Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart

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Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart

Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart

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Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart

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Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart

5 Name results for Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart

Only results directly related

Byrne, John, 1912-1974, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/987
  • Person
  • 29 February 1912-23 December 1974

Born: 29 February 1912, Gunnedah, NSW, Australia
Entered: 06 February 1931, Loyola Greenwich, Australia (HIB)
Ordained: 08 January 1944, Sydney, Australia
Final Vows: 15 August 1947
Died: 23 December 1974, St Vincent's Hospital Darlinghurst, Sydney, Australia - Australiae Province (ASL)

Part of the Burke Hall, Kew, Melbourne, Australia community at the time of death

Transcribed HIB to ASL : 05 April 1931

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280 :
He was the youngest of three children and his mother died when he was ten months old. His father remarried and place his three children in an orphanage. The Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, cared for him at St Anthony's, Kew 1916-1926. In 1926 he was given a scholarship to St Ignatius College Riverview and then entered the Society in 1931, influenced by William Lockington.

1931-1937 After First Vows he remained at Loyola Greenwich for a Juniorate which he continued at Loyola Watsonia, studying English, Greek, Latin and Mathematics. Hen then studied Philosophy, during which time his sister drowned, and perhaps not accidentally.
1938-1940 He was sent for regency to Xavier College Kew,
1941-1944 He studied Theology at Canisius College Pymble and was Ordained 1944.
1945-1946 He returned to Xavier College
1946-1947 He made Tertianship under John Fahy at Loyola Watsonia
1947-1949 He returned to Xavier College, mainly teach Mathematics and being assistant Prefect of Studies
1949-1962 He was sent to St Patrick’s College Melbourne, teaching Senior Mathematics. He was also Minister and Librarian at various times.
1962-1966 He was at St Ignatius College Riverview teaching Religion, Mathematics and Greek, and also editing “Our Alma Mater” (1964-1966)
1966-1973 He was sent to Burke Hall Kew, teaching Latin and Religion, and was also Prefect of Studies in 1972, his last year there.

He returned in 1973 and was made Superior of the Provincial Residence and secretary to the Provincial. However, early in 1974 his health began to deteriorate and a tumour on the brain was discovered. He died at St Vincent’s Hospital after about six months

Fitzgerald, Maurice, 1907-1996, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/660
  • Person
  • 28 March 1907-16 October 1996

Born: 28 March 1907, Lower Newtown, Waterford City, County Waterford
Entered: 31 August 1923, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 31 July 1938, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1942
Died: 16 October 1996, Marycrest, Kangaroo Point, Brisbane - Australiae Province (ASL

Part of the Manresa, Toowong, Brisbane, Australia community at the time of death.

Transcribed HIB to ASL : 05 April 1931

Father was an accountant at Graves Co Ltd, Waterford.

Eldest of five, two brothers and two sisters.

Early education at Waterpark College.

by 1929 at Chieri Italy (TAUR) studying

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280 :
His early education was at the Christian Brothers Waterford before Entry at St Stanislaus College Tullabeg.

1925-1928 He studied at University College Dublin gaining a BA in Latin, Greek and English.
1928-1931 He was sent to Chieri, Italy for Philosophy
1931-1935 He was sent to St Ignatius College Riverview for Regency
1935-1939 He was back in Ireland and Milltown Park for Theology
1939-1940 He made tertianship at Rathfarnham Castle Dublin
1940 He was sent to work at Gardiner St Parish in Dublin
He then returned to Australia at the Toowong Parish
1950-1961 He was then sent back to Riverview as Minister. He was remembered for his kindness, patience and equanimity, as well as for his efficiency and his Irish stories. The boarders well remember his supervision of the refectory and ringing the bell.
1962-1972 He was sent back to Toowong as Parish Priest at St Ignatius, Toowong
1972-1975 He was sent to Lavender Bay parish in Sydney
1975 He came back and spent the rest of his life in Brisbane. He was chaplain at the hospital and nursing home at Nundah. He eventually settled into the Marycrest Retirement Centre at Kangaroo Point.

He was respected by many for his pastoral work, his preaching, administration of the sacraments, his wise counsel especially to many religious sisters throughout Brisbane. he was also a practical administrator, erecting a purpose built school at Toowong to replace the hall below the Church.
He was also responsible for erecting a second Church in the Toowong Parish - Holy Spirit Church, Auchenflower, a modern construction intended for the post Vatican II liturgy. He is remembered there for his dedication and friendliness, his willingness to help anyone in trouble and for his interest in the youth.
He found the new theology after Vatican II quite hard to accommodate, especially in preaching, and he was grateful to the Archbishop of Brisbane, Dr Rush, for asking him to become chaplain to the Sisters of St Joseph at Nundah. The sisters there were very good to him, and he gradually regained some confidence in his ability to be a pastor and preach again. He loved the pastoral care of the sick and the rose garden there.

He died a happy and contented priest. he enjoyed the Jesuit weekly gatherings at Toowong in his latter years.

◆ Interfuse
Interfuse No 92 : August 1996

Obituary

Fr Maurice Fitzgerald (1922-1997)

1907: Born in Waterford
1923: Entered the Society at
1925 - 1928: Tullabeg Juniorate (National University of Ireland)
1928 - 1931: Philosophy at Chieri, Italy
1931 - 1935: Regency at Riverview
1935 - 1939: Theology at Milltown Park
31st July 1938: Ordained a Priest
1939 - 1940: Tertianship at Rathfarnham Castle
1941: Parish work at Gardiner Street
1942 - 1949: Parish work at Toowong, Brisbane
1950 - 61: Minister at Riverview
1962 - 1971: Parish work at Toowong. Superior/Parish Priest
1972 - 1975: Parish work at Lavender Bay, Sydney
1976 - 1993: Chaplain at hospital and nursing home, Nundah, Brisbane
1994 - 1996: Chaplain at Marycrest Retirement Centre

Fr. Maurice Fitzgerald was born in Ireland in 1907 and entered the Society there in 1923. Like a number of others from the Irish Province, he was transferred in 1931 to what was then the Australian Vice-Province, where, apart from Theology and Tertianship, he spent the rest of his life. Apart from over ten years in St. Ignatius' College, Riverview, his ministry was in parish or chaplaincy work, chiefly in Brisbane. For over 17 years he was on the staff of the Toowong parish, chiefly as parish priest, where he endeared himself to the people by his dedication, friendliness and willingness to help anyone in trouble. He was responsible for the building of a new Church in the parish. Due to ill health he had to retire from the strenuous activity of parish work and the last twenty years of his life were spent as Chaplain to a hospital and nursing home, conducted by Sisters. Here, too, he was much beloved. He delighted to keep in touch with his Jesuit brethren. At the time of his death, he was 89 years of age and had been a member of the Society for 73 years. The Australian Province owes a great debt of gratitude to Irishmen like him who left home and country to minister in a distant land.

Australian Provincial's Office

Keane, William, 1885-1960, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/1496
  • Person
  • 27 June 1885-13 August 1960

Born: 27 June 1885, Nhill, Victoria, Australia
Entered: 23 February 1901, Loyola, Greenwich, Australia (HIB) / St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg
Ordained: 16 May 1918, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 15 August 1921, Xavier College, Kew, Melbourne, Australia
Died: 13 August 1960, St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst, Sydney - Australiae Province (ASL)

Part of the St Ignatius College, Riverview, Sydney, Australia community at the time of death

Transcribed HIB to ASL : 05 April 1931

Father was a Police Sergeant and property owner.

One younger brother and three sisters (one deceased)

Educated at Xavier College, Kew

2nd year Novitiate at St Stinislaus College, Tullabeg

Uncle of Daniel McLoghlin (ASL) - RIP 1986

by 1909 at Stonyhurst England (ANG) studying
by 1912 in Australia - Regency
by 1920 at Drongen Belgium (BELG) making Tertianship

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
Bill Keane was educated at Xavier College, Kew, 1896-1900, being dux in 1900 at the age of fifteen. He was very gifted, quick and alert. He entered the Jesuits, 23 February 1901, and was a novice under Aloysius Sturzo at Greenwich, Sydney. He went to Tullabeg, Ireland, for his second year noviceship and juniorate, graduating from University College Dublin in 1908 with a first class degree in mathematics. Later he gained a MA.
Then he proceeded to Stonyhurst, England, for philosophy, and returned to Xavier College, Kew, for regency from 1910-15. Theology studies, 1915-19, were at Milltown Park, Dublin, and his tertianship at Tronchiennes, Belgium.
During his studies he completed a well respected thesis on Pragmatism. He also drew attention to the importance of Milton's Latin correspondence, and while at Riverview made a notable defence of truth in the presentation of modern European history against the age-old errors that had been fed to school children and university students in the protestant world.
He returned to Xavier College, 1920-25, being prefect of studies in 1922. At this time he proved himself an outstanding teacher of Latin, history, English, mathematics and science, but it was in mathematics that he really excelled. He had the gift of making the most abstract problems appear simple and easy to solve.
He took a great interest in all forms of sport, and could discourse freely on cricket, football and rowing. In cricket, however, he was probably at his best. He loved umpiring matches and must have spent hours on the main oval at Xavier. He had an unusual collection of cricket problems that he propounded to the boys and the community with the greatest delight. He had a wonderful memory and could relate the achievements of famous batsmen and bowlers in Australia and in England.
He was editor of the Xavierian, in which he published a series of articles entitled “Twenty Years of Public Schools Sport”. He had a great knowledge of Old Xaverians and stories connected with them.
He taught at Riverview and St Aloysius' College, Sydney, 1926-35, and lectured in philosophy at St John's College, University of Sydney, 1930-33. He professed philosophy at Loyola College, Watsonia, 1936-38 before the philosophate moved to Canisius College, Pymble, in 1939.
Then Keane was appointed rector of Canisius, and teacher of logic and ontology. When theology began in 1940, he taught fundamental theology, dogma, church history and oriental
questions at various times. He returned to teaching mathematics at Riverview in 1954, but, after stroke later that year, was confined to hospital, where he died six years later. For the last two years he was speechless.
While in Sydney, Keane was much sought after by bishops, priests and religious The apostolic delegate asked him to undertake the delicate work of amalgamating the Mercy sisters. He was also asked to prepare papers on Catholic Action, and he was heavily involved in the public debate on the “New Education” of which he did not approve He was a traditionalist in thought and action, and believed that the past provided the best theory and guidelines for action in education, theology and social thought.
He was well versed in the Jesuit theory of education, especially as outlined in the “Ratio Studiorum”, and was instrumental in calling and organising the first Jesuit secondary education conference in the province in 1933.
He also took an interest in the Sisters of St Joseph. At the request of the Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney he collected and set in order the official documents concerning their foundress, Mother Mary MacKillop. These were forwarded to Rome with a view to her beatification.
Keane was a very gifted man at the classics, science, mathematics, philosophy, theology, preaching and retreat giving. As a teacher he had the ability to make even the arid scholasticism of the textbooks a gripping and humane experience. His supreme gift was his appreciation of the wider context of any system of education, and his unfailing encouragement of those with the adventurous spirit to explore for themselves. He was an interesting and well-informed speaker who possessed a ready and quick mind, and a fine power of expression. Notwithstanding this gift, he still prepared his sermons and lectures with very great care and labor.
However, he was not noted for his prudence or administrative gifts. He could be very petty in administering religious order in the theologate. Perhaps his greatest gift was teaching boys - he was very clear, methodical, and a meticulously accurate teacher of mathematics. An outstanding trait of his character was the lively interest he took in everyone he met, and in their work.
Those who lived with him found him a lively companion and the focus of many community stories. His last long illness, and his inability to speak, was a great cross to him, yet was borne courageously In his death, the Australian province lost one of its most brilliant members, and one of its more colourful personalities.

Note from Dermot Hogan Entry
His main work was teaching moral theology and canon law at Canisius College, Pymble, becoming rector in 1942. His presence there was strength during a blustery time under the rectorship of the brilliant William Keane.

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 36th Year No 1 1961
Obituary :
Fr William Keane (1885-1960)
Fr. William Keane was born in Australia on 27th June, 1885. We read that in 1896 he came from Hawthorn to Xavier College, Melbourne, that he was a gifted student, quick and alert and that he won many prizes and distinctions, ending his time at Xavier by being Dux of the College.
On 23rd February, 1901 he entered the Irish Province of the Society at Loyola, Greenwich, Sydney, as the Australian Province was not established until about thirty years later. The Master of Novices was Fr. Sturzo, who had been a distinguished Provincial, Rector of Milltown Park and Master of Novices in Ireland, before he went to Australia to be Master of Novices there for many years. Br. Keane happened to be the last novice received by Fr. Sturzo, and when Br. Pat Griffin took his vows, he was the sole surviving novice. Thus it was that he was transferred to Tullabeg for his second year, and Loyola ceased to be a Noviceship.
He took his first rows on 23rd February, 1903, and remained as a Junior at Tullabeg until September 1905. From that date to 1908 we find him in the Catalogue at University College, 86 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin, where he had as fellow Juniors such gifted students as Daniel Finn, Alfred O'Rahilly, Jeremiah Murphy and John Joy. Fr. O'Rahilly is now the only survivor of that brilliant group. Mr. Keane took his degree and got his M.A. on a thesis.
He did his Philosophy in two years at Stonyhurst and returned to Xavier College, Melbourne, in 1911. During his “Colleges” he proved himself an outstanding teacher. He taught a variety of subjects, including Classics, History, English, Mathematics and Science, but it was in Mathematics that he really excelled. We read that he had the gift of making the most abstract problems appear simple and easy to solve. Besides he took an interest in all forms of sport in the College, cricket, football and rowing, he loved umpiring cricket matches and he was Editor of The Xaverian,
In 1915 he returned to Ireland to study Theology at Milltown Park, and he was ordained on 18th May, 1918. After his fourth year he did his tertianship at Tronchiennes, Belgium, and went back to Australia at the end of 1920. He made his final vows of Profession on 15th August, 1921. His first appointment as priest was to Xavier College, Melbourne, where he became Prefect of Studies in 1922. He taught at St. Aloysius College, Sydney, from 1924 to 1932. He was then appointed Prefect of Studies at Riverview College, a position he held until 1939, when he was named Rector of Canisius College, Pymble, where he professed Theology until 1954. He then returned to Riverview to continue his favourite work of teaching Mathematics.
It was during this period at Riverview that the first signs of his illness came upon him. He noticed one morning that he could not raise his arm to shave. Paralysis had set in. He was sent to St. Vincent's Hospital, where he remained for nearly six years, and was moved from there to the Sacred Heart Hospice. He died on 18th August, 1960. For seven years he had been paralysed and for the last two he was unable to speak. He bore his sufferings with wonderful resignation, cheerfulness and patience. It was a pleasure to visit him in the early years of his illness. He lay in bed, unable to move, cheerful, abreast of all the news of the day and interested in everything. One came away from his bedside with the greatest admiration for his courage and power of endurance.
Fr. P. J. Stephenson sums up his life in the Society: “It would be difficult indeed to record all that Fr. Keane did for the glory of God. Bishops, priests and religious all sought his advice. The Apostolic Delegate asked him to undertake the delicate work of amalgamating the Mercy Nuns. It was work that required patience and tact, and he accomplished it with great distinction, and he won the complete confidence of everyone.
He also took an interest in the Sisters of St. Joseph. At the request of the Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney he collected and set in order all the documents on their foundress, Mother Mary McKillop, and these were forwarded to Rome with a view to her beatification.
In the death of Fr. Keane, the Australian Province of the Society has lost one of its most brilliant members, and one of its most colourful personalities. He had done the work God had given him to do, and when the Lord asked for the sacrifice of inaction and suffering, Fr. Keane accepted it courageously, and carried it out most cheerfully”. May he rest in peace.

