Hayes, Francis, 1866-1946, Capuchin priest

Thomas Hayes was born in Cork on 24 April 1866. He was the son of Patrick Hayes and Anna Hayes (née Treacy) of Chapel Street in the city. He was received into the Capuchin Order on 30 July 1882. He took Francis as his religious name upon joining the Capuchins. He was ordained a priest in Holy Trinity Church, Cork, on 30 July 1882. Soon after his ordination, he was called upon to assist in the administration of the Irish Capuchin Province. He was appointed guardian (local superior) of the Capuchin Friary on Church Street in Dublin and was twice elected Provincial Definitor (1893-6, 1904-7). He was appointed Provincial Archivist on 20 August 1907. He later became Rector of Rochestown Capuchin College, and for many years taught both philosophy and theology to novice-students of the Province. In 1919 he was chosen as a witness in the cause of the beatification of two seventeenth-century Irish Capuchin martyrs, Fr. Fiacre Tobin OSFC (d. 1656) and Fr. John Baptist Dowdall OSFC (d. 1710). Throughout his life he retained an interest in uncovering and transcribing documentary records relating to the history of the early Irish Capuchin. He died in Rochestown Friary, County Cork, on 19 November 1946 and was buried in the adjoining cemetery.

Baptismal name: Thomas Hayes
Religious name: Fr. Francis Hayes OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 24 Apr. 1866
Place of birth: 22 Chapel Street, Cork
Name of father: Patrick Hayes
Name of mother: Anna Hayes (née Treacy)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 30 July 1882
Date of first profession: 5 Aug. 1883
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1887
Date of ordination (as priest): 1 May 1889
Leadership positions: Provincial Definitor: 1893-6, 1904-7
Date of death: 19 Nov. 1946
Place of death: Capuchin Friary, Rochestown, County Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Capuchin Friary, Rochestown, County Cork