Baptismal name: Patrick O’Hanlon
Religious name: Fr. Oliver O’Hanlon OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 14 May 1902
Place of birth: 27 Michael Street, Waterford City (Diocese of Waterford & Lismore)
Name of father: David O’Hanlon (Grocer)
Name of mother: Sarah O’Hanlon (née Murphy)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 17 Sept. 1920
Date of first profession: 18 Sept. 1901
Date of final profession: 29 Dec. 1925
Date of ordination (as priest): 19 June 1928
Educational attainments: BA (1924)
Missionary activities: Travelled to South Africa in April 1930; Elected a discreet for the African Mission on 21 June 1935. He was reappointed a discreet on 14 Oct. 1938
Date of death: 11 Aug. 1957
Place of death: Parow, Cape Town, South Africa
Place of burial: Maitland Cemetery, Cape Town, South Africa
Kevin Mulligan was born in Dundalk in County Louth on 15 June 1922. He joined the Capuchin Franciscan Order in October 1941, took Betram as his religious name, and made his solemn vows on 4 October 1945. He was ordained to the priesthood on 16 June 1949. In September 1949 he was sent from Ireland to serve as associate pastor at St. Joseph’s Church in Roseburg in Oregon in the United States. His life in ministry in America was mostly connected with parish work. He served as associate pastor at St. Mary’s in Ukiah, California, and in Our Lady of Angels Parish in Hermiston, Oregon. Afterwards, he served as a pastor in St. Aloysius Church in Point Arena, California, in Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Fort Bragg, California, and in Our Lady of Angels Church in Burlingame, California. He also served as a councillor in the Irish Capuchin mission custody in the United States on three separate occasions. Subsequently, he was appointed as a chaplain at the Veterans Hospital in Fresno in California. He was also the first guardian of St. Francis of Assisi Friary in Burlingame in California. In 1998 he was appointed Provincial Archivist for the Western America Capuchin Province. In 2007 he retired to the Mercy Care and Retirement Centre in Oakland, California, where he died on 29 October 2016. He was buried in the cemetery attached to San Lorenzo Seminary at Mission Santa Inés, California.
Baptismal name: Kevin Mulligan
Religious name: Fr. Bertram Mulligan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 15 June 1922
Place of birth: Dundalk, County Louth
Name of father: Joseph Mulligan
Name of mother: Margaret Mulligan (née Watters)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1941
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1942
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1945
Date of ordination (as priest): 16 June 1949 (St. Eunan’s Cathedral, Letterkenny, County Donegal)
Educational attainments: BA (1945)
Missionary activities: Travelled to the Irish Capuchin mission custody in the Western United States on 5 Sept. 1949
Date of death: 29 Oct. 2016
Place of death: Oakland, California, United States
Place of burial: Cemetery, attached to San Lorenzo Seminary, Mission Santa Inés, California, United States
Baptismal name: Nicholas John Dillane
Religious name: Fr. Raymond Dillane OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 22 Feb. 1916
Place of birth: North Circular Road, Dublin
Name of father: James Dillane (Prison Warder)
Name of mother: Mary Dillane (née Kenny)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1937
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1938
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1941
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 June 1945
Missionary activities: Travelled to Barotseland, Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia), on 21 Feb. 1946. Transferred to the Cape Town Mission, South Africa, in 1968. He returned to Ireland on 15 Nov. 1991.
Date of death: 10 Jan. 1999
Place of death: St. Francis Hospice, Raheny, Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin
Baptismal name: Edmond Murphy
Religious name: Fr. Theophilus Murphy OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 11 Apr. 1928
Place of birth: Newmarket, County Cork (Diocese of Cloyne)
Name of father: Edmond Murphy (Farmer)
Name of mother: Ellen Murphy (née Riely)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 2 Oct. 1946
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1947
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1950
Date of ordination (as priest): 23 May 1954 (Holy Trinity, Cork)
Educational attainments: BA, 2nd class hons. (1950)
Missionary activities: Travelled to Livingstone, Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia), on 31 Aug. 1954. He returned to Ireland on 6 Oct. 2006.
Leadership positions: Regular Superior, Zambian Mission, 1973-6, 1976-9, 1985-8. He served as Administrator of the Diocese of Livingstone from 1984-5. He also served as a Parish Priest and Diocesan Consultor in Livingstone.
Date of death: 6 Oct. 2006
Place of death: Holy Trinity Capuchin Friary, Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork
John McNamara was born in Glin, County Limerick, on 10 September 1931. He was baptised in the Immaculate Conception Parish Church in Glin in the Diocese of Limerick. He attended the national school in Glin after which he received his secondary education at Rochestown College in County Cork. He was admitted to the Capuchin novitiate in Rochestown on 3 October 1950. Following his temporary profession in Rochestown a year later, he was transferred to St. Bonaventure’s Friary in Cork from where he attended University College Cork for three years, after which he was conferred with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He made his perpetual profession in St. Bonaventure’s on 4 October 1954 and then made his way to Ard Mhuire Friary in Donegal for theological studies. He was ordained to the priesthood by William McNeely, Bishop of Raphoe, in St. Eunan’s Cathedral in Letterkenny on 15 May 1958. Later that year, he commenced Canon Law studies in Rome and obtained a Licentiate in 1960. On 17 August 1960, Fr. Donatus departed for the Irish Capuchin mission in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). He first served as assistant pastor in St Therese’s and in Maramba, both in the Livingstone Diocese, from 1960 to 1963. He then went on to teach seminarians in St. John’s in Mongu, in Limulunga and in Nalionwa (Kalabo) from 1964 to 1978. He was rector of the school at Limulunga from 1965 to 1978. He returned to Ireland in 1978, when he became a member of the staff at Rochestown College, teaching there for the next ten years. In 1988 he was appointed Mission Secretary and worked out of the mission office at the Church Street Friary in Dublin. In 1998, he returned to Zambia. He was posted to Malengwa Friary in Mongu, the capital of the Western Province in Zambia, and was appointed chaplain to Mongu Teacher Training College. After a two-year stay (2008-10), in St. Pio Friary, Fr. Donatus was transferred to the recently built Capuchin novitiate at the Camerino Friary in Lusaka, where he lived until his death on 5 July 2021. He was buried in the cemetery attached to the Camerino Friary.
Baptismal name: John McNamara
Religious name: Fr. Donatus McNamara OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 10 Sept. 1931
Place of birth: Glin, County Limerick
Name of father: Thomas McNamara
Name of mother: Brigid McNamara (née Egan)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1950
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1951
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1954
Date of ordination (as priest): 15 May 1958
Educational attainments: BA, 2nd class hons. (1954); Licentiate in Canon Law, Rome (1960)
Missionary activities: Travelled to Livingstone, Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia), on 17 Aug. 1960. He returned to Ireland on 10 Aug. 1976. He returned to Zambia in Sept. 1998.
Date of death: 5 July 2021
Place of death: St. Clare’s Hospital, Makeni, Lusaka, Zambia
Place of burial: Cemetery, Capuchin Novitiate, Camerino Friary, Lusaka, Zambia
William Grace was born in Dublin on 18 July 1936. He was received into the Capuchin Franciscan Order on 3 October 1953 and took John as his religious name. He spent his novitiate years in Rochestown Friary and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from University College Cork. He was ordained to the priesthood in County Donegal in June 1961. Following his ordination, he volunteered for missionary work and arrived in Livingstone in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) in September 1961. He remained a missionary friar in Zambia for the rest of his life (aside from year spent in St. Patrick’s College in Maynooth, County Kildare, taking a higher diploma in education). He returned to Zambia and took up a staff position at the Teachers’ Training College in Malengwa near Mongu in Western Zambia. He also acted as superior and parish priest in Malengwa, a location covering approximately two hundred and fifty square miles with a Catholic populace of about four thousand. He was appointed Vicar General in Mongu, the capital of the Western Province of Zambia, in 1997. He died in Lusaka, Zambia, on 2 October 2013. He was buried in the cemetery attached to the Capuchin novitiate at the Camerino Friary in Lusaka.
Baptismal name: William Grace
Religious name: Fr. John Grace OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 18 July 1936
Place of birth: Dublin
Name of father: John Grace
Name of mother: Catherine (Kathleen) Grace (née Hyland)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1953
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1954
Date of solemn profession: 4 Oct. 1957
Date of ordination (as priest): 1 June 1961
Educational attainments: BA (1957); Higher Diploma in Education (1973)
Missionary activities: Travelled to Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia) on 26 Sept. 1961; Appointed Vicar General (Mongu, Zambia) on 14 June 1997.
Date of death: 2 Oct. 2013
Place of death: Lusaka, Zambia
Place of burial: Cemetery, Capuchin Novitiate, Camerino Friary, Lusaka, Zambia
Mortimer O’Shea was born in Glengarriff in County Cork on New Year’s Day in 1897. His early studies were in the local national school. In 1908 he enrolled in the Seraphic College in Rochestown, County Cork. He entered the Capuchin novitiate in August 1914 and took Cassian as his religious name. He was awarded a degree in Irish studies from University College Cork in 1919. Following the completion of his theological studies, he was ordained in Holy Trinity Church in Cork on 29 June 1923. Soon after his ordination, he went to Rome for further studies. He received a Doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1926. On his return to Ireland, he spent seventeen years teaching Canon Law to theological students at Ard Mhuire Capuchin Friary in County Donegal. He served as guardian (local superior) of Ard Mhuire from 1937 to 1943. A gifted Irish scholar, he published several works in the language. Following the completion of his term as guardian at Ard Mhuire, he was transferred to the Kilkenny Friary and served as Vicar and Master of Lay Novices. In 1947 he volunteered for the American Mission. His initial assignment was in St. Patrick’s Friary in Wilmington in Delaware where he served as guardian for six years. He moved to the West Coast in 1958 and spent one year as assistant pastor in St. Mary’s Parish in Ukiah, California. From there he moved to Our Lady of Angels Friary in Burlingame. Other assignments included associate pastor at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Los Angeles and chaplain at St. Charles Hospital in Bend, Oregon. He died in Los Angeles on 16 February 1981 and was buried in the cemetery attached to San Lorenzo Seminary at the Santa Inez Mission in California.
Baptismal name: Mortimer O’Shea
Religious name: Fr. Cassian O’Shea OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 1 Jan. 1897
Place of birth: Glengarriff, County Cork
Name of father: Patrick O’Shea
Name of mother: Elizabeth O’Shea (née O’Sullivan)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 27 Aug. 1914
Date of first profession: 8 Sept. 1915
Date of final profession: 29 June 1923
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 June 1923 (Holy Trinity Church, Cork)
Educational attainments: BA, 1919; Doctorate in Canon Law (Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome), 1926
Missionary activities: Travelled to the United States on 29 July 1947
Date of death: 16 February 1981
Place of death: Los Angeles, California
Place of burial: Cemetery, San Lorenzo Seminary, Santa Inez Mission, California
Daniel O’Reilly was born in Castlepollard, a small village in north County Westmeath on 22 November 1831. He was born into a reasonably affluent farming family, and he was sent to St. Patrick’s College in Carlow for his education where he excelled in classical studies. Having decided to join the Capuchin Franciscans, he was sent to Belgium for his novitiate studies in about 1850. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1855 and soon afterwards returned to Ireland. Most of his life in ministry was spent in Church Street in Dublin where he devoted his energies to financing the construction of St. Mary of the Angels (built between 1868 and 1881) on the site of an earlier Capuchin chapel. He served as guardian (local superior) of the Church Street community from 1864 to 1866. In 1873 he was appointed Custos (superior) of the Capuchin foundations in Dublin and in Kilkenny which remained subject to the supervision of the Provincial Minister of the Capuchins in Paris. Fr. O’Reilly preached at the opening of the Irish Capuchin novitiate in Kilkenny in October 1875. The original pulpit in St. Mary of the Angels (unveiled on 25 December 1883) was presented to him as a token of esteem by several wealthy benefactors. His work in rebuilding the Irish Capuchins was recognised when was he was afforded the title of Provincial Minister several years before the Irish Province was canonically restored in 1885. He died (of dropsy or edema) on 3 September 1894 in the Church Street Friary and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.
Baptismal name: Daniel O’Reilly
Religious name: Fr. Daniel Patrick O’Reilly OSFC
Date of birth: 22 Nov. 1831
Place of birth: Castlepollard, County Westmeath
Date of ordination (as priest): 1855
Date of death: 3 Sept. 1894
Place of death: Church Street, Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin
John Joseph Guihen was born in Keadue, a small village in County Roscommon, on 12 February 1898. He was received into the Capuchin Franciscan Order in Kilkenny in August 1914 and took Felix as his religious name. He was ordained to the priesthood on 29 June 1923. Following his ordination, he was sent to Rome for further studies and received a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture in 1926 (one of the first Irish friars to obtain such a degree). During his time in the Italian capital, he wrote an article on the Vatican Missionary Exposition of 1925 (‘The Father Mathew Record’, 18, no. 6. June 1925, pp 171-73). On his return to Ireland, he was appointed a lector in theological studies, first in Rochestown Friary in County Cork and later at Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal. For twenty years he acted as a lector for clerical students while also holding the office of Vicar in Ard Mhuire. He wrote a series of pamphlets on the Old Testament which were published by the Catholic Truth Society of Ireland (CTSI) in the 1930s and 1940s. He also held the office of Secretary of the Irish Capuchin Province from 1955 to 1967. He died in the Church Street Friary in Dublin on 14 August 1981 and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.
Baptismal name: John Joseph Guihen
Religious name: Fr. Felix Guihen OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 12 Feb. 1898
Place of birth: Keadue, County Roscommon (Diocese of Ardagh)
Name of father: Martin Guihen (Farmer)
Name of mother: Anne Guihen (née McDermott)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 27 Aug. 1914
Date of first profession: 8 Sept. 1915
Date of final profession: 12 Apr. 1919
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 June 1923
Educational attainments: BA (1919); Licentiate in Sacred Scripture, Rome (1926)
Leadership positions: Provincial Secretary, 1955-67
Date of death: 14 Aug. 1981
Place of death: Church Street Friary, Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin
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