Rev Charles O'Connell SJ
Title:
Rev
First Name:
Charles
Middle Names:
Preferred Name:
Surname:
O'Connell
Order:
SJ
Date of Birth:
Place of Birth:
Cork
Country of Birth:
Ireland
Date of Ordination:
Place of Ordination:
Country of Ordination:
Ordination Diocese:
Seminary:
St Patrick's College, Maynooth, Ireland
Date of Death:
Place of Death:
Hawthorn VIC
Country of Death:
Australia
Date of Burial:
Place of Burial:
Boroondara, Kew VIC
Country of Burial:
Australia
Find A Grave URL:
Biographical Notes
Fr David Strong SJ, The Australian dictionary of Jesuit biography 1848-2015, Second Edition, 2017:
O'Connell, Charles
Teacher, administrator; born Cork, Ireland, 24 December 1840; died Hawthorn, Victoria, 2 April 1912, aged 71.
Charles O'Connell appears to be the first Jesuit educator to outline a Jesuit system of education for Australia. He was a distinguished mathematician and philosopher, as well as a good musician. As prefect of studies at Xavier College, Kew, 1881-83, and at St Ignatius' College, Riverview, 1883-96, he outlined a detailed philosophy of education that showed a breadth and humanity that marked the basic environment of Jesuit schools. His comments on the public examination system were not reserved for the parents of students, but were to enlighten the wider community.
Very little is known about O'Connell's early life and training, except that he trained at St Sulpice, Paris, and Maynooth, and worked as a priest in Cork. He entered the Society, 1 February 1871, from the diocesan clergy in Ireland, at the age of thirty-one. After the noviciate he taught mathematics and German at Clongowes College, 1873-77, before revising his theology at Louvain, Belgium in 1879.
He arrived in Australia, 9 November 1879, and appointed for a few years to St Patrick's College, East Melbourne, and to Xavier College, Kew. Most of his teaching days were preparing students for the university examinations in mathematics, physics and German. When he was in Sydney he also lectured in logic at St John's College, University of Sydney. It was during these years that he met with a painful accident because of a gun bursting in his hand, depriving him of the free use of some of his fingers.
Apart from his obvious culture, O'Connell was an able administrator. His involvement in public debate on the education system followed the spirit of William Kelly and Joseph Dalton who had taken prominent roles in public comment. O'Connell promoted the cause of Catholic education, especially higher education, in its most appropriate forms. His exposition of Jesuit education was not only a testimony to his intellect, but also to his ability to apply theory to practice.
It was said of him that he was a very bright genial man, and liked by all who knew him. He was always kind and willing to help people in need, giving the impression that he was being favoured by the asking. His time was at the disposal of anyone, and he would return often with various solutions to a difficulty when the proposer had almost forgotten having approached him. He had a wide range of intellectual interests. While his preference seemed to be for mathematics, he was a good linguist as well, and had a fair knowledge of some of the less widely known European languages. He had a very logical mind, and was a keen critic. His company in the Jesuit community was appreciated. He collapsed while on his way to say Mass, working until the end.
(Reproduced by permission of Fr David Strong SJ.)