◆ Our Alma Mater, St Ignatius Riverview, Sydney, Australia, 1960

Obituary

Father William Keane

Father William Keane, whose death took place in Sydney on August 13, 1960, after a long illness, was born at Nhill, Victoria, on June 27, 1885. He was a pupil at Xavier College, Kew, from 1896 to 1900, and entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus at Loyola, Greenwich, NSW, on February 23, 1901. Early the following year he was transferred to the Irish novitiate and House of Studies at Tullabeg, where he remained for three years. He then studied mathematics at University College, Dublin (1905-1908), and Philosophy at Stonyhurst, Lancashire (1908-1910). In this year he returned to Australia, and was on the teaching staff of Xavier College, Kew, from October, 1910, to July, 1915. During this time the degree of Bachelor of Science was conferred on him by the National University of Ireland, on November 5, 1912.

He returned then to Ireland, and studied Theology at Milltown Park, Dublin, from September, 1915, to September, 1919, being ordained priest in the college chapel on May 16, 1918, Tertianship followed at Tronchiennes, Belgium, September, 1919, to July, 1920, and Father Keane came back to Australia in September, 1920.

His life in Australia was spent mainly in educational work. He was at Xavier College, Kew, as master and as Prefect of Studies, 1920-1924; at St Aloysius' College, Milson's Point, NSW, 1926-1932; and at three different periods at St Ignatius' College, Riverview, 1925-1926, 1933-1935, and from 1954 to the time of his death.

When the Society of Jeşus commenced a Philosophy course in Watsonia, Victoria, in 1935, Father Keane was Prefect of Studies and one of the first professors, and he moved, with the philosophers, to Pymble, NSW, where he be came the first rector of the new foundation in 1939. When Theology was commenced in Australia, at Pymble, in 1941, Father Keane, was again Prefect of Studies and one of the first professors.

As an outstanding teacher, particularly of mathematics, classics and English, he is remembered by hundreds of his pupils, and many generations of Jesuit students found him, in the full sense of the word, an inspiring professor.

Besides these intramural occupations, he was one of the leading speakers in the establishment of Catholic Action in Melbourne and Sydney. In both cities, and elsewhere throughout Australia, he was prominent in the promotion of Social Studies in writing, lecturing and in radio broad casts.

Father Keane was always an interesting and well-informed speaker. Although he possessed a ready and quick mind, and a fine power of expression, he still prepared his sermons and lectures with very great care and labour. From the beginning of his priestly life right up to his failure in health, he was one of the most sought after retreat conductors of Australia.

In addition to all these activities, he was frequently called on by the Holy See, by the hierarchy and by his superiors for works of great importance. His accurate memory, his wide and accurate knowledge and his judgment were generously put at the disposal of all who needed his help.

An outstanding trait of his character was the lively interest he took in everyone he met, and in their work. Those who knew him intimately saw in Father Keane a faithful son of St Ignatius, always ready to help, always devoted to the obligations and ideals of his life. His last long illness, which must have been particularly difficult to one of his active spirit, was borne with never-failing cheerfulness and courage. Nowhere else, perhaps, in his life did his solid virtue and piety shine so clearly.

Jeremiah Hogan SJ Solemn Requiem Mass for the repose of the soul of Father Keane was celebrated at St Mary's, Ridge St., on August 16, by V Rev J Hogan SJ (Provincial), His Eminence Cardinal Gilroy presiding. It was attended by all the Riverview boys and Community, who were also present at Gore Hill Cemetery, where V Rev Father Hogan SJ, recited the last prayer at the graveside. RIP

MacKillop, Donald, 1853-1925, Jesuit priest

  • IE IJA J/291
  • Person
  • 27 April 1853-02 February 1925

Born: 27 April 1853, Portland, Victoria, Australia
Entered: 07 June 1872, Sevenhill, Australia - Austriaco-Hungaricae Province (ASR-HUN)
Ordained: 1885, St Beuno's, Wales
Final vows: 15 August 1887
Died: 02 February 1925, St Ignatius College, Manresa, Norwood, Adelaide, Australia

Transcribed ASR-HUN to HIB : 01 January 1901

Brother of Saint Mary MacKillop; Cousin Colin McKillop - RIP 1964, and Ken McKillop - RIP 1945

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
His sister with Father Tenison-Woods founded the “Sisters of St Joseph”, and they had a convent in the North Shore Parish. Their focus is on the education of poor children, and so tend to be situated in remote bush areas, where they had very little access to Church and Mass.

Memory of James Rabbitte :
“In 1882 Donald McKillop came to Europe for studies. I met him around 1894 at Riverview. He was then Superior, having been appointed in 1890, of the Daly-River Mission - a Mission the Austrian Fathers had established for the conversion of the Aborigines in the northern territory. A considerable amount of money had been spent there, and they had schools for boys and girls, machinery for working timber etc. Donald had come south to recuperate his health and collect money for his Mission. He was accompanied by two native boys, educated in his schools. Unfortunately the money collected was lodged in a bank which closed while Donald was at Riverview.
He was a man of above average height, with a broad forehead and a flowing beard. years later his health was bad, and he died in Adelaide 02 February 1925.

◆ Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University online
McKillop, Donald (1853–1925)
by G. J. O'Kelly
G. J. O'Kelly, 'McKillop, Donald (1853–1925)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mckillop-donald-4111/text6573, published first in hardcopy 1974,

anthropologist; Catholic missionary; Catholic priest; Indigenous culture recorder; schoolteacher

Died : 2 February 1925, North Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Donald McKillop (1853-1925), Jesuit priest, was born on 27 April 1853 in Portland, Victoria, brother of Mary who founded the Josephite Sisters, the largest Australian congregation of nuns. He was educated at St Aloysius College, Sevenhill, South Australia, where he entered the Society of Jesus in June 1872 and did his noviceship and studies in rhetoric and philosophy until 1877. He then taught at the college until 1882 when he was sent for theological studies to Innsbruck in 1883, to north Wales in 1884-85 where he was ordained priest and to Roehampton for his Jesuit studies. With two Jesuit companions he returned to Adelaide on 14 October 1886, all three destined for the mission to the Aborigines in the Northern Territory. This mission, conducted in 1882-90 by the Austrian Jesuits from Sevenhill, involved nineteen Jesuits and had the largest number of Aborigines of any in the Northern Territory. Anthropologists such as W. E. H. Stanner and Ronald Berndt single it out for its insights and appreciation of Aboriginal culture.

The policy adopted on the mission stations followed the model of the Jesuit Reductions in eighteenth-century Paraguay, and McKillop became its most forthright exponent. In 1887-89 he was attached to the Rapid Creek station, near Palmerston, to work and study the Mulluk Mulluk dialect, the lingua franca of the Daly region. Late in 1889 he was sent by Fr Anton Strele to found a new station at Serpentine Lagoon on the Daly. With four companions he laboured for a year among the Madngella and other tribes who had never seen whites, but with little effect.

In December 1890 McKillop was made Superior of the whole mission which then had three stations and a residence in Darwin. He was responsible for the whole venture but the financial upkeep bore heavily on him since the assistance promised by the bishops did not materialise. Deeming the stations had failed, he closed them and in August 1891 concentrated his eleven Jesuits in one new station on the Daly. Despite some successes the policy of small, self-supporting agricultural townships did not attract the Aboriginals and most converts were inconstant. The station was struck by severe poverty and his begging tours in the south and east in 1892-93 were unsuccessful because of the depression and apathy.

The continuing decimation of the tribes made the Jesuits seriously doubt the survival of the Aboriginals. McKillop clung to his policies of preserving the native culture but outside factors crowded in to produce a tragic desperation as he foresaw the end of 'the daydream of my life'. In vivid prose he often lashed out in the press at 'blood-stained Australia', at the white and Chinese population and at the government, whom he castigated for pusillanimity in granting land and finance to missions in tribal territories. Worn-out and seriously ill he was ordered south in October 1897. Leadership of the mission then became mediocre and after floods in 1898-99 the station was closed.

McKillop's direction had been realistic but his criticism of official policy probably lost him co-operation from the government. In intermittent good health he worked in Jesuit parishes in Norwood, South Australia (1898-1901), in Victoria at Hawthorn (1902-03) and Richmond (1904-10), Sevenhill (1911-13) and Norwood from 1914 until he died on 2 February 1925 in North Adelaide. His 'Anthropological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of the Daly River, North Australia' had been published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 1892-93. The evidence of J. L. Parsons and Charles J. Dashwood to the select committee on the proposed Aborigines' bill of 1899 suggests that the failure of the Jesuit enterprise in the territory helped to confirm the negative character of government legislation on Aboriginals for the next decades.

Select Bibliography
V. L. Solomon, N. T. Times Almanac and Directory (Palmerston, 1886-90)
Roman Catholic Mission Reports, Parliamentary Papers (South Australia), 1886-89, 1891-94, 1896-99
R. M. Berndt, ‘Surviving influence of mission contact on the Daly River…’, Neue Zeitschrift für Missionswissenschaft, 8 (1952)
G. J. O'Kelly, The Jesuit Mission Stations in the Northern Territory, 1882-1899 (B.A. Hons thesis, Monash University, 1967)
Australian Jesuit Provincial Archives (Hawthorn, Melbourne).

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
Donald MacKillop, brother of Saint Mary McKillop, was a student at St Aloysius' College, Sevenhill, 1867-71, and entered the Society there, 7 June 1872, the third Australian to do so. He also studied rhetoric and philosophy, and did his regency there as well. He left for Europe in 1882, and studied theology at Innsbruck, Mold and St Beuno's, being ordained in 1885. Tertianship followed at Roehampton, London.
He arrived back in Adelaide, 10 October 1886, and went to the Northern Territory Mission, first at Rapid Creek, 1886-89, where he worked and studied the Mulluk dialect, and then to the Daly River, 1889-90, when he was appointed superior of the mission.
This mission, founded by the Jesuits at Sevenhill, 1882-90, involved nineteen Jesuits and had the largest number of Aborigines in mission stations in the Northern Territory Anthropologists praised the Jesuits for their insights and appreciation of Aboriginal culture.
MacKillop completely reorganised the mission. He obtained a new grant of higher and more fertile land on the Daly. abandoned Rapid Creek and concentrated all the missionaries at the new station of St Joseph's or "new Uniya". He installed a pump for irrigation, obtained a sewing machine for making clothes, planted coconuts and vegetables, learned the Larrikiyah language and used it in the small school. Unfortunately, only one adult was baptised in the nine years of the mission at Rapid Creek. When the whole Northern Mission was closed, 78 adults and 197 infants had been baptised, in addition to 78 being baptised in danger of death. If success were measured in terms of baptisms only, then the value of the mission would have to be questioned. He was critical of government for not granting sufficient land and finance to missions in tribal territories.
MacKillop encountered hard times in 1892. He had few funds, was suffering from influenza, and there were food shortages. During June 1893, he went on a tour collecting money and publicising the mission, and returned to the Daly in July 1894 with £800 and a magic lantern. In time he acquired a herd of pigs and a steam engine for sawing and pumping. Tobacco and sugar cane were planted. Leather was made from goat and bullock hides. Despite all this work, the mission was closed in June 1899 after disastrous floods.
MacKillop had been a real pioneer in accumulating knowledge of the religion and customs of the Aborigines. The Jesuits shielded them from exploitation and cruel treatment. Conversions were very slow, yet the influence of the Jesuit missionaries was long remembered. MacKillop's “Anthropological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of the Daly River, North Australia” was published in the “Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 1892-93”.
During the last years of the mission, MacKillop became unwell and was replaced as superior, going to the Norwood parish, 1897-1901. He spent time in the parishes of Hawthorn, Richmond and Sevenhill. During his final years at Norwood, 1913-25, he was impaired in health, but was a consulter, 1914-21. He said Mass, heard confessions and preached from time to time.
At his death, he was remembered as a man of gifts and attainments, exceptional knowledge of scientific matters, an eloquent preacher, and devoted priest. It is coincidental that the first three Australian Jesuits, MacKillop and the two O'Brien's, John and Thomas, all died in 1925 within a few months of each other.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father Donald McKillop SJ 1853-1925
Fr Donald McKillop was born in Western Australia on April 25th 1853. He entered the Austro-Australian Mission in 1872. His sister, with Fr Tennison-Woods founded the congregation known as “The Sisters of St Joseph”, which is widely spread in Australia.

In 1894 Fr Donald was Superior of the Daly River Mission, which had been founded by the Austrian Fathers for the conversion of the Aborigines in the Northern Territory. In 1893 he came south to recruit his health and to collect money for the Mission. He was accompanied by two native boys educated in his own schools. Unfortunately the money collected was lodged in a bank which failed while Fr Donald was at Riverview.

His health was never good and he died at Adelaide on February 2nd 1923.

O'Neill, George, 1863-1947, Jesuit priest and academic

  • IE IJA J/21
  • Person
  • 16 April 1863-19 July 1947

Born: 16 April 1863, Dungannon, County Tyrone
Entered: 07 September 1880, Milltown Park, Dublin
Ordained: 1895, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 15 August 1898, St Francis Xavier, Gardiner Street, Dublin
Died: 19 July 1947, Canisius College, Pymble, Sydney, Australia - Australiae Province (ASL)

Transcribed : HIB to ASL 05/04/1931

Educated at CUS Dublin, St Stanislaus College SJ, Tullabeg

by 1890 at Prague Residence, Czech Republic (ASR-HUN) studying
by 1891 at Paris France (FRA) studying
by 1897 at Drongen Belgium (BELG) making Tertianship

◆ Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University online :
O'Neill, George (1863–1947)
by J. Eddy
J. Eddy, 'O'Neill, George (1863–1947)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/oneill-george-7909/text13757, published first in hardcopy 1988

biographer; Catholic priest; linguist; religious writer; theological college teacher

Died : 19 July 1947
George O'Neill (1863-1947), Jesuit priest, academic and author, was born on 16 April 1863 at Dungannon, Tyrone, Ireland, son of George F. O'Neill, inspector of schools, and his wife Mary Teresa, née McDermott. He was educated at the Catholic University School in Dublin and at St Stanislaus College, Tullamore, and entered the Jesuit novitiate in September 1880 at Milltown Park. In 1880-89 he taught at Belvedere and Clongowes Wood colleges, studied at Milltown Park and took his B.A. with first-class honours in classics from the Royal University of Ireland. He spent a postgraduate year in Prague in 1890, followed by a year in Paris. On his return to Ireland he took his M.A. with first-class honours in modern languages at the Royal University.

From 1891 O'Neill pursued philosophical and theological studies at Milltown Park and was ordained priest in 1895. In 1897, after completing his tertianship at Tronchiennes, Belgium, he was appointed to the staff of University College, St Stephen's Green, an independent Jesuit college which prepared its students for the examinations of the Royal University. Fr O'Neill was prefect of the library and church, choirmaster, and taught ancient and modern languages until 1901, when he became a fellow of the Royal University, while continuing to teach at St Stephen's Green as professor of English literature, in succession to Thomas Arnold. In 1909 when the Royal University was replaced by the National University of Ireland, O'Neill became a founding fellow and was nominated the first professor of English language and philosophy in 1910. He held this post until his departure at the age of 60 for Australia. One of his pupils was the young James Joyce.

O'Neill was sent to the Australian Jesuit Mission in 1923 at his own request, influenced by a period of ill health and a sense of dissatisfaction at the approach of retirement. Archbishop Mannix was keen to obtain distinguished staff for his new seminary, Corpus Christi College, Werribee, Victoria, and O'Neill became professor of modern languages (1923-45) and of church history (1932-45), and lectured and wrote in theology, history, literature and aesthetics. In 1945 when his eyesight and health were failing, he retired to Canisius College, Pymble, Sydney. He died on 19 July 1947 and was buried in Gore Hill cemetery.

A somewhat reticent and scholarly figure, O'Neill was nevertheless warm, frank, cultured and friendly, respected for his good critical judgement, his moral qualities of courage and sympathy for others, and his spiritual outlook. He was a precocious linguist, being thoroughly at home in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, German and Italian, a fine pianist and occasional composer, an omnivorous reader and, though not a great supporter of the Irish revival, was a correspondent of Canon Sheehan, Lady Gregory and Louise Guiney. Among his publications were studies of Shakespeare and of English poetry, a history of the Jesuit missions in Paraguay, scripture and poetry anthologies, a Newman reader, and a study of Job. He served as editorial consultant and wrote for a number of scholarly journals, including the Lyceum and the New Ireland Review, and contributed over thirty articles to the Jesuit publication Studies. His best writing is to be found in the Life of the Reverend Julian Edmund Tenison Woods (1929) and Life of Mother Mary of the Cross, 1842-1909 (1931).

Select Bibliography:
U. M. L. Bygott, With Pen and Tongue (Melb, 1980)
Irish Province News, 5, no 3, July 1947, p 238
Society of Jesus, Irish Jesuit Archives, Dublin and Australian Province Archives, Hawthorn, Melbourne, Australia.

