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Heads of Well-known Priests
APRIL 15TH 1946
EVENING HEADL
Heads of Rev. Father Senan, O.F.M.Cap. (left) and Rev. Father Gerald, O.F.M.Cap., by Laurence Campbell, at the Royal Hibernian Academy exhibition which opened to-day.—"Herald" Photos (O'M.).

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HIBERNIAN ACADEMY.
The bust of Father Gerald, the well-known Capuchin by Laurence Gampbell
exhibited at the R.H.A. this year.—(Fennell).

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BY THE WAY
WE have many priest-journalists in this country and some of them are remarkably brilliant men who can give points and a beating to their lay brothers of the pen. It is a thousand pities that the periodicals for which they are responsible have not one and all a much larger circulation in this Catholic land. Apart from everything else they might prove an antidote for certain so-called "Catholic" journals disguised by men which are only thinly disguised political sheets using religion as a cloak to perpetuate race hatred and the memory of ancient wrongs, and that without much regard for honesty and fair play.
* * * *
Without disparaging any of the other priests who are doing such fine journalistic work in our midst, I would accord pride of place among them to the Rev. Father Senan, O.M.Cap., who is responsible for not only one annual, but three—the CAPUCHIN ANNUAL, the FATHER MATHEW RECORD and BONAVENTURE. The last-named gallant quarterly, I regret to see, is about to be suspended until happier times make things easier for the publishing trade.
Some persons who know that I have contributed to all the publications may accuse me of prejudice in their favour. On the other hand, they have published my photograph and I have forgiven them. Not only that, but they have on exhi-
THE REV. FATHER SENAN, O.M.CAP. (from the drawing by Sean O'Sullivan, R.H.A.)
bition in the office of the Editor-in-Chief an alleged portrait of my noble self snapped when I wasn't looking and they take a mean delight in showing it to visitors, asking them to guess whom it is and hearing them reply almost without exception:
"Edgar Wallace!"
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Of course, things might be worse. One man claimed that it was a portrait of Winston Churchill and another guessed Mussolini.
Can one bring an action for slander or libel or something in a case like that?
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Last year Capuchin Periodicals transferred their Editorial offices from the Father Mathew Hall, Church-street, Dublin, to nine large rooms in an old Georgian house at the foot of Capel-street, close to the wide bridge across the Liffey that the Dubliners call with cheerful impartiality Grattan or Capel street bridge and which originally had been sported as
statue of that nobleman which had been a strong family resemblance to the other equestrian statues with which the capital once was afflicted, but which have merefully disappeared.
It is only when he gazes upon the surviving statues in the Dublin streets that the visiting Galwayman realises how much the Citie of the Tribes has been spared.
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The walls of the staircase—some day, I hope, they will get a lift—and the walls of the landings and all the rooms are covered with paintings and the originals of illustrations in the Capuchin Periodicals. Among the latest additions are the almost startling original Stations of the Cross designed by that gifted Mayo artist, Richard J. King, who also designed the postage stamps issued by the Irish Government to commemorate the Holy Year, the Golden Jubilee of the G.A.A. and the Constitution (second ed.).
In these fourteen pictures, which are faithfully reproduced in the current issue of the CAPUCHIN ANNUAL, Mr. King has secured extraordinarily powerful effects by a rigid formalism and the use of only black, red and gold. They will not appeal to congregations accustomed to the dreadfully conventional, gaudily stencilled stations which are to be found in so many of our Irish churches and in so many not even the merit of being made in this country, but they possess a strength of individuality which inspires hope for the future of ecclesiastical art in Ireland.
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The frontispiece of this year's Annual is a coloured reproduction of the magazine's designed by the Harry Clarke Studios. It is a fine piece of colour printing—that Wexford firm turns out some wonderful work—but, of course, an opaque picture can convey only the scantiest notion of what the window itself would be like with all the colours glowing in a bath of light.
The Clarke Studios and one or two others in Dublin are producing some excellent stained glass nowadays and though we may be a long way yet from rivalling, say, the translucent glories of the windows of Notre Dame, in Paris, there is no doubt that we march.
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Father Senan hails from the Kingdom of Kerry, and I have always understood that there was no great love lost between that county and its next-door neighbour, Cork, but such brilliant priest-journalist is above such parochial bickering and devotes a great part of the 1941 Annual to the glories of Cork. Our many friend, D. L. Kelleher, writes in his own captivating fashion of "Cork From the Beginning"; Denis Barry introduces us to a most alluring "Prospect of Cork"; Eoin O'Mahony, who called in to see me during a recent visit to Galway, triumphantly proclaims that "Cork Will Be"; Willie Cromin contributes an exile's memories of "When We Were Boys in Cork"; Catriona MacLeod describes the famous "Younghal Madonna," and there are other articles and poems dealing with the "Southern Capital." The photographs, most of which were taken by T. J. Molloy, a regular contributor to Capuchin Periodicals, are in the breast of even the most anti-Cork Dubliner.
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The Editor believes in giving good
Connacht Sentinel
24/3/41.
measure and if the price of the Annual has had to be increased to five shillings its girth has increased correspondingly, thus affording room for another big special section of splendid photogravure plates depicting the Cardinal, Archbishops and Bishops of Ireland and their cathedrals.
This section alone is worth the price of the volume, but we wish it had been possible to make it clear that the Catholics of Galway are going to aid their Bishop in erecting a new cathedral which will be worthy of a great Diocese and an honour to Ireland.
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To merely enumerate all the features of the Annual would require about another half-column. It is the most ambitious of the twelve numbers that Father Senan has produced and possesses unique value not only from the literary and artistic viewpoint, but also from the national.
In addition to the Western artist there are other Connacht contributors to this remarkable budget of stories, articles and pictures—Philip Rooney, the County Sligo novelist; Eugen R. Watters, of Ballinasloe; Patrick K. Rogers, who was born in Salthill, Galway; and H. I. McCourt, Chairman of the Roscommon Library Committee.
I should have mentioned, by the way, that among the original paintings in the editor's room is one of the Galway fowl market—an excellent work if somewhat idealistic.
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When the piping times of peace come round again I look forward to seeing Capuchin Periodicals developing into a large publishing business something like that which has been built up around the famous Australian Catholic weekly, the Melbourne ADVOCATE. Already the new offices have become a literary and artistic centre of importance in the Irish capital.
Father Senan's invaluable aide-decamp is Father Gerald, who comes from Belfast and is concerned principally with the production of the RECORD. There, too, you will find that brilliant young Killarney man, Donal O'Cahill, who was the first instrumental in the production of the first full-length Irish film of any note, "The Dawn," in which he took one of the principal contributions that it was my contribution to Irish-made films that induced them to embark on this production by Killarney's lakes and

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From the desk of . . .
CYRIL CLEMENS, PRESIDENT
MARK TWAIN SOCIETY
WEBSTER GROVES, MISSOURI
19th Mar 47
Dear Father Sen:-
I give us
great pleasure to
welcome you with
Sacrifice.
Yes we would be
most grateful if you
sincerely sent us photographs of all Hellows, Arms and Haschtaman and any
place associated with
Cardinal Glenn that
might make a good
illustration for his
biography.
with all gradual
your family
Cardinal
Can you suggest any
people to whom I might
write for impressions or
associations of the Cardinal?

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Sunday Independent. 27/6/48.
The French Minister, Count Ostorog, and Rev. Father Gerald, O.F.M.Cap., examining the colour photograph of His Holiness the Pope which a number of guests were invited to see at the Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin, yesterday. It was taken at a special sitting by Mr. David Waddington, using a colour camera.

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