Showing 277 results

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

Maurice Buckley was born in Kilnamartyra, County Cork, on 25 January 1920. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in January 1940. He was a postulant and novice in Kilkenny and took his solemn vows on 8 April 1944. He was part of the community in Rochestown Friary in County Cork until 1952. He then spent three years in Raheny in Dublin and a further eighteen months in Holy Trinity Friary in Cork. In 1956 he volunteered for missionary work in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). He spent twenty years in Africa as a missionary. He laboured in construction work in many of the mission stations established by the Irish Capuchins in Zambia including Kalabo, Sichili, Mongu and Lukulu. He returned to Ireland in 1978 and was initially stationed in Kilkenny before moving to Rochestown in County Cork. He died on 24 November 2003 and was buried in the cemetery attached to Rochestown Friary.

Baptismal name: Maurice Buckley
Religious name: Br. Maruice Buckley OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 25 January 1920
Place of birth: Kilnamartyra, County Cork (Diocese of Cloyne)
Name of father: Patrick Buckley
Name of mother: Mary Buckley (née Healy)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 25 January 1940
Date of first profession: 16 Jan. 1941
Date of final profession: 8 Apr. 1944
Missionary activities: Travelled to Livingstone, Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia) on 19 Apr. 1956. He returned to Ireland on 10 Aug. 1978.
Date of death: 24 Nov. 2003
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

John O’Dea was born to Kieran and Mary O’Dea (née Doyle) of William Street in Kilkenny in 1851. He joined the Capuchin Order in England in 1868 and took Laurence as his religious name. He was ordained a priest by the Bishop of Southwark on 3 May 1874 at the Capuchin Friary in Pantasaph, Flintshire, in North Wales. He joined the Irish Capuchins shortly afterwards and from 1874 to 1881 was Novice Master in Le Mans, France, where the Irish friars studied. He travelled to India in 1881 and was later appointed a chaplain to the British forces stationed there. He assumed responsibility for the construction of the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Joseph in Shimla in 1885. O’Dea returned to Britain in 1891. Having re-joined the British Capuchin Province, he served as guardian (local superior) in several English Capuchin Houses including Olton (Oxford), Erith (London) and Crawley (Sussex). Although advancing in age (he was at this point nearly sixty), he volunteered for further missionary work in Arabia from 1907 to 1909. At the outbreak of the First World War, he again put forward his name for military chaplaincy. His offer was accepted, and he was made chaplain to a large convalescent camp established at Eastbourne on the English Coast for wounded and shell-shocked soldiers of the conflict. At its peak, the main camp had room for 3,500 injured soldiers. Overburdened by the pressures of his work, O’Dea died in the Military Hospital at Palace Green in London on 4 November 1917. He was buried in the cemetery of the Friary Church of St Francis in Crawley, Sussex.

Michael Cronin was born in Cork in January 1849. He was received into the Capuchin Order at Rochestown in County Cork on 30 July 1882. He took Leo as his religious name upon joining the Order. He was solemnly professed as a Capuchin friar in August 1887. For the following sixty-seven years he fulfilled the ordinary duties of a lay brother in most of the houses of the Irish Capuchin Province. He was particularly known as a Brother Questor in Dublin, seeking alms and donations for the poor. Following several years of ill-health, he died in the Capuchin Friary on Church Street in Dublin on 23 October 1949. He was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.

Baptismal name: Michael Cronin
Religious name: Br. Leo Cronin OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 30 Jan. 1859
Place of birth: Cork
Name of father: Michael Cronin
Name of mother: Mary Cronin (née Foley)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 30 July 1882
Date of first profession: 8 Aug. 1883
Date of final profession: 2 Aug. 1887
Date of death: 23 Oct. 1949
Place of death: Capuchin Friary, Church Street, Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin

Michael Brophy was born near the village of Castlecomer in County Kilkenny on 28 September 1869. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in September 1889 and was ordained to the priesthood in February 1892. He resided in the Church Street Friary in Dublin for several years and was later appointed guardian (local superior) of Holy Trinity Friary in Cork. In 1910 he was assigned to work in the new mission custody established in the United States and was appointed associate pastor of Our Lady of Angels Parish in Hermiston in Oregon. In August 1911 Fr. Leonard was appointed to the Church of the Immaculate Heart in Abbotstown, Pennsylvania. He returned to Ireland in the late 1920s and joined the community of friars residing in Holy Trinity Friary on Father Mathew Quay in Cork. In the public sphere, he held the position of civic chaplain to the Lord Mayor of Cork. He died on 8 December 1930 and was buried in the cemetery attached to the Capuchin Friary in Rochestown, County Cork.

Baptismal name: Michael Brophy
Religious name: Fr. Leonard Brophy OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 28 Sept. 1869
Place of birth: Castlecomer, County Kilkenny (Diocese of Ossory)
Name of father: John Brophy (Farmer)
Name of mother: Ellen Brophy (née Curran)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 2 Oct. 1885
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1886
Date of final (solemn) profession: 8 Dec. 1890
Date of ordination as a priest: 25 Feb. 1892
Missionary activities: Travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States in 1910-11; Returned to Ireland in the 1920s.
Date of death: 8 Dec. 1930
Place of burial: Cemetery, Capuchin Friary, Rochestown, County Cork

Baptismal name: Michael Browne
Religious name: Fr. Luke Browne OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 12 Sept. 1920
Place of birth: Kilcorney, Mallow, County Cork (Diocese of Cloyne)
Name of father: John Browne (Publican and Farmer)
Name of mother: Hannah Brown (née Herlihy)
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)
Missionary activities: Travelled to Barotseland, Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia), on 11 Nov. 1949. He returned to Ireland on 15 Nov. 2004.
Date of death: 11 Apr. 2008
Place of death: Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, Cork

Francis Kennedy was born on Fingal Street in Dublin on 15 June 1904. He joined the Capuchin Franciscan Order in September 1935 and took James as his religious name. He spent the greater part of his apostolate working the land on the farm attached to the Capuchin Friary in Rochestown, County Cork. After several years in Rochestown, Brother James took up residence with the community of friars in Holy Trinity in Cork city. He was transferred to the Kilkenny Friary in July 1960 in which year he celebrated his silver jubilee. He died in Kilkenny on 6 June 1967 and was buried in Foulkstown Cemetery.

Baptismal name: Francis Kennedy
Religious name: Br. James Kennedy OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 15 June 1904
Place of birth: Dublin
Name of father: John Kennedy (Builders’ Labourer)
Name of mother: Ellen (Dora) Kennedy (née Purcell)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 18 Sept. 1935
Date of first profession: 19 Sept. 1936
Date of final profession: 19 Sept. 1939
Date of death: 6 June 1967
Place of death: Capuchin Friary, Kilkenny
Place of burial: Foulkstown Cemetery, County Kilkenny

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

James Tommins was born in Dublin on 29 March 1812. Often, when recounting the difficult conditions in pre-emancipation Ireland, he would tell his younger fellow-friars: ‘You were born free. I was born a slave’. As a youth he was apprenticed to a haberdasher, or, more specifically, a button-manufacturer. He frequently attended religious services at the Capuchin chapel on Church Street. In his late thirties, Tommins expressed a desire to become a Capuchin friar. He went to night school to gain the necessary knowledge of the classics, and, by assiduous study, he soon reached the standard required for the novitiate. Then, in 1849, at the age of 42, he was sent to Bruges, in Belgium, for his novitiate and studies. Having taken Edward as his religious name, he was noted for his strict obedience and generous self-sacrifice, which, together with his profound humility, won him the esteem of the Capuchin community in Belgium, and secured his admission to profession. With the successful completion of his studies and having been ordained priest in 1856 by Jean-Baptiste Malou (1809-1864), Bishop of Bruges, he returned to Ireland. The following year Fr. Theobald Matthew OSFC, then Commissary-General, assigned him to Kilkenny. Except for a short period during which he was guardian (local superior) in Cork in 1861, Fr. Tommins spent his entire priestly life in Kilkenny, most of the time as guardian of a small fraternity of two or three friars. He prepared the way for the establishment of a Capuchin novitiate in Ireland; and, at a later period was appointed Commissary-General. On 23 January 1861, Fr. Edward called a meeting of the people of Kilkenny to arrange for the furnishing of the friary church. The meeting was presided over by the Mayor, Thomas Power, and it was agreed to engage Mr. McCarthy, architect, to oversee the improvements to the church, including the installation of the high altar. Once the church was completed, Fr. Tommins was also responsible for the purchase of the garden as far as Pennyfeather Lane. He also gave occasional missions and retreats notably in Castlecomer, Clough and Urlingford. With a shortage of Capuchin priests in the Irish Province, he sometimes said one Mass in Dublin on a Sunday morning; and then took the train to Kilkenny to say a second Mass there. He was also responsible for the inauguration of the Third Order of St. Francis lay confraternity in Cork in about 1866. Of the first six men he recruited as tertiaries, two joined the Capuchins: Br. Joseph O Mahony OSFC (d. 1902) and Br. Felix Harte OSFC (d. 1935). Fr. Tommins was also one of the first to take the pledge when Bishop (later Cardinal) Francis Moran, founded the Total Abstinence Sodality in Kilkenny. He died at the Capuchin Friary on Walkin Street in Kilkenny on 29 July 1889 and was afforded an elaborate public funeral. He was laid to rest in a tomb adjoining the northern aisle of St. Francis Capuchin Church in Kilkenny.

Baptismal name: James Tommins
Religious name: Fr. James Edward Tommins OSFC
Date of birth: c.29 Mar. 1812
Place of birth: Dublin
Name of father: Nicholas Tommins
Name of mother: Mary Tommins (née Casey)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: c.1830
Date of ordination (as priest): 1856
Date of death: 29 July 1889
Place of death: Capuchin Friary, Walkin Street, Kilkenny

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.