Brother Ignatius O'Connor FMS (16 July 1896 – 19 March 1949), was the religious name of Vincent Ignatius O'Connor, an Australian Marist Brother who worked in Sydney and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. He was the founding

headmaster A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

Catholic 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 ...

boys' school

Marist College Ashgrove , motto_translation = Act Courageously , location = Ashgrove, Brisbane, Queensland , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Queensland , pushpin_ima ...

in 1940, having previously been headmaster at

Marcellin College Randwick , motto_translation = The Eternal, not the Transitory , established = , type = Independent single-sex secondary day school , gender = Boys , denomination = Roman Catholicism , religious_affiliation = Marist Brothers , affiliations = Ass ...

. Born in Sydney, Vincent Ignatius O'Connor was educated at the Marist Brothers' Juniorate at Hunters Hill, and began his novitiate in 1914. Brother Ignatius was on staff at St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill from 1926 to 1931, and obtained degrees in Arts and Economics at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

. Appointed as director of the Brothers' college at Randwick from 1932 to 1937, he achieved remarkable success in expanding the school through significant building projects during these depression years, attracting support ranging from local community level to members of parliament and the Governor of New South Wales,

Sir Philip Game Sir Philip Woolcott Game, (30 March 1876 – 4 February 1961) was a British Royal Air Force commander, who later served as Governor of New South Wales and Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (London). Born in Surrey in 1876, Game was educa ...

. After visiting Europe in 1939, Brother Ignatius continued his work in 1940 as the founding director of the Brothers' new college at Ashgrove in Brisbane on the site of the former St Jude’s Seminary. The clearing of the recreation ground and sports oval and construction of the school's swimming pool was completed under his leadership in the first year. However, the college was only open for two years before the grounds were commandeered by the Australian Army in 1942. The boarding students were evacuated to Eagle Heights on

Tamborine Mountain Tamborine Mountain is a plateau and locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Tamborine Mountain had a population of 7,506 people. Geography The plateau is a , . The name is from the of Yugumbir language of the Wanger ...

, where several guest houses were rented for accommodation and a building was purchased for the new school. Brother Ignatius suffered a stroke in 1944 which undermined his health and left him bed-ridden for the remainder of his life. He did not return with the senior students in 1945 after the military occupation of the college at Ashgrove had ended, but remained with the Marist community at Eagle Heights until his death, at the age of 52, in 1949. Archbishop

James Duhig Sir James Duhig KCMG (2 September 187110 April 1965) was an Irish-born Australian Roman Catholic religious leader. He was the Archbishop of Brisbane for 48 years from 1917 until his death in 1965. At the time of his death he was the longest-s ...

presided over the requiem and his burial at Eagle Heights was attended by many friends, including the Premier of Queensland, Ned Hanlon. In honour of his work in the founding of the college at Ashgrove, one of the eight houses of the secondary school was named in his memory when the house system began in 1993.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Ignatius Marist Brothers 1896 births 1949 deaths