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280
George O’Neill came to Australia in 1923, when he was over 60. It might have been thought that at this age, his value to the Society in Australia would not be very great, but the work he did in the 22 years he spent at Corpus Christi College was of greater value for the glory of God than anything he had done in his earlier life.
Before his arrival in Australia, O’Neill had been engaged in university work in Dublin for years, first with the Royal University of Ireland and then with the National University. This assignment began in 1897, when he was appointed to University College, where he prepared students for the Royal examinations, lecturing in modern and ancient languages. University College was a relic of the abortive attempt to establish a Catholic university in Newman's time. It was handed over to the Society by the Irish bishops, and became a kind of hostel for students preparing for the Royal Examinations. O’Neill was a fellow of the Royal University of Ireland. He set and corrected examinations and received a modest salary.
O’Neill went to school at St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, (later amalgamated with Clongowes), and gave evidence of the ability, so strikingly manifested later. He entered the noviceship at Milltown Park, Dublin, 7 September 1880. After this he was sent for a year to teach in Belvedere College, Dublin, and then returned to Milltown Park for a year's
philosophy. He was at the same time doing his university course by taking the examination of the Royal University of Ireland. He was given a year free of teaching at University
College, 1884-85, to prepare for his BA exams, and it was during this year that he lived with Gerard Manley Hopkins, who had been elected a Fellow of the Royal University at the
beginning of 1884 and was resident at University College.
After obtaining his degree, O'Neill did two more years teaching at Belvedere, where Albert Power was a pupil at the time, and a year at Clongowes. He was then given two years on the continent, one in Prague and one in Paris, preparing for his MA examinations in modern languages, which he took in 1891 with first class honours. Then he did a second year of philosophy (seven years after completing his first year) at Milltown Park, and went straight to theology in the same place.
He was ordained in 1895, at the age of 32, and did his tertianship at Tronchiennes. In 1897 he was appointed to University College and took up the work that was to occupy him until he left for Australia in 1923 at his own request, influenced by a period of ill health and a sense of dissatisfaction at the approach of retirement. In 1909, when the National University of Ireland replaced the Royal University O’Neill became a founding fellow and was nominated the first professor of English language and philosophy in 1910. One of his pupils was a young James Joyce. He later joined the community at Lower Lesson Street, not far from the university. He was a precocious linguist, being master of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, and German. He was an omnivorous reader, particluarly in English literature. He regularly contributed critical English articles in “Studies”.
When he reached Melbourne, it was a question whether he would go to Newman or to Werribee, and Werribee was chosen. He was to spend just over 22 years there, and his courses
exceeded all expectations. He professed modern languages, 1923-45, and church history, 1932-45. and lectured and wrote in theology, history, literature and aesthetics. He had never been a real teacher, being too academic for the average student, though the specially gifted could obtain much from him. But his simplicity of character, his edifying religious life, and general culture, had a great influence on generations of students, even if he did not teach them much.
Even in Ireland O'Neill was noted for care of the young and being kind to them. He loved having the students around him at Werribee, and regretted their departure for vacations
Though he had very considerable musical gifts, possessing a sense of absolute pitch and being competent player of the piano, he was not a real pianist, being rather hard and mechanical, and he had very poor handwriting.
O'Neill wrote a number of books and articles. in Ireland he had published a small volume “Lectures on Poetry”, and two books on the Shakespeare-Bacon question, “Could Bacon Have Written the Plays?” and “The Clouds around Shakespeare”. He continued his writing in Australia. Though always a good writer, he never succeeded in becoming a popular one. His book on the Jesuit Reductions in Paraguay, “Golden Years on the Paraguay”, deserved more popularity than it attained. The two books that made most impact on the Australian public were his life of Saint Mother Mary of the Cross (MacKillop) and his life of Julian Tenison Woods. The latter was written first. It was not popular with the Black Josephite Sisters, for in matters of controversy concerning their origins, he came down too heavily on one side.
He wrote a history of the Australian Mission, but it was never published. It was very good concerning the early years, but it was somewhat superficial in the treatment of the more
contemporary period. He could hardly be regarded as an unbiased historian, since he tended to be influenced unduly by his likes and dislikes. He never maintained a sufficiently detached outlook. He went to immense trouble in gathering material on the origins of the Josephite Sisters, particularly from surviving associates of Mother Mary and Father Woods, but his judgment on the facts could not always be firmly relied upon.
O'Neill put a great deal of work into his translation of Job, in which he received much help from Albert Power. It is greatly to his credit that he was always ready to help other writers. He had, for example, done a good deal of work on Caroline Chisholm, and helped Margaret Kiddie with her biography.
O'Neill was an extraordinary combination of genius, honesty and simplicity. He was child-like in many ways, always, for example, ready to experiment with strange combinations of dishes at meals. Though kind and even-tempered as a rule, he could become annoyed at times over what other people would regard as of no importance. Although a somewhat reticent and scholarly figure, he was nevertheless warm, frank, cultured and friendly, respected for his good critical judgment, his moral qualities of courage and sympathy for others, and for his spiritual outlook.
When his eyesight became so bad that he could no longer carry on his work at Werribee, he retired at the end of 1945 to Canisius College, Pymble, where he remained for the last year and a half of his life. As he could no longer read himself, the scholastics were very good to him by acting as readers, even if there was not always perfect agreement on both sides about the type of book to be read. He always enjoyed hearing his own creations. Towards the end he wanted to die. The Australian province should not easily forget the generous and notable service he gave in the autumn of his life.

◆ Irish Province News
Irish Province News 9th Year No 1 1934
Leeson St :
Monday, November 20th, was a red-letter day in the history of Leeson street, for it witnessed the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of the House's foundation. In November, 1833. the Community came into being at 86 St Stephen's Green, where it remained until 1909, when the building was handed over to the newly constituted National University. The Community, however, survived intact and migrated to a nearby house in Lesson Street, where it renewed its youth in intimate relationship with the Dublin College of the University.
Its history falls this into two almost equal periods, different, indeed, in many ways, yet essentially one, since the energies of the Community during each period have been devoted to the same purpose, the furtherance of Catholic University Education in Ireland.
A precious link between the two eras is Father Tom Finlay, who was a member of the Community in 1883, and ever since has maintained his connection with it. His presence on Monday evening, restored to his old health after a severe illness was a source of particular pleasure to the whole gathering. It was also gratifying to see among the visitors Father Henry Browne, who had crossed from England at much personal inconvenience to take part in the celebration. Not only was Father Browne a valued member of the Community for over thirty years, but he acquired additional merit by putting on record, in collaboration with Father McKenna, in that bulky volume with the modest title " A Page of Irish History," the work achieved by the House during the first heroic age of its existence. It was a pleasure, too, to see hale and well among those present Father Joseph Darlington, guide, philosopher and friend to so many students during the two periods. Father George O'Neill, who for many years was a distinguished member of the Community, could not, alas. be expected to make the long journey from his newer field of fruitful labor in Werribee, Australia.
Father Superior, in an exceptionally happy speech, described the part played by the Community, especially in its earlier days of struggle, in the intellectual life of the country. The venerable Fathers who toiled so unselfishly in the old house in St. Stephens Green had exalted the prestige of the Society throughout Ireland. Father Finlay, in reply, recalled the names of the giants of those early days, Father Delany, Father Gerald Hopkins, Mr. Curtis and others. Father Darlington stressed the abiding influence of Newman, felt not merely in the schools of art and science, but in the famous Cecilia Street Medial School. Father Henry Browne spoke movingly of the faith, courage and vision displayed by the leaders of the Province in 1883, when they took on their shoulders such a heavy burden. It was a far cry from that day in 1883, when the Province had next to no resources, to our own day, when some sixty of our juniors are to be found, as a matter of course preparing for degrees in a National University. The progress of the Province during these fifty years excited feelings of
admiration and of profound gratitude , and much of that progress was perhaps due to the decision, valiantly taken in 1883 1883, which had raised the work of the Province to a higher plane.

Irish Province News 18th Year No 2 1943
Australian Vice-Province
From a letter of Fr. George O'Neill, Werribee, Melbourne. dated 29th November, 1942 :
This Vice-Province never before got such a painful shock as it has received in the absolutely sudden death of Fr. Thomas O'Dwyer (Rector of St Patrick's College Melbourne) On last Thursday I was chatting with him and he seemed alright. This morning (Saturday) he was laid in earth amid deep and widespread mourning, the grief of his Community at St. Patrick's being specially notable. He had been doing all his work up to the last. It would appear, however, that two or three months ago. he had consulted a. doctor and had been warned that he was not quite safe in the matter of blood pressure. On Wednesday night he was phoned to by the Mercy Nuns at Nicholson St where he acted as daily chaplain, asking him to say Mass early for them as the Coadjutor Archbishop was to say Mass there at 7.l5 or 7.30. He agreed. and made the early start next morning. The time came for his breakfast in the Convent parlour while the Archbishop was finishing Mass, but when the lay-sister came in after a time she found Fr. O'Dwyer lying on the ground and vomiting. He tried to reassure her, but she ran to the Rev. Mother and they phoned for a doctor who came at once. He saw that the situation was serious and that the last Sacraments should be given. Then the Cathedral (not far off) was called up and presently the Adm. came along with the Holy Oils. The Archbishop, who had meantime finished his Mass, came on the scene and anointed Fr. O'Dwyer, having previously given him absolution for which he was still conscious. The Provincial (from Hawthorn) also arrived. Then an ambulance was got and took the dying man to St. Vincent's Hospital where he died at 9.30 am. We are accustomed here to funerals rapidly carried out, so it was not strange that all was over in the following forenoon. Some 100 priests were present , an immense crowd of boys and girls, and of the ordinary faithful, and the two archbishops. Dr. Mannix spoke some happy words with much feeling.

