Dossier 12 - Letters from Fr. Ignatius Collins OSFC to Fr. Peter Bowe OSFC

Patrick Joseph Collins was born on Cotter Street in Cork on 10 August 1885. He was the son of Captain Jeremiah Collins, an employee of the Cork Harbour Board, and his wife Honora Collins. He was educated at the Capuchin College in Rochestown, County Cork and he joined the Capuchin Order in 1902, taking Ignatius as his religious name. He graduated with a BA in Philosophy at the Royal University in Cork in 1908. He was ordained a priest in Kilkenny on 29 May 1910. By all accounts he was an outstanding scholar, and he was awarded a Doctorate in Theology and Philosophy from the Gregorian University in Rome in 1914. In May 1915, he responded to the call of Cardinal Francis Bourne, Archbishop of Westminster, seeking Catholic priests to act as chaplains in the British armed forces. He was sent to France in August 1915 and acted as a chaplain with the 69th Field Ambulance Corps. During the First World War his division served on the Western Front participating in many major offensives including the Battles of the Somme and Messines. In October 1917, the division was transferred to the Italian Front. In January 1918 Fr. Ignatius was awarded the Military Cross and was promoted to the rank of Major. Following the cessation of hostilities, he was demobilised (in 1919) and he initially returned to Rochestown Friary in Cork. In 1922 he was elected guardian (local superior) of the Capuchin Friary in Kilkenny. He ministered in Kilkenny for the next twenty-one years. In 1943 he was transferred to the Church Street Friary in Dublin and was appointed Vicar of the community. He remained a member of the Dublin fraternity until his death on 21 October 1961.

Baptismal name: Patrick Joseph Collins
Religious name: Fr. Ignatius Collins OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 10 Aug. 1885
Place of birth: Cork
Name of father: Jeremiah Collins
Name of mother: Honora Collins (née Cowhig)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 24 Aug. 1902
Date of first profession: 17 Sept. 1903
Date of final profession: 31 July 1908
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 May 1910
Educational attainments: BA (RUI) 1909; PhD (Louvain), 1914; MA (RUI) 1915
Date of death: 21 Oct. 1961
Place of death: St. John of God’s Hospital, Stillorgan, Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin