List of post-reformation saints in Ireland explained

This page is a list of post-reformation saints, blesseds, venerables, and Servants of God in Ireland, as recognised by the Roman Catholic Church. These people were born, died, or lived their religious life in Ireland.

Saints

• Joannes Andreas Houben (Charles of Saint Andrew) (1821–1893), Professed Priest of the Passionists (Limburg, Netherlands – Dublin, Ireland)
  • Declared "Venerable": 10 May 1979
  • Beatified: 16 October 1988 by Pope John Paul II
  • Canonized: 3 June 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI

Blesseds

• Edmund Ignatius Rice (1762–1844), Widower; Founder of the Irish Christian Brothers and the Presentation Brothers of Mary (Kilkenny – Waterford City, Ireland)
  • Declared "Venerable": 2 April 1993
  • Beatified: 6 October 1996 by Pope John Paul II
• Joseph Marmion (Columba) (1858–1923), Professed Priest of the Benedictines (Annunciation Congregation) (Dublin, Ireland – Namur, Belgium)
  • Declared "Venerable": 28 June 1999
  • Beatified: 3 September 2000 by Pope John Paul II
• John Sullivan (1861–1933), Professed Priest of the Jesuits (Dublin, Ireland)
  • Declared "Venerable": 7 November 2014
  • Beatified: 13 May 2017 by Cardinal Angelo Amato, S.D.B.

Venerables

• Matt Talbot (1856–1925), Layperson of the Archdiocese of Dublin; Member of the Secular Franciscans (Dublin, Ireland)
  • Declared "Venerable": 3 October 1975
• Catherine McAuley (1778–1841), Founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy (Dublin, Ireland)
  • Declared "Venerable": 9 April 1990
• Edel Mary Quinn (1907–1944), Layperson of the Archdioceses of Nairobi and Dublin; Member of the Legion of Mary (Cork, Ireland – Nairobi, Kenya)
  • Declared "Venerable": 15 December 1994
• Honora [Nano] Nagle (1718–1784), Founder of the Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Cork, Ireland)
  • Declared "Venerable": 31 October 2013
• Mary Aikenhead (1787–1858), Founder of the Religious Sisters of Charity of Ireland (Cork – Dublin, Ireland)
  • Declared "Venerable": 18 March 2015
• Patrick Peyton (1909–1992), Professed Priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross (Mayo, Ireland – California, United)
  • Declared "Venerable": December 18, 2017

Servants of God

• Andrew Mullen (1790–1818), Priest of the Diocese of Kildaire and Leighlin (Offaly – Kilkenny, Ireland)^[1]
• Alice O'Sullivan (Louise) (1836–1870), Vowed Member of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul; Martyr (Tipperary, Ireland – Hebei, China)^[2]
• Patrick Ryan (1845–1878), Priest of the Diocese of Knoxville (Tipperary, Ireland – Tennessee, United States)^{[3] [4]}
• Margaret Mary Healy Murphy (1833–1907), Widow; Founder of the Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate (Cahersiveen, Ireland – Texas, United States)^[5]
• William [Willie] Doyle (1873–1917), Professed Priest of the Jesuits (Dublin, Ireland – Zonnebeke, Belgium)^[6]
• Joseph Shanahan (1871–1943), Professed Priest of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans); Bishop of Onitsha; Founder of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (Tipperary, Ireland – Nairobi, Kenya)^[7]
• Edward Joseph Flanagan (1886–1948), Priest of the Archdiocese of Omaha (Roscommon, Ireland – Nebraska, United States)^{[8] [9] [10]}
• Martyrs of North Korea
  • Anthony Collier (1913–1950), Priest of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban; Martyr (Louth, Ireland – Gangwon, South Korea)^[11]
  • Patrick Reilly (1915–1950), Priest of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban; Martyr (Westmeath, Ireland – Gangwon, South Korea)^[12]
  • Thomas Cusack (1910–1950), Priest of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban; Martyr (Clare, Ireland – Daejeon, South Korea)^{[13] [14] [15]}
  • John O'Brien (1924–1950), Priest of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban; Martyr (Roscommon, Ireland – Daejeon, South Korea)^[16]
  • Francis Canavan (1915–1950), Priest of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban; Martyr (Galway, Ireland – Chagang, North Korea)^{[17] [18]}
• Teresa Kearney (Mary Kevin) (1875–1957), Founder of the Little Sisters of Saint Francis and the Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa (Wicklow, Ireland – Massachusetts, United States)^{[19] [20]}
• Alphonsus [Alfie] Lambe (1932–1959), Layperson of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires; Member of the Legion of Mary (Offaly, Ireland – Buenos Aires, Argentina)
• Francis Michael [Frank] Duff (1889–1980), Layperson of the Archdiocese of Dublin; Founder of the Legion of Mary (Dublin, Ireland)
• Declan O'Toole (1971–2002), Priest of the Mill Hill Missionaries; Martyr (Galway, Ireland – Kotido, Uganda)^{[21] [22]}
• Colm O'Brien (1973–2009), Priest of the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore (Waterford City – Dublin, Ireland)^{[23] [24]}

Candidates for sainthood

• John Christopher Drumgoole (1816–1888), Priest of the Archdiocese of New York; Founder of the Sisters of Francis of the Mission of the Immaculate Virgin (Longford, Ireland – New York, United States)
• Ellen Whitty (Mary Vincent) (1819 - 1892), Professed Religious of the Religious Sisters of Mary (Wexford, Ireland - Queensland, Australia)
• Patrick Manogue (1831–1895), Bishop of Sacramentp (Kilkenny, Ireland – California, United States)^[25]
• Mary Ellen O'Connell (Anthony) (1814–1897), Professed Religious of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati (Limerick, Ireland – Ohio, United States)
• Geraldine Gibbons (Scholastica) (1817–1901), Founder of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan (Kinsale, Ireland – New South Wales, Australia)^{[26] [27]}
• Ellen [Nellie] Organ (1903–1908), Child of the Diocese of Cork and Ross (Waterford – Cork, Ireland)
• Mary Gonzaga Barry (1834–1915), Professed Religious of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Loreto Sisters) (Wexford, Ireland – Victoria, Australia)
• Catherine Mehegan (Mary Xavier) (1825–1915), Founder of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth (Cork, Ireland – New Jersey, United States)
• James Edwin Coyle (1873–1921), Priest of the Diocese of Birmingham; Martyr (Roscommon, Ireland – Alabama, United States)^[28]
• Patrick Heslin (1857–1921), Priest of the Archdiocese of San Francisco; Martyr (Longford, Ireland – California, United States)^[29]
• Missionary Martyrs of China:
  • Timothy Leonard (1893–1929), Priest of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban (Limerick, Ireland – Jiangxi, China)^[30]
  • Cornelius Tierney (1872–1931), Priest of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban (Monaghan, Ireland – Jiangxi, China)
• Johanna Butler (Marie Joseph) (1860–1940), Professed Religious of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (Kilkenny, Ireland – New York, United States)^[31]
• Missionary Martyrs of Papua New Guinea:
  • Michael Murphy (1911–1942), Professed Priest of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (Cork, Ireland – New Ireland, Papua New Guinea)
  • William Culhane (1897–1943), Professed Priest of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (Cork, Ireland – East New Britain, Papua New Guinea)
• Martyrs of the 1945 Battle of Manila, Philippines:^[32]
  • John Heneghan (1882–1945), Priest of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban (Mayo, Ireland – Manila, Philippines)
  • Patrick Kelley (1891–1945), Priest of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban (Offaly, Ireland – Manila, Philippines)
  • Joseph Monoghan (1907–1945), Priest of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban (Down, Ireland – Manila, Philippines)
  • Peter Fallon (1895–1945), Priest of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban (Galway, Ireland – Manila, Philippines)
  • John Lalor (1897–1945), Priest of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban (Cork, Ireland – Manila, Philippines)
  • William Kelly (Egbert Xavier) (1894–1945), Professed Religious of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Brothers) (Wicklow, Ireland – Manila, Philippines)
  • John Corcoran (Flavius Leo) (1876–1945), Professed Religious of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Brothers) (Kilkenny, Ireland – Manila, Philippines)
• Thomas Murphy (1906–1945), Priest of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban; Martyr (Kildare, Ireland – Mandalay, Myanmar)^[33]
• Thomas Flynn (1908–1950), Priest of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban; Martyr (Clare, Ireland – Pangasinan, Philippines)^[34]
• Elsie Quinlan (Mary Aidan) (1914–1952), Professed Religious of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine of Siena of King William's Town; Martyr (Cork, Ireland – Eastern Cape, South Africa)^[35]
• Hugh O'Flaherty (1898–1963), Priest of the Vicariate of Rome (Cork – Kerry, Ireland)
• John Walsh (1921–1964), Priest of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban; Martyr (Cork, Ireland – Kachin, Myanmar)^[36]
• Bridget Della Mary Gavin (Mary Ignatia) (1889–1966), Professed Religious of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Aigustine (Mayo, Ireland – Ohio, United States)
• Sarah Agnes Thackaberry (Cecilia) (1909–1969), Professed Religious of the Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Martyr (Dublin, Ireland – Imo, Nigeria)^[37]
• Martin Dempsey (1934–1970), Priest of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban; Martyr (Dublin, Ireland – Lanao del Sur, Philippines)^[34]
• John Conway (1935–1977), Professed Priest of the Jesuits; Martyr (Kerry, Ireland – Harare, Zimbabwe)^[38]
• Joan Sawyer (1932–1983), Professed Religious of the Missionary Sisters of Saint Columban; Martyr (Antrim, Ireland – Lima, Peru)^[39]
• Martin Boyle (1942–1994), Priest of Saint Patrick's Missionary Society; Martyr (Clare, Ireland – near Nairobi, Kenya)
• Edward Kerrigan (Senan) (1937–1994), Professed Religious of the Irish Christian Brothers; Martyr (Wexford, Ireland – Tonkolili, Sierra Leone)^[40]
• Felim McAllister (1941–1994), Professed Priest of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans); Martyr (Dublin, Ireland – Kenema, Sierra Leone)^{[41] [40]}
• Vincent Power (1931–1994), Priest of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban; Martyr (Tipperary, Ireland – Trelawny, Jamaica)^[42]
• Eileen Connell (Mary Petronilla) (1946–1995), Professed Religious of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles; Martyr (Kerry, Ireland – Ughelli North, Nigeria)^[37]
• Larry Timmons (Placidus) (1948–1997), Professed Religious of the Franciscan Brothers of the Third Order Regular of Mountbellew; Martyr (Westmeath, Ireland – Molo, Kenya)
• Sheila Corcoran (1925–2000), Professed Religious of the Dominican Sisters of Cabra; Martyr (Kerry, Ireland – Port Elizabeth, South Africa)^[35]
• Rufus Halley (1944–2001), Priest of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban; Martyr (Waterford, Ireland – Lanao del Sur, Philippines)^[34]
• Declan Collins (1952–2002), Professed Priest of the Salesians of Don Bosco; Martyr (Louth, Ireland – Gauteng, South Africa)^[35]
• Michael Courtney (1945–2003), Titular Archbishop of Eanach Dúin; Apostolic Nuncio to Burundi; Martyr (Tipperary, Ireland – Bujumbura, Burundi)^[43]
• Mary Philomena Fogarty (Mary Coirle) (1935–2003), Professed Religious of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary; Martyr (Cork, Ireland – Virginia, United States)^[29]
• John Francis Hannon (1939–2004), Priest of the Society of African Missions; Martyr (Limerick, Ireland – Ngong, Kenya)^[44]
• Jeremiah Roche (1941–2009), Priest of the Saint Patrick's Missionary Society; Martyr (Limerick, Ireland – Kericho, Kenya)^[44]
• Bernadette Conway (John Berchmans) (1929–2022), Professed Religious of the Religious of Jesus and Mary (Clare, Ireland – Karachi, Pakistan)^[45]