Irish Province News 22nd Year No 3 1947
Obituary :
Fr. George O’Neill (1863-1880-1947)
Not many of Ours have brilliantly distinguished themselves in two far separate provinces of the Society. Fr. George O'Neill did so not merely by his literary and linguistic attainments but by his moral qualities of courage, friendliness, and spiritual outlook. Fame came to him in spite of his reserved and shy character. Indeed those who knew him but slightly never realised the warmth of his character. And even those who knew him well are amazed when they sum up the total record of his quiet achievements and recognise the importance of the role he played. Very few men of such eminence have been so averse from publicity. His earlier life can be briefly summarised. He was born at Dungannon, the son of a well-known Irish, barrister. After his schooldays in Belvedere, where for one year he was also Prefect of Studies. He then taught for one year in Clongowes. While he was in Belvedere he took his B.A, degree in Classics in the Royal University, but he showed such remarkable talent for modern languages that he was set aside to specialise in them. From 1889 to 1891 he spent one year at the University of Prague and another at the University of Paris and took his M.A. in modern languages with first-class honours. He then went through his philosophy and theology at Milltown Park, where he was ordained in 1895. Fr, O'Neill was a fast worker, but that is not the explanation of how he contrived to complete his whole studies for the priesthood, philosophy and theology, between 1891 and 1896. He seems to have done one year of his philosophy immediately after his noviceship. He went to Tronchiennes for his tertianship in 1897. In 1895 began the series of mishaps that eventually led him into the wrong chair in the National University. In that year he competed with Miss Mary Hayden for a Fellowship that was to lead to a Professorship. He was regarded as Miss Hayden's superior, despite her impressive accomplishments, but he came up for examination so tired and distraught with the preparations for his ordination that she won by the narrowest margin. Yet, though she won the Fellowship, she was debarred from becoming Professor as the old Royal University did not admit women professors. Fr. O'Neill therefore taught modern languages in the University until 1901, when on the death of Thomas Arnold he was made a Fellow and raised to Arnold's former chair of English Literature. However be lost this chair in 1909 on the foundation of the National University. Robert Donovan, who had deserved well of the Irish Party by his leading articles in the Freeman's Journal, had to be appointed to a chair. Unfortunately, knowing but one language, he was only qualified to fill the chair of English Literature. So a chair of English Language, now abolished, was created for Fr. O'Neill from which he also taught part of the English Literature course. It was just because he was not really the dry and unimaginative pedagogue that his somewhat prim manner suggested that he was dissatisfied with this arrangement.
As a lecturer he was well worth hearing, for everything that he said was the result of long and able critical meditation. Though always respectful of the opinions of others his own were very firm and not easily shaken. His lectures would doubtless have been more stimulating to young people had not his habit of reticence induced him to state briefly or not at all his reasons for his critical verdicts. But those verdicts were sound and, if one attends less to the notes than to the selections in his Five Centuries of English Poetry, one discovers a cultured and personal taste in the anthologist. His lecture on a poem by Donne would sound like a series of remarks overheard on a poem that he was reading for the first time. Similarly his judgments, on the work of young authors, though always kind, read like criticisms of well-known writers. Praise or condemnation were both downright, though he loved to praise and hated to condemn. The truth is that in judging a poem he took no account whatever of the reputation of the author or of his presence.
This critical integrity, merely a sign of the love of truth, required both the self-confidence that comes of clarity of mind and moral courage. Anyone who has tried to tell an artist that his work is bad knows the courage that he needs, and Fr. O'Neill had nothing of the brutality that makes such plain speaking easy. It was this courage that made him willing to champion unpopular courses. He was a Baconian, openly professed, and wrote two books on the controversy : ‘Could Bacon Have Written The Plays’? and ‘The Clouds Around Shakespeare’. He was an active helper in all university projects. One of his few opportunities for apostolic work was when he became for a year or two Director of the University Sodality. He was also invaluable as a contributor and editorial consultor to the three periodicals for the University reading public - the Lyceum, the New Ireland Review, and Studies. He was never editor himself. This unselfish man had a gift far rarer and fairer than that of initiating good works, a gift for serving energetically the good works initiated by others. He also founded a musical society in the Royal University and rather inadequately called it the ‘Choral Union’. But this leads to the consideration of another gift of his.
Fr. O'Neill was a noted pianist and something of a composer. Be cause, like the poet Grey, he ‘never spoke out’, his playing was not so eloquent as he could have made it. But his brilliant technique and general musical ‘usefulness’ were never in doubt. He was in great request as examiner at the Feis or in Clongowes. He was also frequently invited to accompany singers in public. He was the friend of the late Arthur Darley and many other of the finest musicians of this country. Both as performer and promoter he played a prominent part in the musical life of the city, in which he has no successor,

In 1923 Fr. O'Neill startled the Province by asking to be sent to the Australian Mission, as it was then. Several motives, ill-health and dissatisfaction with his chair at the University among them, have been said to account for his request. But (to give a personal opinion) his chief motive was his approaching compulsory retirement from his chair. To be a professional idler such as most retired gentlemen are expected to be was distasteful to him. And he needed to retire before he was too old to go to Australia. Moreover Dr. Mannix was anxious to get distinguished professors for his new seminary in Werribee. Fr. O'Neil answered the call and was allowed to go.
On the boat out to Australia he was still his mildly cheerful and companionable self. He was always ready to give a piano recital to the old ladies. And, notwithstanding the prestige that members like Fr. H. Johnson and Fr. W. Owens gave to our party, Fr. O'Neill was our star in the eyes of the passengers. But he cut his ties with Dublin slowly and one by one. Even in the Bay of Biscay he was still acting as a member of the Editorial Board of Studies, for he revised and passed a poem by one of his companions and sent it to the Editor.
In Werribee he held the posts of Professor of Church History and of Modern Languages until a few years before his death. He also, needless to say, directed the choir and promoted concerts and plays among the students. He read papers and spoke before various Catholic societies in Melbourne.
But his career in Australia is chiefly notable as the time when he produced his finest books. In Dublin besides the works already noted, several anthologies and books of selections, and innumerable articles and pamphlets, his chief work had been Essays on Poetry and a biography of Blessed Mary of the Angels. But in Australia he discovered his power for historical narrative. He became deeply interested in the beginnings of the Church in Australia and produced two fascinating biographies of that period, one on Fr. Julian Tenison Woods, the other on Mary McKillop, Mother Mary of the Cross. In these works all his deepest loyalties gave more than usual fire to his writing. And a later work on the Jesuit Reductions of South America, ‘Golden Years on the Paraguay’, is worthy to stand beside them. Up to the end he was filled with projects for new books. He thought that he could prove that all the Scholastics had been wrong in their doctrines on Beauty. Perhaps his intention to publish this thesis was evidence of failing powers. But he never admitted old age as a valid reason for ceasing to work, When a few years ago he was relieved, of most of his duties he could not, or would not, understand the reason of his superiors. But the truth that the shadows were gathering figuratively must have been forced upon his attention when they began to gather literally. More than a year before his death he became blind or almost blind. One can give him the only praise that, after all, any man can deserve : he found a great work to do for God and did it.

The following is taken from an appreciation which appeared in The Dungannon Observer of July 26th :
“The news was received in Dungannon and Clonoe districts with the deepest feelings of regret of the recent death of Rev. George O'Neill, S.J., the noted author and essayist and former Fellow of the Royal University and Professor of English at University College, Dublin. Son of the late Mr. George F. O'Neill, Inspector of National Schools, Fr. O'Neill was born in County Antrim in 1863, but at an early age came to reside in Dungannon, to which his father was transferred. His father's family came from Clonoe district, and for both Dungannon and Clonoe the late priest had always a warm spot in his heart. When the Convent of Mercy in Dungannon celebrated its golden Jubilee two years ago, Fr. O'Neill wrote a poem in honour of the occasion. The late Cardinal MacRory was a close friend of Fr. O'Neill, and the Cardinal was highly appreciative of his spiritual writings. When the Cardinal visited Australia for the Eucharistic Congress in 1929, he made a journey to Werribee College to see Fr. O'Neill, who was then ill. By the marriage of his sister to the late Dr. Conor Maguire of Claremorris, Fr. O'Neill was the uncle of the Chief Justice Conor Maguire. He was also related through marriage to Most Rev. Dr. Dr. D'Alton, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland.
Fr. O'Neill died on July 19th.
May he rest in peace”

Irish Province News 22nd Year No 4 1947

On 28 July a special Mass was celebrated at Gardiner Street for the late Fr. George O'Neill (Viceprovince), an obituary notice of whom appeared in our last issue; in addition to the Chief Justice, Mr. Conor Maguire, a nephew, and other relatives, His Excellency Sean T. O'Kelly and Mr. McEntee, Minister were present.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father George O’Neill 1864-1947
Not many of ours have distinguished themselves so brillinatly in two different sections of the Society, poles apart from each other. Fr George O’Neill was in that category, being renowned both in Ireland and Australia.

Born in Dungannon in 1863, he was educated at Belvedere College. He displayed a remarkable talent for modern languages and literature, and he was outstanding in his degree examinations. He became Professor of English literature at the Royal University in 1901, succeeding Thomas Arnold. It was during this period that he produced his book so well known to students of English “Five Centuries of English Literature”. He was a keen advocate of Bacon as the author of Shakespeare’s plays and published two works on that subject “Coiuld Bacon have written the Plays?” and “The Clouds around Shakespeare”.

In 1923 Fr O’Neill volunteered for the Australian Mission. This was just the beginning of another illustrious career, more remarkable when one recalls that he was 60 years of age at the time.The 24 years he spent in Australia added to his fame as a writer, lecturer and musician, for he had considerable also in music, being something of a composer himself. His finest books were written in Australia : “The Life of Father Julian Tenison Woods”; “Mother Mary of the Cross”; and “Golden Years in the Paraquay”.

He died on July 19th 1947, 84 years of age, ending a life of continual service of God, right up to the end, and leaving behind him works that will ever keep his memory green.

◆ The Clongownian, 1948

Obituary

Father George O’Neill SJ

Not many Jesuits have brilliantly distinguished themselves in two far separate provinces of the Society. Fr George O'Neill did so not merely by his literary and linguistic achievements but by his moral qualities of courage, friendliness and spiritual outlook. Fame came to him in spite of a reserved and shy character. Even those who knew him well are amazed when they sum up the total record of his quiet achievements and recognise the importance of the role he played. Very few men of such eminence have been so averse from publicity.

His early life can be briefly summarised. He came to Tullabeg, a small boy of eleven, in 1874 and quickly showed the promise of those talents he was to develop in later life. When he left in 1880 he had gained ninth place in Ireland in the Senior Grade examination, third place in English and first place with medal in Modern Languages. Even at school he was a noted pianist and he afterwards became some thing of a composer. Because, like the poet Grey he “never spoke out”, his playing was not so eloquent as he could have made it; but his brilliant technique and general musical “usefulness" were never in doubt. He was in great demand as an examiner at the Feis or in Clongowes. He was also frequently invited to accompany singers in public. He was the friend of the late Arthur Darley and many others of the finest musicians in the country. Both as performer and promoter he played a prominent part in the musical life of Dublin.

He took his BA degree in classics at the Royal University but he showed such remarkable talent for modern languages that he was set aside to specialise in them. He spent a year at the University of Prague, another at the University of Paris and took his MA in modern languages with first class honours.

In the Royal University he was Professor, first of Modern Languages, then of English Literature. On the foundation of the National University he became Professor of English Language. As a lecturer he was well worth hearing, for everything he said was the result of long and able critical meditation. Though always re spectful of the opinions of others his own were very firm and not easily shaken. In judging a poem he took no account of the reputation of the author - or his presence. With him praise and condemnation were both downright, though he loved to praise and hated to condemn. This critical integrity, a sign of the love of truth, required both the self-confidence that comes of clarity of mind and moral courage. It was this courage that made him willing to champion unpopular causes. He was a Baconian openly professed and wrote two books on the con troversy : “Could Bacon Have Written The Plays?” and “The Clouds Around Shakespeare”.

He was an active helper in all University projects. He was for a year or two Director of the University Sodality. He was also invaluable as a contributor and editorial consultor to the three periodicals for the University reading public, the “Lyceum”, the “New Ireland Review”, and “Studies”. He was never editor himself. This unselfish man had a gift far rarer and fairer than that of initiating good works, a gift for serving the good works initiated by others.

In Australia Fr O'Neill held the posts of Professor of Church History and of Modern Languages at Werribee, the Seminary of the Archdiocese of Melbourne, until a few years before his death. He read many papers and spoke before various Catholic Societies and acquired a great reputation as a scholar. But his career in Australia is chiefly notable as the time when he produced his finest books. In Dublin he had published several anthologies and innumerable articles and pamphlets, and a biography of “Blessed Mary of the Angels”. But in Australia he discovered his power for historical narrative. He became deeply interested in the beginnings of the Church in Australia and produced two fascinating biographies of that period, one on Fr Julian Tenison Woods, the other on Mary McKillop, Mother Mary of the Cross. In these books all his deepest loyalties gave more than usual fire to his writing. And a later work on the Jesuit Reductions of South America, “Golden Years on the Paraguay”, is worthy to stand beside them.

Up to the end he was filled with projects for new books, but the shadows were slowly gathering and for over a year before the end he became blind or almost blind. The long life of work was drawing to a close and when he went to God it could be said of him, and indeed, it is the only praise any man can deserve; he found a great work to do for God and did it.