Showing 277 results

James Jennings was born in Ballintober (or Ballintubber) in County Mayo on 12 May 1928. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in October 1946 and took Pacificus as his religious name. He was solemnly professed as a friar in October 1950 and was ordained to the priesthood on 19 May 1955. He spent five years at University College Cork and earned a Bachelor of Arts, a Master of Arts, and a Higher Diploma in Education. He served as Dean of Rochestown College in County Cork from 1955-6 and was Master of Novices in the adjoining friary from 1956-8. He filled the same role in Kilkenny Friary for a further four years. He taught at St. Bonaventure’s Hostel in Cork from 1962-4. He subsequently returned to Rochestown for three years as Vice-Rector before moving to Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal where he served as guardian (local superior) from 1970-3. There followed spells as a curate (1975-80) in Priorswood parish in County Dublin and later as spiritual director of the diocesan seminary in Carlow. He later acted as retreat master in Raheny Friary in Dublin and spent a year (1985-6) in ministry with Irish Capuchin missionaries in New Zealand. He returned to Raheny and was appointed a chaplain to Irish schools in the Dublin Archdiocese and acted as editor of ‘The Capuchin’ periodical publication. His final appointment was to Ard Mhuire Friary and Retreat House in County Donegal. He died at Ard Mhuire on 18 March 2006 and was buried in the adjoining cemetery.

Baptismal name: James Jennings
Religious name: Fr. Pacificus Jennings OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 12 May 1928
Place of birth: Ballintober, County Mayo
Name of father: Patrick Jennings
Name of mother: Catherine Jennings (née Lavelle)
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): 19 May 1955
Educational attainments: BA 1st class hons. (1950); MA, 1st class hons. (1951); Higher Diploma in Education.
Date of death: 18 Mar. 2006
Place of death: Ard Mhuire Capuchin Friary, County Donegal
Place of burial: Cemetery, Ard Mhuire Capuchin Friary, County Donegal

Seamus Dempsey was born in Nenagh in County Tipperary on 14 September 1914. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in October 1932 and took Peter as his religious name. His early education was in Roscrea College before taking degree courses in philosophy in University College Cork. He was ordained to the priesthood at Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal in September 1939. He spent the war years in Rome studying theology and scripture and obtained a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture (1943) and a Doctorate in Sacred Theology (1944). He took his PhD from the University of Montreal in Canada in 1950. He published widely about psychology. In 1950 he published ‘The Psychology of Sarte’. This was followed two years later by ‘Psychology for All’ which was translated into French, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese. In 1957 he published ‘Freud, Psychoanalysis and Catholicism’ in Oxford which went into French, Italian and Spanish editions. One of his principal interests was the use of psychology in industrial relations and he gave lectures on this subject to the Irish Management Institute, trade union organisations and to students in Queen’s University, Belfast, and in various academic institutes in Europe and in North America. He was a full-time member of staff in University College Cork for thirty-one years and founded the Chair of Applied Psychology, a position he held until his retirement in 1982. He died in Cork on 21 February 2004 and was buried in the cemetery attached to the Capuchin Friary in Rochestown.

Baptismal name: Seamus Dempsey
Religious name: Fr. Peter Dempsey OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 14 Sep. 1914
Place of birth: Summer Hill, Nenagh, County Tipperary (Diocese of Killaloe)
Name of father: Paul Dempsey (Professor of Science)
Name of mother: Agnes Dempsey (née Condon)
Date of parents’ marriage: 9 July 1908
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): 17 Sept. 1939
Educational attainments: BA, 2nd class hons. (1936); Licentiate in Sacred Scripture (1943); Doctorate in Sacred Theology (1944); MA (1946); PhD, Montreal (1950).
Date of death: 21 Feb. 2004
Place of death: Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

Baptismal name: James Alan Cameron
Religious name: Br. Peter Cameron OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 16 Oct. 1930
Place of birth: Liverpool, England
Name of father: Thomas
Name of mother: Anna
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 31 Oct. 1964
Date of first profession: 1 Nov. 1965
Date of final profession: 1 Nov. 1968
Date of death: 18 Mar. 1985
Place of death: Ard Mhuire Friary, County Donegal
Place of burial: Cemetery, Ard Mhuire Friary, County Donegal

Baptismal name: Edward Bowe
Religious name: Fr. Peter Bowe OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 19 Sept. 1856
Place of birth: Tullaroan, County Kilkenny
Name of father: Thomas Bowe (b. 3 Nov. 1816)
Name of mother: Ellen Bowe (née Maher) (b. 1815)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 8 Apr. 1877
Date of first profession: 21 Apr. 1878
Date of final profession: 8 Sept. 1881
Date of ordination (as priest): 27 Aug. 1882
Leadership positions: Provincial Minister: 1901-4, 1907-10, 1916-9, 1922-5; Provincial Definitor (Councillor): 1887-90, 1890-3, 1893-6, 1895-8, 1898-1901, 1913-6; Custos: 1904, 1910, 1919, 1925
Date of death: 25 Nov. 1926
Place of death: Church Street Friary, Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin

Henry Shaw was born in Dungarvan in County Waterford on 18 May 1915. He joined the Capuchin Order in November 1933 and took Nessan as his religious name. He was ordained a priest on 29 June 1943. As a postgraduate student in University College Cork, he completed a thesis titled ‘The Life and Times of Fr. Theobald Mathew’ for an MA degree in 1939. He retained a life-long interest in the subject and accumulated many documentary sources, publications and notes pertaining to Fr. Mathew and his nineteenth-century campaign against intemperance. Most of his priestly ministry was spent in County Cork and he was a teacher for many years in the Seraphic College in Rochestown. For a brief period in the 1940s he worked as a missionary in Aden which was, as part of the Apostolic Vicariate of Arabia, under the care of the Capuchin friars. On his return to Ireland, Fr. Nessan resumed his priestly duties in Cork. As an avid supporter of Gaelic games, he held several senior administrative positions with various clubs associated with ‘Cumann Lúthchleas Gael’ in Cork. Fr. Nessan edited a collection of essays on the history of the Irish Capuchins in the twentieth century (titled ‘The Irish Capuchins / Record of a Century’) which was published in 1985. The last sixteen years of his life were spent as parish priest in Gurranabraher, a residential suburb on the north-western side of Cork city. He died on 13 July 1997 and was buried in the cemetery attached to Rochestown Capuchin Friary in County Cork.

Baptismal name: Henry Shaw
Religious name: Fr. Nessan Shaw OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 18 May 1915
Place of birth: Dungarvan, County Waterford
Name of father: Herbert Shaw (Baker)
Name of mother: Mary Anne Shaw (née Curran)
Date of parents’ marriage: 16 Oct. 1913
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 7 Nov. 1933
Date of first profession: 8 Nov. 1934
Date of solemn profession: 8 Nov. 1937
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 June 1943
Educational attainments: BA, 1937; MA, 2nd class hons., 1939; Higher Diploma in Education
Date of death: 13 July 1997
Place of death: Bons Secours Hospital, Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

Maurice Murphy was born in Kinnagh, County Wexford, on 22 October 1849. He was received into the Capuchin Order in Le Mans, France, on 14 July 1874. He took Nicholas as his religious name upon joining the Order. He continued his studies on the continent and was ordained a priest in Lorient, France, on 13 June 1879. Following his ordination, he returned to Ireland and was attached to Holy Trinity Friary in Cork, where he was appointed guardian (local superior). After a period of three years, he was transferred to the Church Street Friary in Dublin and took up the position of Vicar. In 1890 he was appointed President of Father Mathew Hall, a position he would hold for six years. He was instrumental in the building of both the Third Order Chapel attached to the Church of St. Mary of the Angels and the addition of a new wing to the Church Street Friary. He served as spiritual director of the Third Order of St. Francis sodality in Dublin for many years. He was a vigorous campaigner for the tenement residents of Church Street and petitioned Dublin Corporation on their behalf seeking improvements in housing and social conditions. In the public sphere, Fr. Nicholas served as chaplain to the Lord Mayor of Dublin and was a well-known attendee at numerous civic and religious functions in the city. He died in the Church Street Friary in Dublin on 1 November 1923 and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.

Baptismal name: Maurice Murphy
Religious name: Fr. Nicholas Murphy OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 22 Oct. 1849
Place of birth: Kinnagh, County Wexford (Diocese of Ferns)
Name of father: Patrick Murphy
Name of mother: Anne Murphy (née Stafford)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 14 July 1874
Date of first profession: 12 Nov. 1875
Date of final profession: 26 Nov. 1878
Date of ordination (as priest): 13 June 1879
Leadership positions: Provincial Definitor: 1893-1901; Custos General, 1904
Date of death: 1 Nov. 1923
Place of death: Church Street Friary, Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin

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

A native of Tarbert in County Kerry, Thomas O’Connor was born on 16 July 1859. At the age of seventeen, he joined the Capuchin Franciscans and took Matthew as his religious name. He was ordained a priest on 27 August 1882. He held several senior leadership positions in the Order in Ireland and was twice elected Provincial Minister (1893-6 and 1898-1901). He served as President of Father Mathew Memorial Hall on Church Street in Dublin from 1894 to 1895. Much of his later life in ministry was spent in Kilkenny and he died in the Capuchin Friary in the city on Sunday, 27 April 1930. He was buried in Foulkstown Cemetery just outside Kilkenny city.

Baptismal name: Thomas O’Connor
Religious name: Fr. Matthew O’Connor OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 16 July 1859
Place of birth: Tarbert, County Kerry
Name of father: John O’Connor
Name of mother: Ellen O’Connor (née Heagerty)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 16 July 1876
Date of first profession: July 1877
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1880
Date of ordination (as priest): 27 Aug. 1882
Leadership positions: Provincial Minister: 1893-6, 1898-1901; Provincial Definitor (Councillor): 1885-8, 1887-90, 1890-3, 1905-8, 1910-3; Custos: 1887, 1890, 1895, 1901, 1907.
Date of death: 27 Apr. 1930
Place of death: Capuchin Friary, Kilkenny
Place of burial: Foulkstown Cemetery, County Kilkenny

Baptismal name: Thomas Hyland
Religious name: Fr. Macartan Hyland OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 31 May 1939
Place of birth: Dublin
Name of father: Richard Hyland
Name of mother: Mary Hyland (née Ní Shoinnion)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1956
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1957
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1960
Date of ordination (as priest): 28 May 1964
Educational attainments: BA (1960)
Missionary activities: Travelled to Livingstone, Zambia, on 3 Sept. 1964. He went to the South African mission in July 1982.
Date of death: 27 Dec. 2000
Place of death: Parow, Cape Town, South Africa
Place of burial: Maitland Cemetery, Cape Town, South Africa

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