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Christopher Moynihan was born in the town of Boyle in County Roscommon on 30 May 1877. He joined the Irish Capuchins in October 1896 and took Kevin as his religious name. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Royal University in Cork in 1901. Following his theological studies, he was ordained to the priesthood on 28 September 1902. There followed further academic studies at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium where he was awarded a Doctorate in Philosophy. In 1907 he was appointed guardian (local superior) of Rochestown Friary in County Cork. Three years later he was appointed Rector of the Seraphic College at Rochestown. In 1919 he assumed the role of master of novices. He was five times elected Provincial Definitor (Councillor) and held the office of Provincial Minister of the Irish Capuchins from 1928 to 1931. His term of office as Provincial Minister witnessed the opening of Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal (for the training of cleric novices) in 1930, and the establishment of a foreign mission in Barotseland, a vast territory located in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) in 1931. Fr. Kevin spent most of his life in ministry in Rochestown holding various offices including guardian, director of students and professor of theology. He died (suddenly) at St. Bonaventure’s Friary in Cork on 20 January 1959. He was buried in the cemetery adjoining Rochestown Friary.

Baptismal name: Christopher Moynihan
Religious name: Fr. Kevin Moynihan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 30 May 1877
Place of birth: Boyle, County Roscommon (Diocese of Elphin)
Name of father: Michael Moynihan
Name of mother: Margaret Moynihan (née Murphy)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 4 Oct. 1896
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1897
Date of final profession: 2 Aug. 1902
Date of ordination (as priest): 28 Sept. 1902
Educational attainments: BA, RUI (1901); PhD, Catholic University of Louvain
Leadership positions: Provincial Definitor (Councillor), 1910-3, 1913-6, 1919-21, 1940-3, 1943-6; Provincial Minister, 1928-31; Custos General, 1931-4.
Date of death: 20 Jan. 1959
Place of death: St. Bonaventure’s Capuchin Friary, Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

Baptismal name: Henry Carroll
Religious name: Fr. Eugene Carroll OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 21 Oct. 1889
Place of birth: 84 Rathmore Buildings, Cork
Name of father: Eugene Carroll (Cooper)
Name of mother: Mary Carroll (née Buckley)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 23 Oct. 1907
Date of first profession: 8 Dec. 1908
Date of final profession: 19 Dec. 1912
Date of ordination (as priest): 16 May 1916
Educational attainments: MA (1934)
Leadership positions: Provincial Definitor (Councillor): 1934-7, 1937-40, 1940-3, 1943-6, 1946-9; Master of Novices; Rector of Seraphic College, Rochestown, County Cork, 1934-55
Date of death: 29 Oct. 1967
Place of death: South Infirmary, Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

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

Edward Kennedy was born in County Tipperary on 9 January 1897. He joined the Capuchin Order in January 1915 and took Isidore as his religious name. He was transferred to the Irish Capuchin mission in the United States shortly after his ordination to the priesthood in 1924. From 1926 to 1928 he was assigned to the staff of St. Anthony’s College in Mendocino City in California where the friars had established a small foundation to train those aspiring to join the Order. In 1933 he was briefly transferred to Our Lady of Angels Parish in Burlingame. He spent a good portion of the 1930s in Arizona for health reasons after advice from doctors to seek a drier climate. Returning to the Pacific Coast, he spent some time at St. Benedict’s Parish in McKenzie Ridge in Oregon. He remained here until 17 June 1954 when he was appointed Pastor of St. Anthony’s Church in Willits in California. In 1957 he was transferred to St. Mary’s Parish in Ukiah, California. In the 1960s he was a member of the Capuchin community at San Lorenzo Seminary at the Old Mission Santa Inés, Solvang, California. During this time, he worked as a chaplain to the Brothers of St John of God Rest Home in Ojai Valley. He spent his final years in a retirement home in Santa Barbara and died on 1 October 1973. He was buried in the cemetery adjacent to the Old Mission Santa Inés.

