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Michael Joseph Dowling, the son of Michael and Catherine Dowling (née Byrne), was born in Kilkenny on 13 March 1874. John Dowling, an older brother, joined the Capuchins in 1888 and took Laurence as his religious name. Michael followed in his brother’s footsteps and joined the Order in Kilkenny a year later in September 1889. He took Thomas as his religious name and he was solemnly professed as a friar in October 1894. He was ordained a priest in Kilkenny on 21 December 1896. Fr. Thomas was a professor at Rochestown Capuchin College in Cork, and later served as guardian (local superior) of the Capuchin Friary in Dublin. He visited Oregon in the United States in 1910 to select a suitable mission parish for the Irish Capuchins in Baker City. In this period, he held several senior administrative positions in the Order and served as definitor (councillor) from 1907-10 and was Provincial Minister of the Irish Capuchins from 1910-3. He was also guardian of Holy Trinity Friary in Cork in 1920.

He emerged as a prominent public figure in Cork because of his high-profile campaigning on social and political issues. He was active in the Anti-Conscription campaign in the city in 1918 and was elected Honorary President of the Cork and District Trades and Labour Council. During the First World War, there was widespread economic distress in Cork as wages failed to keep pace with rising prices. The result was numerous strikes and general worker unrest. Dowling had studied social reform and he threw himself wholeheartedly into the task of industrial dispute mediation. His interventions were accepted by employers and trades unions alike. He presided over negotiations between tramway workers and their employers in a crucial wage dispute and was instrumental in securing a settlement between the two sides in 1919. He was awarded the freedom of Cork in 1920 in recognition of his invaluable services in preserving the peace of the city and for his role in successfully resolving industrial disputes. He also received an honorary degree (an LL.D. or a Doctor of Laws) from Professor P.J. Merriman (1877-1943), President of University College Cork. The award was given on account of his ‘invaluable services’ in ensuring peaceful and harmonious social relations in the city. The Cork Trades’ Council later donated a stained-glass window to Holy Trinity Church to mark his contribution in securing workers’ rights.

His ministries as a Capuchin friar centred on preaching missions and retreats and he was also an enthusiastic promoter of the temperance cause (he was instrumental in organising the Father Theobald Mathew Pavilion at the Cork International Exhibition in 1902). In 1926 Fr. Thomas offered to travel to the United States to work as a missionary friar. The Irish Capuchins had established a mission custody on the American Pacific Coast in 1910. His first appointment was in Our Lady of the Angels Church and Capuchin Friary in Burlingame near San Francisco. He was appointed Pastor of St. Lawrence of Brindisi Church situated in Watts in South Los Angeles in 1937. In the following years he succeeded in paying off the considerable debt on both the church and the adjoining school. He served as Custos (Superior) of the Western American Capuchin Mission from 1940-6. He died on 7 January 1951 and was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles.

John Edward Dowling, the son of Michael Dowling and Catherine Dowling (née Byrne), was born in Kilkenny on 12 September 1872. He was educated in the Christian Brothers’ Schools and regularly attended the Capuchin Friary Church in Kilkenny as an altar server. He subsequently enrolled in the Capuchin Seraphic School in Rochestown, County Cork. On completing his preliminary studies, he was received into the Capuchin Order in February 1888 taking Laurence as his religious name. He took his final vows and was solemnly professed as a Capuchin friar in September 1889. Having completed a course in philosophy and theology he was ordained a priest on 7 July 1895. Following his ordination, he ministered in Dublin, Cork, and Rochestown, and was appointed guardian (local superior) of these communities. He was also Master of Novices for several years, and President of Father Mathew Temperance Hall on Church Street in Dublin. He was also an active member of the committee of the Catholic Truth Society, for which he wrote several pamphlets primarily on social issues. Dowling was a well-known preacher of retreats and missions and was engaged in this ministry for many years. When his health began to fail in 1931, he travelled to Los Angeles in California, hoping that the better climate would improve his condition. His younger brother, Fr. Thomas Dowling OFM Cap. (1874-1951), was a missionary friar working in California and undoubtedly the presence of his sibling in the United States influenced his decision to leave Ireland. Fr. Laurence served at St. Lawrence of Brindisi Catholic Church in South Los Angeles until his death on 1 June 1939. He was sixty-six years old. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Baptismal name: John Edward Dowling
Religious name: Fr. Laurence Dowling OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 12 Sept. 1872
Place of birth: Kilkenny (Diocese of Ossory)
Name of father: Michael Dowling
Name of mother: Catherine Dowling (née Byrne)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 5 Feb. 1888
Date of first profession: 3 Mar. 1889
Date of final profession: 8 Sept. 1889
Date of ordination (as priest): 7 July 1895
Missionary activity: Travelled to California, United States, in 1931
Date of death: 1 June 1939
Place of death: Los Angeles, California, United States
Place of burial: Calvary Cemetery, Los Angeles, United States
Note: Fr. Thomas Dowling OFM Cap. (1874-1951) was a younger brother of Fr. Laurence Dowling OFM Cap.

