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Thomas Joseph Prendiville was born in Ballymacelligott in County Kerry on 27 November 1924. His early education was in the local national school and later at the Capuchin College in Rochestown, County Cork. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in October 1944 and took Bartholomew as his religious name. He obtained a BA degree in philosophy from University College Cork in 1948. He completed his theological studies in Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal and was ordained to the priesthood on 12 June 1952. He returned to St. Bonaventure’s Friary in Cork and obtained a Higher Diploma in Education (UCC) before travelling to Norther Rhodesia (now Zambia) for missionary work in 1953. He spent eighteen years in Zambia. In 1971 he was transferred to the Cape Town mission in South Africa. His years in Zambia mainly involved work in the education sector, first as a manager of schools at several mission stations, and later as education secretary in Livingstone. In South Africa, he served as parish priest in several churches in various Cape Town suburbs including Langa, Belgravia and Parow. He served as consultor to the Regular Superior of the Cape Town mission on two occasions (1971-4; 1974-7). He was elected Regular Superior in 1977 and held this position until 1983. He died in Parow, Cape Town, on 7 July 2004 and was buried in Maitland Cemetery.

Baptismal name: Thomas Joseph Prendiville
Religious name: Fr. Bartholomew Prendiville OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 27 Nov. 1924
Place of birth: Ballymacelligott, County Kerry
Name of father: Michael Prendiville
Name of mother: Hanora Prendiville (née Scanlon)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1944
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1945
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1948
Date of ordination (as priest): 12 June 1952
Educational attainments: BA (1948); Higher Diploma in Education (1953)
Missionary activities: Travelled to Livingstone, Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia) on 26 Aug. 1953. He was transferred to Cape Town, South Africa, on 12 May 1971.
Leadership positions: Regular Superior, Cape Town Mission, South Africa, 1977-83
Date of death: 7 July 2004
Place of death: Parrow, Cape Town, South Africa
Place of burial: Maitland Cemetery, Cape Town, South Africa

John Joseph Gleeson was born in Cork on 28 October 1910. He received his initial education with the Christian Brothers and later at the Capuchin College in Rochestown in County Cork. He joined the Order in November 1929 and took Richard as his religious name. After completing his novitiate, he graduated with a BA degree in philosophy and advanced to his theological studies. He was ordained to the priesthood at Ard Mhuire Capuchin Friary in County Donegal on 27 June 1937. Shortly afterwards, he was transferred to the American mission custody. He was initially assigned to St. Patrick’s Friary in Wilmington, Delaware, where he gave numerous missions, retreats, and novenas. He was also frequently chosen as the homilist at Requiem Masses for deceased friars. He worked as associate pastor, as vice novice master and teacher, and as guardian and pastor. Later in his life, he ministered in Capuchin foundations in California (Fort Bragg, Burlingame, and La Cañada Flintridge) and in Oregon (Roseburg and Bend). His health began to decline in the late 1950s and he was transferred to Our Lady of Angels Parish in Burlingame. He died on 18 June 1976 and was buried in the cemetery attached to San Lorenzo Seminary, Santa Inés, California.

Baptismal name: John Joseph Gleeson
Religious name: Fr. Richard Gleeson OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 28 Oct. 1910
Place of birth: 50 Evergreen Street, Cork
Name of father: Joseph Gleeson
Name of mother: Nora Gleeson (née O’Leary)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 1 Nov. 1929
Date of first profession: 2 Nov. 1930
Date of final profession: 2 Nov. 1933
Educational attainments: BA, 2nd class hons. (1933)
Date of ordination (as priest): 27 June 1937 (Ard Mhuire Friary, County Donegal)
Missionary activities: Travelled to the United States mission in 1937
Date of death: 18 June 1976
Place of death: Burlingame, California
Place of burial: Cemetery, San Lorenzo Seminary, Santa Inés, California

Patrick Francis Gaynor was born in Carrick-on-Suir in County Tipperary on 17 May 1925. He received his primary and secondary education at the local Christian Brothers’ school. He entered the Capuchin novitiate at Rochestown in County Cork on 3 October 1944. He took Barnabas as his religious name upon joining the Order. He obtained a BA degree from University College Cork in 1948 and then proceeded to Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal for his theological studies. He was ordained to the priesthood on 12 June 1952. He served as assistant master of novices in Rochestown Friary until July 1953 when he moved to Kilkenny where he served as a questor for five years. In 1958 he was transferred to the Church Street Friary in Dublin. He taught religion in various vocational schools for ten years. He attended University College Dublin from 1971 to 1973 and was awarded a Higher Diploma in Education and later a Diploma in Counselling and Career Guidance. He also held the position of Provincial Bursar for two years. A posting to Cape Town in South Africa for missionary work was cut short due to medical issues and he returned to the Church Street Friary in Dublin. He continued to be active in ministry (particularly with the Secular Franciscan Organisation and Padre Pio prayer groups) until his death on 14 May 2001. He was buried in the Capuchin plot in Dardistown Cemetery in County Dublin.

Baptismal name: Patrick Francis Gaynor
Religious name: Fr. Barnabas Gaynor OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 17 May 1925
Place of birth: Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary (Diocese of Waterford & Lismore)
Name of father: Michael Gaynor
Name of mother: Margaret Gaynor (née Guiry)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1944
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1945
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1948
Date of ordination (as priest): 12 June 1952
Educational attainments: BA, 2nd class hons. (1948); Higher Diploma in Education (1973)
Date of death: 14 May 2001
Place of death: Sacred Heart Residence, Sybil Hill Nursing Home, Dublin
Place of burial: Dardistown Cemetery, Dublin

Baptismal name: David Matthew Carew
Religious name: Fr. Andrew Carew OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 20 Oct. 1902
Place of birth: Ballydavid, Templeneiry, Bansha, County Tipperary
Name of father: William Carew (Farmer)
Name of mother: Mary Carew
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 18 Sept. 1921
Date of first profession: 15 Oct. 1922
Date of final profession: 29 Dec. 1925
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 July 1928 (Rome)
Educational attainments: BA, 1st class hons. (1925); Doctor of Divinity (Rome), (1929)
Leadership positions: Guardian, Ard Mhuire Friary, County Donegal, 1943-52; Guardian, Rochestown Friary, County Cork, 1964-7; Mission Secretary for nine years
Date of death: 2 Dec. 1987
Place of death: Kilkenny
Place of burial: Foulkstown Cemetery, County Kilkenny

John Joseph Carroll was born near Nenagh in County Tipperary on 15 February 1903. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in September 1921 and took Finian as his religious name. Having completed his philosophical and theological studies, he was ordained to the priesthood on 29 June 1929. Shortly afterwards, he volunteered for missionary work in the United States. His first assignment was in the Parish of St. Mary of the Angels in Ukiah, California. He remained assistant pastor in Ukiah until 1933 when he was assigned to Our Lady of Angels Parish in Burlingame, California. In August 1939 he was appointed pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Elk, California. In the following years he had many assignments, moving between California and Oregon and ministering in various Capuchin foundations. From July 1939 to July 1943, he was pastor at Mission Santa Inés, Solvang, California. He then moved to St. Joseph’s Parish in Roseburg, Oregon (1943-4). From 1944 to 1950, he was assistant pastor in Ukiah California. He then served as custodian at the Capuchin Friary in McKenzie Ridge, Oregon (1950-2). In 1952 he was appointed pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Fort Bragg, California. Here he was successful in building a new church and rectory and relocating the parish hall to the new property. In 1956 he moved to the Parish of St. Francis of Assisi in Los Angeles and was appointed pastor. He immediately began raising funds for the construction of a new church. By the time he retired from the parish in 1964, the new church was completed and was open for services. In 1969 he was transferred to Mission Santa Inés in California. This was to be his last appointment as his health had begun to decline. In September 1971, he returned to Ireland to celebrate his Golden Jubilee as Capuchin Franciscan friar. He suffered a heart attack on 16 September 1971 in Nenagh, County Tipperary. He was buried in the Capuchin plot in Foulkstown Cemetery in County Kilkenny.

Baptismal name: John Joseph Carroll
Religious name: Fr. Finian Carroll OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 15 Feb. 1903
Place of birth: Belleen, Nenagh, County Tipperary (Diocese of Killaloe)
Name of father: Hugh Carroll
Name of mother: Julia Carroll (née Slattery)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 18 Sept. 1921
Date of first profession: 15 Oct. 1922
Date of final profession: 29 Dec. 1925
Educational attainments: BA (NUI), 1925
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 June 1929
Missionary activities: Travelled to the American mission custody in 1929
Date of death: 17 Sept. 1971
Place of death: Nenagh, County Tipperary
Place of burial: Foulkstown Cemetery, County Kilkenny

Henry Edward George Rope was a writer, poet, editor, and priest widely known in the Catholic Church for his traditionalist views. He was the elder brother of Margaret Agnes Rope, a stained-glass artist, a nephew of Ellen Mary Rope, a sculptor, and George Thomas Rope, a painter, and naturalist, as well as a cousin of M.E. Aldrich Rope, another stained-glass artist. He was ordained at St. John Lateran in Rome on 27 February 1915. He served in the Shrewsbury Diocese up until 1937, in which year, on 30 October, he took up the position of archivist in the Venerable English College in Rome. His positions as a priest included Chester St Werburgh 1915-17, Crewe 1917-18, Plowden, Shropshire 1918-24, Market Drayton 1924-25, and chaplain at Mawley Hall (near Cleobury Mortimer) 1925-37. His tenure in Rome was interrupted by the Second World War, during which he served as a chaplain at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Albrighton Hall, Shrewsbury (1940-44). He re-joined the Venerable English College and on his return to Rome after the war in 1946, again served as archivist, until December 1957. Returning to England, he settled at the Carmelite Monastery, Quidenham, Norfolk, where his sister Margaret Agnes Rope, the stained-glass artist, had died some four years previously. Due to his writings and his work as archivist at the Venerable English College in Rome, he was well known in his lifetime, particularly within church circles. He nurtured friendships with many prominent lay Catholics and clergy which in turn generated a wealth of correspondence. Aside from Benedict Williamson (1868-1948), a church architect and later Catholic priest, on whom he wrote a two-part monograph, Rope is associated with G.K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, John Hawes, and many others. Henry Rope died in London on 1 March 1978 and was buried in the graveyard attached to the Church of St. Michael and the Holy Family in Kesgrave, Suffolk.

Peadar Ó Laoghaire (Peter O’Leary) was born in Lios Carragáin near Macroom in County Cork on 30 April 1839. Born into a bilingual family, he was educated at St. Colman’s College in Fermoy before entering the seminary at St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, County Kildare. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1867. He went on to serve in several parishes in the diocese of Cloyne, spending his final thirty years (from 1891) as parish priest of Castlelyons (Caisleán Ó Liatháin) in County Cork. From 1906 he was officially titled Canon Peter O’Leary, but he was more commonly addressed as ‘an tAthair Peadar’ (or ‘Father Peter’). Although he did not begin writing in earnest until he was in his fifties, the foundation of Conradh na Gaeilge (1893) spurred him on to take up a career as a writer. He was particularly eager to compile accessible Irish language reading material, especially for a younger generation. O’Leary completed nearly five hundred pieces of work including essays, stories, and translations of The Bible and ‘Don Quixote’, in addition to modernisations of early and medieval Irish texts. His best-known works are ‘Séadna’ (1904) and ‘Mo scéal féin’ (1915). ‘Séadna’, a folk tale, is considered a seminal work in the Gaelic revival, epitomizing O’Leary’s championing of ‘caint na ndaoine’ or the language of the people. His pioneering autobiographical work, ‘Mo Sgéal Féin’, was published by the Irish Book Company, founded by Norma Borthwick and Mairéad Ní Raghallaigh, with whom he was closely associated. O’Leary’s contribution to Irish language literature saw him honoured as a freeman of both Dublin and Cork, with Cork Corporation referring to him as ‘the greatest Irish writer of his age’ when granting him the freedom of the city in 1912. O’Leary died in Castlelyons, County Cork, on 21 March 1920 and was buried in the local cemetery.

Baptismal name: Patrick King
Religious name: Fr. Philip King OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 16 Mar. 1885
Place of birth: Glin, County Limerick
Name of father: Thomas King
Name of mother: Johanna King (née Ahern)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 17 Mar. 1903
Date of first profession: 17 Sept. 1904
Date of final profession: 31 July 1908
Date of ordination (as priest): 24 Sept. 1921
Educational attainments: BA (RUI)
Date of death: 22 Aug. 1952
Place of burial: Cemetery, Capuchin Friary, Rochestown, County Cork

William Patrick Travers was born into a prominent Cork family on 20 March 1870. The family were devoutly Catholic. John, his elder brother, was also a Capuchin friar and took Anthony as his religious name. Another brother was an Augustinian friar while a sister became an Ursuline nun. William joined the Capuchin Franciscans in 1887, took the religious name of Aloysius, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1894. From his earliest years, Aloysius took a keen interest in promoting the work of the temperance movement. He was appointed President of the Father Mathew Hall in Dublin, and held this position from 1904-13. During his years as President, he used the Hall for the promotion of temperance and as a recreational venue for the members of the Sacred Heart Sodality. To further support the ideals of temperance and to revitalise interest in Irish culture, he founded 'The Father Mathew Record' which began publication in January 1908. The year before, he had inaugurated the Féis Maitiu which promoted Gaelic cultural revivalist activities such as storytelling and festivals of native song and dance. Fr. Aloysius also used the pages of the 'Record' to strongly promote a ‘Buy Irish Campaign’. About this time, he also established the League of Young Irish Crusaders. Like many of the Capuchin friars of the Dublin community, Fr. Aloysius was involved in ministering to the Rising leaders during their imprisonment and was present at the execution of James Connolly in Kilmainham Jail on 12 May 1916. He later championed the cause of various labour leaders in Dublin. It has also been speculated that Fr. Aloysius undertook a secret mission to Pope Benedict XV in connection with the Irish struggle. He was elected seven times to the office of Provincial Definitor (Councillor) and was Provincial Minister of the Irish Capuchins from 1913-6. In his later years, he became an enthusiastic member of the Legion of Mary and published numerous devotional tracts including a popular prayer book, 'The Voice of the Church', 'The Seraphic Standard' and 'ĺosa Mo Mhian'. He died on 2 May 1957 at the Capuchin Friary, Church Street, Dublin. He was 89 years old and was a Capuchin friar for almost 69 of these years. He was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.

Daniel Murphy was born on 17 June 1881 in Cork. He was baptised in St. Finbarr’s Church on 19 June 1881. His parents were James and Sarah Murphy (née Flynn) of Ethelville, Western Road, Cork. He was a student of Presentation College and later Rochestown College in Cork. He applied for entrance to the Capuchin novitiate in August 1898 taking the religious name of Columbus. He was ordained a priest in 1906. He subsequently studied at the Catholic University of Louvain and obtained a Bachelor of Divinity in 1909. His life as a friar was mostly devoted to missionary and retreat work. At the outbreak of the 1916 Rising Fr. Columbus was a member of the Church Street community in Dublin. He would go on to play an important role in bringing about a cessation of hostilities. The day after the surrender of the Four Courts garrison on 29 April there was still confusion in North King Street and in other locations as to whether this was a truce or a complete surrender. To clarify, Fr. Columbus went to the Four Courts to retrieve Patrick Pearse’s note which had led to the surrender of Commandant Edward Daly. He later negotiated with the British military to arrange a personal meeting with Pearse in Arbour Hill and brought a copy of his surrender order to Commandant Patrick Holohan at North Brunswick Street. Between 30 April and 4 May Fr. Columbus was called upon to minister to prisoners in Kilmainham Jail prior to their executions. He later compiled a memoir recording his experiences of ministering to various rebel leaders awaiting their court martials and sentencing (IE CA IR-1-2-6). Fr. Columbus later acted as President of Father Mathew Hall, Church Street, Dublin, from 1925-8. He died on 20 February 1962.