Showing 19 results

Born: 24 September 1814, Dingle, County Kerry
Entered: 30 March 1850, Frederick, MD, USA - Marylandiae Province (MAR)
Final vows:15 August 1860
Died: 11 March 1883, Frederick, MD, USA - Marylandiae Neo-Eboracensis Province (MARNEB)

Born: 23 December 1808, Listowel, County Kerry
Entered: 24 September 1839, Frederick, MD, USA - Marylandiae Province (MAR)
Final vows: 02 February 1851
Died: 23 December 1873, Frederick, MD, USA - Marylandiae Province (MAR)

Born: 10 July 1823, Dingle, County Kerry
Entered: 07 April 1846, Frederick, MD, USA - Marylandiae Province (MAR)
Professed: 08 December 1857
Died: 12 March 1900, Frederick, MD, USA - Marylandiae Neo-Eboracensis Province (MARNEB)

Born: 25 April 1920, Tralee, County Kerry
Entered: 09 October 1948 - Anglia Province (ANG)
Final Vows: 02 February 1959
Died: 06 February 1977, Musami, Rhodesia - British Province (BRI)

Born: 24 June 1820, Caherciveen, County Kerry
Entered: 23 August 1856, Frederick, MD, USA - Marylandiae-NeoEboracensis Province (MARNEB)
Final Vows: 15 August 1867
Died: 24 October1897, Boston College, Boston, MA, USA - Marylandiae-NeoEboracensis Province (MARNEB)

Born: 09 September 1821, Castlegregory, County Kerry
Entered: 09 October 1849, Frederick, MD, USA - Marylandiae Province (MAR)
Final Vows: 02 February 1860
Died: 13 October 1873, St Thomas, Port Tobacco, MD, USA (MAR) - Marylandiae Province (MAR)

Born: 24 June 1789, Dingle, County Kerry
Entered: 01 April 1828, St Louis, Missouri, USA - Missouriana Province (MIS)
Final Vows: 15 August 1839
Died: 25 May 1863, St Louis, MO, USA - Missouriana Province (MIS)

Born: 21 January 1804, Kilmackillogue, County Kerry
Entered: 12 September 1846, Frederick, MD, USA - Marylandiae Province (MAR)
Final vows: 15 August 1859
Died: 14 November 1867, Frederick, MD, USA - Marylandiae Province (MAR)

Born: 29 September 1931, Ballylongford, County Kerry
Entered: 01 March 1950, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Final Vows: 02 February 1962, Belvedere College SJ, Dublin
Died: 19 December 1997, Manresa, Dollymount, Dublin

◆ Interfuse No 97 : Special Edition Summer 1998 & ◆ The Belvederian, Dublin, 1998

Obituary
Br Patrick (Pat) McNamara (1931-1997)

29th Sept. 1931: Born in Ballylongford, Co. Kerry
Pre-entry experience: He worked for the Jesuits for 2 years at Mungret College, Limerick
1st March 1950: Entered the Society at Emo
17th March 1952: First Vows at Emo
1952 - 1953: Tullabeg, Cook
1953 - 1954: Milltown Park, Cook
1954 - 1955: Emo, Cook
1955 - 1984: Belvedere, Cook. He subsequently held the positions of Minister, Health Prefect, In charge of staff, House Consultor. He took a sabbatical break in 1983.
1984 - 1997: Manresa House, Minister, Prefect of Health
19th Dec. 1997: Died at Manresa House aged 66.

Pat died suddenly at Manresa House at the end of a normal working day in the evening of 19th December. May he rest in the Peace of Christ!

Homily at the Funeral Mass of Br. Pat : Jesus is the Way to Life

“O come, thou key of David, come and open wide our heavenly home; Make safe the path that leads on high and close the path to misery”.

These words from the hymn 0 come, O come Emmanuel express some of our Advent desires. We are a people in waiting for the coming of the Lord, but the Lord is also waiting to come to us. This time is one of preparation, of getting ready, of creating space for the Lord. We are a people in need, but we have to acknowledge that, if we are to be open to the gift of God, Jesus, who comes to us. The prophet cried in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord. Like the exiled people of Isaiah, we look for a new era, a time of consolation, when the desert is in bloom, the valleys filled, the uneven ground levelled, and the crooked ways straightened. These would facilitate their journey home from exile, as well as ours. We are a people in need of consolation and joyful hope and that is even more true in our time of sorrow, in our loss, at Pat's sudden death.

We are sad on this day at the loss of a brother - a brother to his own family and a brother to us Jesuits, as well as to his many friends. His death brings up much feeling, grief, loss, sorrow, emptiness, shock ...and we need space for all that. There is an element of being stunned by Pat's hasty departure without any chance to say good-bye. He was ready, but we were not. Our hearts go out to his family on this occasion for he loved his family and was concerned about each and all of them. But as well as joining with you in the sadness of this day, we are with you in faith. Our sorrow is real and we grieve together, we share a great loss, but our hope is solidly grounded in the Lord. Because of our faith we do not grieve as those who have no hope; life has changed not ended. There is a new beginning as well as an ending. A new pathway has opened.