Baptismal name: Matthew Dowd
Religious name: Fr. Maurice Dowd OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 31 Oct. 1904
Place of birth: Castlegregory, County Kerry
Name of father: Jeremiah Dowd
Name of mother: Catherine Dowd (née Fitzgerald)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 17 Sept. 1923
Date of first profession: 18 Sept. 1924
Date of final profession: 18 Sept. 1927
Date of ordination (as priest): June 1931
Educational attainments: BA (1927)
Missionary activities: Travelled to Cape Town, South Africa, on 22 Sept. 1970.
Date of death: 15 Nov. 1989
Place of death: Cape Town, South Africa
Place of burial: Maitland Cemetery, Cape Town, South Africa

James Doogan was born in Dublin in 1841. He was received into the Capuchin Order in their novitiate in Bologna in 1860 and remained in Italy following his ordination. He arrived in India in about 1867 and was appointed principal of St. George’s School in Mussoorie in the northern state of Uttarakhand. The school had been founded by the Capuchin fathers in 1853. Doogan remained principal until 1873 when the school was entrusted to the care of the Society of the Brothers of St. Patrick (the Irish Patrician Brothers). Afterwards, he was appointed a military chaplain with British forces stationed in India. He served in Nusseerabad (also known as Nasirabad) where he contracted cholera but recovered. He served with distinction during the Anglo-Afghan War (1878-80) and returned to India at the conclusion of the hostilities. He was a life-long temperance campaigner and wrote several pamphlets on the dangers of intoxicating liquor. He contracted influenza in May 1899 which led him to be hospitalised in the Military Station Hospital in Chakrata in Uttarakhand. He died there on 29 July 1899. He was given a ceremonial military funeral by the British Army.

Baptismal name: Nicholas John Dillane
Religious name: Fr. Raymond Dillane OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 22 Feb. 1916
Place of birth: North Circular Road, Dublin
Name of father: James Dillane (Prison Warder)
Name of mother: Mary Dillane (née Kenny)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1937
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1938
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1941
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 June 1945
Missionary activities: Travelled to Barotseland, Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia), on 21 Feb. 1946. Transferred to the Cape Town Mission, South Africa, in 1968. He returned to Ireland on 15 Nov. 1991.
Date of death: 10 Jan. 1999
Place of death: St. Francis Hospice, Raheny, Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin

Seamus Dempsey was born in Nenagh in County Tipperary on 14 September 1914. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in October 1932 and took Peter as his religious name. His early education was in Roscrea College before taking degree courses in philosophy in University College Cork. He was ordained to the priesthood at Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal in September 1939. He spent the war years in Rome studying theology and scripture and obtained a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture (1943) and a Doctorate in Sacred Theology (1944). He took his PhD from the University of Montreal in Canada in 1950. He published widely about psychology. In 1950 he published ‘The Psychology of Sarte’. This was followed two years later by ‘Psychology for All’ which was translated into French, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese. In 1957 he published ‘Freud, Psychoanalysis and Catholicism’ in Oxford which went into French, Italian and Spanish editions. One of his principal interests was the use of psychology in industrial relations and he gave lectures on this subject to the Irish Management Institute, trade union organisations and to students in Queen’s University, Belfast, and in various academic institutes in Europe and in North America. He was a full-time member of staff in University College Cork for thirty-one years and founded the Chair of Applied Psychology, a position he held until his retirement in 1982. He died in Cork on 21 February 2004 and was buried in the cemetery attached to the Capuchin Friary in Rochestown.

Baptismal name: Seamus Dempsey
Religious name: Fr. Peter Dempsey OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 14 Sep. 1914
Place of birth: Summer Hill, Nenagh, County Tipperary (Diocese of Killaloe)
Name of father: Paul Dempsey (Professor of Science)
Name of mother: Agnes Dempsey (née Condon)
Date of parents’ marriage: 9 July 1908
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1932
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1933
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1936
Date of ordination (as priest): 17 Sept. 1939
Educational attainments: BA, 2nd class hons. (1936); Licentiate in Sacred Scripture (1943); Doctorate in Sacred Theology (1944); MA (1946); PhD, Montreal (1950).
Date of death: 21 Feb. 2004
Place of death: Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

Eugene Daly was born in Bantry in County Cork on 7 March 1918. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in October 1939 and took Eltin as his religious name. He completed his BA and MA in University College Cork and was ordained to the priesthood in Ard Mhuire Capuchin Friary in County Donegal by Bishop William MacNeely on 27 May 1948. He obtained a Higher Diploma in Education at London University in 1949 and shortly afterwards set out for the mission in Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia). He took charge of the Teacher Training College in Lukulu for seven years. In 1956 he moved the western outpost at Sihole for a further six years (until 1962), where he advanced his mastery of the local Lozi language. For four years (1962-6) he was at Maramba near Livingstone. During this time he compiled an original translation of the liturgical texts into Lozi following the adoption of the vernacular (after the Second Vatican Council). And all the while he maintained a keen interest in catechetical matters. In 1966 Fr. Eltin left Africa and made his way to Oxford in England. He was appointed to run a chaplaincy service to Irish emigrants and travellers residing in Britain. He worked out of a house on Leopold Street in Oxford while involved in his ministry to Irish travellers and emigrants. He died in London on 12 November 2002 and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery in North Kensington in the British capital.

Baptismal name: Eugene Daly
Religious name: Fr. Eltin Daly OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 7 Mar. 1918
Place of birth: Bantry, County Cork
Name of father: Daniel Daly (labourer, Scartbawn, Bantry, County Cork)
Name of mother: Mary Daly (née Mahony)
Date of Parents’ Marriage: 24 Feb. 1903
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1939
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1940
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1943
Date of ordination (as priest): 27 May 1948
Educational attainments: BA (1st class hons.), 1943; MA (2nd class hons.), 1944; Higher Diploma in Education (London), 1949.
Missionary details: Travelled to Victoria Falls Mission, Zambia, on 22 August 1949. Returned to Ireland in 1966; Chaplain to Irish emigrants in England from 1966; National Director, Mission to the Travelling People, United Kingdom
Date of death: 12 Nov. 2002
Place of death: London (but resided in Oxford)
Place of burial: Kensal Green Cemetery, North Kensington, London

Baptismal name: William Curran
Religious name: Br. Benedict Curran OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 24 January 1914
Place of birth: Portaferry, County Down (Diocese of Down & Connor)
Name of father: William Curran
Name of mother: Isabella Curran (née Marron)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 26 July 1941
Date of first profession: 27 July 1942
Date of final profession: 27 July 1945
Date of death: 20 May 1974
Place of death: London
Place of burial: Foulkstown Cemetery, County Kilkenny

Baptismal name: William Cullen
Religious name: Fr. Alban Cullen OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 7 Nov. 1898
Place of birth: Dublin
Name of father: James Cullen
Name of mother: Mary Ann ‘Margaret’ Cullen (née Ryan)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 12 Nov. 1917
Date of first profession: 17 Nov. 1918
Date of final profession: 17 Nov. 1921
Date of Ordination (as priest): 29 June 1925
Missionary activities:
1925-29 California, United States
1929-38 South Africa
1938-47 California, United States (returned to Ireland on 14 Oct. 1948)
Fr. Alban Cullen OFM Cap. was Pastor of Hermiston Parish, Oregon from 1939-43.
Fr. Alban Cullen OFM Cap. ministered in St. Anthony’s Parish, Willits, California from c.1943-7.
1948-52 South Africa (travelled to South Africa on 12 July 1948)
1956-70 California, United States
Date of death: 29 Apr. 1970
Place of death: Burlingame, California

Baptismal name: Daniel Cryan
Religious name: Fr. Basil Cryan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 9 Nov. 1898
Place of birth: Ballyfinnegan, Ballintubber, County Roscommon (Diocese of Elphin)
Name of father: James Cryan (Tenant Farmer)
Name of mother: Catherine Cryan (née Murray)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 17 Sept. 1916
Date of first profession: 17 Sept. 1917
Date of final profession: 14 July 1921
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 June 1925
Educational attainments: BA (1921); Higher Diploma in Education (1926)
Leadership positions: Capuchin Mission Office Secretary, 1932-7
Date of death: 27 Nov. 1968
Place of death: St. Joseph’s Nursing Home, Raheny, County Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin