Little is known of Fr Thomas McNamara outside of Castleknock College and the Irish Congregation of the Mission, but he was solely or partly responsible for the founding of a large number of Dublin medical institutions. These include the Mater Misericordiae Hospital and St Vincent’s Hospital in Fairview, as well as the School for the Deaf in Cabra and Castleknock College.

In 1892, Fr Thomas McNamara died at the age of 84.  He is recognised as a founder of the Congregation of the Mission in Ireland, and together with his friend Fr Jack Lynch, founded Castleknock College in 1835.  After then entering the Internal Seminary in Paris, Fr Thomas McNamara returned to Ireland in 1842 as a superior of the college in Castleknock.  In 1868, he was appointed rector of the Irish College in Paris.  He maintained this role for 20 years during which he experienced the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian war.

While researching the archive held at St Vincent’s Hospital, Fairview, Dr Aidan Collins, a psychiatrist at the hospital, came upon a letter from Fr McNamara dated September 19, 1880 which revealed the extent to which Fr Thomas McNamara played a role in the founding of St John of God Hospital.

To read more about the great work of this man, click on the link to an article published in the Irish Medical Times:

www.imt.ie/opinion/2009/04/st_john_of_gods_foundation_let.html