The Jesuit way of life might be described as a pathway of discipleship; it is a way of following the Lord, which Pat embarked on more than 47 years ago. Most of that time was spent in Belvedere, where he formed many friends with staff, parents and pupils, and did much work that served the Society and its mission. The past 13 years were spent in Manresa, where he had more space and scope for his talents with plants and flowers - he blossomed anew in that environment. His care of the lawns, the trees, and flowers evoked many favorable comments. His gentle reminder to retreatants about the flowers - to leave what is out there, out there, so that we can all enjoy them, brought smiles to many faces. His warm and caring personality was genuine and touched people. Your presence here today in such large numbers is a fitting testimony to Pat's life, as well as being a great source of support to his brothers Jimmy, George, Michael, his sister Sally and their families.

Pat was familiar with the Spiritual Exercises as a way of growing in relationship with the Lord. Two key parts of that are the Kingdom and the Two Standards. The Kingdom calls us to be generous in offering ourselves to be with and to be for the Lord, who has been generous to us; the other exercise is to help clarify our motivation so that we are not led astray, nor deceived, in our following. The Kingdom and the Two Standards are significant in the lives of any Jesuit, but it would seem that Pat to some degree reversed them. I think that he had Two Kingdoms and One Standard. He loved his native Kerry and kept regular contact with his family. Late last September he was jubilant when Sam went home after an eleven year absence. It is fitting that the funeral cortege came by Croke Park yesterday evening and that it paused for a moment there. That is the only other shrine where Pat worshipped; he liked to go there regularly and had the ability to get in at minimum cost. He loved the Kingdom, but that was not at variance with his service to the Lord's Kingdom, which was the heart of his life. His standard was clear; he was not easily deceived. He was a man of faith and of prayer, who kept the faith, who shared the faith, and who finished the race. He prayed the Rosary daily with the domestic staff. He was a man of God for others.

The Christian way of life is one of service. Pat rarely wanted anything for himself; service was key to his life. A few years ago Pat wanted a new tractor and he got it in early December - he referred to it as his Christmas present, but it was a gift for others; he loved to use it - some of the staff described it as his Formula One machine, but it was to improve Manresa for others. He was a welcoming presence and felt the place should be the same. He wanted the grounds to look well as they provided a good atmosphere for the people who came to pray. More recently he wanted to redo the Avenue. It had to wait because of some building and then because the gateway needed to be rebuilt for the safety of people who came here. Finally he got all the parts in place. The gateway was built and a new gate was designed and ordered. Arrangements for the tarmacadam were put in place. He was preparing a way for others, a safer way. The tarmacadam was finished on Friday morning last and the new gate was to be hung the next morning. But Pat was called to travel a different avenue and enter another gate that Friday evening. Christmas had come early, Christ had come to Pat to call him home; a new era had dawned as the journey was complete.

This verse might fit with this time of year and summarise his faith journey in life, a faith that led him safely home to the Lord who welcomed him at the gate:

“I said to the man who stood at the gate of the Year, 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown. And he replied, Go out into the darkness and put your hand in the hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

Pat has travelled that known way and entered that New Year, that new era, in the Kingdom of the Lord, who welcomes him home. May he now enjoy the fruits of his labours in eternal rest, light and peace.

Mike Drennan, SJ

Born: 21 December 1819, Dingle, County Kerry
Entered: 02 May 1851, Frederick, MD, USA (MAR)
Professed: 15 August 1861
Died: 22 May 1880, Georgetown College, Washington DC, USA - Neo-Eboracensis Province (NEB)

Born: 01 October 1793, Ballyroe, County Kerry
Entered:14 October 1836, Florissant MO, USA - Missouriana Province (MIS)
Final vows: 01 November 1847
Died: 10 January 1873, Florissant MO, USA - Missouriana Province (MIS)

Born: 20 April 1920, Listowel, County Kerry
Entered: 09 January 1943, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Final Vow: 02 February 1953, Mungret College SJ, Limerick
Died: 10 June 1996, Mater Hospital, Dublin

Part of the St Francis Xavier's, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin community at the time of death.

◆ Fr Francis Finegan : Admissions 1859-1948 - SULLIVAN; Mechanic before entry

"Great success"

◆ Interfuse

Interfuse No 86 : July 1996

Obituary

Br Edward (Ned) Sullivan (1920-1996)

20th April 1920: Born, Listowel, Co. Kerry
9th Jan, 1943: Entered the Society at Emo
10th Jan. 1945: First vows at Emo
1945 - 1956: Mungret College - in charge of Staff
2nd Feb. 1953: Final vows at Mungret
1956 - 1969: Crescent College - in charge of Staff
1969 - 1975: Tullabeg Retreat House - in charge of Staff
1975 - 1995: Gardiner Street - Sacristan
1995 - Retired
10th June 1996: Ned suffered from angina for some years, but remained active. He attended the Province Assembly on 2nd June last. He was taken ill on the night of Sunday 9th June and died of cardiac arrest in hospital on the morning of 10th June.

Homily at Funeral Mass, June 12th, 1996 : “Blessed are the Gentle”

The blessings of the beatitudes rested gently on the shoulders of Brother Ned O'Sullivan. His long life of 76 years was blessed with the gifts of the Gospel. And we Jesuits were blessed to receive him as a gift of God and to have him as a companion for so long.

The Gospel this morning promises a special blessing to those who are pure in heart. And Brother Ned was pure in heart. He had a clear vision of the things that are really important in life and he was single minded in his pursuit of them.

As a young man in his early twenties he set his hand to the plough and he never looked back. He left his native Listowel and his beloved Kerry to serve God and his fellow men and women in the Society of Jesus. And then for fifty three years he remained faithful to that calling, as a companion of Jesus, a brother in the Lord, and a friend to all those who came his way, the young as well as the old. Many of those years were spent in the Sacred Heart Church in Limerick and here in St. Francis Xaver's Gardiner Street where he was happy to avoid the limelight and to work away unobtrusively wherever he was needed.

The Gospel also promises a special blessing to those who are gentle. And Brother Ned was nothing if not gentle. A quiet man, a strong man; a man of quiet strength. Very approachable and welcoming, he had a deep respect for people and a great interest in their welfare. He always had time for people and wanted to hear their story.

He never sought attention for himself but he was always ready to recognise and acknowledge the achievements of others. He never sought praise or acclaim for himself but he was always ready to offer a word of encouragement to others. He was shy in ways and slow to speak about his own sorrows or troubles but he was always quick to offer sympathy and a listening heart to those who had a heavy burden to carry in life.

I have had the privilege of living in community with Brother Ned for the past five years. During that time there were three things in particular that I noticed about him.

I always felt that he was extraordinarily gentle whenever he was confronted by the failings and weaknesses of others. I can honestly say that during that time I never once heard him speak badly about anyone. And I never once heard anyone speak badly about him. That alone is enough to guarantee him a place high up in heaven and very close to his Master.

Another thing that struck me about him was his Christian spirit of poverty, that blessed gift which Jesus places first amongst the beatitudes. Ned's needs were few and his style of life was simplicity itself. He gave freely and generously to others but he seldom asked for anything for himself.

And perhaps the thing that impressed me most about him was his calm imperturbability. Over the past thirty years Ned lived through all the profound changes which have affected Irish society and the Catholic Church: he lived through all the scandals which have beset the Church in recent years. But he never allowed himself to be disturbed or depressed by any of this. He always preserved a certain inner peace, which may have accorded with his wonderfully placid temperament but which also flowed from a deep faith in God and profound love of Jesus.

We ask you, Lord, to receive your faithful servant, Brother Ned O'Sullivan; to look gently on his failings, and to guide him into the eternal peace of the communion of saints.

Brendan Murray SJ

Born: 26 December 1841, Dingle, County Kerry
Entered: 23 July 1860, Frederick, MD, USA - Marylandiae Province (MAR)
Final Vows: 15 August 1872
Died: 15 February 1902, Woodstock College, Woodstock, MD, USA - Marylandiae Neo-Eboracensis Province (MARNEB

Nephew of John O’Sullivan (MARNEB) - RIP 1884

Born: 17 March 1808, Dingle, County Kerry
Entered: 07 April 1846, Frederick, MD, USA - Marylandiae Province (MAR)
Final vows: 08 December 1857
Died: 15 February 1884, Frederick, MD, USA - Marylandiae Neo-Eboracensis Province (MARNEB)

Uncle of James O’Sullivan (MARNEB) - RIP 1902

Born: 29 September 1812, Dingle, County Kerry
Entered: 09 June 1840, Frederick, MD, USA - Marylandiae Province (MAR)
Final vows: 15 August 1851
Died: 19 November 1881, Holy Cross College, Worcester, MA, USA - Marylandiae Neo-Eboracensis Province (MARNEB)

Born: 01 August 1823, Scrahanfadda, County Kerry
Entered: 06 August 1855, Sault-au-Rècollet Canada - Franciae Province (FRA)
Professed: 15 August 1865
Died: 01 July 1889, Montréal, Québec, Canada - Missions Canadiensis (CAN)

Born: 17 March 1818, Annascaul, County Kerry
Entered: 02 August 1851, Frederick, MD, USA - Marylandiae Province (MAR)
Final vows:15 August 1861
Died: 03 May 1913, Georgetown College, Washington DC, USA - Marylandiae Neo-Eboracensis Province (MARNEB)

Born: 15 July 1811, Ballintaggart, Dingle, Co Kerry
Entered: 22 January 1842, Frederick, MD, USA - Marylandiae Province (MAR)
Final vows:15 August 1860
Died: 08 September 1891, Frederick, MD, USA - Marylandiae Neo-Eboracensis Province (MARNEB)

Born: 12 March 1818, Killarney, County Kerry
Entered: 23 January 1851, Clongowes Wood College SJ, Naas, County Kildare
Final vows: 02 February 1862
Died: 14 January 1893, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
He spent almost all his Jesuit life at Clongowes as Horticulturalist. He had charge of the Farm for many years.
1866 He was sent to care for his own health to Tullabeg, where he led a most saintly life. He was a model Brother all through his hard life. He died at Tullabeg 14 January 1893.