate develop, broke in with: “Order penal studies for him, Sir, for using slang”, Fr. O'Malley said: “Tom, I should not make too certain of that. Many such words are perfectly classical. Take for instance the common expression “hard lines”, which most people would regard as slang, is a Scriptural expression, for we read of one whose “lot was cast in hard lines”. Fr, O'Malley devised a system of Mnemonics for the use of the students in the study of History and Geography. The boys rejected such aids with scorn, at first, but very soon they were convinced of the utility of the system, which aimed at combining topical rhymes with catch words, each letter of which had a numerical value. He had a pamphlet printed for English History, from the date of the Conquest, and another for European Geography. He forced into the service every letter of the alphabet, which gave a greater range in the formation of suit able catch words. The great advantage of this system was that its key could be mastered in about five minutes, and once mastered, was never for gotten. It was not intended to displace the ordinary text books on the above subjects, but to act as an aid to their study. For the purpose of teaching European History Fr O'Malley had special large sized, linen bound, exercise books, specially ruled and bound. Each page was divided into one hundred divisions, each of which represented a year. These were ruled with lines for the entry of important events of that year, with its catchword incorporated. The page was also divided into halves and quar ters by heavier boundaries. In addition each page had a strip of coloured paper pasted at the top, and this was different on each page. The idea was to form a mental record, or photograph, of each page, and of the facts recorded thereon. In class there was a competition in the forming of the most suitable catchword for each important event, and when the best avail able was ascertained, it was duly entered up. The system worked splendidly, and even those most opposed to it were soon forced to admit its merits.
Fr O'Malley was the best preacher of all the Fathers in the house in my time. He was indeed a most impressive preacher, of the quiet, restrained type, and he used no gestures. He had so thoroughly applied his memory system to his own work, that if, six months after he had delivered a sermon in the chapel, one of the students quoted a short passage of that sermon from a note made at the time of delivery, Fr O'Malley could supply the context, both before and after the extract quoted. I have known this to take place many times. As I remarked before, Fr O'Malley was at this time an old man, and a heavy one, and I was, therefore, very much surprised to see him put his hand on a fence, and vault over with the agility of a boy. His mental activity and vigour were even more striking. With us he enjoyed and merited the reputation of a saint. It was said that since his ordination, thirty-five years before, he had celebrated Mass every day with the exception of one day on the voyage to Australia, when the sea was too rough to attempt it. Like nearly all the Fathers he had a strong practical turn, and was an artificer, and possessed a fine set of tools. These he would willingly lend to those who understood the working of them, and would take care of them. On each tool, cut into the woodwork with an engraving tool, appeared the words “To be brought back”. If the tool was wholly of metal, the same words would appear, etched upon the metal with acid. When he inspected his kit there were no “absentees”.
Published
Manuscript, ready for the publisher, by Fr Joseph O'Malley SJ, Norwood, Australia of a book on his system of teaching sight-singing and harmony. Includes a table of contents (3pp). ‘Dedicated to Charles Levy, Leader of the Lyric Orchestra & the Hawthorn Choir.’ Includes a number of testimonials by various individuals and a photograph of Fr O'Malley.
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Published
Specially bound volume entitled ‘O'Connell's Letter 1833’ presented to ‘the Jesuit Fathers of St. Francis Xavier’s Upper Gardiner Street For their Library. In grateful memory of much kindness received from them for nearly forty years’ from ‘W.L.' '. Includes colour poster of Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847) and O'Connell's name and address (written in his own hand) attached to the frontispiece. Contains two letters:
4 April 1833
Letter from Daniel O'Connell, London to Richard Barrett, editor of the 'Pilot' newspaper, Suffolk Street, Dublin, to be published as an open letter to the people of Ireland. ‘This is the first of a series of Letters which I intend to publish on the present state and future prospects of our Country including the best suggestions I can give for regulating your conduct in the manner most calculated to mitigate the evils of the one and to insure the amelioration of the other.’ (Letter is divided into five envelopes, each containing nine pages. Franked 6 April 1833.) 45pp
Richard Barrett, editor of the Pilot was prosecuted by the government for having published on 8 April 1833, the last letter. He was tried and found guilty, imprisoned for six months and fined £100. During his imprisonment, O'Connell paid Barrett a total of £656, consisting of his £100 fine, £150 in American subscriptions and weekly sums amounting to £406.
18 February 1840
Private letter from Daniel O'Connell, 16 Pall Mall, London, to David R. Pigot, Solicitor General, concerning the Municipal Reform Bill. Letter published in full in Maurice R. O'Connell’s (ed.) 'The Correspondence of Daniel O'Connell, Vol. VI, 1837-1840' (Blackwater Dublin for the Irish Manuscripts Commission, 1977) p.308/9 (2687a), where the source is given as ‘Jesuit Fathers, Gardiner Street, Dublin.’
2pp
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Published
Manuscript book entitled ‘Instructions on Catechizing , & preaching also on The Sacraments of Marriage & Penance’ by ‘the Right Revd. in God Christopher Lord Arch-Bishop of Cashel & Primate of all Munster’ ‘To the Secular, & Regular Clergy of both his Dioceses, having care of Souls’. With notes in unknown hand on front cover: ‘Found or got by E. Hogan, S.J. circ. 1858’ and ‘15th Aug. 1737 E. Hogan, S.J.’. Also includes note stuck on to back cover ‘Christopher Butler A(rch)B(ishop) of Cashel for 45 y(ea)rs died in 1757 aged 84 y(ea)rs’.
Paper quite soft and friable but intact.
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Born: 23 May 1726, Limerick City, County Limerick
Entered: 31 July 1747, Lisbon, Portugal - Lusitaniae Province (LUS)
Ordained: pre 1754
Died: 29 June 1795, Killaloe, County Clare
Son of Elinor Nihill née Hackett
Nihill or Nihell is a variant of O’Neill
1757-1759 Prefect of Boarders at Irish College Poitiers
There were three other Nihell’s SJ. One was the brother of the Bishop, and John and Edward who was born at Antigua, and entered the Society at Ghent in 1768 and 1769. Edward died a victim of charity attending negroes at Trinidad in 1826 (cf Foley’s Collectanea). His Nephew was Father McShee SJ.
