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Post by Maolsheachlann on Jan 8, 2021 16:04:18 GMT
I'm thinking of writing something about great (notable, celebrated, heroic, pioneering etc.) Irish priests. I want to concentrate on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Do any names spring to mind? I want to avoid the obvious like Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty, Fr. Theobald Matthew, etc.
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Post by cato on Jan 8, 2021 20:48:07 GMT
It's a huge and worthy field of research. Many once notable clergy are now pretty much forgotten. I know of a Fr Collins park in North Dublin . I know very little about him but it is unusual a park was named after a priest in recent years. He was a bit of an environmentalist- the park has prominent and ugly windmills.
There are the clergy who did all the normal priestly things especially in education and on the missions. There are many moving stories of young men martyred in China in the early and mid 20th centuries.
Then there are the mavericks like Fr Michael O Flanagan the leftist Republican who was a joint chairman of Sinn Fein in the 1920s but who appears to have faded from public memory. Sport would be a big area in Ireland especially GAA and Rugby.
Clerical eccentrics might be another category. The Daily Telegraph does some very funny clerical obituaries but I don't know of an Irish paper that did similar Irish ones. I 'll think of some possible names.
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Post by Séamus on Jan 9, 2021 12:06:54 GMT
The historical limelight tends to be on bishops rather than priests that died without episcopal honours, despite these doing the hard miles. Not that the hierarchy is without men that had interesting careers before this- Matthew Gibney was known largely for ministering to Ned Kelly and his family before becoming bishop of Perth. It might be of interest that the Office of Readings chosen for Mary MacKillop after her beatification contained a letter to Monsignor Tobias Kirby of the Irish College which contain the words "such dear lessons as you gave me the other evening then come to my aid and encourage me".
Two Irish Redemptorists who lived in Western Australia are notable worldwide for opposite reasons- Fr Brennan who wrote Hail Redeemer King Divine, sung in English-speaking churches around the world; Fr John Creagh was notorious for riot-inciting antisemitic sermons in Limerick, which in earlier times didn't prevent his later becoming administrator of the now-diocese of Broome for several years.
But I found one Tipperary-born priest who ended up in West Australia that might be of interest : "one (military chaplain) won undying fame. This was Father John Fahey who was remarkably gifted in many different ways; he was a fine Greek scholar and a splendid athlete. He worked in Yarloop and then in the Goldfields, he always has a great influence on the men. He went off with the first contingents in 1915. He served with the 11 Battalion and was amongst the first troops ashore in Gallipoli... While preparing for the landing of Imbros he insisted in strong language that all his men go to confession and he was happy to notice that they all received the sacraments... He was wounded in action and awarded the DSO... He returned to life in a parish... University of Western Australia was glad to have him as examiner of Greek (+1959)
(cfHistory of the Catholic church in western Australia FrDF.Bourkecm 1979)
A few years ago the (probably deteriorating) town of Yarloop was destroyed by bushfire, including the house and workshop of the state's main organbuilder, who shortly after died of cancer (as I knew him, that's my little connection with the story)
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Post by hilary on Jan 9, 2021 14:15:59 GMT
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Post by Stephen on Jan 11, 2021 7:17:50 GMT
Two Irish Priest that have contributed immensely are Rev. Fr. Edward Cahill SJ and Rev. Fr. Denis Fahey CSSp.
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Post by cato on Jan 11, 2021 14:24:23 GMT
Here's a few more names. As Seamus points out above many famous priests go onto be bishops- Tomas O Fiach, Edward Daly and Jeremiah Newman are relatively recent examples. All listed are safely dead.
Willie Doyle SJ
Blessed Columba Marmion
Dom Eugene Boylan (writer)
Eugene O Growney Irish language revivalist.
Canon Sheehan
Neil Kevin (writer)
Mgr James mc Dyer rural revivalist and opponent of EEC membership
Mgr James Horan . Aviator
Mgr Patrick Corish Historian and promoter of the cult of the Irish Marytrs
Francis Shaw SJ Theological debunker of the traditional Pearsian cult.
Augustine Martin (of Soundings fame)
Peter Connolly ( Maynooth English professor who opposed literary censorship in 1960s)
Servant of God Edward Flanagan ( who called out brutality in Irish orphanages in 1930s but was ignored)
Joe Dunne of Radharc. Produced great religious documentaries and polemical memoirs.
Mgr Denis Faul Human rights advocate , teacher and opponent of political and state violence.
Dr Padraic o Fiannachta- main translator of An Biobla Naofa
Alfred O Rahilly academic of UCC who was ordained late in life I believe.
