Fr James Ryan

Early years

James Ryan was born in Caberconnell, Co. Limerick in Ireland on January 1, 1871. He was the eldest of 14 children in his family.

While a student at St Patrick’s College in Thurles he volunteered to become a priest for the Archdiocese of Adelaide and he was ordained priest in Cathedral at Thurles in 1897.

Ministry in Adelaide

On arrival in Adelaide Archbishop O’Reilly appointed him assistant priest at West Terrace (Cathedral parish) and he was also Chaplain at Cabra Dominican Convent where his sister, Sr Mary de Paul, was a nun.

Later he relieved in the Balaklava parish for four months before moving to Kadina, (which at that time was still part of the Archdiocese of Adelaide) as assistant to Fr O’Neill.

Then on January 1, 1900 he was appointed parish priest of Snowtown, a new parish that had just been cut off from Kadina. He laboured there for 25 years and while there he was responsible for the building of the new church at Port Broughton.

On February 1, 1924 he became parish priest of Lower North Adelaide, with the title of Rector Irremovable denoting a permanent appointment.

Enduring illness

Some years later, in 1942 he suffered a serious injury to his back resulting in continuing ill-health. Because of this he retired in 1942 and went back to Ireland to live in a Rest Home for priests under the care of the Sisters of Mercy in Co. Tipperary. And that was where he died on March 18, 1954 at the age of 83 years.

Back here in Australia a Solemn Requiem Mass was celebrated in St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral on April 6, 1954.

Speaking at this Mass Archbishop Beovich said that Fr Ryan was a big man in every way – big in build, kindly and jovial in manner and was welcome wherever he went. And he was well liked by his brother priests.

Regarding his enduring illness the Archbishop explained that in the last two years before his death Fr Ryan was blind, and for some years before that was unable to celebrate Mass standing and had special dispensation from Rome to Celebrate Mass seated.

May he rest in peace.