Born: 24 September 1909, Aungier Street, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 01 September 1926, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 31 July 1938, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1944, Milltown Park, Dublin
Died: 1993, Paris, France

Left Society of Jesus: 23 March 1964

Father was a clerk for Gilbert’s of Eustace Street, and his mother worked part time at her mother and brother’s business, Cahill’s Tin Works, Aungier Street, as doed his Father.

Family of four boys and four girls, and is second eldest with one sister older.

Early education at Holy Faith Convent, Clarendon Street he then went to CBS Synge Street, Dublin. and was there for nine years.

by 1933 at Vals, France (TOLO) studying
by 1936 at Valkenburg, Limburg, Netherlands (GER I) studying

Interfuse No 76 : Christmas 1993

Obituary

Kevin Smyth – former Jesuit priest (1909-1993)

Kevin studied Classics in UCD, finishing with a brilliant MA thesis on Wemer Jaeger's distinction between practical (phrone sis) and theoretical (sophia) wisdom in Aristotle's Nicomachaean Ethics. He studied philosophy in Valkenburg in Holland with the German students of the day. Even though the Jesuits had moved their philosophate to Holland because of Nazi activity in Germany, there was more than a trace of German chauvinism among Kevin's fellow-students. In his final year the coveted honour for the brighter students was to defend the Disputatio during the final year - this was in the heyday of neo-scholasticism. To the chagrin of many, Kevin was picked for this honour. Traditionally, in order to ensure a good show, those making the formal “objections” discussed the gist of what they had prepared with the defendant a few days before the great day. No such courtesy was extended to Kevin. But the objectors paid dearly for this: Kevin with brilliant distinctions and sub-distinctions stopped them in their tracks, so that the occasion became a public humiliation for them, much to the delight of the other non-Germans present. To prolong the occasion some of the professors intervened with the own 'objec tions', but although Kevin spoke with perfect courtesy, they fared... no better. This was a side of Kevin which he seldom revealed. He had a brilliant and incisive mind, but if pushed too far could reveal a lack of patience, almost an attitude of contempt - which he regretted immediately and tried hard to make amends for,

When I moved to Milltown Park in 1955 I was asked to teach the Short' course in dogmatic theology in a three-year cycle. Part of the old presentation of each 'thesis' was the Scriptural proof. Knowing that the whole world of Scripture was moving from for merly entrenched positions, I tried to make sure that I was as up to date as possible. After trying various people I finally settled on Kevin as my scriptural guide. He was a gifted guide, always avail able for consultation, invariably helpful and friendly. To this word which refers to friendship | shall return shortly.

Once he had been appointed to Milltown Park, where he had studied theology, Kevin was assigned to teach the old course of Apologetics; this included at that time an introduction to the Gospels. Here Kevin developed his own encyclopaedic knowledge of Scripture. Where he studied Hebrew I do not know, but he became an expert in it - so much so that he was Mgr Boylan's 'external examiner' for the degree in Oriental Languages in UCD The “Dead Sea Scrolls”, the writings surviving from Qumran, were discovered about this time, and Milltown Park Library was soon enriched with the official facsimile publications of the Scrolls. As well as becoming an expert on the Scrolls, Kevin translated, from the original Dutch, Fr Van Der Ploeg's book on the writings of Qumran. He worked in close cooperation with Professor Driver of Manchester University during this period, and together they combated Allegro's attempts to use the Scrolls in order to undermine the documentation for the origins of Christianity. Kevin wrote for Studies on diverse topics, but never received the publicity and recognition which his work deserved. In another Jesuit Province of that time he would have been given the opportunities he deserved for study and writing; a doctorate would have meant little to Kevin, but some recognition should have been given to him.

On the ordinary level of Jesuit community life Kevin was exemplary, deeply pastoral by inclination, which was revealed in his own pastoral work and especially when he was in charge for many years as sub-minister of “Supplies” from Milltown Park - allotting to many Dublin parishes priests to help out on Sunday. It is true to say that he was deeply respected by the Dublin dioce san clergy for his self-sacrificing willingness to help. On another level he was very proud of being a Synge Street past pupil, and he was a gifted football player, playing in Milltown Park well into his forties - even though he did this at some risk with some of his former pupils concentrating on knocking him out!

When in 1961 I was sent to Rome the excitement of the pre Vatican Il times was just beginning. During the few years that followed Kevin corresponded with me regularly, because I was collecting for him from the Italian and French newspapers any items which might throw light on intra- and extra-conciliar manoeuvers: these I sent on to him every week as he was writing a regular column for some Irish newspaper on Vatican II. But there was little personal in this correspondence. Kevin, in many ways, was a prisoner of his very academic world, in spite of his pastoral ad generous qualities. For him I think that some unforeseen suffering was needed to break open the academic armour. In some ways he was the product of the poorer elements in Jesuit formation in his time.

My last letter from him arrived to accompany investment-transfer documents which I had sent to him for his signature. In this let ter he revealed more humanity than in all the other years I had known him. He wrote: “You do not realize what a paradise you live in, with all its faults”.

Paddy Simpson who visited Kevin in Paris always stressed that “he was a much nicer fellow now”.

Born: 17 March 1920, Pembroke Road, Rathgar, Dublin, County Dublin
Entered: 07 September 1937, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Ordained: 31 July 1949, Fourvière, Lyon, France
Died 04 January 1979, Chikuni Mission, Zambia

Left Society of Jesus: 1976 - Zambiae Province (ZAM) (to Lusaka Diocese)

Transcribed: HIB to ZAM 03 December 1969

Father, Ignatius, was a pawnbroker, and family resided at Highfield Road, Rathgar, Dublin. Mother, Mary (Kenny), died in 1924 of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Only boy with two sisters, one older and one younger. First child f the family died at seven months from tubercular meningitis.

Early education at Dominican Convent Wicklow for six years he then went to Clongowes Wood College SJ (1930-1936). In 1937 he went to Belvedere College SJ for one year.

LEFT to Lusaka Diocese 1977 RIP 04/01/1979

1937-1939: St Mary's, Emo, Novitiate
1939-1941: Rathfarnham Castle, Juniorate
1941-1944: St Stanislaus College Tullabeg, Philosophy
1944-1946: Sacred Heart College, Limerick, Regency
1946-1947: Milltown Park, Theology
1947-1950: Fourvière, Lyon France (LUGD) studying Theology
1950-1951: Rathfarnham Castle, Tertianship
1951-1968: Chikuni, Chisekesi, N Rhodesia (POL Mi) working
1968-1969 at Camaldolese Hermits, Fairplay Road, Bloomingdale, OH USA

After leaving the Hermits, Paddy returned to Ireland, keen to leave the Society, though ot for any rancour. He then went to Lambay Island to function as something of a hermit with Lord Revelsticke’s approval. This did not work out, and after a period of rest and treatment, he eventually returned to Zambia, where at the end of 1976 he formally left the Society for the Diocese of Monze, though he continued to work closely with the Society.

◆ The Clongownian, 1979

Obituary

Father Patrick Cummins (former SJ)

The recent death of Father Patrick Cummins has saddened his many friends. Though dogged by ill-health his gaiety and sense of humour never left him. On the other hand, he seemed to personify the familiar words of Saint Augustihe "Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee", for Paddy always seemed to be striving for something beyond. It was this yearning for closer union with God in prayer and solitude that impelled him to join the Camaldolese in Ohio; but he remained with them for only a year, and returned to the Jesuit Order once more.

Paddy left Clongowes in 1936, and took his first vows after two years in the Jesuit Noviceship in Emo, It was in Rathfarnham, after a year at UCD that he first began to suffer ill-health, which necessitated his transfer to Tullabeg for Philosophical Studies. Perhaps the happiest period of his life was the three years he spent in the Crescent College, Limerick, as a Scholastic. He was very popular with the boys, and they still recall with pleasure outings and picnics with him on the banks of the Shannon. He was ordained in Fouvière, France, in 1950, and completed his final year of Theology there. He also spent his year of Tertianship in France.

Born on March 17th 1920, Fr Paddy shared the same missionary zeal as his great patron. He left for Zambia in 1951, and threw himself with generous zeal into missionary work. Such was his flair for languages that he was sent for a year to the language school to specialise in the Zambian dialects. He then worked for a number of years in Choma, a remote missionary station in Southern Rhodesia. His search for solitude and silence finally impelled him to seek satisfaction with the Camaldolese Monks in Ohio. However, what he sought he did not find there, and so returned to Ireland. His ill-health having grown progressively worse, he spent a year as a chaplain on Lambay Island, His health having recovered somewhat, he returned to Zambia and his missionary work.

After some time there he left the Jesuit Order, but continued to live the Jesuit mode of life in Jesuit houses. His health gradually deteriorated, and he died after a short illness on January 4th 1979. We pray that his generous restless heart has at last found that rest in peace that he sought after all his life.

T McC

Death Notice
CUMMINS (Zambia) - January 4, 1979, after a short illness, Rev Patrick Joseph Cummins, Chikuni Mission, PO Box 199, Monze, Zambia. Deeply regretted by his sisters Miriam and Pauline, relatives, missionary brethern and friends RIP.
Funeral on Saturday after 10am Mass in Chikuni Mission, Zambia. Concelebrated Requiem Mass at 11am, Monday 8th January, in St Francis Xavier Church, Gardiner Street, Dublin.

Obituary

Father Paddy Cummins, a native of Dublin, was born on St Patrick’s Dau 1920.

He was educated by the Jesuits at Belvedere College and Clongowes Wood College.

In September 1937 he entered the Novitiate of the Society of Jesus. He studied Philosophy at Tullabeg from 1940 to 1943, and for the following three years taught at the Crescent College, Limerick. He studied Theology at Milltown Park and at Lyon, and he was ordained at Fourvière, Lyon, in 1949. His tertianship was made at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin, and in 1951 Fr Paddy went to what was then Northern Rhodesia with a group of 6 other Irish Jesuits. With the exception of a few short breaks spent in America and here in Ireland, the remaining years of his priestly life were spent in Zambia.