Baptismal name: Edward Kennedy
Religious name: Fr. Isidore Kennedy OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 9 Jan. 1897
Place of birth: Drombane, County Tipperary
Name of father: Thomas Kennedy
Name of mother: Margaret Kennedy (née McCarthy)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 16 Jan. 1915
Date of first profession: 16 Jan. 1916
Date of final profession: 12 Apr. 1919
Date of ordination (as priest): 15 Mar. 1924
Missionary activities: Travelled to the Western American Mission in 1924.
Date of death: 1 Oct. 1973
Place of death: Santa Barbara, California, United States
Place of burial: Old Mission Santa Inés, Solvang, California, United States

Baptismal name: Daniel Gerard Flynn
Religious name: Fr. Matthew Flynn OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 21 Feb. 1915
Place of birth: Cork
Name of father: John Flynn (Railway Guard)
Name of mother: Ellen Flynn (née Morrissey)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1932
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1933
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1936
Date of ordination (as priest): 23 June 1940
Educational attainments: BA (1936)
Ministries/Apostolates: President of Father Mathew Hall, Cork, 1943-60
Date of death: 17 Apr. 1978
Place of death: Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, Cork

Eugene Daly was born in Bantry in County Cork on 7 March 1918. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in October 1939 and took Eltin as his religious name. He completed his BA and MA in University College Cork and was ordained to the priesthood in Ard Mhuire Capuchin Friary in County Donegal by Bishop William MacNeely on 27 May 1948. He obtained a Higher Diploma in Education at London University in 1949 and shortly afterwards set out for the mission in Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia). He took charge of the Teacher Training College in Lukulu for seven years. In 1956 he moved the western outpost at Sihole for a further six years (until 1962), where he advanced his mastery of the local Lozi language. For four years (1962-6) he was at Maramba near Livingstone. During this time he compiled an original translation of the liturgical texts into Lozi following the adoption of the vernacular (after the Second Vatican Council). And all the while he maintained a keen interest in catechetical matters. In 1966 Fr. Eltin left Africa and made his way to Oxford in England. He was appointed to run a chaplaincy service to Irish emigrants and travellers residing in Britain. He worked out of a house on Leopold Street in Oxford while involved in his ministry to Irish travellers and emigrants. He died in London on 12 November 2002 and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery in North Kensington in the British capital.

Baptismal name: Eugene Daly
Religious name: Fr. Eltin Daly OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 7 Mar. 1918
Place of birth: Bantry, County Cork
Name of father: Daniel Daly (labourer, Scartbawn, Bantry, County Cork)
Name of mother: Mary Daly (née Mahony)
Date of Parents’ Marriage: 24 Feb. 1903
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1939
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1940
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1943
Date of ordination (as priest): 27 May 1948
Educational attainments: BA (1st class hons.), 1943; MA (2nd class hons.), 1944; Higher Diploma in Education (London), 1949.
Missionary details: Travelled to Victoria Falls Mission, Zambia, on 22 August 1949. Returned to Ireland in 1966; Chaplain to Irish emigrants in England from 1966; National Director, Mission to the Travelling People, United Kingdom
Date of death: 12 Nov. 2002
Place of death: London (but resided in Oxford)
Place of burial: Kensal Green Cemetery, North Kensington, London

Timothy Heffernan was born on St. Patrick’s Day (17 March) in 1932 in Turner’s Cross in Cork. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in October 1949 and took Enda as his religious name. He was ordained a priest in St. Eunan’s Cathedral in Letterkenny, County Donegal, on 30 May 1957. Soon after his ordination he travelled to the Western United States Mission. He was initially a parish priest in St. Mary’s Church in Ukiah, California. For many years, he was later a teacher and Dean at St. Francis High School in La Canada, California. In April 1979 he became the first Minister Provincial of the newly established Province of Our Lady of Angels in the Western United States. Following the completion of his term as Provincial Minister in 1985, he served as Novice Master in San Lorenzo Seminary in California. Later, he moved to San Bonaventura Friary in San Francisco where he took up the ministry of retreat director. He subsequently moved to St. Francis Friary in Burlingame. He suffered from ill-health in his final years, and he died on 24 April 2001. He was buried in the cemetery attached to San Lorenzo Seminary, Santa Inés, California.

Baptismal name: Timothy Heffernan
Religious name: Fr. Enda Heffernan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 17 Mar. 1932
Place of birth: Cork
Name of father: John Heffernan
Name of mother: Margaret Heffernan (née Morey)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1949
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1950
Date of final profession: 5 Oct. 1953
Date of ordination (as priest): 30 May 1957
Educational attainments: BA (1953)
Missionary activities: Travelled to the United States Mission in 1958
Leadership positions: Appointed Vice Provincial, Western United States Mission on 28 Mar. 1977; Appointed Minister Provincial of the newly created Western United States Province on 18 Apr. 1979.
Date of death: 25 Apr. 2001
Place of death: San Lorenzo Seminary, Santa Inés, California
Place of burial: Cemetery, San Lorenzo Seminary, Santa Inés, California

Michael O’Shea was born in Cork on 14 November 1926, the son of Mortimer O’Shea and his wife Catherine O’Shea. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans on 3 October 1946 at Rochestown Friary in County Cork where he received the habit and was given Venantius as his religious name . He professed his solemn vows on 4 October 1950. He was ordained to the priesthood on 23 May 1954 at Ard Mhuire Capuchin Friary in County Donegal. He studied at University College Cork and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in History and Philosophy with a minor in English literature. Following his ordination he was sent to California in September 1954. He taught religion at St. Francis High School in La Cañada-Flintridge in California. He was Associate Pastor at St. Mary’s Church in Ukiah, California, Old Mission Santa Inés in Solvang, California, St. Francis of Assisi Church in Los Angeles, California, Our Lady of Angels Church in Burlingame, California, Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Fort Bragg, California, and in St. Joseph’s Church in Hermiston, Oregon. In 1970 he taught Franciscan History at San Lorenzo Capuchin Novitiate in Santa Inés. In 1977 he was appointed as first Provincial Secretary of the Capuchins in Western American. In 1987 he obtained a Masters’ Degree in Applied Theology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. In 1988 he was a chaplain at the Federal Penitentiary in Lompoc in California. In 1995 he was a chaplain at Nazareth House in Fresno, California. In 2000 he was appointed Provincial Historian and resided at St. Conrad Friary in Berkeley, California. In 2005 he was Associate Pastor at Our Lady of Angels Church in Burlingame, where he ministered to the sick at Peninsula Hospital and heard confessions in the local parish. He retired in 2014 and was cared for at Mercy Care Center in Oakland, California. His last few months were spent at Herman Health Care Center in San Jose, California. He died on 16 January 2020 and was buried in the cemetery attached to San Lorenzo Seminary, Santa Inés, California.

Baptismal name: Michael James O’Shea
Religious name: Fr. Michael O’Shea OFM Cap. (previously Fr. Venantius O’Shea OFM Cap., he reverted to his baptismal name after the Second Vatican Council)
Date of birth: 14 Nov. 1926
Place of birth: Cork
Name of father: Mortimer O’Shea
Name of mother: Catherine O’Shea (née Meighan)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1946
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1947
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1950
Date of ordination (as priest): 23 May 1954
Educational attainments: BA (1950)
Missionary activities: Travelled to the United States Mission on 27 Sept. 1954
Date of death: 16 Jan. 2020
Place of death: Herman Care Center, San Jose, California
Place of burial: Cemetery, San Lorenzo Seminary, Santa Inés, California

Joseph Francis Brunton was born in Kilkenny on 19 March 1894. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in September 1911 and took Ambrose as his religious name. He was ordained to the priesthood on 15 March 1919 in Cork. Following his ordination, he volunteered for missionary work in the United States in 1920. His initial ministry was in Roseburg in Oregon. In 1923 he became the first Irish Capuchin pastor of St. Anthony’s parish in Willits, Mendocino County, in California. In 1929 he spent a short period of time with Fr. Joseph Fenlon OFM Cap. at St. Francis parish in Los Angeles. From there he went to the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Elk, Mendocino County, in California, where he served as pastor. Illness forced him to temporarily retire from ministry and to recuperate with the community at Mission Santa Inés near Solvang in California. In 1954, he was assigned to St. Mary’s parish in Ukiah, California. A year later he was transferred to St. Lawrence of Brindisi parish in Watts, Los Angeles. He remained in Los Angeles until his death on 8 March 1974. The renowned Irish tenor Brenda O’Dowda (1925-2002), a nephew of Fr. Ambrose, sang at his Funeral Mass which took place in St. Lawrence of Brindisi Church. He was buried in Los Angeles.

Baptismal name: Joseph Francis Brunton
Religious name: Fr. Ambrose Brunton OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 19 Mar. 1894
Place of birth: James Street, Kilkenny (Diocese of Ossory)
Name of father: Patrick Brunton
Name of mother: Christina Brunton (née Byrne)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 17 Sept. 1911
Date of first profession: 17 Sept. 1912
Date of final profession: 8 July 1916
Date of ordination (as priest): 15 Mar. 1919
Missionary activities: Travelled to the United States mission in May 1920
Date of death: 8 Mar. 1974
Place of death: Los Angeles, California

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