Letter from Irish Fr Provincial John Fahy SJ to Fr Aubrey Gwynn SJ concerning the newly founded ‘lectureship in Ancient History in U.C.D.’. ‘I feel that you will be very much disappointed when I ask you… to present yourself as a candidate; for I know that you wish to go to China. Do try to forgive me when I ask you to do something that pleases you less.’

A file of letters from Fr Thomas Cahill SJ (Superior of the Mission 1872-79) to Irish Fr Provincial concerning his life and work in Australia. Includes a letter written from Macao, China concerning the expulsion of the Society from the colony due '...to the hostility of a newly appointed Administrator of the diocese. He's the chief author of a new code of rules for his seminary one of which excludes foreigners.' Continues '...I am to go to Australia.' (20 July 1871, 4pp) Includes a letter referring to the laying of the foundation stone of St Francis Xavier, Melbourne on 8 December 1872. Refers to the passing of the Education Bill. Remarks 'The Bill establishes compulsory free and secular education Catholics cannot therefor accept it...' (2 January 1873, 6pp). Includes a letter confirming his appointment as acting superior of St Patrick's College (21 May 1873, 4pp). Includes a letter concerning the provision of education for the poor and the possibility of the Christian Brothers and the Sacred Heart Sisters establishing such schools in the Richmond Mission (10 September 1873, 4pp). Includes a letter referring to the erection of a wooden house at Kew to establish a school for the sixty Catholic children in Kew (10 August 1874, 3pp). Includes a letter referring to the building of Kew College. Remarks that work has been stopped because the tenders were far higher than expected. Refers to the opening of St John's College in Sydney. Remarks '(The)...college was opened with great eclat by Dr. Vaughan last week. This college under him will be a formidable rival.' (19 April 1875, 6pp). Includes a letter referring to Fr Dalton and a story concerning him and his endeavours on the part of two children whom he promised (to their dying Mother) to see reared as Catholics. Remarks that the incident has attracted a lot of publicity and that a question will be asked in Parliament on the subject. (12 July 1875, 4pp). Includes a letter referring to Dr Moran, Bishop of Dunedin, New Zealand and his invitation to the Society to set up a college at Dunedin (14 November 1876, 3pp). Includes a letter referring to a meeting with the recently appointed Archbishop of Sydney who offered an invitation to the Society to establish a Mission in Sydney (10 March 1877, 7pp).

Photograph of Fr Patrick Joy SJ (front row, centre), Bishop Francis Xavier Ford and the Maryknoll Sisters, Kaying, China at the end of their retreat.

Photograph depicting the ordination of a group of Chinese priests by Bishop Francis Xavier Ford (son of Patrick Ford of Clann na Gael and owner of 'Irish World' in fenian days in U.S.A.. Fr Patrick Joy SJ is seen on the extreme left of the photograph, second row. Other Irish Jesuits are in the photograph.

Letter from Fr Thomas Cahill SJ, College of St Joseph, Macao, to Fr Stephen Farrell SJ, St Ignatius College, Galway. Refers to two unanswered letters sent to Fr Michael Bellew SJ, and asks Fr Farrell to inquire into the matter. Expresses concern in relation to the fate of money sent to him for the purchase of certain articles, and explains that if he not able to account for the money, the Society will be thought ill of.

Carte postale from Fr Richard Gallagher SJ, Catholic Mission, Shiu-Hing, West River, China to Mrs M. A. Archibald (aunt), 16 Lower Gardiner street, Dublin, describing Chinese students and his teachings.

Mission bulletin No.2 entitled ‘Irish Jesuits in China’, which mentions the work and demand for the services of Fr Gallagher. Gives brief background information on Fr Gallagher.

Photograph of Fr Richard Gallagher SJ, with writing on reverse 'My dear Pauline, Just a wee line of best wishes for a happy Christmas ...The people with me are all lepers. I paid them a visit last August'.

Copy of letter from Chinese Christians to the Fr General.

Copy of a letter from Fr Edward Bourke SJ to Denis McCullough, giving an account of the death of his brother, Fr Joseph P McCullough SJ.

Mission material relating to Fr Patrick McGovern SJ. Includes announcement of death, obituary, personal record, and correspondence between Fr McGovern and Fr Thomas J Martin SJ, Mission Office, Dublin.

Material relating to Fr John J Neary SJ, including catalogue entry, correspondence regarding his time in Hong Kong and biographical information.

Statement of an agreement signed by the Vicars Apostolic in China as a model for any group of Jesuits coming to work in China.

Photocopy map depicting eastern China (newspaper cutting).

A file relating to the opening of the senior division of the Wah Yan College, Kowloon.

A file relating to the scholasticate in Shanghai. Includes a memorandum by Fr Thomas Cooney SJ outlining his views on the scholasticate.

A file relating to the accounts of the Language School in Canton. Includes a note concerning the Procurator of the mission who was to reside permanently in Ireland.

A file of letters from scholastics studying in the scholasticate, Zi-Ka-Wei, Shanghai, China to Irish Fr Provincial concerning their studies and lives in Shanghai.

Note relating to a decision to open an Apostolic School at Loyola - to train possible candidates for the Society.

Copy of a letter, unsigned, Sacred Heart School, Taai San Road, Canton to the Superior of the mission, Fr Thomas Cooney SJ concerning a request by the Bishop of Swatow for the Irish Jesuits to take charge of a college in the town. Remarks that he was asked by the Bishop and the Rev. Procurator, Fr Desruelles to put their case before the Superior of the mission.

Custom book for the Chinese mission. Includes comments on the Custom book.

Letters from J. P. McCarthy SJ, Heythorp College, Chipping, North Oxon. to Irish Fr Provincial Thomas Byrne SJ concerning the finances of Hong Kong, in particular Canton.

Letter from the Maryknoll Fathers, Maryknoll, New York addressed 'Dear Friend' offering the services of the Maryknoll Fathers in Chungking, Free China in forwarding mail to people in China.

Letter from Au Sik Ling, 22 Danby Grove, Thornaby-in-Tees, Yorkshire to Irish Fr Provincial John R. MacMahon SJ concerning a letter he brought from Fr Ryan in Kweiliu, the capital of the southern province of Kwangsi in China.

A file relating to the possibility of working with lepers in China.

Copy of a letter from the Internuncio Apostolic in China concerning the possibility of establishing a Catholic University in Canton under the direction of the Jesuit Fathers. Expresses his pleasure at the enlargement of the Jesuit Language School in Hong Kong.

Memorandum written by Fr Thomas Fitzgerald SJ at Fr Patrick Joy's request concerning the activities of Irish Jesuits in Macao.

Copy of Memorandum written by Fr Thomas Fitzgerald SJ at Fr Patrick Joy's request concerning the activities of Irish Jesuits in Macao.

A file relating to correspondence between the Irish Province and the Provincial of the Portuguese Province. The file relates to the Portuguese Mission in Macao and the Portuguese Provincial's wish that the Irish Province take over the Jesuit institutions in the Macao Diocese and to accept the mission territory at present cared for by the Portuguese Province.

A file containing notes on issues relating to the Hong Kong mission, discussion points for the Superior of the mission and an agenda for Irish Fr Provincial concerning various issues relating to the mission.

Letter from the Vicar Apostolic of Canton to Irish Fr Provincial Laurence Kieran SJ regretting the forthcoming departure of the Jesuits withdrawal from Canton at the end of the academic year. Includes a copy of a reply from Fr Kieran SJ.

A file relating to visitors to the Chinese/Hong Kong mission. The letters relate to the administration of the mission and the Jesuits working in the mission. Includes a copy of a letter from the Superior of the mission Fr Thomas F Ryan SJ to Fr Visitor, Fr Burkhardt SJ concerning the mission in light of the communist occupation of the neighbouring provinces of China. Describes the effects of this occupation on the work of the mission (15 January 1950, 11pp).

Copy of a report on the Chinese mission written in French relating to a suitable mission district for the Irish Jesuit mission in China. Includes a document on the same subject prepared by Fr Tom Cooney SJ.

Document concerning new regulations on the type of apostolate work being carried out in China. The document was circulated at a General Congregation of the Society.

Copies of documents sent to the Province entitled 'China. Secretive Directives on how to Destroy the Church' from International Fides Service.

Advertisement leaflet for a sale of work in aid of the Irish Jesuit mission to China.

A file relating to the deaths of Frs Michael Saul SJ and Joseph McCullough SJ from cholera.

A file of letters and telegrams from the Superior of the mission, Fr Patrick Joy SJ to Irish Fr Provincial.

Correspondence between the Irish Fr Provincial and various Jesuits concerning proposals by two English Jesuits, Fr Frederick Wilcock and Fr Ryder, to visit Ireland in order to lecture and collect money for the Jesuit Mission in Estonia and a school for Russian boys in Shanghai. Irish Fr Provincial opposes both proposals.

Letter from Fr Edward J. Galvin, Catholic Mission, Chii Chow via Lanchi, Chekaing, China to the Apostolics of Mungret College encouraging the students to persevere with their vocation and to consider China for their future work.

Cassette tape of reminiscences of Fr Albert Cooney SJ concerning the attack on Singapore and surrender, the Japanese attack on Hong Kong, life under the Japanese, journey to China and life in a Chinese village, journey to Hanoi, North Vietnam, recall to Macau and the Jesuit school in Macau (1943 - 1945).

A file relating to the establishment of a foreign mission to China and the foundation of a school for higher studies in Hong Kong.

Copy of a document from Rome concerning studies in the Chinese language for Jesuit Missioners.

Map of Canton. Scale 1:25,000.

A file of letters from Fr Richard Gallagher SJ to Irish Fr Provincial concerning his journey to Hong Kong, learning Chinese, his work in the Chinese mission and in Wah Yan College.

A file of letters from Fr Daniel MacDonald SJ to Irish Fr Provincial concerning the Hong Kong mission, describing his work in villages around the West River (Shiuhing).

A file of letters from Fr Joseph McCullough SJ to Irish Fr Provincial concerning his journey to Hong Kong and his work in China.

File of material relating to Fr John O'Meara SJ. Includes passport photograph; announcement of death; obituaries; personal record; newspaper articles on his detention by the Chinese (1953); correspondence between Fr O'Meara and Fr Thomas J. Martin SJ, Mission Office, Dublin.

A file of letters from Fr Gerald L Kennedy SJ to Irish Fr Provincial concerning his work in Hong Kong. Includes a letter concerning his voyage home. Remarks 'Just a line to tell you that Frs Fitzgerald, Gallagher and myself are ploughing our way through the Gulf of Aden on our way home after 3½ years of hunger and deprivation…' Discusses the other Jesuits still in Hong Kong (24 October 1945, 2pp).

A file of telegrams from Fr Albert Cooney SJ to Irish Fr Provincial concerning the Hong Kong mission.

A file of letters from Fr Joseph J. McAsey SJ to Irish Fr Provincial concerning the Hong Kong mission.

A file of letters from various individuals living and working in Hong Kong to Irish Fr Provincial concerning their work in the Hong Kong mission.

A file of letters from Fr Daniel Donnelly SJ to Irish Fr Provincial.

A file of letters from Fr Daniel J Finn SJ to Irish Fr Provincial concerning his voyage to China, the early years of the Chinese mission and his work in the mission. Includes a letter describing the difficulties he has encountered in learning Chinese (8 April 1927, 6pp). Includes a description of a visit to a mission in Shiuhing (9 May 1927, 14pp). Includes a letter discussing the staffing needs for the Hostel attached to Hong Kong University (17 May 1927, 8pp). Includes a letter describing the move to the Sacred Heart College Canton, China. Describes how they are settling in (9 September 1928, 8pp).

A file relating to Irish Jesuits working and living in China and Hong Kong during the rise in communism after the Second World War. Includes newspaper cuttings and descriptions by the Irish Jesuits of their experiences.

A file of letters from Fr Thomas F. Ryan SJ to Irish Fr Provincial concerning the Hong Kong mission during the Second World War and his work in Hong Kong afterwards.

A file relating to the imprisonment of Frs Patrick Joy and Gerard Casey by the Japanese.

Letter from J. E. Walsh, Superior General, Maryknoll, New York to Irish Fr Provincial John R. MacMahon SJ, St Francis Xavier's Church, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin concerning notes sent from China intended for the Irish Province.

A file relating to assistance obtained by the Irish Province from the Irish Red Cross in sending telegrams and money to the Irish Jesuits in Shanghai.

Pamphlet entitled 'The Irish Jesuits in China'.

Magazine entitled 'The Far East' published by the Maynooth Mission to China.

Booklet published by the Irish Messenger entitled 'The Irish Jesuits in China'.

A file relating to the publication 'The Rock'. Includes financial details of the publication and letters relating to the political nature of some of the articles.

Letter from Mgr. Yu Pin, Catholic Mission, Yunnanfu, China to Fr John J Coyne SJ concerning his trip to Europe and the landing of the Japanese army near Canton.

Letter from M. Belhumeur SJ, Zi-Ka-Wei, Suchow Vicariate, French Mission to two fellow French Jesuit scholastics, Labonté SJ and Bouchard SJ concerning his impressions and memories of his ordination and first ministry. Includes a photograph of the church and residence at Suchow and a map of the Suchow Vicariate.

Article published in 'The Irish Monthly' by most Rev. Dr. Paul Yu Pin entitled 'Recall to Tradition in the Chinese Missions'.

Copy of a letter from Harold Craig SJ, Archbishop's House, Darjeeling, India to [ ] thanking him for sending a copy of the Irish Province News. Describes his journey from Hong Kong to India with Fr Thomas Ryan SJ, and off walks near San Dak Fu, views of Everest, and the porters (Sherpas).

Extracts from a letter from Fr John O'Meara SJ, Canton to Superior (Fr Richard Harris SJ) concerning his work and life in Canton.

Visitation memorials by the Superior of the Mission, Fr Thomas F. Ryan SJ for St Ignatius House, Canton.

A file of letters sent by the house consultors of St Ignatius House, Canton to Irish Fr Provincial.

Letters to the Irish Provincial on various matters. Includes letters concerning financial matters and;
– a complaint about an individual Jesuit with regard to his behaviour while conducting a retreat for nuns (See also ADMN/3/36);
– a draft deed of trust for the Father Delany Exhibition (See also ADMN/3/13);
– the health and financial affairs of various scholastics;
– the proposal for the establishment of a [school] at Tullabeg by the Society of Pious Missions;
– a conference of Jesuit Fathers in Chicago for the purpose of adopting a Provisional Constitution of the ‘Frequent Communion Guild’;
– requests for money from various individuals;
– the campaign to appoint a Catholic Director to the Board of Directors of the Clogher Valley Railway (the Society are shareholders in the Railway);
– the appointment of Jesuits to various offices;
– a petition to the British government ‘to show mercy to Roger Casement’;
– a proposed portrait of Archbishop Walsh by Sir John Lavery;
– a profit and loss account of the Irish Monthly for year ending 31 August 1914 (See also ADMN/3/20; 66; 67);
– the work of St. Joseph's Young Priests (See also ADMN/3/53);
– lists of locations of Retreats and names of priests giving Retreats for 1912 and 1913 (See also ADMN/3/36; 41);
– suggestions for Retreats given by Jesuits, by Dr Patrick Foley, Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin (1896-1926) and memorandum on the scheme to establish a small lending library in Milltown Park for priests (See also ADMN/3/12; 38).

File of correspondence between Fr Alan Birmingham SJ and his Irish Provincials.

Article entitled ‘Missionary endeavour of the Irish Province of the Society of Jesus from 1915 to 1940’ which gives a history of the mission in Hong Kong and China.

Letter from Irish Fr Provincial John MacMahon SJ, St Francis Xavier's, Dublin to Fr Thomas Ryan SJ, Chungking, China relating to news about Jesuit works, Irish Jesuits and their travels and work, recent deaths, schools and contemporaries of Fr Ryan.

General Memoriale and Memoriale for Fr Superior of the visitation by Fr Thomas Ryan SJ to St Ignatius’ House, Canton.

Article entitled ‘Cross-roads in China’ by Fr Thomas Ryan SJ, which discusses the transformation in Chinese society, pre and post war, missionaries, Catholicism and schools.

File relating to the admission of Charles Daly to the Society of Jesus and the taking of vows.

File of mission material relating to Fr Timothy Doody SJ. Includes passport photograph; identity papers; personal record; announcement of death; obituary; Ten Yuan Held Bank Note - The Bank of Ming Tung - Currency for the Other World (1941); ‘residence and identity card issued by puppet government in Shanghai’; invitations to weddings; and correspondence between Fr Doody and Frs Thomas J. Martin, Vincent Murphy and Thomas O'Brien, Mission Office, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin.

A file relating to the fate of the Irish Jesuit priests working in Hong Kong during the Second World War and the Japanese occupation of the city. Includes returned letters to Irish Fr Provincial marked 'No Service Return to Sender'. Includes letters from family members asking for news or reporting to Irish Fr Provincial on letters received by them. Includes letters from other individuals seeking news about non Jesuit family members. Includes a copy of a request by Irish Fr Provincial John R. MacMahon SJ to Joseph P. Walshe, Department of External Affairs seeking help in assisting four Jesuit students to return home to Ireland (23 March 1943, 1p). Includes a reply stating that a proposed scheme to exchange civilian internees applies only to British or Allied subjects (12 May 1943, 1p). Includes a memorandum written by Fr Joy on Irish nationals in Hong Kong. The memorandum was sent by Irish Fr Provincial to the Irish Red Cross (24 October 1942, 2pp). Includes letters concerning Irish Jesuits who left Hong Kong to live and work in India during the war and subsequent return to Hong Kong when the war was over. Includes 'A Priest in a Japanese Jail' by Fr Gerard Casey SJ (1948)

Jesuits under fire in the siege of Hong Kong, 1941. Burns Oates & Washbourne, London, 1944.

File of mission material relating to Fr Edmund Sullivan SJ. Includes passport; passport photographs; personal record; obituary; accounts of the trial of Canadian Sisters in Canton (2 December 1951); the Communists in Canton (1949); Fr Sullivan’s experiences 1942 - 1945 ; and correspondence between Fr Edmund Sullivan and Fr. Thomas J. Martin, Mission Office, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin.

Mission material relating to Fr Jeremiah McCarthy SJ. Includes photographs; personal record; typescript manuscript entitled ‘Heaven’ written by Fr McCarthy and correspondence between Fr McCarthy and Fr Thomas Martin SJ, Irish Jesuit Mission Office, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin and other Irish Jesuits.

File relating to Fr Thomas F Ryan SJ, including correspondence with Irish Fr Provincials, catalogue entries, and photographs.

The Irish Jesuits in China

Following the footsteps of the Jesuits in Beijing: a guide to the sites of Jesuit work and influence in Beijing.
By Thierry Meynard
Institute of Jesuit Sources, Saint Louis, MO, 2006

Irish Jesuits in South China: a record of twenty five years
The Local Printing Press, Ltd, Hong Kong

In Xavier's footsteps: the Irish Jesuit mission to South China.
Office of the Irish Messenger, [Dublin], 1934

South China Morning Post, Hong Kong, [1939]

File of letters to Irish Fr Provincial James Murphy SJ. Includes an index/précis to the letters.

Photographic album with original and copy inserts of scenes from Hong Kong, Canton and China. The copy photographs (seem to be mass-produced and touristic) have numbers in the bottom left hand corner, with white handwritten captions, for example, 'A chair at Hong Kong', while original photographs are often described on reverse with pencil, 'The Seminarians 1926', and underneath in light pencil. The first number of photographs are missing. The album appears to contain a large number of photographs of Franciscans in China and of Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, Inc. (Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers), and some Jesuits. Includes: the consecration of Bishop Valtorta [with the] Band from the Salesian Industrial School, Macao (1926); Fr Crochet SJ and his Chinese flock; Bishop Wittner OFM and his Chinese priests; seminarians of the regional seminary at Tatungtu, Shansi; Fr Netto; Fr Pradel with lepers at Sheklung; Fr Nugent (Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America), Ningpo, Fr Gleeson, Frs Driscoll, Malone and Murphy (Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America). The Irish element to the album may perhaps why it ended up with the Irish Jesuits.

Newspaper article: 'Lecture on China by Fr Richard Kennedy SJ' - report on a lecture given in the Crescent Hall: 'My Impressions of Four Years in Canton under the Red Communist Government'.

Copy of a letter from the Apostolic Vicar of Hong Kong, Enrico Valtorta to [ ] (not a Jesuit but somebody in Rome) concerning the Chinese mission. Remarks that the Irish Jesuits would be advised to take on a hostel or a college or both and revive the publication 'Rock'. Remarks that men are available to go to China. Suggests that some Irish Jesuits should be sent to study Chinese in the Benedictine University in Peking prior to teaching in the Jesuit college in Hong Kong.

A file relating to correspondence of bequests made to Irish Fr Provincial regarding the Hong Kong and China missions.

• Perpetual burse in memory of Fr WM. Doyle SJ in the new seminary in Hong Kong (1936);
• Perpetual burse in memory of Fr Walsh SJ in Hong Kong (1936);
• Memorial burse in memory of Fr Fegan SJ in China (1936);
• List of burse money for the education of Chinese Jesuits (13 September 1940);
• Statement of accounts for quarter the Ricci Mission Unit (1 July - 30 September 1943).

File of material relating to Fr Richard J Kennedy SJ. Includes personal record; passport photographs; photographs; article entitled ‘What I saw of the Red Terror in China’ (1954); newspaper clippings on the arrest, ‘trial’ and release of Fr Kennedy in Canton (1953); certificate of post-war credit and financial statements from the Midland Bank Limited and correspondence between Fr Kennedy and Fr Thomas J Martin SJ, Mission Office, Dublin.

Many Jesuit Provinces had missions in China before 1926 when the Vicar Apostolic of Hong Kong, Fr Henry Valtorta (1883-1953), invited the Irish Jesuits to his vicariate. In October 1926, Frs George Byrne (1879-1962) and John Neary (1889-1983) left Dublin for Hong Kong, which became a Mission for the Irish Province. They were joined, in early 1927, by Fr Daniel Finn (1886-1936) from Australia and later by Frs Richard Gallagher (1887-1960), Patrick Joy (1892-1970) and Daniel MacDonald (1891-1957).

The initial work of the mission concentrated in Hong Kong, with some teaching in Canton and Macao. Their works involved: reviving the Catholic journal, ‘The Rock’; the opening of a hostel (Ricci Hall) for Chinese Catholic students at the University of Hong Kong (1929-); their involvement in the Regional Seminary, Aberdeen, Hong Kong (1931-1964), Wah Yan College, Hong Kong (1932-) and Wah Yan College, Kowloon (1952-). Some lecturing occurred in the university, in areas such as archaeology, education, engineering, and geography. In Canton, Frs Michael Saul (1884-1932) and Joseph McCullough (1892-1932) died from cholera. Hong Kong was under Japanese occupation 1941 - 1945. The Irish Jesuits organised a school for refugees from Hong Kong in Macao and the Regional Seminary was also moved to Macao. Wah Yan College was closed in 1941 and reopened in 1945. Fr Thomas Ryan’s account “Jesuits under Fire in the siege of Hong Kong 1941” deals fully with this time.

After World War Two, the Irish Jesuits established a language school, student centre and parish in Canton. They were expelled by the Communists in [1953]. Wah Yan College grew and developed and further works included the foundation of a university hostel at Kingsmead Hall, Singapore and at Xavier Hall, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Other works of note that Irish Jesuits had a hand in establishing and running in Hong Kong include: the Hong Kong Housing Society (1938); Wah Yan Relief Association (1938); Shoeshine Boys Club (1952-1962); the Credit Union Movement (1962); Rehabilitation Centre for the Handicapped (1962); Catholic Marriage Advisory Council (1963); Road Safety Association for Schools (1964); Industrial Relations Institute (1968); Chinese Opera in English (1960s); Fisherman’s Children School (1960s) and Welfare for Police in the Training School. In 1966, Hong Kong became a Jesuit Vice-Province and in 1985, the Province of Macau-Hong Kong was established. Today, Hong Kong is a unit within the Chinese Jesuit Province.

Over a hundred Irish Jesuits have served in Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and Singapore - 30 of whom are buried in St. Michael’s Cemetery in Hong Kong and two in mainland China.