For many years he was a parish priest in the extreme south of our Zambian Mission. As a result of his outstanding ability with the African languages of Zambia, Father Paddy has spent many years teaching the local languages to newly arrived missionaries. In the months preceding his unexpected death he was preparing a grammar for piublication. Among the many gifts with which Paddy was blessedc, perhaps the one which was of the greatest material benefit to the Zambian people and to the missionaries was his uncanny success as a water diviner. Many of our mission stations and schools have their water boreholes and pumps situated at the precise point indicated by Father Cummins as being the best available.

We praye that Father Paddy may enjoy eternal peace.

Born: 23 July 1933, Hazeldene Lodge, Anglesea Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin, County Dublin
Entered: 06 September 1952, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Ordained: 10 July 1969, Milltown Park, Dublin
Died: 10 September 2024, Thailand

Left Society of Jesus: 12 October 1978 from Chiangmai, Thailand

Father, Philip, was a Court Messenger. Mother, Julia Delaney. Parents lived at Vavasour Square, Bath Avenue, Sandymount.

Only child.

Baptised: St Nicholas of Myra, Francis Street, 28/03/1933
Confirmed: Nativity of the BVM, Chapelizod, by Dr Wall, 17/05/1944

Early education at a Convent school and then he went to CBS James’ Street.

1952-1954: St Mary’s Emo, Novitiate
1954-1958: Rathfarnham Castle, BSc at UCD
1958-1961: St Stanislaus College Tullabeg, Philosophy
1961-1966: Campion Hall Oxford (ANG) studying D Phil - Physics
1966-1968: Rome Italy (ROM) studying Theology
1968-1969: St Albert’s, Leuven, Belgium (BEL M) studying Theology
1969-1970: University of Grenoble, France (GAL) teaching and researching
1973-1976: Singapore (HK), Indonesia and Hue, South Vietnam (IDO) teaching
1976-1978 Hong Kong (HK) teaching and at Chiang Mai, Thailand (HK) teaching
1976: Tertianship made with Michael Sweetman in Rathfarnham (Long Retreat) and then a couple of months with guided reading from Michael while he was back in Thailand
12/10/1978- Dispensed from Vows, remained a priest in Thailand

Evening Herald 29/05/1973: Arrested at a protest in Singapore whilst attending a protest at the American Embassy

Message from Fr Liam Egan (HK) saying he was released after a few hours.

https://www.fidh.org/en/region/asia/thailand/thailand-a-tribute-to-danthong-breen-1933-2024

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (FIDH)

Thailand: A tribute to Danthong Breen (1933-2024)
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) mourns the passing of veteran human rights advocate Danthong Breen on 10 September 2024 at the age of 91. Danthong was President of the Thai human rights NGO Union for Civil Liberty (UCL), a member organization of FIDH, from 2007 to 2012.

Paris, 13 September 2024. Born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1933 as Daniel Breen, he changed his name to Danthong Breen upon receiving Thai citizenship in 1992.

Danthong had a scientific background, having obtained a bachelor’s degree in physics from the National University of Ireland and a PhD in physics from the University of Oxford, UK. He served in various academic and managerial roles at universities in Singapore, Vietnam, and Thailand. He moved to Singapore in early 1970 and then relocated to Thailand from 1973.

Danthong was well known in international human rights circles for his passionate and tireless work for the abolition of the death penalty, actively participating in several editions of the World Congress Against the Death Penalty.

For several decades, Danthong led UCL’s work to seek an improvement in prison conditions, which included prison visits, assistance to inmates, and a steadfast drive and determination to pursue the abolition of the death penalty in Thailand. He authored various reports that documented conditions in Thai prisons and explored the multiple facets of capital punishment in the Kingdom, with a particular focus on the religious dimension of the death penalty, its application on women, and the disproportionate use of capital punishment in the ethnic Malay-Muslim southern border provinces.

Danthong inspired new generations of activists to work for the improvement of prison conditions, including through his support in recent years to the publication of several FIDH-UCL reports on prison conditions, which eventually led to the decision to publish an FIDH-UCL annual prison report for Thailand.

While much of his work concerned Thailand, Danthong was engaged in various human rights causes across Asia and beyond.

He co-founded the Southeast Asia Regional Institute for Community Education (SEARICE), a Philippines-based regional organization devoted to sustainable and community-based development.

In February 2013, Danthong attended the review organized by the government of Taiwan and a panel of international experts to assess Taiwan’s domestic implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Between February 2014 and February 2015, he travelled to Malaysia four times as a representative of FIDH to observe and report on the politically-motivated trial against former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, which eventually resulted in Anwar’s five-year jail sentence and subsequent imprisonment.

FIDH will always remember Danthong for his altruism, intellectual depth, sense of humor, and unwavering commitment to human rights. Danthong is gone, but his legacy will always be with us.