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Patrick J. Maher was born on North Brunswick Street, opposite, what was then, the Richmond Hospital in Dublin on 9 June 1835. His family’s property extended to North King Street and possibly included the site (No. 49) on which a former Capuchin House stood. He was baptized and made his first communion (8 September 1848) in the old Church Street chapel where he served Mass for Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC from whom he took the total abstinence pledge. In 1851 he entered the Capuchin novitiate, taking the name Columbus, at Frascati near Rome, and made his solemn profession the following year. He then studied philosophy at Florence and theology at Sienna after which he was granted patents for preaching in 1855. The following year he received subdiaconate in Rome. Too young to be ordained, he spent some months with the Capuchin community in Pantasaph, Wales, until he returned briefly to Ireland to receive a diaconate from Cardinal Paul Cullen at Maynooth on 5 June 1857. The following year, at the age of twenty-three, he was ordained a priest in Liverpool with a dispensation of thirteen months from the Holy See. At the time it was noted that he was the first Capuchin priest to be ordained in England since the Reformation. At the Provincial Chapter in 1859 he was appointed guardian in Kilkenny where he served two terms and was in demand as a confessor and preacher until he was sent to Rome as a novice master. While there he was asked to go to Ancona to minister to about 800 men of the Irish Brigade who were on their way to defend Pope Pius IX.

Having returned to Ireland, he spent some time in Cork and again in Kilkenny until he moved to Dublin. Here, in 1880, he identified himself with the Temperance League and from then on, his whole life and energy were devoted to a crusade against the abuses of intoxicating drink. He became Vice-President of the Father Mathew Total Abstinence Society of the Sacred Thirst founded by his fellow Capuchin Fr. Albert Mitchell OSFC (1831-1893). When Fr. Albert left for missionary work in Australia in 1883, Fr. Columbus became President and undertook the herculean task of resuscitating the total abstinence movement, which had been declining ever since Fr. Mathew’s death. Gradually, as a result of his untiring efforts, Fr. Columbus made total abstinence popular, honoured and respected in Dublin. He succeeded in constantly enlisting individuals rather than enrolling large numbers at a time. Eventually, the old Temperance Hall at 3 Halston Street proved inadequate to meet the demands upon its space. With the centenary of the birth of Fr. Mathew approaching (1890), Fr. Columbus decided to perpetuate his hero’s memory by building a Memorial Hall on Church Street and by erecting a statue in Dublin. All classes and creeds contributed to collections made throughout the city, the country, and abroad. A committee presided over by the Lord Mayor met regularly in the Oak Room of the Mansion House, Fr. Columbus being one of its most attentive members. A competition for a suitable design for a statue was won by Mary Redmond (1863-1930). It would be eight feet tall, sculptured in light grey Sicilian marble and standing on a pedestal of limestone fourteen feet high.

On 30 October 1890, a procession of 50,000 made its way from St. Stephen's Green to O’Connell Street for the laying of the top stone of the pedestal. All the city trades turned out with bands and banners; and the various temperance societies and sodalities, the League of the Cross and other bodies were fully represented. On the platform there was a representative group of clergy, merchants, and other citizens of all denominations. Among them were sixty-five total abstainers who had taken the pledge from Fr. Mathew himself in 1840. It was a proud moment for Fr. Columbus when he was given the silver trowel, now preserved in the Irish Capuchin Archives, used by the Lord Mayor to lay the top stone of the pedestal. Three years later the statue itself was put in place.

Although the Memorial Hall’s foundation stone was blessed and laid in the centenary year, it took twelve months to build. Then on 25 January 1891 it was opened by Archbishop William Walsh who had been a supporter of Fr. Columbus from the outset. Before extensions were added (1904) the main auditorium was 73 feet in length and 39 feet wide and there was a gallery on three sides. Altogether there was accommodation for between 800 and 900 people. In addition to the main hall there was a coffee bar, a billiard room and reading rooms. Among the large representative group attending the opening were the Lord Mayor, the Sheriff, William Conyngham Plunket, the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, and the Irish nationalist politician John Redmond who regretted that Dublin was the worst city for drunkenness that he had ever visited. The Temperance League now moved from Halston Street to their new Memorial Hall on Church Street. A monthly meeting was also held in the nearby Church of St. Mary of the Angels, but after only two years it was necessary to hold two meetings – one for men and another for women. Indefatigably, Fr. Columbus presided over the thousands striving for sobriety.

Fr. Columbus Maher OSFC died suddenly of a suspected heart attack on the morning of 10 September 1894 in the Capuchin Friary on Church Street, Dublin. He was 59 years old. At his funeral Mass Fr. Matthew O’Connor OSFC, Provincial Minister, stated that the Capuchin community had been deprived of an exemplary member, Church Street of a devoted confessor and preacher, the Temperance League of its protector and the City of Dublin of a public benefactor. The universal esteem in which he had been held was clear from the long file of mourning carriages and the estimated 6,000 people who attended his funeral in Glasnevin Cemetery.

James MacRory was born in Belfast on 26 May 1925, the son of John MacRory and Anne Margaret MacRory. He was received as a Capuchin Franciscan novice in Rochestown Friary in County Cork in October 1943. He took Camillius as his religious name upon joining the Order. He made his solemn profession in 1947 in Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal where he was also ordained to the priesthood on 25 May 1951. Following his ordination, Fr. Camillus was assigned to teach at Rochestown College, from August 1951 to October 1952. He was then sent to California where he worked as an Associate Pastor at Our Lady of Angels in Burlingame from 1952 to 1960. For the next eighteen years Camillus ministered as an Associate Pastor at St. Joseph’s Parish (Roseburg, Oregon), as Pastor at St. Aloysius (Point Arena, California), and Old Mission Santa Inés (Solvang, California), and at St. Francis of Assisi (Los Angeles, California). After his return from Oxford in England where he participated in special studies from 1978-80, he once again served as an Associate Pastor at Our Lady of Angels in Burlingame. After that last assignment he became Director of On-going Education for the Western America Capuchin Province, a member of the Peace, Justice and Ecology Committee, and the National Spiritual Assistant for the Secular Franciscan Organisation (SFO). He was also spiritual assistant to the Secular Franciscans at Our Lady of Angels Parish in Burlingame, California. He also served as a priest at Mater Dolorosa Parish in San Francisco. He died on 25 December 2011 at Mercy Care and Retirement Centre in Oakland, California, after suffering from respiratory complications. He was buried in the cemetery adjoining San Lorenzo Friary, Santa Inés, California.

Baptismal name: James MacRory
Religious name: Fr. Camillus MacRory OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 26 May 1925
Place of birth: Belfast, County Antrim (Diocese of Down & Connor)
Name of father: John MacRory
Name of mother: Anne Margaret MacRory (née Farnan)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 26 Oct. 1943
Date of first profession: 29 Oct. 1944
Date of final profession: 29 Oct. 1947
Date of ordination (as priest): 24 May 1951
Educational attainments: BSc (1947)
Missionary activities: Travelled to the Western United States mission custody in 1952
Date of death: 25 Dec. 2011
Place of death: Mercy Care and Retirement Centre, Oakland, California
Place of burial: Cemetery, San Lorenzo Seminary, Santa Inés, California

Baptismal name: Peter MacQuillan
Religious name: Fr. Jerome MacQuillan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 28 Aug. 1899
Place of birth: Drogheda, County Louth,
Name of father: William MacQuillan (Merchant)
Name of mother: Margaret MacQuillan (née Kelly)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 17 Sept. 1923
Date of first profession: 18 Sept. 1924
Date of final profession: 18 Sept. 1927
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 June 1931
Educational attainments: BA (1927)
Missionary activities: Travelled to Barotseland, Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia), in 1933.
Date of death: 8 Dec. 1968
Place of death: Cape Town, South Africa
Place of burial: Maitland Cemetery, Cape Town, South Africa

Baptismal name: Vincent MacQuillan
Religious name: Fr. Albeus MacQuillan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 11 Apr. 1912
Place of birth: Fair Street, Drogheda, County Louth
Name of father: William MacQuillan (Merchant)
Name of mother: Margaret MacQuillan (née Kelly)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1933
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1934
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1937
Date of ordination (as priest): 12 June 1941
Educational attainments: BA, 2nd class hons. (1937)
Missionary activities: Travelled to Barotseland, Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia) on 8 Apr. 1942. Transferred to Cape Town, South Africa, on 12 May 1971.
Date of death: 10 Aug. 1989
Place of death: Cape Town, South Africa
Place of burial: Maitland Cemetery, Cape Town, South Africa

William Leahy was born in Blackrock, Cork, on 9 February 1939. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in January 1957 and took Angelus as his religious name. He completed his postulancy and novitiate in Kilkenny. His first assignment was in the Theology House at Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal. After nearly three years in Donegal, he returned to Cork and worked as a cook in Rochestown College. He was solemnly professed as a Capuchin friar on 7 April 1961. Aside from a short stint questing for the Church Street Friary in Dublin, Br. Angelus spent most of the next eighteen years working as a cook in communities in Rochestown, Ard Mhuire and Raheny. In 1980 he volunteered to travel to New Zealand where the Irish Capuchins had established a mission custody. His initial assignment was at the friary in Henderson, a suburb in Auckland. Ill-health forced his return to Ireland in 1992 and he died in the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork on 16 September 1992. He was buried in the cemetery adjoining the Capuchin Friary in Rochestown, County Cork.

Baptismal name: William Leahy
Religious name: Br. Angelus Leahy OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 9 February 1939
Place of birth: Blackrock, Cork
Name of father: Michael Leahy
Name of mother: Margaret Leahy (née Deasy)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 6 Jan. 1957
Date of first profession: 7 Jan. 1958
Date of final profession: 7 Apr. 1961
Missionary activities: Travelled to the New Zealand mission custody in 1980. He returned to Ireland in 1992.
Date of death: 16 Sept. 1992
Place of death: Bon Secours Hospital, Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

William Larkin was born in Ballintober, a village in County Roscommon, on 29 July 1894. He joined the Capuchin Franciscan Order in October 1910, taking Paschal as his religious name, and was ordained to the priesthood in March 1920. He graduated with an MA from University College Cork in 1916. In 1917 he obtained a university scholarship prize (worth £600) which allowed him to continue his studies overseas. A gifted scholar in the field of economic history, he held the position of Assistant Professor of Economics and Commerce at University College Cork from 1921 to 1923 and continued to lecture (on a part-time basis) in the University until the 1950s. He also supervised several students taking an MA degree in economics including Jack Nagle who later became an Assistant Secretary in the Department of Agriculture. Fr. Larkin also conducted tutorial classes for workers in Cork city and gave public University Extension Lectures on Catholic social teaching throughout the 1930s. His published works included ‘Marxian Socialism’ (1917), the highly influential ‘Property in the Eighteenth Century’ (1930), and ‘Economics and Frontiers’ (1957). He also authored several scholarly articles for ‘The Capuchin Annual’. He died on 7 December 1976 and was buried in the cemetery attached to Rochestown Capuchin Friary in County Cork.

Baptismal name: William Larkin
Religious name: Fr. Paschal Larkin OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 29 July 1894
Place of birth: Frenchlawn, Ballintober, County Roscommon (Diocese of Elphin)
Name of father: Michael Larkin
Name of mother: Mary Anne Larkin (née Kilbride)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 16 Oct. 1910
Date of first profession: 17 Sept. 1911
Date of final profession: 9 July 1916
Date of ordination (as priest): 20 Mar. 1920
Educational attainments: BA, 1st class hons. (1915); MA (1916); Studentship (1917); PhD, London (1928); Economics Lecturer in University College Cork, 1928-58.
Date of death: 7 Dec. 1976
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

Baptismal name: John Knaresboro
Religious name: Fr. Patrick Knaresboro OSFC
Date of birth: 1833
Place of birth: Inch, County Kilkenny
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: c.1850
Ministries: He began his missionary work in India in 1859 ministering to Catholic soldiers and civilians in Shimla (Simla), Chakrata and Dagshai.
Date of death: 3 Nov. 1901
Place of death: Dagshai, Himachal Pradesh, India

Thomas Killian was born in County Longford on 26 February 1896. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans at Rochestown Friary in County Cork in August 1914. He took Conleth as his religious name upon joining the Order. After the completion of his theological studies, he was ordained to the priesthood on 29 June 1923. Shortly afterwards, he was transferred to the Irish Capuchin mission in the United States. In 1926 he was appointed Vice-Principal of St. Anthony’s College in Mendocino City in California. At the time there were forty students, four priests and three brothers in residence. In 1928 he was assigned to be an associate pastor at Sacred Heart Parish in Lincoln, Nebraska, where he stayed until 1934. He worked at other assignments in California and Oregon until his death in October 1950. He is buried in Ukiah, California.

Baptismal name: Thomas Killian
Religious name: Fr. Conleth Killian OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 26 Feb. 1896
Place of birth: Inchenagh, County Longford (Diocese of Ardagh)
Name of father: Luke Killian (Farmer)
Name of mother: Teresa Killian (née Chapman)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 27 Aug. 1914
Date of first profession: 8 Sept. 1915
Date of final profession: 8 Sept. 1918
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 June 1923
Educational attainments: BA (1919)
Missionary activities: Travelled to the Western United States mission on 14 Oct. 1923
Date of death: 5 Oct. 1950
Place of death: Roseburg, Oregon, United States
Place of burial: Ukiah, California, United States

James Killian was born in County Longford on 11 January 1872. He entered the Capuchin Franciscan Order and took Camillus as his religious name in 1893. He was ordained by Archbishop William Walsh in St. Mary of the Angels, Church Street, Dublin, in February 1902. For several years he was on the teaching staff of Rochestown College in Cork (March 1902-September 1906). He later acted as a missioner in Church Street, Dublin (until 1907), and guardian (local superior) of the Capuchin Friary in Kilkenny (from 1907-1910). He travelled to the United States in late 1911 and was appointed pastor of St. Joseph’s Parish in Roseburg in Oregon in January 1912. During Fr. Killian’s pastorate a new stucco church was begun which was dedicated by the Most Reverend Alexander Christie (1848-1925), Archbishop of Oregon City, in 1916. Camillus was later transferred to Abbottstown in Pennsylvania where he assisted the friars in giving retreats and novenas. In 1917 he was appointed pastor of Our Lady of Angels parish in Hermiston, Oregon. He returned to Ireland in 1920 and ministered from the Capuchin Friary on Church Street in the capital. He was appointed spiritual director to the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis confraternity and later served as Provincial Definitor (Councillor) from 1931 to 1933. He died in a nursing home on Jervis Street in Dublin on 14 December 1941. He was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin.

Baptismal name: James Killian
Religious name: Fr. Camillus Killian OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 11 Jan. 1872
Place of birth: Moher, Pollagh, County Longford (Diocese of Elphin)
Name of father: Laurence Killian
Name of mother: Sarah Killian (née Connolly)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Franciscan Order: 23 Mar. 1893
Date of first profession 24 April 1894
Date of final profession: 25 Dec. 1897
Date of ordination (as priest): 23 Feb. 1902
Educational Attainments: B.A. (Royal University of Ireland, Cork), 1901
Overseas Missions: Left Ireland for the Western American Capuchin Mission at Roseburg, Oregon, on 10 Dec. 1911. He arrived in Oregon in early 1912. He returned to Ireland in 1920.
Other appointments: Fr. Killian was Guardian (Superior) in the Capuchin Friary, Kilkenny from 1907-10. He served as Provincial Defintor (Councillor) from 1931-3.
Date of death: 14 Dec. 1941
Place of death: Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin