Sir James Duhig

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(2 September 187110 April 1965) was an Irish-born Australian

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

religious leader. He was the

Archbishop of Brisbane In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

for 48 years from 1917 until his death in 1965. At the time of his death he was the longest-serving bishop in the Catholic Church (1905–1965).

Early years

Duhig was born in

Broadford, County Limerick Broadford ( - "the mouth of the ford") is a village in the west of County Limerick in Ireland. It is part of the Roman Catholic parish of Dromcollogher-Broadford. In the 2016 census, the resident population of Broadford village was 276, and the ...

but emigrated with his family to Australia as a young boy. He completed his education at St. Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace, Queensland. After that, he worked for the Cooperative Butchering Company. After undertaking his studies for the priesthood at the

Irish College Irish Colleges is the collective name used for approximately 34 centres of education for Irish Catholic clergy and lay people opened on continental Europe in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. History The Colleges were set up to educate Roma ...

and

Pontifical Urbaniana University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian,; it, Pontificia Università Urbaniana. is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People ...

, both in Rome, Duhig was ordained a priest in 1896 and his profile grew rapidly.

Episcopacy

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane, James Duhig, 1929

On 10 December 1905, he became the youngest bishop in the Catholic Church when he was consecrated Bishop of Rockhampton. (Bishop Duhig penned the article on the Diocese of Rockhampton for the ''Catholic Encyclopedia''.) On 26 February 1912, he was transferred to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, where he became the coadjutor archbishop to the elderly Archbishop

Robert Dunne Robert Dunne (5 September 1830 – 13 January 1917) was the second Roman Catholic bishop of Brisbane and later he became its first archbishop. Dunne was born in Ardfinnan, County Tipperary, Ireland and was educated at Lismore Grammar School ...

. On 13 January 1917 he succeeded as Archbishop of Brisbane, a position he held for 48 years until his death in 1965. In the early years of Duhig's tenure, his archdiocese took on an extensive building program, including churches, hospitals and schools, erecting more than 400 buildings, earning him the nickname of "Duhig the Builder". These buildings are a prominent feature of the Brisbane landscape to this day. His most ambitious project, the Cathedral of the Holy Name in

Fortitude Valley Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestr ...

, was a casualty of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

which destroyed the value of the investments that were to finance the project. In addition to the construction of buildings, Duhig created over fifty new parishes and encouraged the establishment of twenty communities of religious men and women in an ecclesiastical province that had previously been dominated by the

Irish Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. Their first school was opened in Waterford, Ireland, ...

and the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...

. One of his most notable acts as Archbishop was being the recognised founder of St Columban's College, with the school being founded in 1928 by the Archbishop, being located in

Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...

. On Sunday 29 January 1928, St Columban’s College was officially opened. The property, ''Highlands'', was one of the stately homes of Brisbane. The site was spectacular, looking out over the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Go ...

and the city of Brisbane. Highlands was purchased by Archbishop Duhig in 1926 and passed into the hands of the Christian Brothers, whom he invited to run the College for the purpose of providing a Catholic education for young boys. As founder of St Columban’s College, Archbishop Duhig supported the Christian Brothers in their educational endeavours with large sums of money, especially in the late 1950s when the College had to expand dramatically. Archbishop Duhig always regarded the school as something very dear to him. He was a great diplomat and was proud of his association with the College.

Public life

Duhig played an active role in public life. However, unlike his contemporary, Archbishop

Daniel Mannix Daniel Patrick Mannix (4 March 1864 – 6 November 1963) was an Irish-born Catholic bishop. Mannix was the Archbishop of Melbourne for 46 years and one of the most influential public figures in 20th-century Australia. Early years and Mayno ...

of Melbourne, who seemed to thrive on public attention, controversy and inflaming public passions, Duhig favoured accommodation with the (largely

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

) established order. This was reflected not only in his being awarded official honours, but also in the positive ecumenical legacy that he left to the Christian community in Brisbane and throughout the State of Queensland. In February 1934, Duhig was elected President of the

Royal Geographical Society of Queensland On 22 June 1883, the Geographical Society of Australasia started at a meeting in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. A branch was formed in Victoria in the same year. In July 1885, both the Queensland and the South Australian branches started. ...

. In 1937 Duhig successfully proposed that the River Road (from Brisbane city to

Toowong Toowong is a riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Toowong had a population of 10,830 people. Geography Toowong is situated between Mount Coot-tha and the Brisbane River and is made up of rolling hills w ...

) should be renamed

Coronation Drive Coronation Drive, popularly known as Coro Drive, is a road in Brisbane, Queensland which connects the Central Business District to the suburb of Toowong. It follows the Brisbane River from the Riverside Expressway, through the suburbs of Milt ...

, to celebrate the coronation of

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

Honours

Duhig played a major role in the development of the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

, being a member of the university senate from 1916 until his death in 1965. He established St Leo's College, where an annual lecture is given in his honour. The university recognised Duhig's contribution by naming the Duhig Library after him and awarding him an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. Duhig was appointed a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in 1954 in recognition of service as the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane, and made a Knight Commander (KCMG) of the order in 1959 in recognition of service as the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Queensland.

Published works

Duhig published the following works: *

Early years

Episcopacy

Public life

Honours

Published works

References

Further reading