See also

• List of post-reformation saints in the United Kingdom
• List of Catholic martyrs of the English Reformation
• List of American candidates for sainthood
• List of Canadian Catholic saints and beatified people
• List of Scandinavian saints

Notes and References

1. Web site: Case for Daingean priest to be saint. 4 May 2000. The Irish Times.
2. Web site: China – Claude Chevrier, Wu Vincentius, Marie-Thérèse Marquet and 9 Companions from the Vincentian Family of the Diocese of Tianjin. Hagiography Circle.
3. Web site: Sainthood inquiry continues for Tennessee priest who died in yellow fever epidemic. Catholic News Agency. 3 October 2020. Kevin J. Jones.
4. Web site: Canonization Cause for Father Patrick Ryan Moves Forward. National Catholic Register. 6 October 2020. Kethy Schiffer.
5. Web site: Cahersiveen cause for canonisation opened in Texas. 10 June 2021. Jason Osborne. The Irish Catholic.
6. Web site: Cause opens for canonisation of Fr Willie Doyle. 1 November 2022. The Tablet. Sarah MacDonald.
7. Web site: Cause of Canonization of Bishop Joseph Shanahan, C.S.Sp. mshr.org.
8. https://fatherflanagan.org/canonization-process/ Father Flanagan League
9. Web site: Boys Town founder, Father Flanagan, advances on path to sainthood. America: The Jesuit Review. 24 July 2019.
10. Web site: Father Flanagan sainthood process takes important step forward. 6 News on Yourside. 23 July 2019.
11. Web site: KOREAN MARTYRS – Fr. Tony Collier. koreanmartyrs.com.
12. Web site: KOREAN MARTYRS – Fr. Paddy Reilly. koreanmartyrs.com.
13. Web site: Two missionaries, one a martyr who refused to leave his flock, are connected by name, vocation and family. 11 November 2022. The Catholic Voice. Susan Szalewski.
14. Web site: Irish priest murdered by Communist forces may be made a saint. 25 September 2013. Irish Mirror.
15. Web site: KOREAN MARTYRS – Fr. Tommie Cusack. koreanmartyrs.com.
16. Web site: KOREAN MARTYRS – Fr. Jack O'Brien. koreanmartyrs.com.
17. Web site: Beatification call for Galway-born missionary martyr. 11 December 2013. Connacht Tribune. Dara Bradley.
18. Web site: KOREAN MARTYRS – Fr. Frank Canavan. koreanmartyrs.com.
19. Web site: Cause of Beatification of Mother Kevin Kearney OSF (1875–1957). Archdiocese of Armagh.
20. Web site: Uganda: Irish Missionary Nun on the way to canonisation. Independent Catholic News. 28 November 2018. Matt Moran.
21. Web site: Uganda/Ireland: 20th Anniversary Of Violent Death Of Fr Declan O’Toole MHM. 21 March 2022. Mill Hill Missionaries.
22. Web site: Sainthood calls for young headford priest. 25 March 2015. The Tuam Herald. Tom Gilmore.
23. Web site: Irish priest who died of cancer at 36 put on first step of path to sainthood. 3 December 2018. Independent. Susan Gately.
24. Web site: More than a hundred people consider cause for Tipperary priest. 10 December 2018. The Tablet. Susan Gately.
25. Web site: Gold rush miner turned Catholic bishop considered for beatification. Diocese of Sacramento.
26. Web site: Our Story The Sisters of The Good Samaritan. goodsams.org. 15 March 2023.
27. Web site: Opening the Door to a Saint. 15 March 2023. sosj.org.
28. Web site: Remembering James Coyle: The Irish priest the Ku Klux Klan killed. Irish Central.
29. Web site: Martyrs with Isolated Cases. Hagiography Circle.
30. Web site: From Ireland to China and Martyrdom: The Legacy of Father Timothy Leonard. 10 April 2019. National Catholic Register. Georgette Bechara.
31. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mother-Marie-Joseph-Butler Mother Marie Joseph Butler
32. Web site: Victims of War – Philippines. Hagiography Circle.
33. Web site: Victims of War – Myanmar. Hagiography Circle.
34. Web site: Missionary Martyrs in the Philippines. Hagiography Circle.
35. Web site: Missionary Martyrs in South Africa. Hagiography Circle.
36. Web site: Martyrs of Totaliatarian States and Movements – Myanmar. Hagiography Circle.
37. Web site: Missionary Martyrs in Nigeria. Hagiography Circle.
38. Web site: Missionary Martyrs in Zimbabwe. Hagiography Circle.
39. Web site: A Beatitude Woman, Sister Joan Sawyer, 30 Years On. columbansisters.org.
40. Web site: Missionary Martyrs in Sierra Leone. Hagiography Circle.
41. Web site: Fr. Felim McAllister: Irish Martyr of Sierra Leone. 12 March 2021. Mission Priest.
42. Web site: Missionary Martyrs in Jamaica. Hagiography Circle.
43. Web site: Missionary Martyrs in Burundi. Hagiography Circle.
44. Web site: Missionary Martyrs in Kenya. Hagiography Circle.
45. Web site: Irish nun who spent a lifetime teaching in Pakistan dies. 22 December 2022. Union of Catholic Asian News. Kamran Chaudhry.