Father William Doyle S.J.

by Alfred O'Rahilly

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Genres: Biography

404 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1920

About the author

Monsignor Alfred O'Rahilly, KSG, BA, BSc, MA, PhD, D.Litt, D.Sc

Irish politician, academic, president of University College Cork (1943 - 1954), founder of Cork University Press, and (after the death of his wife) a Catholic priest.

Reviews

[Margaret Thombs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first heard about Willie Doyle on retreat last summer. This book includes some wonderful letters and diaries of his which are first hand accounts of his experiences as a chaplain in World War I. The first part of the book is a bit dry, but the later parts are very interesting both from a spiritual as well as historical perspective.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful and comprehensive. I must admit that the events relating to Fr Doyle's childhood and time as a military chaplain were most interesting to read. As a child he and his brother mastered the art of walking on giant stilts. Many a neighbor had a chuckle or raised a fist as one of the Doyle boys were seen stepping over garden walls and on one occasion into a bull's pasture (the boys only did that one once as they discovered they couldn't quite "run" fast enough on the stilts).
This man was quite a character. It was easy to see why he was so beloved by his men. Most fascinating is his interior landscape he kept for God and God alone. This relationship he maintained with God enabled him to do some of the most extraordinary things one will ever read. He, of course, gave very little credit to himself as he admitted that he would have to remember God was the sustainer of his life before rolling out yet again over the trench wall and into no man's land for his boys who needed him. He kept up such good cheer and spirits despite his truly hellish surroundings. Some the snapshots of life in the trenches he relates are absolutely chilling. Fr Doyle has such a mastery of clever writing that he slips the reader along beside him. His last days on the battlefields reminded me so much of the story of Fr. Capodanno, a military chaplain who served in the Vietnam war. In fact, they were both killed in the middle of prayer over a dying soldier. They both astonished all who encountered them by their example of heroic Christian virtue. Fr. Capodanno however was not quite the jokester Fr. Doyle was; I had to laugh out loud at his descriptions of events time and time again. This book, though kind of hard to find, is well worth the read.

I think after meeting Fr Doyle I must, like with Fr Capodanno, be different. His memory has woven into me and has left me contemplative. With Fr. Capodanno I have a continual picture in my mind of him walking into the tree line and I have such an impulse to follow him...that compulsory sprint one leaps into after a second's decision is made....to close the distance, catch up and shout, "wait father! wait for me!" It's like this with Fr. Doyle too. I think, "I'd follow him anywhere." And then I realize...the gift of the priest.