Carlton, Kyneton, Emerald Hill, Geelong, Mansfield, Vic

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Late Father O'Connell. The Requiem, The Argus, Melbourne, 8 January 1920, p 6, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1672602:

St. George's Church [i.e., Sacred Heart Church], Carlton, was densely crowded yesterday morning for the Requiem for the late Very Rev. James H. O'Connell, who had charge of the parish for 38 years. Archbishop Mannix presided, and Bishop McCarthy (Bendigo) was also present. Dr Mannix was attended by the Right Rev. Monsignor Shanahan, P.P. (Hamilton) and the Very Rev. Dean Coyne, V.G. (Leongatha). The solemn dirge began at half past 10 a.m. The chanters were — Rev. W. O'Sullivan, B.A., Rev. P. O'Brien, Rev. J. F. Egan, and Rev. M. J. Hayes. Amongst the clergy, parochial and regular, who numbered over 100, representatives from the dioceses of Ballarat, Bendigo and Sale, while Rev. J. Cullen, B.A. (Hobart) and Rev. A. McDonald, S.M. (Wellington, N.Z.) were also present.

At the conclusion of the High Mass of Requiem, Archbishop Mannix. paid a tribute to the life and labours of Father O'Connell, in the course of which he said he wished most earnestly to ask their prayers for the repose of the soul of the departed priest. That was a remarkable demonstration of the esteem and affection in which Father O'Connell was held. The friends of his youth—he never lost a friend—friends of his later years, had also come to pay their tribute to his memory. It was fitting that his remains should rest in his parish church. He wished to thank the public authorities for giving the gracious concession of allowing the remains to be buried in the church which Father O'Connell loved so much. He (the speaker) was glad that public men with whom Father O'Connell had been associated in charitable work were present to pay a tribute to his memory, and to acknowledge his worth as a citizen.

After the appointed prayers had been said over the remains, the funeral procession left the church, and proceeded through Rathdown, Grattan, Lygon and Queensberry streets, and back through Rathdown street to the church, where the coffin was placed in the vault beneath the Lady Chapel. The prelates, priests, acolytes, Children of Mary, members of the H.A.C.B.S., C.Y.M.S., and other organisations took part in the funeral procession.

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Death of Father O'Connell, The Australasian, Melbourne, 10 January 1920, p 27, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140234483:

The Very Rev. James Hennessy O'Connell, parish priest of the Sacred Heart Church, Carlton, died on January 4 at the presbytery. He was 74 years of age, and was in the fifty-second year of his priesthood.

Father O'Connell studied at All Hallows' College, Drumcondra, Ireland, and was ordained on June 24, 1868. A few months after his ordination he left for Victoria. He travelled in a sailing ship, the Donald McKay, and with him came a pioneer band of Christian Brothers. The first years of his ministry were spent at Castlemaine, Kyneton, and Geelong. At Geelong Dean Hegarty, of Kyneton, and Father O'Connell were curates, with the late Archdeacon Slattery as parish priest. For three years Father O'Connell was in charge of the Mansfield mission, then a widely scattered territory, and for three years he was administrator to the late Dean O'Driscoll at Emerald Hill (South Melbourne). In 1881 he was appointed by the late Dr. Goold to the pastorate of St. George's, Carlton, and during the years he had charge it is estimated that close on £40,000 was spent in the parish. In 1889 Father O'Connell, with the late Dr. Reville, O.S.A., visited Europe, and at two plenary councils held in Sydney he represented the clergy of the Melbourne archdiocese. He held the office of diocesan examiner, and celebrated his sacerdotal golden jubilee on the Feast of St. John the Baptist, June 24, 1918. The parishioners of the parish were anxious to give Father O'Connell a tangible proof of their appreciation of his labours, but he declined to accept any personal gift. However, the committee erected a stained-glass commemorative window in the Church of the Sacred Heart. Father O'Connell took an active interest in St. Joseph's Receiving Home in the parish.