Prayer Calendar: Deceased Priests who have ministered the Catholic Faith throughout Toowoomba and districts, 1864–2025, Compiled by Annie Carrett, Diocesan Archivist, 2001, Updated by Gabrielle Saide, Diocesan Archivist, 2023:
Rev William McGinty, died 27 Nov 1871

William McGinty (aka McGinnety) was born in Donegal, Ireland in 1820 the son of Edward McGinty and Margaret, formerly Calligan. He studied for the priesthood at Maynooth and All Hallows College, and was a member of the first class to be ordained from that place. In choosing Australia, John O'Brien has observed that McGinty was "drawn by the somewhat strange desire to spend his life on the soil consecrated by the labors of the convict priests, Fathers Harold and Dixon". In fulfillment of this dream, he arrived in NSW in 1846, although Cardinal Moran describes Rev McGinnety and Rev Hanly leaving Sydney on 9th December, 1843 for Moreton Bay to 'commence arduous labors of the mission in that hitherto unavoidably neglected portion of the Diocese of NSW'. Six years appointment to Berrima followed, during which time he built the church there. Then in 1852 he was appointed to the Parish of Ipswich whose district included Lismore, Armidale, Tamworth, Warwick, Toowoomba, Drayton and Windorah. He kept in touch with his widely scattered flock by journeys undertaken either on horseback or on foot. In 1859 he completed the construction of a stone church in Ipswich, at the cost of 7,000 pounds. When the Diocese of Brisbane was erected, McGinty was given the choice of either returning to Sydney or remaining where he was, he chose the latter of course. This was unfortunate for him for he soon fell out with the new Bishop, James Quinn. In 1862, Quinn had him recalled to Sydney, but McGinty refused to leave, stating that he belonged to Brisbane, not Sydney. Quinn responded by suspending him. This further enraged the people of Ipswich, who had supported McGinty throughout, and they occupied the Sanctuary in protest. Quinn was lucky to be able to reach a solution. By 1864, the two men appear to have reconciled once more because Quinn appointed him to the newly erected Parish of Bowen. When in his early 50s, his health broke and he retired to Port Denison. There he returned to what had been a love since his student days - the study of Horace. He died there in 1871. Records indicate that he said the first Mass in Warwick. He is buried in the Bowen Cemetery, Queensland.
(Ref. Brisbane Archives, Linane Mc66, Pugh's and Southerwood)

Reproduced by permission of Bishop Ken Howell.

---

Denis M. Long, Pioneer and Early Priests, Archdiocese of Brisbane, Deceased or retired by 1929, 2021, pp 16-17:
Fr William McGinty

In 1973 the late Fr Alan Brown while parish priest of Rosewood wrote a well-researched article on Fr William McGinty, which was published in the Melbourne Diocesan Historical Commission publication Footprints in July of that year. I am indebted to Fr Brown's article on Fr McGinty, parish priest of Ipswich for the ten years prior to the arrival of Bishop Quinn.

William McGinty was aged 24 when he entered All Hallows Missionary College in February 1844. He was the son of William and Margaret (nee Callaghan) McGinty of Kiltenock, Stranorlar in the diocese of Raphoe in co Donegal. He was ordained for Sydney by Archbishop Murray at All Hallows College in Dublin on 2 October 1846.(1)

William is given the honour of being the first from All Hallows College to work on the Australian mission. He was drawn to volunteer for this field, so 'tis claimed, by the desire to spend his life on the soil consecrated by the labours of convict priests, James Harold and James Dixon.(2)

Accompanied by Fathers Corish and Coyle, he sailed from Liverpool on Friday 9 November 1846, aboard the barque Sea Nymph, arriving in Port Jackson on 30 March 1847.

There is an indication from All Hallows records that he was ordained before departure for Sydney; but more likely, he was ordained on Easter Saturday in St Mary's, celebrating his first Mass at St Patrick's, Charlotte Place, on Easter Sunday at noon.

After a few weeks in Sydney, he was appointed to the new parish of Berrima, severed from the parish of Appin, which in 1843 had been severed from Campbelltown. On arrival at Berrima he found that Mass was celebrated in a building formed from two huts which had, at one time, housed a chain gang. … In 1849 McGinty brought Archbishop Polding down to Berrima to bless the foundations of a church. Dedicated to St Brigid, it was opened for worship late in 1850. Renovated and restored … in 1970, the McGinty church is still in use.

In August 1852 Polding transferred his servant to Ipswich (twenty-four miles west of Brisbane) to take the place of Fr Robert Simon Downing OSA who, in 1850, had succeeded Fr Eugene Luckie, founder of the Ipswich Mission in January 1849. … At the time of his arrival he found that the extensive Ipswich parish had a population of about 6,500, of which 2,000 were Catholics. Huge in its expanse the parish embraced such districts as Lismore, Armidale, Tamworth, Warwick, Toowoomba, Windorah, and even Innisfail, then known as Geraldton. £252 had been left in the parish coffers by Father Downing.

Fr McGinty made efforts to raise funds for a more suitable church in Ipswich.

In a short time McGinty had increased his parish legacy of £252 to £2000, and on 25 October 1858 Dr Polding made the long trip from Sydney to Ipswich to lay the foundation stone of a stone church – a replacement of the small slab dwelling which had served as the first St Mary's … A cruciform gothic building, it was seventy feet in length and could accommodate six hundred. It was demolished in Fr Andrew Horan's time, in 1900, to make way for the third and magnificent St Mary's. At the opening for worship McGinty had increased his original £232 to £7000, to which the Sydney Government added £1000 under the Church Act. After paying for the building and incidentals there was a balance in hand of £1483.

In 1860, the Pastor acquired, as the result of a special bequest, a residence, or, as it was called, a chapel house. It was also during his pastorate that Ipswich acquired its first Catholic school.

When Bishop Quinn arrived in Brisbane he gave Fr McGinty the choice of remaining in the new diocese or returning to his original diocese. McGinty elected to remain.

Quinn after taking possession of his See, lost no time in visiting his important country parish. When he arrived there was no laudatory address or formal welcome. The new Bishop began to have second thoughts about the Ipswich incumbent and decided to send him back to Sydney.

Fr McGinty asked permission to remain a little longer. His many supporters heard of the transfer and reminded Bishop Quinn that 'neither the spiritual nor temporal interests of the Church could escape serious injury, should the parish be deprived of a clergyman who, during his residence of ten years, has so ably and conscientiously administered to us.'

McGinty refused to leave. The Bishop brought in Fr Scully as his Vicar General to handle the matter. Maybe Scully was not tactful in handling the friction which arose, even resulting in clashes within the church. The trustees of the Ipswich funds were directed to place these funds under the trusteeship of the new Bishop. Tempers gradually subsided. The bishop won the day, but McGinty refused to move from the chapel-house. The bishop built a new residence for the priest. When Fr McGinty died the chapel-house was purchased from the deceased priest's estate by Fr Andrew Horan.

Evidently there was some sort of reconciliation affected between the Bishop and Fr McGinty. For on 26 December 1863, he was one of the clergy assisting the Bishop when he laid the foundation stone of St Stephen's Cathedral. On 16 April 1864, he officiated for the first time as Pastor of the new parish of Bowen (737 miles north of Ipswich). At some time between the Ipswich debacle and his taking up residence at Bowen, McGinty happened to be in Windorah (the central west of Queensland) when a Carnival was being organised. All arrangements had fallen nicely into place when it was realized that there would be no police in the town to keep law and order. When McGinty heard of this he set up a 'law and order' office, swore in six special constables, and administered the 'law' for a week. Everyone was satisfied, fines were fanciful and heavy, all offenders paid up, and at the end of the festivities McGinty presented the chairman of the celebrations the amount of the weeks' fines, some £300.'

Fr William McGinty died on 27 November 1871. He was only 52 years of age. In 1866 he had erected a small wooden church in the small town of Bowen. In that same year he said the first Mass in Townsville.(3) The last three years of his life were spent at Port Denison the port for Bowen. He was buried in Bowen and a fine tombstone was erected by his brother Charles to whom he bequeathed his life savings of £3,000. Charles died in 1887, and left his estate, valued at £12,000, to the Archdiocese of Brisbane in memory of my brother, the late Pastor of Ipswich.

For Further reading:
• Fr Alan Brown's article in Footprints in 1973: Vol. 1, no 11, pages 19-20. • Fr Denis Martin in his Foundation of the Catholic Church in Queensland, Brisbane 1988. • John R Kane, St Mary's Ipswich The Luckie parish - Fr Luckie to Dr Oxenham, 1849-1983. • Monsignor Hartigan, John O'Brien, in The Men of '38, pages 134 to 137.

Footnotes
1. Kevin Condon, cm, The Missionary College of All Hallows 1842-1891, student 55, p. 292.
2. Prayer Calendar - Deceased Priest who have ministered the Catholic Faith throughout Toowoomba and districts 1864-2007, p.14.
3. Kevin Condon, cm, op. cit.

Reproduced by permission of Fr Denis Long.