Rev. Fr Edward J. Cahill, S.J. (18 February 1868https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F5ZZ-DMK –16 July 1941) was an Irish Jesuit priest and academic, born in Ballyvocogue, Cappagh, County Limerick. He was educated in Theology at

Maynooth Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's ...

, and ordained a priest in 1897. He served on the staff of

Mungret College Mungret College was a Jesuit apostolic school and a lay secondary school near Limerick, Ireland. Located on the western outskirts of the modern-day suburban town of Raheen, it was operational from 1882 until 1974 when it closed as a school for ...

and in the years before the Easter Rising he was known for facilitating

Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers ( ga, Óglaigh na hÉireann), sometimes called the Irish Volunteer Force or Irish Volunteer Army, was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists and republicans. It was ostensibly formed in respon ...

in their training in Mungret. In 1924, he joined the staff of the Jesuit Milltown Park Institute in Dublin as Professor of Church History, Lecturer in

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

, and later, Spiritual Father. In October 1926, on the occasion of the first celebration of the Feast of Christ the King, he founded "

An Ríoghacht An Ríoghacht (Irish for "The Kingdom", AKA the League of the Kingship of Christ) was a conservative Catholic group in Ireland, founded in 1926 by Fr Edward Cahill, Professor of Church History and Lecturer in Sociology at the Milltown Park Insti ...

", the League of the Kingship of Christ. The object of this society was to ensure the use of Catholic Social Teaching in the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

. "An Ríoghacht", under Fr. Cahill's guidance, organised public meetings three or four times a year, published pamphlets on current topics and even attempted to produce a weekly paper to further its ideals. This organisation would go on to form the basis of Fr.

Denis Fahey Denis Fahey, C.S.Sp. (3 July 1883 – 21 January 1954) was an Irish Catholic priest. Fahey promoted the Catholic social teaching of Christ the King, and was involved in Irish politics through his organisation Maria Duce. Fahey firmly believed ...

Maria Duce Maria Duce (Latin for ''With Mary as our Leader'') was a small Catholic Integrist group active in Ireland, founded in 1942 by Fr Denis Fahey. Like its founder, Maria Duce was avowedly anti-communist. They picketed a visit by film star Danny Kaye ...

. Cahill's anti-mason message, delivered in the 1920s and 1930s, also served as an analysis and apologetic against Talmudic Judaism. In his works he cites papal teaching which describes the Masons as enemies of the Catholic Church, and gives evidence that these same Masons are influenced and given guidance by Jews: He was a regular contributor the ''

Irish Ecclesiastical Record ''Irish Ecclesiastical Record'' was an Irish Roman Catholic monthly journal founded by Archbishop later Cardinal Paul Cullen in 1864. ''The Record'' contained articles on theology, liturgy, domestic and international church affairs, catholic so ...

'' and the '' Irish Monthly''. His works often stressed the link between

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

. He died on 16 July 1941, aged 73, after a long illness.

Bibliography

;Books *''The Abbot of Mungret'', a play in 4 acts. (1925); *
Freemasonry and the anti-Christian Movement
' Dublin: M.H. Gill & Son, 1929, 1930 2nd ed., rev. and enl. *''The Framework of the Christian State'' (1932) reprinted
available online in pdf format
;Pamphlets *''The Truth about

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

'' (Australian C.T.S.) *''The Catholic Social Movement'' (Irish Messenger Office) *''Rural Secondary Schools'' (I.M.O.) *''Ireland and the Kingship of Christ'' (I.M.O.) *''The Oldest Nation in Europe'' (I.M.O.) *''Ireland as a Catholic Nation'' (I.M.O.) *''Ireland's Peril'' (Messrs. Gill) *''Capitalism and its Alternatives'' (I.C.T.S.).

References

External links

The Ireland of Edward Cahill (1868–1941): a liberal or a Christian state?
at

History Ireland ''History Ireland'' is a magazine with a focus on the history of Ireland. The first issue of the magazine appeared in Spring 1993. It went full-colour in 2004 and since 2005 it is published bi-monthly. It features articles by a range of writers ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cahill, Edward 1868 births 1941 deaths 20th-century Irish Jesuits Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Antisemitism in Ireland 19th-century Irish Jesuits