File 239 - Letters from Fr David McKiniry SJ, St James', Richmond and St Patrick's College, Melbourne, Australia to Fr Edmund O'Reilly SJ

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IE IJA MSSN/AUST/239

Title

Letters from Fr David McKiniry SJ, St James', Richmond and St Patrick's College, Melbourne, Australia to Fr Edmund O'Reilly SJ

Date(s)

  • 26 November 1867 - 22 April 1870 (Creation)

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7 items

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Name of creator

(5 February 1830-18 December 1896)

Biographical history

Born 5 February 1830, Lismore, County Waterford
Entered 8 December 1854, Amiens, France - Franciae Province (FRA)
Ordained 1859
Final vows: 14 September 1872
Died 18 December 1896, University of St Mary, Galveston, TX, USA - Neo-Aurelianensis Province (NOR)

Part of the College of the Immaculate Conception, New Orleans LA, USA community at the time of death

by 1857 at St Charles, Baton Rouge LA USA (LUGD)
by 1871 at Leuven Belgium (BELG) Studying
by 1872 at Roehampton London (ANG) making Tertianship
Early Australian Missioner 1866

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
David McKiniry entered the Society in 1854, and after novitiate in Milltown Park studied in Europe before joining Joseph Dalton aboard the Great Britain, arriving in Melbourne in September 1866. Immediately he was sent to St Patrick's College to teach, but on weekends he worked in the Richmond Mission. The arrangement continued until the end of 1869, when McKiniry spent more time in Richmond, and during the middle of the year joined Dalton on a series of successful country missions around Castlemaine, Kyneton and Ararat districts.
As McKiniry had not yet undertaken tertianship or taken final vows, his appointment in Australia was going to be short lived, and he left for Ireland on 11 September 1870 with Isaac Moore. He did tertianship at Roehampton 1871-72 and transferred to the New Orleans province. He devoted most of the remainder of his life to parish ministry or chaplaincy work in colleges.

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 1st Year No 1 1925
St Patrick’s College, Melbourne has just celebrated its Diamond Jubilee as a Jesuit College. It is the mother house of the Australian Mission.
On September 21st 1865, Fathers Joseph Lentaigne and William Kelly, the pioneer Missioners of the Society in Victoria, landed in Melbourne and took over the College.
On September 17th, 1866 , the second contingent of Irish priests arrived - Fr. Joseph Dalton, Fr. Edmund Nolan, Fr. David McKiniry and two lay brothers - Br. Michael Scully and Br. Michael Goodwin.

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A file of letters from Fr David McKiniry SJ, St James', Richmond and St Patrick's College, Melbourne, Australia to Fr Edmund O'Reilly SJ. Includes a letter written from Melbourne describing Prince Alfred's visit to the city. Describes the situation in St Patrick's College and remarks that its reputation is rising but that further money is needed. Remarks 'We will not be able to work the college even as a day-school for another year without help.' (26 November 1867, 4pp). Includes a letter concerning remarks made by Fr Lentaigne SJ to Fr Dalton SJ (Superior of the Mission). Refers to the estrangement between the Bishops and some of the priests and remarks 'It appears to me...that neither the Bishop nor the leading priests in the city were ever friendly, but that they required of us to work for them and to perform those duties especially which demanded a great deal of time and labour and for which there was no remuneration whatever...' (11 September 1868, 6pp). Includes a letter referring to a lecture delivered by Dr Bromby, headmaster of the Church of England Grammar School on Scripture. Remarks that the lecture was 'most heretical' but that Fr Moore SJ gave the vote of thanks. (13 August 1869, 3pp).

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The Irish Jesuit Archives are open only to bona fide researchers. Access by advance appointment. Further details: archivessj@gmail.com

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No material may be reproduced without the written permission of the Archivist. Copyright restrictions apply. Photocopying is not available. Digital photography is at the discretion of the Archivist.

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2000

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