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James Doogan was born in Dublin in 1841. He was received into the Capuchin Order in their novitiate in Bologna in 1860 and remained in Italy following his ordination. He arrived in India in about 1867 and was appointed principal of St. George’s School in Mussoorie in the northern state of Uttarakhand. The school had been founded by the Capuchin fathers in 1853. Doogan remained principal until 1873 when the school was entrusted to the care of the Society of the Brothers of St. Patrick (the Irish Patrician Brothers). Afterwards, he was appointed a military chaplain with British forces stationed in India. He served in Nusseerabad (also known as Nasirabad) where he contracted cholera but recovered. He served with distinction during the Anglo-Afghan War (1878-80) and returned to India at the conclusion of the hostilities. He was a life-long temperance campaigner and wrote several pamphlets on the dangers of intoxicating liquor. He contracted influenza in May 1899 which led him to be hospitalised in the Military Station Hospital in Chakrata in Uttarakhand. He died there on 29 July 1899. He was given a ceremonial military funeral by the British Army.

John Edward Dowling, the son of Michael Dowling and Catherine Dowling (née Byrne), was born in Kilkenny on 12 September 1872. He was educated in the Christian Brothers’ Schools and regularly attended the Capuchin Friary Church in Kilkenny as an altar server. He subsequently enrolled in the Capuchin Seraphic School in Rochestown, County Cork. On completing his preliminary studies, he was received into the Capuchin Order in February 1888 taking Laurence as his religious name. He took his final vows and was solemnly professed as a Capuchin friar in September 1889. Having completed a course in philosophy and theology he was ordained a priest on 7 July 1895. Following his ordination, he ministered in Dublin, Cork, and Rochestown, and was appointed guardian (local superior) of these communities. He was also Master of Novices for several years, and President of Father Mathew Temperance Hall on Church Street in Dublin. He was also an active member of the committee of the Catholic Truth Society, for which he wrote several pamphlets primarily on social issues. Dowling was a well-known preacher of retreats and missions and was engaged in this ministry for many years. When his health began to fail in 1931, he travelled to Los Angeles in California, hoping that the better climate would improve his condition. His younger brother, Fr. Thomas Dowling OFM Cap. (1874-1951), was a missionary friar working in California and undoubtedly the presence of his sibling in the United States influenced his decision to leave Ireland. Fr. Laurence served at St. Lawrence of Brindisi Catholic Church in South Los Angeles until his death on 1 June 1939. He was sixty-six years old. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Baptismal name: John Edward Dowling
Religious name: Fr. Laurence Dowling OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 12 Sept. 1872
Place of birth: Kilkenny (Diocese of Ossory)
Name of father: Michael Dowling
Name of mother: Catherine Dowling (née Byrne)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 5 Feb. 1888
Date of first profession: 3 Mar. 1889
Date of final profession: 8 Sept. 1889
Date of ordination (as priest): 7 July 1895
Missionary activity: Travelled to California, United States, in 1931
Date of death: 1 June 1939
Place of death: Los Angeles, California, United States
Place of burial: Calvary Cemetery, Los Angeles, United States
Note: Fr. Thomas Dowling OFM Cap. (1874-1951) was a younger brother of Fr. Laurence Dowling OFM Cap.

Michael Joseph Dowling, the son of Michael and Catherine Dowling (née Byrne), was born in Kilkenny on 13 March 1874. John Dowling, a younger brother, joined the Capuchins in 1888 and took Laurence as his religious name. Michael followed in his brother’s footsteps and joined the Order in Kilkenny a year later in September 1889. He took Thomas as his religious name and he was solemnly professed as a friar in October 1894. He was ordained a priest in Kilkenny on 21 December 1896. Fr. Thomas was a professor at Rochestown Capuchin College in Cork, and later served as guardian (local superior) of the Capuchin Friary in Dublin. He visited Oregon in the United States in 1910 to select a suitable mission parish for the Irish Capuchins in Baker City. In this period, he held several senior administrative positions in the Order and served as definitor (councillor) from 1907-10 and was Provincial Minister of the Irish Capuchins from 1910-3. He was also guardian of Holy Trinity Friary in Cork in 1920.

He emerged as a prominent public figure in Cork because of his high-profile campaigning on social and political issues. He was active in the Anti-Conscription campaign in the city in 1918 and was elected Honorary President of the Cork and District Trades and Labour Council. During the First World War, there was widespread economic distress in Cork as wages failed to keep pace with rising prices. The result was numerous strikes and general worker unrest. Dowling had studied social reform and he threw himself wholeheartedly into the task of industrial dispute mediation. His interventions were accepted by employers and trades unions alike. He presided over negotiations between tramway workers and their employers in a crucial wage dispute and was instrumental in securing a settlement between the two sides in 1919. He was awarded the freedom of Cork in 1920 in recognition of his invaluable services in preserving the peace of the city and for his role in successfully resolving industrial disputes. He also received an honorary degree (an LL.D. or a Doctor of Laws) from Professor P.J. Merriman (1877-1943), President of University College Cork. The award was given on account of his ‘invaluable services’ in ensuring peaceful and harmonious social relations in the city. The Cork Trades’ Council later donated a stained-glass window to Holy Trinity Church to mark his contribution in securing workers’ rights.

His ministries as a Capuchin friar centred on preaching missions and retreats and he was also an enthusiastic promoter of the temperance cause (he was instrumental in organising the Father Theobald Mathew Pavilion at the Cork International Exhibition in 1902). In 1926 Fr. Thomas offered to travel to the United States to work as a missionary friar. The Irish Capuchins had established a mission custody on the American Pacific Coast in 1910. His first appointment was in Our Lady of the Angels Church and Capuchin Friary in Burlingame near San Francisco. He was appointed Pastor of St. Lawrence of Brindisi Church situated in Watts in South Los Angeles in 1937. In the following years he succeeded in paying off the considerable debt on both the church and the adjoining school. He served as Custos (Superior) of the Western American Capuchin Mission from 1940-6. He died on 7 January 1951 and was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Baptismal name: Cornelius Downing
Religious name: Fr. Flannan Downing OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 7 Aug. 1903
Place of birth: Cappyaughna, Glengarriff, County Cork
Name of father: Maurice Downing (Tailor)
Name of mother: Bridget Downing (née Sullivan)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 17 Sept. 1920
Date of first profession: 18 Sept. 1921
Date of final profession: 29 Dec. 1925
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 June 1928
Educational attainments: BA, 1st class hons. (1924); Higher Diploma in Education (1929)
Leadership positions: Provincial Definitor (Councillor): 1943-6; Custos General, 1946-9; Guardian, Holy Trinity Friary, Cork, 1940-3
Date of death: 12 Dec. 1951
Place of death: Capuchin Friary, Kilkenny
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin

James Doyle was born in Sillagh House, Naas, County Kildare, on 10 November 1922. He entered the postulancy program for the Capuchin Franciscans on 28 June 1954 and was received as a novice in the class of 1955-6 at the Kilkenny Friary. He was given Irenaeus as his religious name upon joining the Order. He made his solemn (final) profession on 2 January 1959. His first assignment was as a farm worker at Rochestown Friary in County Cork. On 12 January 1962 he travelled to the United States and was assigned to the novitiate house in Wilmington in Delaware. He worked as a farmer, groundskeeper, and cook and in 1963 was part of the first community established at San Lorenzo Seminary in Santa Inés in California. He was assigned to San Lorenzo for three terms: 1963-71; 1976-88; and 2007-11. From 1971 to 1976 he worked at St Francis High School in La Cañada Flintridge, California, doing general maintenance for the school and some cooking for the friars. In 1988 he joined the first provincial mission in Yécora, Sonora, Mexico and in 1999 he was at the novitiate San Fidel in Tres Ojitos, Chihuahua. He worked in Mexico for nineteen years before returning to San Lorenzo Seminary. In 2011 he retired from active religious ministry and lived at the Mercy Retirement and Care Center in Oakland, California. He died at the Care Centre on 4 October 2014. He was buried in the cemetery adjoining San Lorenzo Seminary in California.

Baptismal: James Lawrence Doyle
Religious name: Br. Irenaeus Doyle OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 8 Nov. 1922
Place of birth: Sillagh, Naas, County Kildare
Name of father: Joseph Doyle
Name of mother: Mary Doyle (née Stapleton)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 1 Jan. 1955
Date of first profession: 2 Jan. 1956
Date of final profession: 2 Jan. 1959
Missionary activities: Travelled to the Western United States mission custody in Jan. 1962
Date of death: 4 Oct. 2014
Place of death: Mercy Retirement and Care Center, Oakland, California
Place of burial: Cemetery, San Lorenzo Seminary, Santa Inés, California

John Duggan was born in the village of Ballydehob in County Cork on 7 September 1879. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in October 1899, took Pius as his religious name, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1907. Most of his priestly life was spent in preaching missions and retreats (in both Irish and English). In his early years, he also took part in the temperance campaign and gave missions in both Ireland and England promoting this cause. For several years he acted as a spiritual director for theology and philosophy students and was guardian (local superior) at the friaries in Rochestown and in Kilkenny (from 1913-6 and from 1931-4). During his years as member of the Church Street community in Dublin, he was director of the sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis and acted as Commissary Provincial of the confraternity. He died on 29 January 1963 and was buried in the cemetery attached to Rochestown Capuchin Friary in County Cork.

Baptismal name: John Duggan
Religious name: Fr. Pius Duggan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 7 Sept. 1879
Place of birth: Ballydehob, County Cork
Name of father: Timothy Duggan
Name of mother: Sarah Duggan (née Connell)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 1 Oct. 1899
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1900
Date of final profession: 25 Sept. 1904
Date of ordination (as priest): 16 Mar. 1907
Date of death: 29 Jan. 1963
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

Peter Anthony Farrell was born in Newtowncashel in County Longford on 9 May 1914. He joined the Capuchin Franciscan Order on 28 October 1933 and took Mel as his religious name. He was ordained a priest on 12 June 1941. Following his ordination, he resided at Rochestown Friary for about a year. The remainder of his priestly ministry (nearly twenty years) was spent in Holy Trinity Friary in Cork. While there he organised and directed the work of the Capuchin Foreign Missions in the city. He was guardian (local superior) of the Holy Trinity community from 1952 to 1958. He died in Holy Trinity Friary on 7 November 1963 and was buried in the cemetery adjoining the Capuchin Friary in Rochestown, County Cork.

Baptismal Name: Peter Anthony Farrell
Religious name: Fr. Mel Farrell OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 9 May 1914
Place of birth: Newtowncashel, County Longford (Diocese of Ardagh)
Name of father: Peter Farrell (Farmer)
Name of mother: Mary Farrell (née Brennan)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 28 Oct. 1933
Date of first profession: 29 Oct. 1933
Date of final profession: 29 Oct. 1937
Date of ordination (as priest): 12 June 1941
Educational attainments: BA (1937)
Date of death: 7 Nov. 1963
Place of death: Holy Trinity Friary, Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

Baptismal name: Joseph Fegan
Religious name: Fr. Aengus Fegan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 16 May 1927
Place of birth: St. Luke’s Cross, Cork
Name of father: Joseph Fegan
Name of mother: Angela Fegan (née Cooke)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1948
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1949
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1959
Date of ordination (as priest): 10 May 1959
Educational attainments: BA (NUI), 1952; Higher Diploma in Education (NUI), 1959
Ministries: Worked in the Capuchin College, Rochestown, County Cork (Secondary School) for most of life teaching art, English, and geography
Date of death: 3 June 2002
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

John Fenlon was born in the village of Ballinakill, Queen’s County (Laois), on 31 May 1875. He joined the Capuchin Order in February 1892 and took Joseph as his religious name. He was ordained to the priesthood in Dublin on 21 September 1901. Soon after his ordination he begun his ministry in Cork and was made guardian (local superior) of Holy Trinity Church and Friary in 1907. During his term as guardian the extension of the Church as a memorial to the late Fr. Bernard Jennings OFM Cap. was completed and formally opened. In 1913 he was made President of Father Mathew Hall in Cork, and at the subsequent Provincial Chapter in 1916 he was elected guardian of the Capuchin Friary in Kilkenny. In 1919 he moved to Dublin and was appointed President of Father Mathew Hall on Church Street. In 1922 he was appointed superior of the Irish Capuchin mission in the United States. Soon after his arrival he took charge of the parish of the Most Holy Redeemer in Watts, Los Angeles. One of his first acts was to have the name of the church changed to St. Lawrence of Brindisi (a Capuchin Franciscan saint). Fenlon constructed a parochial school and began to conduct novenas and parish missions in Watts and further afield (including in Bakersfield and in Sacramento). On 15 November 1924 he preached at the installation of Fr. Albert Bibby OFM Cap. as the first Capuchin pastor of Santa Inés Mission in Santa Barbara County, north of Los Angeles. In 1930 Fenlon was appointed the first Capuchin pastor of St. Francis parish in Los Angeles. Five years later he moved to the Irish Capuchin foundation at Wilmington in Delaware and as vicar supervised the building of the first novitiate of the Irish Capuchins in the United States. The novitiate wing at St. Patrick’s Friary in Wilmington became a centre for the education and training of friars until the foundation was transferred to the care of New Jersey Capuchins in 1963. Fr. Stephen Murtagh OFM Cap. replaced Fenlon as superior of the Irish Capuchin mission in 1937. Fenlon returned to Ireland in 1948 and took up residence in Holy Trinity Friary in Cork. He remained active in ministry and mission work until his death on 20 April 1963. He was laid to rest in the cemetery adjoining the Capuchin Friary in Rochestown, County Cork.

Baptismal name: John Fenlon
Religious name: Fr. Joseph Fenlon OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 31 May 1875
Place of birth: Ballinakill, County Laois (Diocese of Kildare & Leighlin)
Name of father: Thomas Fenlon (Farmer)
Name of mother: Johanna Fenlon (née Redmond)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 7 Feb. 1892
Date of first profession: 20 Mar. 1893
Date of final profession: 25 Dec. 1897
Date of ordination (as priest): 21 Sept. 1901
Missionary assignments: Travelled to California in Nov. 1922; Returned to Ireland in July 1948;
Date of death: 20 Apr. 1963
Place of death: Bon Secours Hospital, Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

Denis Field was born in Kilcrea in County Cork on 16 November 1883. He was the son of a farmer and was educated at Kilbonane National School and later at the Capuchin College in Rochestown, County Cork. He was received into the Capuchin Order at Rochestown (taking Thaddeus as his religious name) in October 1905. He studied philosophy at Rochestown College and received a BA degree from the Royal University, Cork, in 1911. He was ordained to the priesthood in Holy Trinity Church, Cork, on 5 July 1914. Shortly after his ordination, Fr. Thaddeus was appointed to the teaching staff at the Seraphic College in Rochestown. Most of his religious life was spent in Rochestown and for many years he served as Vice-Rector of the College. Fr. Thaddeus also held other offices in the Irish Capuchin Province. At various times he was Guardian (local superior) of the Rochestown community, Vicar and Vice-Master of Novices in the Kilkenny foundation, and President of Father Mathew Temperance Hall in Cork city. His later years in Rochestown were affected by recurring bouts of ill health. He died in Cork on 9 December 1962 and was buried in the cemetery adjoining Rochestown Friary.

Baptismal name: Denis Field
Religious name: Fr. Thaddeus Field OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 16 Nov. 1888
Place of birth: Kilcrea, County Cork
Name of father: Denis Field (Farmer)
Name of mother: Ellen Field (née Murphy)
Date of reception in the Capuchin Order: 1 Oct. 1905
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1906
Date of final profession: 21 Jan. 1912
Date of ordination (as priest): 5 July 1914
Educational attainments: BA, (RUI) 1911
Date of death: 9 Dec. 1962
Place of death: Lindville Hospital, Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork