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James O’Sullivan was born in Cork on 2 April 1887. He was the only son of James and Mary O’Sullivan of Deane Street and later of Lower George’s Street in the city. His early education was with the Christian Brothers and at the Seraphic College in Rochestown in County Cork. He entered the Capuchin novitiate in August 1902 and took Cyril as his religious name. Following a course in philosophy and theology, he was ordained on 29 May 1910. Shortly after his ordination he undertook a postgraduate course in the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium obtaining a Doctorate in Philosophy from the Philosophical Institute of Leo XIII. Returning to his native city, he completed a Master of Arts and was appointed a lecturer in philosophy (Mental and Moral Science) in University College Cork. He was instrumental in the opening of St. Bonaventure’s Capuchin Hostel in Cork and was appointed its first guardian (local superior) in 1919. An enthusiastic supporter of Gaelic games and a fluent Irish speaker, he was involved in the promotion of hurling in various schools and colleges in Cork. He died (following a brief illness) in Cork on 9 December 1921. He was buried in the cemetery attached to the Capuchin Friary in Rochestown in County Cork.

Baptismal name: James O’Sullivan
Religious name: Fr. Cyril O’Sullivan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 2 Apr. 1887
Place of birth: 14 Deane Street, Cork
Name of father: James O’Sullivan
Name of mother: Mary O’Sullivan (née O’Brien)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 24 Aug. 1902
Date of first profession: 17 Sept. 1903
Date of final profession: 31 July 1908
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 May 1910
Educational attainments: BA (RUI), 1909; MA (RUI), 1915; Doctorate in Philosophy (Louvain)
Date of death: 9 Dec. 1921
Place of death: Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, Cork

John Joseph O’Sullivan was born on 23 March 1904 in the town of Charleville in County Cork. His initial education was in the local national school and later at the Capuchin College in Rochestown, County Cork. He was an active member of the Fianna Éireann organisation in Cork during the War of Independence. He joined the Capuchin Order in Kilkenny in September 1923 and took Ephrem as his religious name. After his ordination in Cork in 1931 he was transferred to the Irish Capuchin mission custody in the Western United States where he ministered for several years. In 1936 he was appointed a pastor in the Sacred Heart parish in Lincoln, Nebraska. He held this position for only one year (1937) since financial difficulties and other considerations forced the Capuchin friars to withdraw from the Lincoln Diocese. After leaving Nebraska he assisted in parish missions and novenas. In 1938 Ephrem returned to Ireland and joined the community residing in St. Mary of the Angels Friary on Church Street in Dublin. He also resided for brief periods in both Kilkenny and in the Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal. He died in St. John of God Hospital in Stillorgan, County Dublin, on 12 July 1958 and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.

Baptismal name: John Joseph O’Sullivan
Religious name: Fr. Ephrem O’Sullivan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 20 Mar. 1904
Place of birth: Charleville, County Cork (Diocese of Cloyne)
Name of father: Michael O’Sullivan (Signalman)
Name of mother: Catherine O’Sullivan (née McDermott)
Date of reception into Capuchin Order: 17 Sept. 1923
Date of first profession: 18 Sept. 1924
Date of final profession: 18 Sept. 1927
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 June 1931
Educational attainments: BA, NUI (1927)
Missionary activity: Travelled to the mission custody in the Western United States on 20 Nov. 1932. Returned to Ireland in 1938.
Date of death: 12 July 1958
Place of death: St. John of God Hospital, Stillorgan, County Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin

John Francis O’Connor was born on 13 Feb. 1883 in County Cork. He was born into a devoutly Catholic family. His father, John O’Connor, a teacher, and his mother, Mary Ann Sheehan, were both tertiaries of the Third Order of St. Francis attached to Holy Trinity Capuchin Church, Cork. A brother of Many Ann Sheehan had already joined the Capuchin Franciscan Order. Fr. Luke Sheehan OFM Cap. was one of the first Catholic missionaries to minister in the American state of Oregon. A good number of John’s siblings also entered religious life. John entered Rochestown College, Cork, in the Autumn of 1897. Having successfully completed his secondary education, he entered the Capuchin novitiate on 1 Oct. 1899 and received the religious name of Dominic. A year later he took his simple vows and in the Autumn of the same year began studying for a philosophy degree in the Royal University, Cork. He was ordained a priest on 17 Mar. 1906 in the Capuchin Friary in Kilkenny. He later enrolled in the Catholic University in Louvain where he obtained a Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus (Bachelor of Sacred Theology). In response to a call from Cardinal Michael Logue, Archbishop of Armagh, Fr. Dominic volunteered for chaplaincy work with the British armed forces during the First World War. After spending two months with a Scottish brigade in England, he transferred to a hospital unit bound for Salonika, Greece. After approximately two years of service, Fr. Dominic resigned his post in 1917, returned to Ireland and was appointed to the Capuchin community in Holy Trinity Friary, Cork. Fr. Dominic soon attained notoriety in nationalist circles and was appointed chaplain to the Cork Brigade of IRA Volunteers by Tomas MacCurtain. As chaplain, Fr. Dominic was the first to appear at the MacCurtain home in Blackpool, Cork, on the morning the Sinn Féin Lord Mayor was killed by British forces (20 Mar. 1920). He also served as chaplain to MacCurtain’s successor as Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney, who was arrested on 12 Aug. 1920. Fr. Dominic ministered to MacSwiney throughout his hunger strike in Brixton Prison and was present for his death on 25 Oct. 1920. Soon after his return to Ireland, Fr. Dominic was arrested at the Capuchin Friary on Church Street, Dublin. He was taken to Dublin Castle and in January 1921 was court martialled and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. During his confinement, he became acquainted with two notable republican detainees, Ernie O’Malley and Pádraig Ó Caoimh. Fr. Dominic served about a year of his imprisonment in Parkhurst Prison. Following the Anglo-Irish Treaty in December 1921, there was a general amnesty for prisoners and Fr. Dominic was released in January 1922. On 25 February 1922, he was granted the freedom of Cork ‘as a mark of respect for his valuable services rendered to the first two Republican Lord Mayors of Cork’. With the onset of the Civil War the Capuchins in Church Street were once more involved in ministering to besieged republicans. In June 1922 the Four Courts, located only a couple of hundred meters from the Church Street Friary, was attacked by Free State forces. Fr. Dominic (assisted by Fr. Albert Bibby OFM Cap.) provided spiritual comfort, assisted in the evacuation of the wounded, and later facilitated the surrender of the defeated garrison. Soon afterwards, Fr. Dominic returned to Holy Trinity Friary, Cork. On 26 Nov. 1922 a decision was made by the Provincial Definitory of the Irish Capuchins to have Fr. Dominic transferred to the Province’s Mission in Bend, Oregon, United States. This was the location of Fr. Luke Sheehan’s (Fr. Dominic’s uncle) pioneering missionary work some years before. For the remainder of his life Fr. Dominic performed routine duties associated with the missionary apostolate of a Capuchin friar. He was appointed temporary rector of St. Francis de Sales Cathedral and published the first of a two-volume history of the Diocese of Baker in 1930. In August 1935 he sustained serious injuries in a car accident from which he never fully recovered. He died on 17 Oct. 1935 and was buried in Bend, Oregon. His remains (along with those of Fr. Albert Bibby OFM Cap.) were later repatriated to Ireland and he was buried in the cemetery of Rochestown Capuchin Friary, Cork, on 14 June 1958

Emilio Paolucci was born in Italy on 22 December 1898. His family moved to the United States in 1916. His initial contact with the Capuchins was in Watts Parish in Los Angeles. He was among the first men to join the Irish Capuchin custody in California, entering the novitiate in Ireland in October 1927. He took Alexius as his religious name and made his solemn profession in Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal in September 1932. Br. Alexius was the first Capuchin brother to volunteer for missionary work in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). He spent ten years in Africa (1936-46) making a major contribution to the mission at a critical stage of its development. The result of his skilled work as a carpenter and builder can be seen in the churches and furnishings which he constructed in Livingstone, Sichili, Sancta Maria (Lukulu), Kalabo, Maramba, and in Cape Town, South Africa. He returned to Ireland in late 1946 and spent four years residing in St. Bonaventure’s Friary and with the community in Rochestown in County Cork. He returned to the United States in December 1950. His first assignment was in Santa Inés near Solvang in California where he worked for twelve years restoring and renovating the historic buildings of the old mission. In 1963 he was appointed to the newly established West Coast novitiate at San Lorenzo in Santa Inés Valley. He resided at the novitiate until 1970 before moving to Watts in Los Angeles and later to St. Francis High School in La Cañada Flintridge in California. He subsequently returned to San Lorenzo Seminary and died there on 27 August 1983. He was buried in the adjoining cemetery.

Baptismal name: Emilio Paolucci
Religious name: Br. Alexius Paolucci OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 22 Dec. 1898
Place of birth: Carovilli, Italy
Name of father: Salvatore Paolucci
Name of mother: Cleta Paolucci
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1927
Date of first profession: 31 Mar. 1929
Date of final profession: 26 Sept. 1932
Missionary activities: Travelled to Victoria Falls Prefecture, Northern Rhodesia, on 5 Sept. 1936. He returned to Ireland in Nov. 1946. He travelled to the Western American Mission on 3 Dec. 1950.
Date of death: 27 Aug. 1983
Place of death: San Lorenzo Seminary, California, United States
Place of burial: Cemetery, San Lorenzo Seminary, Old Mission Santa Inés, Solvang, California, United States

Nicholas Phelan was born in Graiguenamanagh, a small town on the border between Counties Carlow and Kilkenny, on 16 June 1874. He joined the Capuchins at the age of sixteen, took Benedict as his religious name, and was professed in 1891. He was ordained a priest in Holy Trinity church in Cork in January 1899. Following his ordination, he was appointed Master of Novices and spent five years ministering in Cork. In 1904 he was transferred to the Capuchin Friary on Church Street in Dublin. He worked in the capital for the next forty years and was the principal organiser of the choir in St. Mary of the Angels on Church Street for most of this time. He served as Provincial Secretary from 1910 to 1913. He was appointed vicar in 1919 and was guardian (local superior) of the Capuchin community on Church Street from 1922 to 1925. He acted as spiritual director of the Sacred Heart Sodality for many years and was also director of the local Third Order of St. Francis confraternity. He was well-known as a mission and retreat giver throughout Ireland but particularly in almost all the parishes in County Dublin. At the time of his death (on 19 July 1947) he was a member of the Capuchin community in Kilkenny. He died in a nursing home at 7 Mount Street Crescent in Dublin following a long period of illness and was buried in Glasnevin cemetery in the city.

Baptismal name: Nicholas Phelan
Name in religion: Benedict
Date of birth: 16 June 1874
Place of birth: Graiguenamanagh, County Kilkenny (Diocese of Kildare of Leighlin)
Name of father: John Phelan
Name of mother: Mary Phelan
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 23 June 1890
Date of first profession: 15 Aug. 1891
Date of final profession: 11 Oct. 1896
Date of ordination: 8 Jan. 1899
Date of death: 19 July 1947
Place of death: Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin

Thomas Joseph Prendiville was born in Ballymacelligott in County Kerry on 27 November 1924. His early education was in the local national school and later at the Capuchin College in Rochestown, County Cork. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in October 1944 and took Bartholomew as his religious name. He obtained a BA degree in philosophy from University College Cork in 1948. He completed his theological studies in Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal and was ordained to the priesthood on 12 June 1952. He returned to St. Bonaventure’s Friary in Cork and obtained a Higher Diploma in Education (UCC) before travelling to Norther Rhodesia (now Zambia) for missionary work in 1953. He spent eighteen years in Zambia. In 1971 he was transferred to the Cape Town mission in South Africa. His years in Zambia mainly involved work in the education sector, first as a manager of schools at several mission stations, and later as education secretary in Livingstone. In South Africa, he served as parish priest in several churches in various Cape Town suburbs including Langa, Belgravia and Parow. He served as consultor to the Regular Superior of the Cape Town mission on two occasions (1971-4; 1974-7). He was elected Regular Superior in 1977 and held this position until 1983. He died in Parow, Cape Town, on 7 July 2004 and was buried in Maitland Cemetery.

Baptismal name: Thomas Joseph Prendiville
Religious name: Fr. Bartholomew Prendiville OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 27 Nov. 1924
Place of birth: Ballymacelligott, County Kerry
Name of father: Michael Prendiville
Name of mother: Hanora Prendiville (née Scanlon)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1944
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1945
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1948
Date of ordination (as priest): 12 June 1952
Educational attainments: BA (1948); Higher Diploma in Education (1953)
Missionary activities: Travelled to Livingstone, Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia) on 26 Aug. 1953. He was transferred to Cape Town, South Africa, on 12 May 1971.
Leadership positions: Regular Superior, Cape Town Mission, South Africa, 1977-83
Date of death: 7 July 2004
Place of death: Parrow, Cape Town, South Africa
Place of burial: Maitland Cemetery, Cape Town, South Africa

Peter Quinn, the son of Thomas and Teresa Quinn, was born in Rhode, King’s County (Offaly), on 3 December 1888. He joined the Capuchin Order in the novitiate at Rochestown, County Cork, in August 1906, taking Raphael as his religious name. His degrees were taken at the National University of Ireland, and he also spent some time studying in the Gregorian University in Rome. Following the completion of his ecclesiastical studies in Rochestown, he was ordained to the priesthood in Holy Trinity Church, Cork, on 5 July 1914. After working for some years in Kilkenny, he travelled to the United States in 1919. He was appointed Pastor in Ukiah, California, in 1922. Here his energy was devoted to the building of St. Mary’s Church and supervising improvements to the adjoining presbytery. The church was opened and blessed by the Most Rev. Edward J. Hanna, Archbishop of San Francisco, on 25 March 1924. Fr. Quinn was also responsible for the building of St. Anthony’s Parish Church in Willits (just north of Ukiah) in Mendocino County, California. Aside from his parochial duties, he was also well known for his ministry to Native Americans (most notably the Pomo Indians of California). In 1925 he was elected Pastor and Superior of Sacred Heart Parish in Lincoln, Nebraska. He remained in Lincoln for nine years, building a new parish church and school. He was also responsible for bringing the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary from Dubuque (Iowa) to teach in the local parochial school and served as chaplain in the state penitentiary. In 1932 a fire (caused by a faulty radio) engulfed the Lincoln parish rectory building. Adam Sassenberger, the parish caretaker who was staying at the house at the time, perished in the blaze. Raphael Quinn suffered serious injuries in the incident from which he never fully recovered. He returned to Ukiah in 1934 and remained there until his death (following a long illness) on 6 February 1940. He was buried in the Catholic Cemetery in Ukiah.

Baptismal name: Peter Quinn
Religious name: Fr. Raphael Quinn OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 3 Dec. 1888
Place of birth: Rhode, County Offaly (Diocese of Kildare & Leighlin)
Name of father: Thomas Quinn
Name of mother: Teresa Quinn (née Dunne)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 26 Aug. 1906
Date of first profession: 17 Sept. 1907
Date of final profession: 21 Jan. 1912
Date of ordination (as priest): 5 July 1914
Educational attainments: BA, 1911
Missionary assignments: Travelled to the United States in Nov. 1919
Date of death: 6 Feb. 1940
Place of death: Ukiah, California

Baptismal name: Hugh Quinn
Religious name: Fr. Salvator Quinn OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 21 Feb. 1918
Place of birth: Ardkeen, Portaferry, County Down (Diocese of Down and Connor)
Name of father: Patrick Quinn (Farmer)
Name of mother: Elizabeth Quinn (née Dynes)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1938
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1939
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1942
Date of ordination (as priest): 20 June 1946
Educational attainments: BA, 2nd class hons, University College Cork (1942)
Missionary activities: Travelled to the Prefecture of Victoria Falls, Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia) on 29 Nov. 1946; Guardian, Christ the King Mission, Maramba, Zambia; Vicar General of the Diocese of Livingstone, 1950-72; Secretary to Bishop Timothy Phelim O’Shea, Bishop Adrian Mung'andu and Bishop Raymond Mpezele in Livingstone.
Date of death: 15 Aug. 2000
Place of death: Raheny, Dublin
Place of burial: Dardistown Cemetery, County Dublin

George Albert Ratigan was born in County Roscommon on 4 October 1906. He entered the Capuchin novitiate at the age of twenty-four and took Robert as his religious name. He spent the three years of his simple profession at St. Bonaventure’s Hostel in Cork and took his philosophy degree from University College Cork. He was solemnly professed as a Capuchin friar on 4 October 1934. Following four years of theological study at Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal, he was ordained to the priesthood in St. Eunan’s Cathedral in Letterkenny on 19 June 1938. His first assignment was in Kilkenny (1938-41) which was followed by two years with the Church Street community in Dublin. He returned to Kilkenny in 1943 and he remained there until 1952. He volunteered for missionary work in the Irish Capuchin custody in the United States in 1955. He did parish supply work in several parishes on the East Coast of the United States while stationed at St. Patrick’s Friary in Wilmington, Delaware. In 1964 he spent some time at Our Lady of Angels in Burlingame, California. From there he went to St. Joseph’s Parish in Oregon. He also conducted missions and was active in parish work in Ukiah, California, and in Roseburg, Oregon. He returned to Ireland in 1969 and was appointed once again to Kilkenny where he remained until his death on 1 February 1983. He was buried in the Capuchin plot in Foulkstown Cemetery, County Kilkenny.

Baptismal name: George Albert Ratigan
Religious name: Fr. Robert Ratigan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 4 Oct. 1906
Place of birth: Rathmore South, Kilbride, County Roscommon (Diocese of Elphin)
Name of father: Michael Ratigan
Name of mother: Catherine Ratigan (née Doyle)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1930
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1931
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1934
Date of ordination (as priest): 19 June 1938
Educational attainments: BA (1934)
Missionary activities: Travelled to the United States mission in 1955. He returned to Ireland in 1969.
Date of death: 1 Feb. 1983
Place of death: Kilkenny
Place of burial: Foulkstown Cemetery, County Kilkenny

Baptismal name: James Rice
Religious name: Fr. Canice Rice OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 26 May 1870
Place of birth: James Street, Kilkenny (Diocese of Ossory)
Name of father: William Rice (Police Constable)
Name of mother: Jane Rice (née Kennedy)
Date of death: 23 Feb. 1896
Place of death: Church Street, Dublin