As the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the Great War approaches, there are many television and radio programmes scheduled to commemorate the event. A full list of relevant programmes on Irish television and radio can be found here: http://www.rte.ie/worldwar1/schedule/ Two programmes in particular look very relevant for Fr Doyle. On Monday July 28th there is a documentary about the 4 Irish regiments that took part in the war. And …
WWI
July 27, 2014
Fr Sean Coyle, a long time reader of this site (and blogger at www.bangortobobbio.blogspot.com) has sent a message to inform us that Fr Doyle was mentioned by Bishop Richard Moth, the Bishop of the British Forces, in a recent piece on BBC Radio 4. The programme is available here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b049xhfd. The clip featuring Bishop Moth runs from 08:15 to 13:00 and the mention of Fr Doyle is at 11:46. I am …
July 26, 2014
Occasionally we post some general information about the war in order to provide context and background into Fr Doyle’s experiences. Here is a link to some fascinating restored pictures of the War. We should all be grateful for the peace and tranquility we enjoy in our lives – previous generations were not so fortunate. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2695644/The-horror-war-youve-never-seen-Reproduced-breathtaking-colour-dramatic-photographs-WW1-carnage-courage.html
July 20, 2014
Fr Doyle had a tremendous joy and cheerfulness that easily communicated itself to others. He also retained this sense of fun despite the suffering of the war and his own personal austerity and mortification. All of this is extremely significant – the saints were always serene and joyful despite their sufferings. Fr Doyle was also known as a practical joker. It’s not known what others thought about his jokes, and …
July 20, 2014
The reformation of one’s life must be the work of every day. I should take each rule and duty, think how Jesus acted, or would have done, and contrast my conduct with His. COMMENT: Fr Doyle’s words today are direct and relevant for us all. The daily reformation Fr Doyle recommends must be immensely practical. We do not reform our lives in the abstract by imagining great things we would …
July 17, 2014
Fr Doyle in the pulpit in St Omer Cathedral Fr Doyle gave his last homily 97 years ago today. Here is Alfred O’Rahilly’s account of this last sermon, complete with valuable first hand testimony from the famous Fr Frank Browne SJ: The 48th Brigade was at rest or rather down for a rifle shooting course near St. Omer. The 2nd and 8th Dublins were in and around the little village …
July 15, 2014
As the centenary of the outbreak of World War 1 is commemorated in the media, we will occasionally post items of general interest relating to the Great War, even if they do not directly relate to the life of Fr Doyle. This story in The Atlantic is a particularly interesting photographic display of some of the scenes associated with the War 100 years on. http://www.theatlantic.com/static/infocus/wwi/century/
July 12, 2014
Fr Doyle grew up in Dalkey, a small, beautiful seaside town to the south of Dublin. Dun Laoghaire is a larger town a few miles further along the coast on the way to Dublin. In Fr Doyle’s time it was known as Kingstown. There is a n exhibit in the local town hall on the role that local people played in the Great War, and of course Fr Doyle features …
July 9, 2014
Today the Church celebrates the feast of the birth of St John the Baptist. The Church only celebrates the birth of Jesus, Mary and St John the Baptist. It is a great testament to the sanctity and importance of St John that he is in this elite group and that he has two feasts – his birthday and his beheading. Fr Doyle does not seem to have written about …
June 24, 2014
Today we continue with Fr Doyle’s narrative on the battle for Messines Ridge with the events that occurred on June 7 1917. It was a day of devastating losses for the German side. In fact, the explosions underneath the German trenches were the most powerful in history at that time. Fr Doyle did not glory in this loss of life. We see him today praying for the many thousands of …
June 7, 2014