In the late 1940s, Fr. Leonard Sheil SJ (1897-1968) travelled to Britain in an effort to serve Irish emigrants. Fr. Sheil was a familiar sight on his motorbike visiting building sites, construction camps, mines, steel works, oil refineries and industrial hostels. Frs. Matthew Meade (1912-1992) and Kevin Laheen (1919-) also provided missions.
Archival History ↴
Material sent back by Irish Jesuits to the Irish Province.
Immediate Source Acquisition ↴
Official Transfer
Content & Structure
Scope & Content: Irish Jesuits ↴
General papers on Irish Jesuit missions;
Letters to the Provincial from Irish Jesuit missioners which give their opinions and impression of mission work in England (1960-1961);
Irish Episcopal Commission for Emigrants Easter conferences (1960-1977) which concerns the attendance of the Jesuit Provincial (1960-1972) and reports of proceedings, minutes and addresses (1962; 1977);
Working Party on the Irish Emigrant Missions in England and Wales (1973);
Mission reports and statistics (1966-1975) including Jesuit missions (1966-1970) and Irish Catholic missions in England and Wales (1968; 1974-1975);
Jesuit Chaplains in Westminster and Birmingham Archdioceses (1966-1969);
Irish Chaplaincy Scheme (1971-1979) including conference reports (1978-1979), details of chaplains and services (1971; 1976-1977) and Jesuit appointments (1974-1979);
Irish Centre Advisory Service, Liverpool (1976);
Lillie Road Centre London (1978).
Appraisal Destruction ↴
All items retained permanently
Arrangement ↴
Material was catalogued in 2005.
Conditions of Access & Use
Access Conditions
The Irish Jesuit Archives are open only to bona fide researchers. Access by advance appointment. Further details: www.jesuitarchives.ie
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No material may be reproduced without the written permission of the Archivist. Copyright restrictions apply. Photocopying is not available. Digital photography is at the discretion of the Archivist.
See individual Jesuit files J16 (Fr. Leonard Sheil SJ) and J529 (Fr. Matthew Meade SJ).
ADMN/3/64 - File entitled ‘Missions in Britain 1950s’
Publication Note
‘Irish in Britain’, Jesuit Year Book, pp5-12, 1960
Stevenson, Fr Robert SJ, ‘Emigrants’ Priest: Fr Leonard Sheil SJ’, Jesuit Year Book, 1969, pp25-33.
Descriptive Control Area
Archivist Note
Damien Burke, 2005.
Rules/Conventions
IGAD: Irish Guidelines for Archival Description. Dublin: Society of Archivists, Ireland, 2009.
ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description. 2nd ed. Ottowa: International Council on Archives, 2000. National Council on Archives: Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and
Corporate Names. Chippenham: National Council on Archives, 1997.
Irish Guidelines for Indexing Archives. Dublin: Archives and Records Association, Ireland, 2013.