Ferrar’s “Limerick” :
Of a very ancient and respectable family names O’Neill. He was a near relative of Baron Harrold, Colonel of the Regiment of Königsfelt, of Colonel Nihell, of Dillon’s Regiment at Fontenoy, and of Brigadier-General in Naples, and Colonel of the Regiment of Limerick. He was also a brother to Dr James Nihell, a medical writer, and a nephew of Sir John Higgins, first physician to the King of Spain.”
1770 He published a work on “Rational Self Love”.
1778 The Archbishop of Dublin tried to get him made Bishop of Limerick, while the Bishop of Cashel and his friends supported Thomas Butler (later Lord Cahir), another ex-Jesuit.
1784 He was made Bishop of Kilfenora
1787 He was completing and preparing for press his brother James’ “Life and Doctrines of Christ” and was engaged in writing a “History of the Redemption of Man”. (These MSS are in the Milltown Park Library).
J Roche, author of “Memoirs of an Octogenarian” says “Dr Nihell was a cousin of my father’s, at whose table I well recollect him as a most welcome guest, for he was distinguished as a Priest, a scholar and a gentleman. I was present at his consecration in Limerick in 1784, when Mr Kirwan OsF was Preacher, and Lord Dunboyne, Bishop of Cork, one of the assisting prelates. Kirwan preached on apostasy, and he and Dunboyne later apostasised!” (cf O’Renehan’s “Collections” p 370)
His tomb is in the old Cathedral of Kilfenora.
Brother of Bishop Nihell. The Nihill’s were related to the Harolds, Arthurs, Macghees, McNamaras, Butlers, Woulfes and Calcutts of Limerick and Clare (in pen)
After the Suppression he was PP of Rathkeale. As he was of decided literary tastes, he resigned his parish and lived in Limerick. He died there some time post 1780. (Father Denis Murphy’s Collections)
◆ Fr Francis Finegan SJ :
Son of Laurence Nihell and Alice née Arthur
His early life in the Society is hard to determine. he is mentioned only once in the LUS Catalogue 1749, which tells nothing of his studies before Entry. It seems certain that after First Vows he was sent to Coimbra for studies.
1752 In the Spring of 1752 he wrote to Fr General for permission to study Mathematics and Theology before he should return to Ireland. The General in his reply, dated 30 May, informed him that the permission asked for would be granted only if Superiors decided that such studies were necessary
1754 It is also uncertain if he was Ordained when he arrived at the Irish College Poitiers 15 December 1754 - there is no record of him in the AQUIT Catalogues of 1754 and 1758. His name at Poitiers has survived only in the Procurator's books down to 1758 when he left the Society.
1758 LEFT the Society and returned to Ireland where he was incardinated in Limerick, and succeeded Fr David Burke as PP of Rathkeale in 1762.
1767 Moved to St Mary’s Limerick as senior Curate
1783 Ordained Bishop of Kilfenora, and he died 29 June 1795 and was buried in the chancel of the old Cathedral Church of his Diocese
Published
Manuscript book entitled ‘Instructions on Catechizing , & preaching also on The Sacraments of Marriage & Penance’ by ‘the Right Revd. in God Christopher Lord Arch-Bishop of Cashel & Primate of all Munster’ ‘To the Secular, & Regular Clergy of both his Dioceses, having care of Souls’. With notes in unknown hand on front cover: ‘Found or got by E. Hogan, S.J. circ. 1858’ and ‘15th Aug. 1737 E. Hogan, S.J.’. Also includes note stuck on to back cover ‘Christopher Butler A(rch)B(ishop) of Cashel for 45 y(ea)rs died in 1757 aged 84 y(ea)rs’.
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Published
Tá 9 lámhscríbhinn Ghaeilge i gcartlann na nÍosánach in 35 Sr. Líosan, íochtarach, Baile Átha Cliath. Ní fios go cruinn conas a tharla ansin iad. Bhí IL 6 agus 7 i seilbh an Athar Eoin Mac Fhir Léinn, S.J., de réir dealraimh. Bhí IL 5 i seilbh an Athar Éamann Ó hÓgáin, S J. Tá stampa ar IL 2 agus 9 a chuireann in iúl go rabhadar araon tamall i Meiriceá. Deir an tAthair Aubrey Gwynn, S.J., go bhfuair sé féin IL 1 sa Leabharlann sa teach agus gur thaispeáin sé don Athair Mac Fhir Léinn í agus gur fhéach seisean chuige gur cheangail Colm Ó Lochlainn í i gComhartha na dTrí gCoinneal. Ceanglaíodh IL 8 ansiúd leis. Bhí sí seo tráth i seilbh Sheáin Uí Chatháin i nDubhghlas i gCo. Chorcaí, agus, níos déanaí, i seilbh an Athar Patrick Kenyon. Seachas an méid sin níl le rá ach gur bhailigh an chuallacht léannta seo na lsí seo de réir a chéile agus gur thugadar togha na haire dóibh.
See Irish Script on Screen which as has digitised five of the nine 'lámhscríbhinn Ghaeilge i gcartlann na nÍosánach.
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Manuscripts in Irish which have been described in detail by an tAthair Pádraig Ó Fiannachta in Clár Lámhscríbhinní Gaeilge Leabharlanna na Cléire agus Mionchnuasaigh, Fascúl II (Baile Átha Cliath: Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath, 1980):
Published
18ú haois. 13.1" X 8", ach cuid de na duilleoga beagán níos lú ná sin. Lámhscríbhinn mhór í seo a cuireadh le chéile de réir a chéile. Is fusa líon na lch a dhéanamh amach de réir na gcodanna: (a) Bhí 340 + lch anseo ar dtús; dealraíonn sé go ndearnadh dearmad laghd- aithe d’aon san uimhriú ar dhuilleoga atá caillte anois. Tá 10 lch agus Igh eile tar éis 339i. caillte. Tá duilleoga sractha freisin (cf. infra); (b)32 lch, gan ach 1-18 uimhrithe agus stráice caillte ó bhun lgh 1-6; (c) 60 lch, uimhrithe 1-57, agus na trí lgh eile gan uimhriú agus le léamh aniar; (d) 4 lch ceangailte 2-1-4-3, agus 4 dhuilleog; leath d.4 sractha chun siúil; (e) Tá dhá uimhriú ar chuid de na lgh anseo; leantar uimhriú a thosaíonn le 3 (lgh 1-2 caillte); téann seo 3-105, ach tá lgh 3-4 ceangailte ar dtuathal; tá ‘6’ faoi dhó; tá lgh 32-35 caillte; tá lgh 68-9, 102-3 sractha, agus cúpla lch bán (cf. infra), (f) 18 lch, áirithe go haibítreach, ach ceann idir D agus E fágtha gan áireamh.
Micheál Ó Longáin/ Michael Long a scríobh an t-iomlán, ach nithe fánacha thall is abhus (cf. (a) 335m.; (b) 18m.). Tugann sé dáta 8-12- 1759 ag 18m. Is dócha go raibh H. I. 18 (i Leabharlann Choláiste na Tríonóide) mar fhoinse aige do chuid den ábhar. Tá liosta leabhar ag (c) 60-59-58 ó láimh eile, lámh an Easpaig Seán Ó Briain, pátrún an leabhair, is é is dóichí; d’fhágfadh sin gurb é clár a leabharlainne atá anseo. Tá breacaireacht ó lámha difiriúla thall is abhus. Tá dáta‘1781’ le síniú ‘Cornelius O’Brien’ ar (f) Q m. Tá síniú: ‘Cormac O Fithcheallaigh’, úinéir is dócha, ar (a)3i. agus (b) 17i.; tá cuid de na ceartúcháin etc. ina pheannaireacht.
Tá an Is seo ceangailte go slachtmhar i maothleabhar dearg. Comhartha na dTrí gCoinneal a cheangail is clos dom. Tá duilleoga ceangail chun tosaigh agus laistiar. Tá an seanchlúdach leathair a bhí ar an Is greamaithe laistigh den chlúdach nua. Tá armas greanta air sin chun tosaigh, agus nóta le peann luaidhe os a chionn: ‘Original binding. Episcopal arms of John O’Brien Bishop of Cloyne and Ross 1748-67’. Ó nádúr an ábhair, is furas a mheas gur don easpag seo go háirithe a scríobh Micheál Mac Pheadair Uí Longáin an Is seo. Tá ainm an easpaig go tútach ar (f) lch R.
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Published
19ú haois. 8" x 9.9". 217 lch uimhrithe 1-215, ach 88-9 faoi dhó agus lch bán tar éis 115 fágtha gan uimhir; an príomhscríobhaí a d’uimhrigh go 203, agus Éamonn Ó Sealbhaidh as sin amach. Dhá dhuilleog cheangail chun tosaigh agus cuid de cheann (bán) laistiar. An tAthair Siomón Breathnach a scríobh in 1817 (cf. lch 1); tugann sé Tullachair mar log agus ‘mí deire Samhradh’ mar dháta níos cruinne ag 185i. Bhreac Eamonn Ó Sealbaidh ar lgh 199, 204, 212, agus ar an taobh istigh de na clúdaigh, níos déanaí. Tá stampa úinéara (?) ‘William J. Onahan Chicago’ ar an gclúdach tosaigh laistigh. Ansiúd leis agus ar na duilleoga ceangail tá nótaí mínithe ar na focail ‘Talmud’, ‘Hellenists’; nóta ar ‘Protesting Catholic Dissenters’; agus ráitis Laidine ó Hórás, Tertullian, agus eile. Tá comhartha seilbhe breactha ar an gcéad duilleog cheangail : ‘Arch. Prov. Hib.’ agus teideal na haiste ‘A dhuine cuimhnigh air do chriocha deighionach.’ Laistigh ar an gclúdach thiar tá: ‘Mangaire S. chúm S. Ó Tuama.’ Is lom an t-ionad san grinnoll na mbagh míne. 1 v. Tá an ls seo ceangailte i gcairtchlár glas le cúl leathair, ach go bhfuil an clúdach ar bogadh anois.
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Published
19ú haois. 7.5" X 4.6". 60 + 213 lch, le lgh bhána cheangail i dtosach agus ag deireadh agus le lgh bhána idir dhá chuid an leabhair, agus arís dhá lch bhána idir lgh 57 agus 58. Níl ainm scríbhneora ná log luaite, ach is léir on bpeannaireacht (agus ón ábhar) gurb é Tomás Ó hIcí a d’aistrigh ón mBéarla agus a scríobh, i bPort Láirge, agus tá an dáta: ‘Márta 31, 1846’ ag 84i. (Cf. CE 7(a), atá beagán difiriúil). An Is seo ceangailte go slachtmhar teann faoi leathar donn. Stampa: ‘Arch. Prov. Hib. S.J.’ ar lch ceangail chun tosaigh.
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Published
Patrick Stanton, Friar’s Walk, Cork
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Published
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Published
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Published
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Published
19th century laments (with 20pp missing). Scribe Seán Ó Dreada, Cork, with some material by Tadhg Ó Conaill.
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Published
Aistriúcháin ar Chlasaicí.
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The Irish Jesuit Archives are open only to bona fide researchers. Access by advance appointment. Further details: archivessj@gmail.com
No material may be reproduced without the written permission of the Archivist. Copyright restrictions apply. Photocopying is not available. Digital photography is at the discretion of the Archivist.
Born: 18 November 1895, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 06 October St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 31 July 1927, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1931, Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin
Died: 02 January 1988, St Ignatius, Lower Leeson Street, Dublin
Early education at Belvedere College & Clongowes Wood College SJ
Studied for a BA in French and German as a Junior
by 1918 at Stonyhurst, England (ANG) studying
by 1929 at Valkenburg, Limburg, Netherlands (GER I) making Tertianship
by 1945 at Campion Hall, Oxford (ANG) studying
by 1949 Fordham, NY USA (NEB) making Tertianship
Irish Province News 1st Year No 1 1925
We may mention here a school story recently published – “The Last Lap.” Its author is Mr. Fergal McGrath, SJ. The book, which was mostly written while the author was a scholastic in Clongowes, has had an enthusiastic reception. The Reviewer in the " Ecclesiastical Review " writes of it : “It is a splendid boys' story. Probably neither Fr. Finn, or Fr. Spalding nor Fr. Boylan has told any better”.
Irish Province News 1st Year No 3 1926
Mr Fergal McGrath's “Last Lap” has been translated into Spanish. Much difficulty was experienced in finding Spanish equivalent for such phrases as : “getting his eye in”, “the calculating pig”, etc,
Irish Province News 10th Year No 2 1935
Works by Father Fergal McGrath SJ :
1. “The Last Lap” - Pub. Benziger Bros., N. York and the Talbot
2. “L'Ultima Tappa” - Italian translation of the above by Father Celestine Testore, S.]., , pub. Marietta, Rome, 1929
3. “Adventure Island” - Pub. Benziger Bros., N. York and the Talbot Press, Dublin, 1952. School edition pub by Talbot Press, 1954, sanctioned by Board of Education for Higher Standards of Primary Schools.
4. “Un Drama en Irelande” - French translation of above by M du Bourg. Pub. Editions du Closer, Tours, 1934
5. “Christ in the World of To-day” - Pub. Gill & Son, 1933 (Lenten Lectures on the Sacred Heart)
6. “Mother Catherine McAuley” - (Biographical sketch contributed to The Irish Way) Pub. Sheed & Ward, 1932
7. “The Beefy Saint” - Pub. Irish Catholic Truth Society (a story for boys)
Pamphlets
1. “Canon Hannigan’s Martyrdom: - Pub. Irish Messenger Series, (A story of Irish clerical life)
2. “The Catholic Church in Sweden” - (Edited) English C.T.S
3. “Stories of the Twelve Promises of the Sacred Heart” - (In collaboration) Irish Messenger Series, “Tenement Angel”.
Irish Province News 23rd Year No 4 1948
Fr. Fergal McGrath sailed from Cobh on 24th September for New York ; he will be lecturing in Fordham University in the coming year.
Irish Province News 63rd Year No 2 1988
Obituary
Fr Fergal McGrath (1895-1913-1988)
Born in Dublin [on 18th November 1895) and educated in Clongowes (1908 12], Fergal McGrath was so dedicated to the Society, which he joined in 1913 on 6th October, after taking First Arts in UCD), that it is impossible to imagine him in any other way of life. He was very proud of his family, particularly of the involvement of his father, Sir Joseph McGrath, in the development of Irish university education, and as he became in his turn the patriarch, his love for the younger generations was evident in the quiet, almost shy, allusions which he made to his nephews and nieces.
Having taken a BA at University College, Dublin [1917], and studied philosophy in both Stonyhurst (1917-'8] and Milltown Park (1920-'2], he taught in Belvedere (1918-'20] and Clongowes [1922-24] before beginning theology at Milltown in 1924. [He was ordained a priest on 31st July 1927.] Fr Fergal's tertianship was made at 's Heerenberg in the Netherlands, which was then a house of the Lower German Jesuit province. He found that tertianship dragged a bit towards the end and he was happy to return to Ireland and to Rathfarnham as Minister of Juniors in 1929. Fr Fergal became Rector of Clongowes in 1933, at a very important phase in the growth of the school, and remained in office until 1941, when he went to Gardiner street as Superior. Four years of study in Oxford, where he took a D. Phil., Occupied his years until 1948 and he spent a further year studying education at Fordham university in New York, Returning to Ireland, Fr Fergal was made Rector of St Ignatius, Galway, where he remained until 1953. Leaving the West, he moved to Leeson street as a writer and spiritual father, until he began his last superiorship as Rector of Rathfarnham in 1961. From 1967 to 1972, he lived at Loyola House. Leeson street was his final Jesuit home. Fr Fergal was Province Archivist from 1975 until 1986, but remained Custodian of the strongroom, dealing with researchers and with many written queries until he went to hospital early in December 1987. He died on 2nd January 1988.
Fergal McGrath was a writer, a Jesuit superior, a good friend to many people all over Ireland, with a vast correspondence and with an interest in everything. He could write scholarly books, short stories, novels of school life and many pamphlets and newspaper articles. He wrote with the same care and precision which he brought to everything he did.
There was no haste, but much prudence. He once said, rather unnecessarily, to somebody who knew him very well '”s you know, I'm a cautious man'” He gave himself heart and soul to any task assigned to him.
Blessed with a very strong constitution and with what seemed to be an inherent ability to avoid stress, Fr Fergal was remarkable in his adherence to a personal daily routine. He had great respect for his fellow Jesuits and found it hard to say anything even remotely harsh about anybody. Most of his experiences as a superior seemed to have been happy, but he never discussed any of the difficulties which must have cropped up in those years, such as the hardships incur red while building at Clongowes and the unease at being a superior in formation during what are known as the 'turbulent' 1960s. In a life which lasted for 92 years, there were obviously disappointments and 'might-have-beens', but Fr Fergal never referred to them. He was quite free from resentment and never wasted time by cultivating hurts. He recognised that the past had not been perfect and, with complete trust in the Lord, got on with the task in hand. This attitude made him a surprisingly free person, because first impressions could be of a man bound by many self-imposed rules.
It was this inner freedom, combined with his respect for others, which drew so many people to him. The person to whom he probably felt closest all his life was a man who died almost fifty-five years before he himself did - Fr John Sullivan. A biography was one sign of his devotion to Fr John's cause; another was his slide-show, of which there were both long and short versions. I remember a conversation in which he made an unconscious slip by referring to “St John Sullivan” and went on talking, unaware of how much he had revealed in that brief anticipation of the Church's judgement. He also did tremendous work for the Cause of Mother Mary Aikenhead.
Despite the long and very slow decline in his energies, Fr Fergal's last years in Leeson street were undoubtedly some of his happiest. As his long daily walk along the Stillorgan road was gradually reduced to a stroll in the back garden, as he became more and more grateful for the lift in the house, he gave the impression of great happiness, because he felt himself among a group of brothers in the Lord, who both cared for him and esteemed him. He lived to become the longest-serving member of the Province.
There were many changes in the Society which Fr Fergal accepted, but which he hardly understood and of which he did not fully approve, but here, once again, his obedience and his deep sense of commitment as a religious took him across hurdles at which he might have fallen. Fr Fergal was intelligent and was a liberal in the Edwardian sense of the word. Patience was one of his strongest suits and stood him in good stead on many an occasion when he might have been driven wild with exasperation, as when unpunctual scholars kept him waiting for hours after they were due to examine documents in the archives.
His radio was a prized and well-used object. Even at 92, Fr Fergal found that a session with his clarinet was a good way to relax and he never felt called to make major adjustments for the television era. His devotions took up an increasingly large part of his day and it was obvious that he was very close to the Lord. In somebody so accomplished, so well known that he received an honorary doctorate from UCD as recently as 1982, there was a profound vein of humility, as I discovered one morning when he amazed me by asking for my advice about some point in the Divine Office.
We worked together in the archives for several years. Having known many of the men whose papers are preserved in the Leeson Street strong-room, he was an invaluable source of advice. No question from me was made to seem silly, no letter from any enquirer was too demanding to merit his full attention.
I treasure casual remarks Fr Fergal made, such as “I don't remember Fr X, but I do recall the old men talking about him” or his stories about mishaps during a juniorate villa at Monkstown, Co Dublin, during the first world war. He spoke little about his own accomplishments, such as his classical learning and his good command of Irish, but he did pass on jocular pieces of advice, such as a piece of consolation he had been given in 1933, when somebody told him that “being a rector isn't too bad - there are even whole days when you'll forget that you're a rector at all”.
A quick glance around his room told the story of Fr Fergal's life better than any biography. His chimneypiece was lined with photographs of his family, of fellow Jesuits and of the present Pope. There was one small bookshelf and, piled beside it, boxes of papers relating to Fr John Sullivan. His wardrobe contained a few, well-worn clothes and his Jesuit gown hung on the back of his door. The attention of any visitor would be drawn to the most prominent object in the room: a desk, laden with letters from all over Ireland and abroad, with books which he was reading as possible material for the refectory and with a Latin Office-book placed close to his armchair.
Fr Fergal's last illness was mercifully brief. His sense of humour showed itself to the end, as he responded to a plea not to die in 1987 and thereby destroy the Province's death-free record for that year. When I last saw him, the day before his death, he was sleeping peace fully, his face serene. A well-lived life was drawing to its earthly close. It was a life in which many people were blessed with his friendship and I am very grateful for having been one of them.
Fergus O'Donoghue, SJ
Fr Fergal McGrath: Incomplete bibliography of his works
Fiction:
“Adventure Island “(Dublin and New York, 1932). “Tenement Angel and Other Stories “(Dublin, 1934). “The Last Lap “(Dublin, 1925; Italian translation “L'ultima Tappa”, Turin "and Rome, 1929; French translation “Au Dernier Tour”, Paris, (no date).
Education:
“The Consecration of Learning”: lectures on Newman's Idea of a university (Dublin and New York, 1962). “Education in Ancient and Mediaeval Ireland” (Dublin, 1979). “Newman's University: Idea and Reality” (Dublin, 1951). “The university question” in “A History of Irish Catholicism”, vol. V, pp. 84-142 (Dublin, 1971).
Christian doctrine: Christ in the world of today (Dublin, 1933). Life in Christ (Dublin, 1957).
Biography: Father John Sullivan, S.J. (Dublin, 1941).
Biographical articles:
“Catherine McAuley” in “The Irish Way”, edited by F.J. Sheed, pp. 244-'62 (London, 1932). “The conversion” in “A Tribute to Newman”, edited by Michael Tierney, pp. 57 83 (Dublin, 1945). “The Background to Newman's Idea of a University” in “The Month”, July-August 1945, vol. 181, no. 946, pp. 247-'58.
Pamphlets:
“Father John Sullivan SJ” (Dublin, 1942). “Newman in Dublin” (Dublin, 1969). “Youth Guidance” (Dublin, 1944). “James A Cullen SJ : A modern Apostle of the Sacred Heart” (Dublin, 1980).
◆ The Clongownian, 1988
Obituary
Father Fergal McGrath SJ
A life-span of ninety-two years, almost all of it in active life, would fill a long chronicle. Fergal McGrath’s was particularly full, not just because of his health and longevity, but more because of his talents and fidelity to his Jesuit priesthood.. His associations with Clongowes are especially strong, and the most important of them are almost impossible to chronicle, because they consist of friendships with hundreds of Clongownians, scattered across Ireland, Europe and beyond, who will remember this large, kindly, courteous and always interested friend as an important part of their lives.
A photograph of Fergal's father used to hang in the Rogues Gallery in Clongowes, a respectable Victorian figure: Sir Joseph McGrath. He had been a teacher in the old Tullabeg College, later became co-secretary with Sir James Creed Merridith of the Royal University of Ireland and subsequently of the National University of Ireland, and in this latter capacity he was knighted by what in retrospect can be seen as a dying British administration. Fergal did not often talk about his father, but his own identity was different. He was a strongly patriotic Irishman, committed to his country and its language, and without the animosities that could have marred another son of a knighted father. He took pains to learn Irish well, and used it when he could; so he was at his ease as Rector of an Irish-speaking school, Galway's Coláiste Iognáid, in the early 1950s.
He was educated at Belvedere and, from the age of 14, at Clongowes; after First Arts in University College, Dublin, he entered the Jesuit noviceship, and later studied modern languages, then philosophy, then theology. As soon as he finished his Jesuit training, with a tertianship in Germany, he was loaded with responsibility: the charge of Jesuit scholastics in Rathfarnham, then Rector of Clongowes, Superior of Gardiner Street Church and community, Rector of Coláiste Iognáid in Galway, and later of Rathfarnham Castle.
Fergal carried these burdens with a genial ease, but paid a price for them. He worried about his charges and spent endless energy preparing, planning and providing. It was as a prudent and promising young man that he was appointed to succeed Fr George Roche. The Clongowes he took over in 1933, and ruled for eight years, carried what then seemed a crippling debt. In the climate of the Economic War, money was short to a degree we can hardly imagine. Pupils, the main source of revenue, were scarce, and with World War II became scarcer. The contractor of the New Building had gone bankrupt. The college was not insured against this contingency, and had to take over the management of construction, and all through the thirties and early forties, suffered from a pressing and sometimes mounting debt to the banks which coloured all administrative decisions.
His last two years in Clongowes were overshadowed by the war in Europe, with all the fears and uncertainties it brought. Fergal organised (through the scholastics) a fire brigade for contingencies. He saw a tide of refugees from England rise and ebb, leaving him with many empty beds and financial worries.
He once remarked that he went to Clongowes full of enthusiasm as an educator, loving the scope that the job seemed to offer; but soon found that all his energies were used in surviving. He was a slim man of 37 when he went to Clongowes, but the burdens of responsibility and a sedentary job turned him into the portly figure we later knew. He tried in vain to reduce it. He was a modest eater, and well into his eighties he walked, and swam, and on holidays played consistent golf. His two splendid schoolboy stories, “The Last Lap” and “Adventure Island” show what an active, dreaming boy there was inside the adult frame. He wrote them in odd moments of enforced leisure, one in a convalescence from a long flu in the twenties, the other in spare moments when in charge of the Jesuit juniors. He relished the memory of a happy and carefree youth with its limited anxieties. Adult life as a Jesuit had for him few carefree moments.
Despite his worries, he was much appreciated in Clongowes, especially by the ten scholastics who constituted the most active and talented part of the teaching staff, and whom he supported and fathered in the kindest way. To the parents he was always accessible and understanding, generous in remitting fees in cases of bereavement or hardship, energetic in helping past pupils on their first steps in life. He never forgot Clongowes, though his last residence there ended nearly fifty years before his death. He would never miss a Clongownian funeral, and maintained an enormous correspondence with past pupils and parents who became his warm
friends.
Fergal's friendships were in many ways his greatest achievement - and he was a man of considerable achievements. He kept his friendships in good repair by visits and correspondence. They were planned, as every thing in his life was planned. He would delicately invite a fellow Jesuit to chaperone him on visits to widows or spinsters. He would bring his clarinet to play duets with an aging bachelor, a former colleague. When, in Galway, Bishop Michael Browne's mother died, Fergal agonised over whether it would be appropriate for him to approach the formidable old prelate with his sympathies. He made the move, and found that he was almost the only one to have ventured near the isolated and sorrowing bishop, who was deeply moved by Fergal's humanity. Here as elsewhere, Fergal's moves were for other people's sake, not for his own.
The others whom he befriended were from every part and condition in the country. Fergal knew the taste of poverty from his experiences of the thirties, and he responded positively, not just in individual acts of kindness, but interested himself too in the structures of society. He initiated the Social Study weekends which brought all sections of industrial and agricultural society to Clongowes for seminars of a high quality in the mid-thirties. He gave much energy to the Clongowes Housing Project, providing flats for the needy in Blackhall Place; and also to the Clongowes Boys' Club.
Apart from these concerns, Fergal gave innumerable retreats and lectures, many of the latter focussed on Fr John Sullivan, of whom he wrote the biography as well as a popular pamphlet. On coming to Clongowes he inherited the aura of John Sullivan, and he did more than perhaps any other man to convey to the public the impact of John's saintliness.
The public obituaries of Fergal spoke of him in that most ambiguous phrase, as “a distinguished educator”. He was indeed a sound scholar, well equipped for the task with languages, patience, a broad educational background in his youth, and an extraordinarily methodical approach to work. His study of Newman's University was a major work of lasting value, the fruit of four happy years of research in Champion Hall, Oxford, then in its palmiest days.
When Fr Tim Corcoran vacated the Chair of Education in UCD, Fergal's wide educational experience and high reputation made him a likely candidate for the position, It is said that Chancellor Eamonn De Valera, at the meeting to appoint the new professor, asked: “Is Father McGrath not interested?” But Fergal had withdrawn his interest rather than contest the chair with Tim Corcoran's assistant, W Williams, who he felt had prior claim on it, and whose late application was unexpected. Instead he spent a year as visiting professor in Fordham University, his only transatlantic excursion, but one that he remembered with warmth and happiness.
Fergal was a conservative and cautious man to the end. In 1987 he wrote to a friend marvelling at her word-processor, but preferring still to tap away at a typewriter he had bought secondhand in 1933. He did not enjoy the major changes in the Church and in Irish Jesuits in the last two decades. The disruption of traditions and the loss of vocations disturbed him - he was quite upset when the present writer grew a beard in the early seventies, and correspondingly relieved when the growth was shaved off. But he never became angry, bitter or vociferous. He reflected beautifully his master Newman's definition of a gentleman; one who never willingly inflicts pain. He was trusted to the end by all his brethren, whom he served to his ninety-third year as keeper of the Province archives. May one conjecture that what he must particularly enjoy in the Beatific Vision is “Deus Immutabilis”, in whom there is no shadow of change, who wipes all tears from our eyes, and has lifted all burdens and anxieties off Fergal's broad back.
PA
Published
Handwritten schedule of the manuscripts in Irish compiled by Fr Fergal McGrath SJ (Irish Province Archivist, 1975 – 1986). Includes explanatory note by Fr McGrath concerning his compilation of the schedule (1p. 1985). Fr. McGrath lists one manuscript (number ‘3’) which an tAthair Ó Fiannachta did not. This manuscript is missing.
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No material may be reproduced without the written permission of the Archivist. Copyright restrictions apply. Photocopying is not available. Digital photography is at the discretion of the Archivist.
Born: 27 May 1905, Belfast, County Antrim
Entered: 31 August 1923, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 31 July 1938, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1941, St Ignatius, Leeson Street, Dublin
Died: 26 December 1989, Our Lady’s Hospice, Dublin
Part of the Sacred Heart community, Limerick at the time of death
Had studied Medicine for one year before entry
by 1930 at Berchmanskolleg, Pullach, Germany (GER S) studying
◆ Interfuse
Interfuse No 82 : September 1995
Obituary
Fr Seán Ó Catháin (1905-1989)
27th May 1905: Born in Belfast
31st Aug. 1923: Entered the Society of Jesus
1923 - 1925: Tullabeg, novitiate
1925 - 1929: Rathfarnham, juniorate: MA (UCD) in Celtic studies
1929 - 1931; Pullach bei München, Germany: philosophy
1931 - 1934: Galway, regency
1934 - 1939 Milltown Park
1934 - 1935: private study,
1935 - 1939 theology
1938: Ordained a priest
1939 - 1940: Rathfarnham, tertianship.
1940 - 1946: Leeson Street:
1940 - 1941 private study,
1941 - 1946 University Hall, vice principal, private study culminating in a PhD.
1946 - 1948: Clongowes, teaching
1948 - 1978; Leeson Street:
1949 - 1966 Lecturer at UCD's department of Education;
1966-1973 Professor of Education;
1950 - 1959 Inspector of studies in colleges of the Province.
1973 - 1978 writing.
1967 - 1973: Superior.
1978 - 1989: Limerick (Sacred Heart Residence): church work, librarian. In 1982 (also in October 1989) he suffered a stroke which impaired the memory function of his brain. After spending some time in St. John's Hospital, Limerick, he was removed to Our Lady's hospice, Harold's Cross, Dublin
26th Dec. 1989: Died
The following additional details concerning Seán's academic career have been gleaned from the Report of the President, UCD, 1972-3 (section on retirements) and 1989-'90 (obituary section). Seán gained four diplomas, all with first-class honours (the middle two in Irish), from one or other of three Irish university colleges: pre-medical (UCC, 1923), BA (UCD, 1928), MA (UCD, 1929), HDip in Ed (UCG, 1932). For his PhD in Ed (UCD, 1941) his thesis was on 'The diffusion of Renaissance ideals of education in the schools of the Jesuit Order'. 'During these years (seemingly 1932-48) he acted as an Assistant Extern Examiner (through Irish) in Education for the National University of Ireland.
Seán Ó Catháin was the second son of Seán and Kathleen nee Dinneen. Seán senior was a native of Kilbeheny, near Mitchelstown, while Kathleen from Rathmore, Co. Kerry. It was in London at the turn of the century that Seán, who had succeeded in the examinations for the civil service, found himself posted for work at the department of customs and excise. Kathleen Dinneen had qualified as a primary teacher and found employment also in London. They were both the children of Irish speaking parents.
Sometime about 1904 Seán Ó Catháin was transferred to Belfast. Some day a curious enquirer may discover whether his transfer was by way of promotion or downright exile to dour Belfast, where there were fewer Gaelic Leaguers!
Here our own Seán was born, and baptised at the parish church of the Sacred Heart, Oldpark Road. In due course he was confirmed at St. Patrick's parish church, Donegall Street. After primary school he was sent to St. Malachy's college and had all but completed his secondary schooling when his father was once more transferred to a very different location of the customs and excise. This time it was to Cork, not far from his native place. It is almost certain that the transfer was scheduled for the late spring of 1921 - a very significant date. Britain was busily partitioning Ireland in the administrative sector in preparation for political partition and the opening of a new Six-county parliament on 22nd June 1921. In fact, the separation of the administrative files of government had been going quietly on even before the general election and victory of Sinn Féin in December 1918! All this underhand work was unknown or unsuspected, apparently, by the young republican politicians, the heirs of 1916!
Seán junior resumed his secondary schooling at the North Monastery CBS in June 1922. He entered the medical school at UCC, but in the event he was not destined to become a medical doctor.
In 1923 Seán senior was transferred to Dublin, In August Seán junior entered the novitiate at Tullabeg, and in due course made his first religious profession. In after years he often spoke of his privilege to have spent his first year as a novice under the direction of the saintly Fr. Michael Browne. He went to Rathfarnham Castle where he was to spend four years. At UCD he won scholarships; at home he was a live-wire in the Irish Society, and every Christmas distinguished himself as an actor in the Irish plays. He crowned his career at Rathfarnham with a first-class-honours MS in Celtic studies.
He was next appointed to the philosophate at Pullach, where he graduated DPh of the Gregorian university. Bilingual from infancy, it is not to be wondered at that he acquired an enviable mastery of the German language. Later he added Italian and French to his linguistic accomplishments.
Back in Ireland he was appointed to Galway for his regency, and it was during this period that Fr. Timothy Corcoran, professor of education at UCD, began to take an interest in Seán as a future successor in his own chair at Earlsfort terrace. These were happy years in a youthful, full and flourishing province, with only an occasional rumour of trouble trickling into Ireland from Hitler's Germany. But peace in Europe was already openly threatened when Seán was ordained priest in 1938. By the summer of 1940 he had completed his fourth year of theology and made his tertianship.
He was now appointed to Leeson Street for private study. Here under the watchful eye of Fr. Corcoran he began his studies in education that would lead to another doctorate. By an odd turn of events his prospects of eventually succeeding to the Chair of Education diminished considerably before the year was over. Fr. Corcoran's health had not been robust of late but he battled on - not only conducting his own lectures but also supplying for his assistant, Mr. W J Williams, who had recently suffered a stroke. It was anticipated that Williams, who was within a very few years of retirement, would resign, but when Fr. Corcoran himself was obliged on medical grounds to resign in September 1942, Williams declared he was going forward for Fr. Corcoran's chair. Meantime the Provincial and consultors (at the urging of members of the Hierarchy) put forward the name of Fr. Fergal McGrath as candidate. (No complaint was ever heard from Fr. Seán.) However, as soon as Fr. McGrath learned of Williams' intention, he immediately withdrew his name - and Williams secured the professorship. He had to retire in 1948. Since 1942 Fr. Seán was stationed as vice-warden at Hatch Street, where he continued work on his doctoral thesis. At the end of this study he spent the years 1946-48 as a master at Clongowes, and 1950-59 - with his characteristic thoroughness - Seán carried out the duties of inspector of our province's schools.
In 1948, when the chair of education was once more vacant, Fr. Seán allowed his name to go forward, and found overwhelming support in the electoral body. However, for the next eighteen years he enjoyed the title (and salary) of lecturer only and not professor. It was an open secret that the late Professor Michael Tierney had used all his considerable influence to downgrade the chair of education. Tierney's hostility dated from the time (1920's and 1930's) when his political views attracted strong opposition in The Catholic Bulletin, on the editorial board of which Fr. Timothy Corcoran's word was law.
In 1966 came belated acknowledgement of Fr. Seán's ability and worth when he was accorded the rank of professor. However, I always felt that the seven years during which he held the professorship were wearying if not even distasteful to a man of his sensitivity. It is enough to recall here that in 1968 student unrest in France spilled out all over Europe and across the Atlantic, and in the universities civilised behaviour, good manners and respect for any authority were the first casualties.
During his later years as professor, when he was also superior at Leeson Street, Seán's health was not robust. He suffered much from sleeplessness, yet during the thirteen years I lived with him he never missed an appointment and was exemplary for punctuality. A product of the old school, that is, brought up in the province to value the necessity of co-operation whether in teaching, church work, parochial missions etc, he lived in no ivory tower of academia. He was interested in everybody and everything connected with the Irish province, and that meant all our fathers, scholastics and brothers, and the works they were engaged in. He had an authentic apostolic bent, as could be deduced from his active interest in the work of two societies, one named after St. Vincent de Paul and the other called St. Joseph's Young Priests. He was an excellent community man, incapable of pulling a long face at table or recreation: he simply radiated a sense of fun. It was a delight to hear him enter the lists with Fr. Frank Shaw, My own impression was that if they had chosen the law for their profession, both would have gained celebrity as advocates.
As superior, Seán tended to be over-scrupulous, but against this he was particularly caring for the sick and generously sympathetic in times of bereavement. Like Fr's Fergal McGrath († 1988) and Redmond Roche († 1983) he acquired an almost legendary reputation for attendance at funerals. 1973 seemed to be the end of his active life; early that autumn he resigned from the chair of education and two months earlier had been replaced as superior of Leeson Street. The next five years he spent in quiet study and in a ministry within his capacity.
An unexpected challenge awaited him in 1978. The Provincial was faced with diminishing manpower, and one of our churches, the Crescent, rather urgently needed an operarius. The difficult proposal was made to Seán, a Dubliner of long standing, and now in his seventies. Generously, as was the custom of this province, he answered the call of duty and courageously entered on a new and unaccustomed way of life. In Limerick, while his fragile health remained, he gave of his best; but the last years must have been frustrating for a man of his once boundless nervous energy. In 1989 he seemed to rally somewhat, and twice at least attended funerals in Gardiner Street, but his years were telling against him. At length he had to go into St. John's hospital, Limerick, whence he was taken back to Dublin to spend the short time that remained to him at Our Lady's hospice, Harold's Cross. There, on St. Stephen's Day, God called him home.
Tá an tAthair Seán imithe uainn ar shlí na firinne, agus tá uaigneas orainn dá dheasca sin go bhfeicimid arís sna Flaithis é; ach idir an dá linn guímis go bhfaigh a anam dilis suaimhneas síoraí, go raibh sé faoi bhrat Mhuire i radharc na Trionóide.
Proinsias Ó Fionnagáin
Published
Detailed description made by Fr Seán Ó Catháin SJ, of the eighteenth century leather bound manuscript, denoted as IL 1 by an tAthair Ó Fiannachta, titled ‘Foras Feasa: An Leabhar Muimhneach Annála Inis Faithleann’.
https://www.isos.dias.ie/libraries/JESUIT/english/index.html?ref=
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Published
Copy of 'Clár Lámhscríbhinní Gaeilge Leabharlanna na Cléire agus Mionchnuasaigh, Fascúl II' (Baile Átha Cliath: Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath) by an tAthair Ó Fiannachta, containing a section describing manuscripts IL 1 – IL 9, entitled ‘Lámhscríbhinní na nÍosánach, Sráid Líosan, Baile Átha Cliath’ (pp.70 – 94).
Tá 9 lámhscríbhinn Ghaeilge i gcartlann na nÍosánach in 35 Sr. Líosan, íochtarach, Baile Átha Cliath. Ní fios go cruinn conas a tharla ansin iad. Bhí IL 6 agus 7 i seilbh an Athar Eoin Mac Fhir Léinn, S.J., de réir dealraimh. Bhí IL 5 i seilbh an Athar Éamann Ó hÓgáin, S J. Tá stampa ar IL 2 agus 9 a chuireann in iúl go rabhadar araon tamall i Meiriceá. Deir an tAthair Aubrey Gwynn, S.J., go bhfuair sé féin IL 1 sa Leabharlann sa teach agus gur thaispeáin sé don Athair Mac Fhir Léinn í agus gur fhéach seisean chuige gur cheangail Colm Ó Lochlainn í i gComhartha na dTrí gCoinneal. Ceanglaíodh IL 8 ansiúd leis. Bhí sí seo tráth i seilbh Sheáin Uí Chatháin i nDubhghlas i gCo. Chorcaí, agus, níos déanaí, i seilbh an Athar Patrick Kenyon. Seachas an méid sin níl le rá ach gur bhailigh an chuallacht léannta seo na lsí seo de réir a chéile agus gur thugadar togha na haire dóibh.
https://www.isos.dias.ie/libraries/JESUIT/english/index.html?ref=
The Irish Jesuit Archives are open only to bona fide researchers. Access by advance appointment. Further details: archivessj@gmail.com
No material may be reproduced without the written permission of the Archivist. Copyright restrictions apply. Photocopying is not available. Digital photography is at the discretion of the Archivist.
Published
The Irish Jesuit Archives are open only to bona fide researchers. Access by advance appointment.
No material may be reproduced without the written permission of the Archivist. Copyright restrictions apply. Photocopying is not available. Digital photography is at the discretion of the Archivist.
Published
Letter from Dr John Henry Newman (founder of the Oratorian Congregation at Edgbaston, Birmingham, from where the letter was written) to Fr John Walford SJ, congratulating him on ‘having fixed’ his vocation. Fr Walford entered the English Province of the Society on 13 September 1867.
Letter found among the papers of Fr William A. Sutton SJ however the connection with Fr Walford or Cardinal Newman is unknown.
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Published
Material relating to a translation of Thomas Kempis ’s 'The Imitation of Christ' by Fr. Thaddeus, O.F.M.. Includes newspaper articles and correspondence of, and concerning Sir. Francis Cruise, the author of a 1904 translation of 'The Imitation of Christ'. (This material was found among the papers of Fr William A. Sutton SJ, the connection between it and F. Sutton is unknown.
Sir Francis Cruise left his collection of books to the library of St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street.
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Published
Transcription of a book entitled 'Alithinologia sive Verdica Responsio ad Invectivam mendaciis, fal[l]aciis, calumniis et imposturis foetam in plurimos Antistites, Proceres, & omnis ordinis Hibernos…' (1664) by the Rev. John Lynch, Archdeacon of Tuam. The original book is in Stonyhurst, Lancashire, which is a defence of the Old English since the time of Elizabeth, particularly in the 1640s. Lynch was born in Galway c1600 and died between 1667 and 1673 in San Malo, Brittany. His most famous work is a three volume publication, 'Cambrensis Adversus'.
The first four pages of the transcription are in the handwriting of Fr John MacErlean SJ.; the transcription itself is in a different hand, possibly that of Fr Edmund Hogan SJ.
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