Irish Jesuit Archives

On 13 May 2017 at the Church of St Francis Xavier, Gardiner Street, Dublin, Fr John Sullivan SJ (1861-1933) will be beatified. For further information: Fr John Sullivan SJ The Irish Jesuit Archives has a small amount of material on Fr Sullivan, and interestingly so does the state. The OPW Library has a collection of 40 books that were in the possession of Rathfarnham Castle, where Fr John Sullivan SJ was Rector  (1919-1924). 12 of those books were in Fr Sullivan’s room at the time of his death. Marsh’s Library and the British Library both have online, examples of books that Fr John’s brother, Sir Edward Sullivan,  decorated, as he pursued his hobby of bookbinding. Some material on Fr John Sullivan SJ can be found in the National Archives of Ireland in papers from the Department of Foreign Affairs (1960). There was coordination between the Department of External Affairs, the Irish Jesuits, the Vatican and the Irish Embassy in the Holy […]

One of the recent additions to the Letters of 1916 project by Maynooth University are the letters from Jesuit chaplain, Francis Shaw, while serving during the First World War. They are awaiting transcription here. Francis Shaw was born in Ennis, county Clare in 1881 and having lost both his parents when still young, his guardian became Fr. Fogarty, later the bishop of Killaloe. (Not to be confused with Fr Francis Shaw SJ (1907-1970) who wrote ‘The Canon of Irish History: A Challenge’, in Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review, LXI, 242 (Dublin 1972), pp.113-52.) Educated at Christian Brothers’ School, Ennis and St Vincent’s College, Castleknock, Francis went to Newcastle-on-Tyne to study engineering. He cut short his studies to join the Jesuits in 1902. He undertook philosophy at Jersey and Stonyhurst and was Prefect and Master at Clongowes Wood College from 1909-1913. As a chaplain in the First World War, he worked at Casualty Clearing Stations in France and also on the […]

One of the legacies of 1916 in Dublin was the increased price of food and milk. By the year’s end, due to poor supply and profiteering, this became a crisis. In December 1916, a committee was formed whose object was the supply of cheap food to the poor of Dublin in difficulties due to either the Great War or the ‘local Irish situation’. Jesuit Tom Finlay, who had previously worked with Sir Horace Plunkett in the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society, established the Dublin Food Supply Company (1916-1926) at a meeting in the Royal Hibernian Academy, Lincoln Place. The following individuals became part of the Dublin Food Supply Company committee: Lady Frances Moloney (Chairperson) (in 1918, she became one of the founders of the Missionary Sisters of St Columban), Miss Conroy, Miss Janet Cunningham, Mrs Wilson, Mrs Cogan, Mrs O’Brien, Mr McKee, Mr Fallon, Mr Desmond O’Brien, Mr Cruise O’Brien, Mr Michael J. Dillon and Mr W.A. Ryan. It was agreed […]

Rebellion and Revolution in Dublin: Voices from a Suburb, Rathfarnham, 1913-23 is a collection of essays, edited by Marnie Hay and Daire Keogh, which explores connections between the Irish revolution and the people and places of the Dublin suburb of Rathfarnham. The Irish Jesuit Archives has an article on The Jesuits at Rathfarnham Castle, 1913-1923. It details Jesuit experiences at Rathfarnham during the First World War and subsequent years. The Juniors (Jesuits who attended university) had a debating society which reflected the issues of the day in Irish society. The first motion of 1914 was ‘That women should have the vote’; the motion was rejected.  The second motion was to the effect that if ‘Ireland were granted Home Rule, it would not be to her advantage to maintain the connection with England’. The debate on this motion was of an ‘extremely stormy character, and terminated in the repudiation of the Imperial connection’. Other debates in 1915 and 1916 concentrated on […]