The bulk of clergy above left writings making them easier to research but they are relatively atypical in that most ordinary parish clergy left relatively few written records. Pastoral "greatness" cannot be measured adequately this side of the grave.
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Post by Maolsheachlann on Jan 11, 2021 17:05:28 GMT
Here's a few more names. As Seamus points out above many famous priests go onto be bishops- Tomas O Fiach, Edward Daly and Jeremiah Newman are relatively recent examples. All listed are safely dead. Willie Doyle SJ Blessed Columba Marmion Dom Eugene Boylan (writer) Eugene O Growney Irish language revivalist. Canon Sheehan Neil Kevin (writer) Mgr James mc Dyer rural revivalist and opponent of EEC membership Mgr James Horan . Aviator Mgr Patrick Corish Historian and promoter of the cult of the Irish Marytrs Francis Shaw SJ Theological debunker of the traditional Pearsian cult. Augustine Martin (of Soundings fame) Peter Connolly ( Maynooth English professor who opposed literary censorship in 1960s) Servant of God Edward Flanagan ( who called out brutality in Irish orphanages in 1930s but was ignored) Joe Dunne of Radharc. Produced great religious documentaries and polemical memoirs. Mgr Denis Faul Human rights advocate , teacher and opponent of political and state violence. Dr Padraic o Fiannachta- main translator of An Biobla Naofa Alfred O Rahilly academic of UCC who was ordained late in life I believe. The bulk of clergy above left writings making them easier to research but they are relatively atypical in that most ordinary parish clergy left relatively few written records. Pastoral "greatness" cannot be measured adequately this side of the grave. Thanks, Cato. That's hugely helpful! |
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Post by hilary on Jan 11, 2021 23:38:49 GMT
Sorry to be correcting the wonderful list but I don't think Gus Martin was a priest!
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Post by Séamus on Jan 12, 2021 12:10:28 GMT
Here's a few more names. As Seamus points out above many famous priests go onto be bishops-..etc...Pastoral "greatness" cannot be measured adequately this side of the grave. "Many parishioners still visit his grave regularly and some have attributed remarkable cures to him. Margaret Flanagan, Dingle Road, often prayed at his graveside. She recalled one particular occasion in 1990 'I went to his graveside the day before I had to go to hospital for an operation for ulcers on my leg. The next day when I woke up I was cured and did not need to be hospitalized. It was due to my praying to Canon Burke'"(cf the West's awake, Bernard Neary) Founder of Cabra West parish and catalyst of the present Precious Blood Church's building Valentine Bourke, Fairview born, (married my parents in 1957) might be a good example of a more 'average' priest. "Ordained in All Hallows college... In 1912, his first assignment was in Birkenhead England. He then served in Saggart,Rathdrum and Donore Avenue before being appointed to Cabra West. He served as parish priest of the district for twenty years...a familiar sight cycling around the locality on his Bike....one famous night in St Finbarr's Hall during the intermission Canon Burke, who was a great fan of Yehudi Menuhin, was persuaded to go on stage to play the violin. (The curate) had his doubts about the Canon's musical prowess, he also knew that there was a Yehudi Menuhin 78 record backstage. He put it on...and turned off the microphone when the Canon began to play. At the end of the piece the Canon received thunderous applause. (Fr Kavanagh) had to coax the Canon off the stage as he wanted to play an encore... there was only one record" (cf Neary) Although it wasn't my father's parish he can remember Kavanagh hearing several pews of confessions during Burke's two or three in the other confessional. The more austere type obviously. |
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Post by cato on Jan 12, 2021 14:27:57 GMT
Sorry to be correcting the wonderful list but I don't think Gus Martin was a priest! Serves me right for not checking that!Was working from memory. Thanks. |
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Post by Séamus on Jan 13, 2021 9:28:49 GMT
I'm thinking of writing something about great (notable, celebrated, heroic, pioneering etc.) Irish priests. I want to concentrate on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Do any names spring to mind? I want to avoid the obvious like Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty, Fr. Theobald Matthew, etc. Fr Matthew's temperance movement was largely brought to Australia by a Fr John Lynch: "of powerful build he had the square jaw of a fighting man...he was a good speaker, sometimes eloquent,and in addition had a strong right arm which shot forth like the thunderbolt of God...Dublin born in 1816 he was of the flower of Maynooth who harkened to Dr Ullathorne's cry....he pioneered the Liverpool Plains, went further north than Armidale and combed the whole of the intervening country...registers which he left behind show that during his twenty-five years in Maitland he baptised 4,100 persons,some of them aboriginal,at a rate of 170 a year" This came from The Men of 38, a book about mostly Irish clergy in Australia written by John O'Brien/mgr Patrick Hartigan,the priest known mostly for his verse. I'm guessing that Liverpool Plains has been renamed since publication (I've never heard it mentioned). To list everything and everyone relevant to this thread from the book would be impossible...but briefly: "(Fr Tim McCarthy)was born in Ballinhassig Co Cork in 1829...he was the finest horseman of his day,at least among the priests... the ground covered in visiting his scattered flock was immense. Three months at a time he would be away from home...on his arrival at Armadale he set out to repair and enlarge a wooden church...and had also established a school,the books and equipment for which he provided from subscription contributed by people of every denomination" Like Mathew Gibney he later worked among bushrangers. "Rev Dean Slattery was a native of Limerick... Father Slattery came to Victoria....his fist and only mission in the colony was the Western which he assumed charge of on St Patrick's Day 1848 and celebrated his first mass in the old church in Tower Hill. At the time his mission extended from Colac to the South Australian border and from the ocean to the Dividing Range. With no roads and settlements miles apart,his duties must have been of the most arduous....often swimming his horse in the darkness of night across flooded rivers" "Fr William Kelly and Fr Lentaige were the first Irish Jesuits in Australia... Kelly,one of three remarkable brothers,all members of the Society of Jesus,was the outstanding pulpit speaker and lecturer of his time... sometimes he would stammer and stutter looking for the right word but when he found it there would follow a burst of sparkling phrase the like of which was seldom heard...the leading scholar in Australia on Sacred Scripture...he was recalled to Ireland in 1889 to profess Scripture at the Jesuit house in Milltown Park and there died in 1909" I think all the horses used could do with some sort of monument in a church yard somewhere too. |
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Post by Séamus on Jan 16, 2021 11:15:49 GMT
I'm thinking of writing something about great (notable, celebrated, heroic, pioneering etc.) Irish priests. I want to concentrate on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Do any names spring to mind? I want to avoid the obvious like Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty, Fr. Theobald Matthew, etc. I might add that I know someone who isn't a Catholic currently reading O'Flaherty's biography after watching the Gregory Peck film on television,which shows how someone can keep inspiring through the years. |
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Post by Séamus on May 10, 2021 11:54:17 GMT
" 'O,Pa,'she said disgustedly, 'you talk like an irishman.' 'Have I ever been ashamed of it?...' " (Margaret Mitchell)
The May '21 edition of St Anthony's Messenger has an article about Civil War-era, All Hallows-trained Fr Tom O'Reilly who is credited with saving Atlanta city from complete destruction by pleading with Union General Sherman for the saving of the Catholic church; later the several Protestant churches and some municipal buildings were also included in the decision.
Fr Thomas is labelled as a missionary in the article.
Mitchell's novel begins with Scarlett O'Hara talking to the Tarleton twins who had been recently expelled from university,in fact had been thrown out of several universities. Like Sigrid Undset,the Gone With the Wind authoress grew up in a family of historians and, while I'm not sure what the population of southern pre-Civil War towns were, it seems, from the amount of institutions listed, that the wealthier population were far from uneducated. Fr O'Reilly was dealing with a mission situation more akin to the modern challenge than many others who have had the missionary-title,even in more recent times.
Unfortunate that he died while still in his 40s.
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Post by Maolsheachlann on May 16, 2021 10:06:25 GMT
Here is the list I decided upon in the end.
1. Nicholas Callan (1799-1864). Professor of Natural Philosophy at Maynooth College, inventor of the induction coil, which was the predecessor of the transformer. Also invented the largest battery of his era. Noted for his piety.
2. Fr. Tom Burke (1830-1832). Dominican preacher who preached the (two-hour long!) oration at Daniel O'Connell's funeral. He also preached to packed houses in America, delivering over four hundred lectures in eighteen months, and raising four hundred thousand dollars. An adviser at the First Vatican Council. Called "The Prince of Preachers" by Pope Pius IX.
3. Canon Sheehan (1852-1913). Novelist and social reformer. Parish priest of Doneraile, Cork. One of the most popular Irish writers of his day, was read widely abroad, and translated into many languages. Actively involved in land reform and founding member of All-for-Ireland League, a non-sectarian nationalist party.
4. Fr. Eugene O'Growney (1863-1899). Key figure in the Gaelic revival and founding member of the Gaelic League. His "simple lessons in Irish" column in the Weekly Freeman were enormously popular, both in serial form and compiled into booklets. Professor of Irish at Maynooth.
5. Fr. Willie Doyle (1873-1917). Jesuit priest and military chaplain who died in the Battle of Ypres in 1917, after two year ministering at the Front, and was awarded the Military Cross for bravery. A popular devotion to him grew up in Ireland, and still exists.
6. Fr. James Christopher Flynn (1881-1961). Developed a method of overcoming speech impediments which became known through a BBC documentary. For thirty years ran a school of drama called The Loft in Shandon, Co. Cork, teaching children to act in Shakespearean dramas which were staged in the Cork Opera House. Also known for his charitable works as a parish priest.
7. Fr. Aedan McGrath (1906-2000). Columban missionary priest associated with the Legion of Mary. Imprisoned and tortured in China for two years for establishing many branches of the Legion of Mary there. Also did missionary work in the USA, Canada and the Philippines.
8. Fr. Patrick Peyton (1909-1992). Promoter of the rosary, born in Mayo but moved to America aged nineteen. Popularised the phrase, "the family that prays together stays together". A pioneer of evangelization using mass media, millions attended his "rosary rallies". Became known as "the Rosary Priest".
9. Msgr. Padraig Ó Fiannachta (1927-2106). Irish language academic, multilinguist, and poet. He was editor and principal translator of An Biobla Naofa, the long-awaited modern translation of the Bible into Irish (1981). Professor of Irish and Welsh at Maynooth. Founded a centre for spirituality called An Diseart in Dingle, travelled widely, and wrote prolifically.
10. Fr. Joe Dunne (1930-1966). Co-founder of Radharc, which produced over 400 documentaries for RTE between 1962 and 1966 on the subjects of religion and social justice. Last person to interview Bishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador before his assassination. Wrote several well-regarded memoirs.
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Post by cato on May 16, 2021 15:10:57 GMT
Here is the list I decided upon in the end. 1. Nicholas Callan (1799-1864). Professor of Natural Philosophy at Maynooth College, inventor of the induction coil, which was the predecessor of the transformer. Also invented the largest battery of his era. Noted for his piety. 2. Fr. Tom Burke (1830-1832). Dominican preacher who preached the (two-hour long!) oration at Daniel O'Connell's funeral. He also preached to packed houses in America, delivering over four hundred lectures in eighteen months, and raising four hundred thousand dollars. An adviser at the First Vatican Council. Called "The Prince of Preachers" by Pope Pius IX. 3. Canon Sheehan (1852-1913). Novelist and social reformer. Parish priest of Doneraile, Cork. One of the most popular Irish writers of his day, was read widely abroad, and translated into many languages. Actively involved in land reform and founding member of All-for-Ireland League, a non-sectarian nationalist party. 4. Fr. Eugene O'Growney (1863-1899). Key figure in the Gaelic revival and founding member of the Gaelic League. His "simple lessons in Irish" column in the Weekly Freeman were enormously popular, both in serial form and compiled into booklets. Professor of Irish at Maynooth. 5. Fr. Willie Doyle (1873-1917). Jesuit priest and military chaplain who died in the Battle of Ypres in 1917, after two year ministering at the Front, and was awarded the Military Cross for bravery. A popular devotion to him grew up in Ireland, and still exists. 6. Fr. James Christopher Flynn (1881-1961). Developed a method of overcoming speech impediments which became known through a BBC documentary. For thirty years ran a school of drama called The Loft in Shandon, Co. Cork, teaching children to act in Shakespearean dramas which were staged in the Cork Opera House. Also known for his charitable works as a parish priest. 7. Fr. Aedan McGrath (1906-2000). Columban missionary priest associated with the Legion of Mary. Imprisoned and tortured in China for two years for establishing many branches of the Legion of Mary there. Also did missionary work in the USA, Canada and the Philippines. 8. Fr. Patrick Peyton (1909-1992). Promoter of the rosary, born in Mayo but moved to America aged nineteen. Popularised the phrase, "the family that prays together stays together". A pioneer of evangelization using mass media, millions attended his "rosary rallies". Became known as "the Rosary Priest". 9. Msgr. Padraig Ó Fiannachta (1927-2106). Irish language academic, multilinguist, and poet. He was editor and principal translator of An Biobla Naofa, the long-awaited modern translation of the Bible into Irish (1981). Professor of Irish and Welsh at Maynooth. Founded a centre for spirituality called An Diseart in Dingle, travelled widely, and wrote prolifically. 10. Fr. Joe Dunne (1930-1966). Co-founder of Radharc, which produced over 400 documentaries for RTE between 1962 and 1966 on the subjects of religion and social justice. Last person to interview Bishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador before his assassination. Wrote several well-regarded memoirs. Good mix of clergy worth remembering. |
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