Obituary of Fr. Maurice Woulfe (1913)

In this obituary, which appeared in the Cork Examiner on December 1, 1913, Fr. Maurice Woulfe, a native of West Limerick then living in Childers, Queensland, Australia, with his four sisters, all of them nuns, is remembered. Childers is an agricultural town in remote southern Queensland. An additional obituary and remembrance was published in Catholic World on October 18, 1913.

DEATH OF WEST LIMERICK PRIEST IN AUSTRALIA.

POPULAR PASTOR.

Our Abbeyfeale correspondent writes:—

The announcement of the death of Rev. Father Maurice Woulfe, P.P., of Childers, Queensland, Australia, at the early age of 41 years, came with a painful shock to his brothers, who risede [sic] at Ballaugh, Abbeyfeale, and to whom many expressions of sympathy and keen regret have been tendered on their unexpected bereavement. Deceased was ever of an amiable, winning disposition, and a pastor of highly intellectual attainments. He was the recipient of the exceptionally rare honour of being elected Mayor of his adopted city. The “Brisbane Age” to hand contains the following account of the obsequies, etc.:—”The death of the Rev. Father Woulfe, which took place at the Mater Misericordia Hospital, on Thursday morning of last week, caused widespread sorrow in the districts of Blackall and Childrea (in each of which he had officiated for some years) as well as in Brisbane and its suburbs, where he was known and highly esteemed by the citizens. About a fortnight prior to his decease the rev. gentleman came from Childers to Brisbane to attend the annual Retreat o fthe [sic] Catholic clergy officiating in the archdiocese. Though it was known to his friends that his health had for some time previously been far from robust or satisfactory, no anticipation of a serious breakdown was entertained. However, Father Woulfe’s condition, after his arrival in Brisbane, assumed such a serious aspect that he became a patient in the Mater Hospital. In that institution he received the most skilful medical treatment and the most attentive nursing afforded under the care of the Sisters in charge, but despite all efforts to combat the inroads of rheumatism and the other maladies that accompany that painful ailment, the patient, sustained to the last by the kindly solicitude of friends and relatives, and fortified by the last consoling rites of the Church he so ardently loved in his youth and to which he has devoted all the years of his useful and exemplary manhood—passed peacefully and comparatively painlessly to his eternal reward on the morning above mentioned. The late Father Maurice Woulfe was born at Ballaugh, Abbeyfeale, county Limerick, in 1872, and was a nephew of the late Father O’Carroll, parish priest of that parish, and received his education at Mountmelleray, and subsequently at the Irish College, Rome, being ordained priest in the latter college in 1897. Among his fellow students at Mountmellery were the Rev. M. C. Flynn, ,St. Patrick’s Valley; Rev. J. F. M’Carthy, St. Brigid’s, Red Hill; Re. W. Lee, Sacred Heart, Rasalie, and Rev. M. Stapleston, St. Francis Xavier’s, Goodna. Father Woulfe came to Brisbane in November of the year of his ordination, and shortly after his arrival was appointed curate to the Rev. Father Enright, Blackall, where he was stationed for some 14 years, after which he was appointed parish priest of Childers, and held that important post at the time of his death. During his many years of residence in Blackall he took an active interest not only in the religious work involved in that extensive parish, but was an active participator in movements designed to promote the temporal interests of the citizens. He held a seat [on] the Council Board of the Municipality, and put in a successful term as Mayor of Blackall, an almost unique position for a clergyman to hold, the only other instance in Queensland, we believe, being that of the late Father M’Kiernan, who filled the Mayoral chair of Gayndah for a twelvemonth. Nearly three years ago the late Father Woulfe was transferred to the charge of Childers parish, and during that period by his broad-minded sympathies and lovable disposition he won the reverence and esteem not only of the members of his own Church, but also of all sections of the public irrespective of creed or nationality. He was intensely patriotic in his sentiments, and to the members of the H. A. C. B. Society, who attended the recent conference in Childers, the passing of the kind-hearted, scholarly gentleman who as president of the local branch did so much to make their visit pleasant, and profitable, will be felt with poignant regret. As a member of the Childers Hospital Committee and president of the local Agricultural Society he gave to his colleagues the benefit of his experience and mature judgment. Although a martyr to that painful malady—rheumatism, his energy was indomitable, and despite his suffering he never spared himself in his efforts to advance the interests of the people amongst whom he lived. So highly was he esteemed on the Isle that Messrs. D. J. O’Riordan and James Coolee were despatched as delegates to represent the Catholics of the Isis district at the funeral obsequies at Brisbane. There are four sisters of the late Father Woulfe in the Sisterhood of Mercy in Queensland, namely—Sister M. Carthagh, Liverpool Estate, Ipswich; Sister M. Augustine Gympie, Sister M. Ambrose Gympie, and Sister M. Emilian Tooweng. Deceased is survived by two brothers in Abbeyfeale, viz., Thomas and Denis Woulfe. A solemn Requiem Mass and Office for the Dead were offered on Friday morning at St. Stephen’s Cathedral. A large congregation was present, and the Sisters of Mercy and pupils of all the Metropolitan Schools, bedside those of the suburban schools, took part, with a large number of the citizens in the funeral procession. The body lay in front of the sanctuary, the coffin-lid being raised to enable the congregation to take a last glimpse of their beloved pastor, and brother of the four good Sisters of Mercy, who are so loved by those under whom so many of them had received their education in and around Brisbane. The celebrant of the Mass was Rev M. O’Flynn; deacon, Rev M. Lane; sub-deacon, Rev P. Murphy; master of ceremonies, Rev J. Byrne, and Rev W. S. M’Goldrick. Other priests present in the sanctuary were—Rev J. A. Canall; Rev. F. Dorrigan, Rev J. F. M’Carthy, Rev M. Stapleton, Rev W. Lee, Rev J. O’Leary, Rev. W. Gallaher, Rev. J. Gowan, REv J. Ryan, Rev. T. Enright, Rev R. Walsh, Rev N. Jordan, Rev T. Kelliher, Rev. W. Masterson, Rev. Fr. Whelan, Very Rev Fr. Cagney, O.SS.R. The last absolution was given by Rev Fr. O’Flynn. The solemn strains of the Gregorian Requiem Mass were rendered with touching impressiveness by the Cathedral choir, conducted by Mr Leonard Francis. At the conclusion of the solemn ceremony, Miss Clancy played the “Dead March,” while the coffin containing the remains were borne down the aisle to the hearts awaiting without. The pall-bearers were the following members of the H.A.C..B Society (the late Father Woulfe being president of the Childers’ Branch), Messrs. P. Scott, D.T; P. Hanlon, D.T; J. Hynes, P.P; D. M. Harnett, E. Butler, D.T, and [?] O’Donoghue. Immediately following the hearse was the mourning coach containing the four sisters of the deceased. The second mourning coach contained a number of the Sisters of All Hallows Convent. The cortege from the Cathedral to the cemetery at Nudgoe was a long one. On arrival, the funeral procession was met by a large number of students of the Christian Brothers, and also by the children from St. Vincent’s Orphanage. At the graveside, the last sad rites were performed by the Rev W. O’Flynn the responses being made by the clergy who attended the Requiem Mass.

Top of the page: North Street, Childers, Queensland, Australia, ca. 1920s.

Below: Fr. Woulfe is in the third row, fourth from the left, in the photograph that appeared in a Brisbane newspaper on September 30, 1904.