On Friday, 23 September, a plaque to Sir James Dombrain was unveiled at Number 36 Lower Leeson Street by the Dublin City Council Commemorative Naming Committee. Born in Kent, James Dombrain (1794-1871) was Inspector-General of the Coast Guard. Dombrain became a Relief Commissioner during the Great Famine and he broke the rules when he ordered that relief should be brought by sea to starving people in the West. He is mentioned by Seamus Heaney in his poem For the Commander of the ‘Eliza’. And once in port I exorcised my ship Reporting all to the Inspector General. Sir James, I understand, urged free relief For famine victims in the Westport Sector And earned tart reprimand from good Whitehall. Let natives prosper by their own exertions; Who could not swim might go ahead and sink. “The Coast Guard with their zeal and activity Are too lavish” were the words, I think. At the unveiling, a number of speakers gave insights into […]

On 9th September 1916, Thomas Michael “Tom” Kettle was killed at Ginchy, during the Battle of the Somme in France. Kettle, born in 1880,  was an Irish journalist, barrister, writer, poet, soldier, economist and Home Rule politician. Educated by the Jesuits at Clongowes Wood College, The Clongownian records that in 1895, he won an exhibition for £30, tenable for two years, along with Arthur E. Clery. In 1896, Kettle won the Prize Essay on ‘Owen Roe O’ Neill’ ending the article with “Lamdh Dhearg Aboo”. In 1897, he was the Gold Medalist, 1st place in the Senior Grade in Ireland in the Intermediate examinations, won composition prizes in English and French and was first in an exhibition, amounting to £50. At Clongowes, according to Arthur Clery he was ‘clean mad on cycling…especially cycle racing…He talked of it incessantly’. Active as a student in the Jesuit-run University College, Dublin, he was auditor of the L & H and editor of the […]

National Heritage Week 2016 takes place 20-28 August 2016. For the last number of years, the Irish Jesuit Archives has given a walking tour of Jesuit Dublin, based on the south-side of the city. For 2016, two events are planned, based on the north-side of the city. Jesuit Dublin Walk Monday, 22nd August 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM Thursday, 25th August 13:00 PM to 14:30 PM A walking tour will focus on sites of Jesuit history and interest on the north-side of Dublin City. Starting at the corner of Chancery Place and Inns Quay. No booking required. Further details. Tour of St Francis Xavier’s Church and walk Sunday, 28th August 14:00 PM to 15:45 PM Guided walking tour of interesting Jesuit historical sites on the north-side of Dublin combined with a private tour of St Francis Xavier’s Church, Upper Gardiner Street. The event is free, donations are welcome. Booking is Required. Further details. Ph: (01) 7758569 Email: archivessj@gmail.com https://twitter.com/sjarchives

Irish Jesuits were connected to the Middle East in the early years of the twentieth century. In Alexandria, Beirut and Damascus, they studied Arabic, taught in schools and universities and worked as missioners. One such Jesuit was Limerick man, Jeremiah Augustine (Austin) Hartigan. Born in Foynes in 1882, his father Jeremiah T Hartigan, was the dispensary doctor in Croom.  The Hartigan’s of Tarbrook, Croom were known for their involvement in horse breeding and racing. After attending the two Jesuit schools in Limerick (the Crescent and Mungret College), Austin entered the Jesuit novitiate aged sixteen. Four years later, he was sent to Beirut to study oriental languages in the Jesuit-run St Joseph University. After two years of study, he was awarded a Doctorate in Oriental Letters and he spent a further year studying at St Francis Xavier College in Alexandria, Egypt. In The Mungret Annual, 1905, Frs Michael Bergin and Austin Hartigan wrote about their experiences in ‘Scenes and Manners in […]

On 8 June 2016,  I attended a seminar at the Loyola Institute, TCD, Dublin entitled ‘Caring for our Common Home; Towards an Integrated Perspective on Society and the Environment’. Marking the anniversary of the publication of Laudato si’, the social and environmental encyclical letter from Pope Francis, speakers opined that it has empowered their work; it is a game-changer. I confess that before last week, I hadn’t read a word of it. Encyclical letters don’t tend to be top of my reading list. On flicking through Laudato si’, the section on Cultural Ecology caught my eye. Ecology, then, also involves protecting the cultural treasures of humanity in the broadest  sense. More specifically, it calls for greater attention to local cultures when studying  environmental problems, favouring a dialogue between scientific-technical language and the language of the people. Culture is more than what we have inherited from the past; it is also, and above all, a living, dynamic and participatory present reality, […]