Sous-fonds X/CRK - Saint Vincent's, Cork

Father Michael O’Sullivan, a priest in Cork, and Vicar General of the Diocese, had long cherished a dream to establish a group of missionary priests similar to the Vincentians. Following along the lines of the Irish Vincentians, he and a young Maynooth student, Patrick Kelsh, began a school in the city mansion house in 1845. This was a success but seeing no sign of being able to form a community, Father O’Sullivan offered the school to Father Philip Dowley CM, leader of the Vincentians along with himself and Patrick Kelsh for admittance to the Congregation. These two new members of the Congregation along with Fathers Kickham, Gillooly and Burton formed a new community in Cork in 1847. In addition to the work at the school, they were also given a chaplaincy to the Asylum and at the proposal of the Bishop, preached in some church in the city every Sunday.

Doctor Delaney, Bishop of Cork, and Father Jean-Baptiste Étienne CM, Superior General of the Vincentians, were agreeable to the setting up of the Vincentians in Cork, and so Father Roger Kickham CM became the first superior of the Cork House. In 1848, the Irish communities in Castleknock, Blackrock and Cork formed the Irish Vincentian Province. Fathers O’Sullivan and Kelsh then became Vincentians on 1 February and 4 April 1848 respectively, the birth year of the Province.

After a few years, the Vincentians undertook to erect a church for themselves; this might have been tricky for such a small group, but Father O’Sullivan was much loved in the city of Cork and contributions came flooding in. Work began on this prominent site in the city, and it became a project dear to the people of Cork’s hearts. When the roof was partially on, one night a great storm blew up and levelled the building back down to the first storey. The next morning the whole city knew about the disaster that had befallen the missioners and all agreed that work should continue. More donations flooded in.

Over the course of many years and under the guidance of various parish priests, the church at Sunday’s Well grew to be one of the finest in Cork city. In 2017 the Vincentians made the decision to close their Cork house and sell the church.