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Daniel Francis O’Brien was born in Cork on 8 October 1912. His early education was in the Presentation School and later in the Christian Brothers’ School on Sullivan's Quay in Cork. He was an altar server in Holy Trinity Capuchin Church on Father Mathew Quay, and he joined the Order (taking Nicholas as his religious name) in October 1929. He was awarded an MA in philosophy in University College Cork in 1934. Following his ordination to the priesthood in 1937, he continued his studies in the International Capuchin College in Rome. He obtained a Doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1941 and later a Doctorate of both laws (IUD) at the Lateran Pontifical University (1943). He also obtained a Higher Diploma in Library Science from the Vatican Library in 1942. His time in Rome was inevitably marked by the hardship of the wartime shortages. From 1943 to 1947, he taught Canon Law at Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal. He then returned to the International College in Rome where he served as Canon Law tutor to Capuchin students. He remained in Rome until July 1949. He subsequently returned to the House of Theology at Ard Mhuire and served as a lector there for the next twenty-eight years. He was also acted as a spiritual assistant to the Third Order of St. Francis lay fraternity. He was appointed Provincial Secretary in 1967 and held this position until his death on 5 March 1980. He was buried in the cemetery adjoining the Capuchin Friary in Rochestown, County Cork.

Baptismal name: Daniel Francis O’Brien
Religious name: Fr. Nicholas O’Brien OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 8 Oct. 1912
Place of birth: 15 Castle Street, Cork
Name of father: Thomas O’Brien
Name of mother: Brigid O’Brien (née Dennehy)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1929
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1930
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1933
Date of ordination (as priest): 10 Oct. 1937 (Ard Mhuire Capuchin Friary, County Donegal)
Educational attainments: BA, 1st class hons. (1933); MA (1934); Doctorate of Canon Law (1941); Doctorate of both laws (civil and church law), (1943)
Leadership positions: Provincial Secretary, 1967-80
Date of death: 5 Mar. 1980
Place of death: Ballincollig, County Cork
Place of burial, Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

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

George Albert Ratigan was born in County Roscommon on 4 October 1906. He entered the Capuchin novitiate at the age of twenty-four and took Robert as his religious name. He spent the three years of his simple profession at St. Bonaventure’s Hostel in Cork and took his philosophy degree from University College Cork. He was solemnly professed as a Capuchin friar on 4 October 1934. Following four years of theological study at Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal, he was ordained to the priesthood in St. Eunan’s Cathedral in Letterkenny on 19 June 1938. His first assignment was in Kilkenny (1938-41) which was followed by two years with the Church Street community in Dublin. He returned to Kilkenny in 1943 and he remained there until 1952. He volunteered for missionary work in the Irish Capuchin custody in the United States in 1955. He did parish supply work in several parishes on the East Coast of the United States while stationed at St. Patrick’s Friary in Wilmington, Delaware. In 1964 he spent some time at Our Lady of Angels in Burlingame, California. From there he went to St. Joseph’s Parish in Oregon. He also conducted missions and was active in parish work in Ukiah, California, and in Roseburg, Oregon. He returned to Ireland in 1969 and was appointed once again to Kilkenny where he remained until his death on 1 February 1983. He was buried in the Capuchin plot in Foulkstown Cemetery, County Kilkenny.

Baptismal name: George Albert Ratigan
Religious name: Fr. Robert Ratigan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 4 Oct. 1906
Place of birth: Rathmore South, Kilbride, County Roscommon (Diocese of Elphin)
Name of father: Michael Ratigan
Name of mother: Catherine Ratigan (née Doyle)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1930
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1931
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1934
Date of ordination (as priest): 19 June 1938
Educational attainments: BA (1934)
Missionary activities: Travelled to the United States mission in 1955. He returned to Ireland in 1969.
Date of death: 1 Feb. 1983
Place of death: Kilkenny
Place of burial: Foulkstown Cemetery, County Kilkenny

James Murphy was born in Newry in County Down on 12 October 1912. He entered the Irish Capuchin novitiate in October 1930 and took Theodore as his religious name. He spent the three years of his simple profession in St. Bonaventure’s taking his BA degree in University College Cork. He made his solemn profession in October 1934. There followed four years of theological studies at Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal. He was ordained to the priesthood in June 1938. Following his ordination in St. Eunan’s Cathedral in Letterkenny, County Donegal, Fr. Theodore volunteered for missionary work abroad. At the invitation of Archbishop Sylvester Mulligan OFM Cap. he went to work with the English Capuchins in the Archdiocese of Delhi and Simla in India. He returned to Ireland after thirteen years of difficult missionary work (1938-51). Following a brief stint as Vice Master of Novices in Rochestown in County Cork during 1952, he was assigned to the Church Street community in Dublin for three years. He spent eighteen years teaching religion at the School of Marketing in Parnell Square in Dublin while residing in Raheny Hostel (1955-74). He was also superior of the Rahney community for three of those years (1958-61) as well as being an active promoter of the Seraphic Mass Association (SMA). In 1974, he was transferred back to Church Street and took up a chaplaincy role in St. Brendan’s Psychiatric Hospital. He continued in this role until 1979. He died in the Church Street Friary on 18 February 1993 and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.

Baptismal name: James Murphy
Religious name: Fr. Theodore Murphy OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 12 Oct. 1912
Place of birth: Newry, County Down (Diocese of Dromore)
Name of father: Thomas Murphy (Soldier)
Name of mother: Catherine Murphy (née McMahon)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1930
Date of first profession:4 Oct. 1941
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1934
Date of ordination (as priest): 19 June 1938
Educational attainments: BA (1934)
Missionary activities: Travelled to the Archdiocese of Delhi and Simla on 3 Oct. 1938. He returned to Ireland in January 1952.
Date of death: 18 Feb. 1993
Place of death: Church Street Friary, Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin

Baptismal name: Thomas McKenna
Religious name: Fr. Damascene McKenna OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 20 Mar. 1913
Place of birth: Londonbridge Road, Sandymount, Dublin
Name of father: Patrick McKenna
Name of mother: Sarah McKenna (née Moran)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 15 Nov. 1931
Date of first profession: 16 Nov. 1932
Date of final profession: 16 Nov. 1935
Date of ordination (as priest): 18 June 1939
Educational attainments: BA (1935)
Missionary activities: Travelled to Barotseland, Northern Rhodesia on 12 Sept. 1939. He was later a missionary in Cape Town, South Africa.
Date of death: 17 Sept. 1967
Place of death: Cape Town, South Africa
Place of burial: Maitland Cemetery, Cape Town, South Africa

Baptismal name: Patrick O’Callaghan
Religious name: Br. Dominic O’Callaghan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 20 Mar. 1903
Place of birth: Douglas, Cork
Name of father: Michael O’Callaghan
Name of mother: Elizabeth O’Callaghan (née Murphy)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 1 Nov. 1931
Date of first profession: 2 Nov. 1932
Date of final profession: 2 Nov. 1935
Missionary activities: Travelled to Barotseland, Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia), on 10 Oct. 1938. He returned to Ireland on 11 February 1976.
Date of death: 26 Aug. 1981
Place of burial: Cemetery, Ard Mhuire Capuchin Friary, County Donegal

James Honohan was born in Donoughmore in County Cork on 16 September 1905. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in April 1932 and took Patrick as his religious name. Shortly after his solemn (final) profession in April 1936, he was transferred to the United States mission custody. His initial assignment was in St. Patrick’s Friary in Wilmington, Delaware. In 1943 he was transferred to St. Joseph’s Church in Roseburg, Oregon, where he spent three years. In 1946 he came to St. Francis High School in La Cañada Flintridge, California, where he spent thirteen years, serving as cook and sacristan. Following another year in Willington, Br. Patrick returned to St. Francis High School. In 1966 he assigned to Mission Santa Inés, Solvang, California. He again served as cook and sacristan and maintained the mission’s grounds. He died in Santa Inés on 6 September 1979 and was buried in the cemetery adjoining San Lorenzo Friary.

Baptismal name: James Honohan
Religious name: Br. Patrick Honohan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 16 Sept. 1905
Place of birth: Ballycunningham, Donoughmore, County Cork (Diocese of Cloyne)
Name of father: Andrew Honohan (Farmer)
Name of mother: Hannah Honohan (née Twomey)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 24 Apr. 1932
Date of first profession: 25 Apr. 1933
Date of final profession: 25 Apr. 1936
Missionary activities: Travelled to the United States mission on 4 Oct. 1936
Date of death: 6 Sept. 1979
Place of death: Santa Inés, California
Place of burial: San Lorenzo Friary, Santa Inés, California

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

John Connolly was born in Bagenalstown in County Carlow in 1875. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans at Rochestown Friary in County Cork in February 1892. He took Clement as his religious name upon joining the Order. He was ordained on 7 February 1902. He spent the early years of his priesthood teaching at Rochestown College before moving to Kilkenny and later to Holy Trinity Friary in Cork. For some years he was principally engaged in preaching missions and retreats throughout the country and in 1910 he was formally assigned to the missionary staff of the Irish Capuchin Province. Following the Provincial Chapter of 1922, he was assigned to the United States mission. He served initially in the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Abbottstown, Pennsylvania, before moving to the west coast. He returned to Ireland in July 1925. On his return, he was assigned to the Capuchin community residing on Church Street in Dublin. He was appointed Vicar of Holy Trinity Friary in Cork in 1933 and was reappointed to that office after the Provincial Chapter of 1934. He continued to reside in Cork until his death on 20 April 1963. He was buried in the cemetery adjoining the Capuchin Friary in Rochestown, County Cork.

Baptismal name: John Connolly
Religious name: Fr. Clement Connolly OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 30 Nov. 1875
Place of birth: Main Street, Bagenalstown, County Carlow
Name of father: Michael Connolly
Name of mother: Elizabeth Connolly (née Moloney)
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): 23 Feb. 1902
Missionary activity: Travelled to Abbottstown, Pennsylvania, United Sates in Dec. 1922; Returned to Ireland in July 1925.
Date of death: 20 Apr. 1963
Place of death: Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

Patrick Mulligan, the son of John Mulligan and Brigid Mulligan (née Brennan), was born in County Monaghan on 12 March 1875. His family had a long association with the Capuchin Franciscan Order as five of his maternal uncles were among the first to join the Capuchins after the return of the friars to England in 1850. Following the completion of his preliminary studies at the Seraphic College in Rochestown, County Cork, Patrick Mulligan was received into the Capuchin Order on 30 March 1892. Upon joining the Order, he took Sylvester as his religious name. He was ordained a priest in Dublin on 21 September 1901. He was one of the first friars of the Irish Capuchin Province to pursue a course a higher course in theology in a continental university. Soon after his ordination, he enrolled in the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium where he was awarded a degree of Doctor of Divinity (‘Doctor Divinitatis’). On his return to Ireland, he was appointed a lector in sacred theology in Rochestown. In 1913 he was appointed director of the Total Abstinence sodality on Church Street in Dublin and President of Father Mathew Hall. He also assumed the editorship of ‘The Father Mathew Record’ periodical. In 1919 he resumed his role as professor of theology in Rochestown. Fr. Sylvester held several senior administrative positions in the Irish Capuchin Province. He was first elected Definitor at the chapter held in 1907 and was re-elected to this position at subsequent chapters. In 1925 he was elected Provincial Minister. The following year he attended the General Chapter of the Capuchin Order in Rome and was elected Definitor General, the first member of the Irish Province to hold such office. He was re-elected at the next General Chapter held in 1932. On 13 April 1937 he was appointed Archbishop of Delhi and Simla in India, receiving his episcopal consecration (23 May 1937) from Cardinal Pietro Fumasoni Biondi, assisted by Patriarch Luca Ermenegildo Pasetto OFM Cap., and Bishop Giovanni Giuseppe Santini OFM Cap. At the time, there was only one Catholic priest in Delhi and the newly appointed Archbishop was forced to reside in a house attached to a school located on the grounds of the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Joseph. Despite the disruption caused by the Second World War, Archbishop Mulligan worked assiduously in a challenging missionary environment. After being taken seriously ill during a Holy Year pilgrimage to Rome in June 1950, he returned to Ireland and underwent an operation in Dublin. Continuing ill-health forced his resignation as Archbishop on 12 August 1950. He died in Dublin on 23 October 1950. He was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.

Baptismal name: Patrick Mulligan
Religious name: Fr. Sylvester Mulligan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 12 Mar. 1875
Place of birth: Tasson, Clontibret, County Monaghan (Diocese of Clogher)
Name of father: John Mulligan
Name of mother: Brigid Mulligan (née Brennan)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 30 Mar. 1892
Date of first profession: 2 Apr. 1893
Date of final profession: 25 Dec. 1897
Date of ordination (as priest): 21 Sept. 1901
Educational attainments: Licentiate of Sacred Theology (STL), Louvain; Doctor of Divinity (DD), Louvain
Missionary activities/Leadership positions: Provincial Definitor: 1907-10, 1916-9, 1922-5; Provincial Minister, 1925; Definitor General, 1926-9, 1932-7; Consecrated Archbishop of Delhi and Simla (India) on 23 May 1937. Resigned on 12 Aug. 1950.
Date of death: 23 Oct. 1950
Place of death: Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin