Eugene O'Keefe (10 December 1827 – 1 October 1913), baptized as Owen Keeffe, was an Irish-born

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

businessman and philanthropist, well-known in the

brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...

industry for his signature brews. He incorporated the O'Keefe Brewery Company of Toronto Limited in 1891.

Life and career

Born in

Bandon, County Cork Bandon (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It lies on the River Bandon between two hills. The name in Irish means 'Bridge of the Bandon', a reference to the origin of the town as a crossing point on the river. In 2004 Bandon celebrated its ...

, he moved with his family to Canada when he was five, eventually settling in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. He married Helen Charlotte Bailey in 1862. They had a son and two daughters. From 1856 to 1861, he worked at the

Toronto Savings Bank Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. He later was president of the

Home Bank of Canada The Home Bank of Canada was a Canadian bank that was incorporated July 10, 1903 in Toronto. It succeeded the earlier Toronto Savings Bank, which had been founded in 1854 by Bishop Armand-François-Marie de Charbonnel and the local chapter of t ...

. In 1861, he was one of the purchasers of Toronto's Victoria Brewery (founded by George Hart and Charles Hannath c.1840s as Hannath & Hart Brewery), at the corner of Victoria and Gould Streets, which had an annual production of 1,000

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

s. In 1891, he incorporated it as the O'Keefe Brewery Company of Toronto Limited. The brewery would expand to a capacity of 500,000 barrels. He sold the business after his son died in 1911. The company would later become part of

Carling O'Keefe Carling O'Keefe was a brewing company in Canada that is now part of Molson Coors. The company's origins can be traced to Canadian Breweries, which bought the Carling Brewery in 1930 and the O'Keefe Brewery in 1934. Canadian Breweries purchased n ...

Breweries. In 1882, he and three

Humber Bay Humber Bay is a bay of Lake Ontario south of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located between Ontario Place on the east and Mimico Creek to the west. The bay gives its name to Etobicoke's Humber Bay neighbourhood. History Prior to 1809 the bay ...

hoteliers formed the Humber Steam Ferry Company. The company operated the '' Annie Craig'', which carried excursionists from Toronto to the resort hotels at the mouth of the Humber River. In 1909,

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...

made him the first Canadian layman to become a private

Papal chamberlain A Papal Gentleman, also called a Gentleman of His Holiness, is a lay attendant of the pope and his papal household in Vatican City. Papal gentlemen serve in the Apostolic Palace near St. Peter's Basilica in ceremonial positions, such as escorting d ...

. He died at his home on Bond Street in 1913, aged 85.

Legacy

The O'Keefe name is well established in Toronto due to the many charitable donations that O'Keefe made throughout his life. He donated millions of dollars to the

Catholic Church 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 ...

in Toronto, built five churches in Toronto, built St. Augustine's Seminary in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

, and built Toronto's first low-income housing development. The O'Keefe name was used as a tribute on the new

O'Keefe Centre Meridian Hall is a major performing arts venue in Toronto, Ontario, and it is the country's largest soft-seat theatre. The facility was constructed for the City of Toronto municipal government and is currently managed by TO Live, an arms-le ...

when it was built in 1960 by

E. P. Taylor Edward Plunket Taylor, Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, CMG (January 29, 1901 – May 14, 1989) was a Canadians, Canadian business tycoon, investor and philanthropist. He was a famous breeder of Thoroughbred horse racing, race ...

, then the head of O'Keefe Brewing Company. In 1996, the name was changed to the

Hummingbird Centre Meridian Hall is a major performing arts venue in Toronto, Ontario, and it is the country's largest soft-seat theatre. The facility was constructed for the City of Toronto municipal government and is currently managed by TO Live, an arms-len ...

. In 2007, the name was changed to the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. His former Toronto mansion ( O'Keefe House), located across from the former O'Keefe Brewery, served as a residence for students at

Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...

from 1964 to 2018. The former brewery itself is now the Image Arts faculty building. Since then, a handful of individuals have been actively trying to reestablish the O'Keefe name due to the vital role that he played in shaping the city during the

Victorian period In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian ...

. It was not until 2006 that an official biography was written about O'Keefe. The delay was due in large part to scant information and a lack of personal and company records.

References

Bibliography

External links

History of O'Keefe House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okeefe, Eugene 1827 births 1913 deaths Canadian brewers Businesspeople from County Cork Businesspeople from Toronto Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Immigrants to Upper Canada 19th-century Irish businesspeople