Fr. Michael Sheridan was born in 1855 to Philip Sheridan and Mary Sheridan (née) Cusack in Lattagloghan, Lavey, Co. Cavan. He studied for the priesthood in All Hallows College, Drumcondra, Co. Dublin and in 1879 he was ordained for Ballarat, Australia.[1] An article on his nephew Rev. Matthew Sheridan (1899-1980) is also available on IrelandXO.
Ballarat was first settled by sheep herders in 1838 and it expanded rapidly after gold was discovered in 1851 and a year later the parish was established.[2] In 1872, the Government cut funding to the schools and Mary MacKillop’s Sisters of St. Joseph took up the teaching posts in many schools. Other religious orders mainly from Ireland were brought out to teach and care for the people of this area.[3] The Diocese in Ballarat was established in 1874 and Bishop Michael O’Connor was ordained a Bishop in Ireland and installed as the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Ballarat arriving on 20 December 1874.[4]
On 10 May 1879, Rev Michael Sheridan boarded the ‘Kent’ in London and sailed for Australia, he was an unassisted passenger as the cost of his passage was most likely covered by his order.[5] He arrived in Melbourne, Victoria on 1 July 1879.[6] He then journeyed on to Ballarat, which in 2020 was 102 kilometers away, in 1879 access most likely was very different. From Ballarat he was given charge of the Bungaree - Warrenhelp portion of the Ballarat Mission.
He died on 9 October 1882 just over three years after he arrived. The way in which he met his death was detailed in a magisterial inquiry held into the cause of his death.
Magisterial Inquiry was reported in the The Argus on 11 Oct 1882 as follows:
On 9 October 1882 Fr. Sheridan left St. Alipius' presbytery for Navigators a on a visit of inspection. Bridget Steele, a young girl, deposed that she saw the deceased driving over the Navigator's bridge, and just after crossing the horse bolted. The buggy was upset and the deceased was lying alongside. He was conscious and asked for his hat. Patrick Connellan, hotel keeper at Navigators, said he saw the horse bolting with the shafts, and found the deceased in a sitting posture. He said he was hurt on the head but that no bones were broken. He said he was not seriously hurt, and that he would be all right in a few minutes. He objected to a medical man being sent for. He said when the horse bolted he found he could not pull up. He pulled the horse's head against a small bridge near the railway fence, when the smash occurred. John Britt, a farmer, who ran to the assistance of deceased, and that after he had been in conversation with him for some minutes, the latter vomited blood. Dr. Usher deposed that he saw the deceased at 2 p m. on the day of the accident. He was suffering from concussion of the brain, and was in a dying state. From appearances some arteries in the internal organs had been ruptured. The immediate cause of death was concussion of the brain and internal injuries. A verdict in accordance with the medical evidence was recorded.
The Funeral of Rev. Sheridan was reported in the Advocate on 21 October 1882 as follows:
The funeral of the Rev. Michael Sheridan took place on Wednesday, 11 October and was the longest procession of its kind ever seen in Ballarat. Monsignor Moore felt very acutely the untimely death of the esteemed young clergyman, a regret that will no doubt be shared by Bishop O'Connor. St. Patrick's Cathedral was closed temporarily to the public at 10 o'clock on Tuesday night, to permit of the necessary preparations for the requiemservices in the morning. The cathedral was re-opened at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, at which hour the first mass was celebrated. Similar ceremonies followed every half-hour up ‘til 11 o'clock, when there was a requiem high mass, at which there was an immense assemblage. Among the congregation were members of all denominations, who expressed regret at the unfortunate accident. At the requiem high mass Monsignor Moore, D.D., acted as celebrant, with Father John Hoyne, of Hamilton, as deacon, and Father Gerald Doyle, of Ballarat, as sub deacon. Father John Meade was the 'master of ceremonies’. The following is a complete list of the clergymen present, from which it will be seen that the Archdiocese of Melbourne was well represented: —The Right Rev. Monsignor Moore, D.D., V.G.; The Very Rev. Dr. Corbett, St. Kilda; The Very Rev. H. Farrelly, V.F., Kilmore; The Very Rev. J. Hoyne, Hamilton; and the Revs. R. Ellis, Gordon; G. Byrne, Meredith; J. F. Fitzgerald, Stawell; R. Meade, Ararat; R. Scanlan, Chines; Lynch,Emerald Hill; D. Nelan, Eyneton; Campion, Colac; King, Horsham; J. B. Collier, Maryborough; M'Gee, St. Francis, Melbourne; Grant, Hotham; Heffernan, St. Patrick's, Melbourne; Carey, Brighton; Gough and Quilter, Daylesford; Murphy, Gordon; O'Regan, Belfast; Moriarty, Warrnambool; M. Meade and G. Doyle, St. Alipius', Ballarat East; John Meade and Rogers, St. Patrick's, Ballarat West; O'Brien, Creswick and Corcoran, Smythesdale. Prior to the mass the choir and the clergymen present sang the office for the dead. The solemn strains had the effect of drawing tears from the eyes of a number of persons in the cathedral. At the conclusion of the office for the dead, the full choir, under the leadership of Mr. Wrigley, rendered the "Benedictus" arranged from the Gregorian by Novello, the alternate verses being sung in unison by the priests in the front portion of the cathedral. During the interval between the office and the solemn requiem mass the "Miserere" was rendered, and at the mass the music was of the grand Gregorian style, the choir and the officiating clergy taking alternate parts. The requiem ceremonies were terminated about 12 o'clock, and then many ladies placed immortelles on the coffin. It was of large size, and was composed of polished cedar and ebony with, silver mountings. On the lid were the deceased clergyman's chalice, his cap and stole. These were surrounded by bunches of moss roses and floral crosses, as well as by the immortelles already mentioned. A large silver shield in the centre of the coffin note the following inscription:- "Died, on the 9th of October, 1882, the Rev. Michael Sheridan, in the 27th year of his age. R.I.P." Ranged along each side of the catafalque were three lighted wax candles, the holders being draped in black, with bouquets attached. Many ladies, after mass, took pieces of the floral decorations away with them as mementos of the departed priest. From half-past 12 o'clock until nearly 3 o'clock the mournful tolls of the cathedral bell were heard throughout the city. Shortly before 2 o'clock the hearse, drawn by four black horses, and six mourning coaches arrived at the cathedral. Mr. Wellington, who had charge of the mortuary arrangements, then accompanied the bearers to the catafalque, the organ playing and the choir singing the antiphon "In Paradisium," in which Fathers O'Brien andCarey took part. The names of the coffin bearers are as follows:- Laurence Phelan, Thomas M'Namany, Charles Fitzgerald, John Graber, Edward Murphy, and William Kinane, all being members of the Hibernian Society. A number of the leading Roman Catholics of Ballarat took up positions near the catafalque, prominent among whom were Mr. Martin Loughlin, J. P.; Mr. D. Brophy, M.L. A.; Dr. Usher, Mr. James Coghlan, J.P., James Cotter, James Tappin, and D. Fitzpatrick, J.P. As the coffin, was being lifted off the catafalque Mr. Furlong, the organist, played "The DeadMarch in Saul." Outside the cathedral about 6000 persons had assembled, and when the congregation arrived in the street the throng became one of great magnitude. The balcony of the Adelphi Hotel was crowded with spectators anxious to get a glimpse at the coffin, and the various points of vantage near the church were extensively utilised. From the balcony of the hotel mentioned Mr. Brown, of the firm of Messrs. Richards and Co., the well-known Sturt Street photographers, took a picture of the assemblage after the coffin had been placed in the hearse. The procession, which included many residents from Bungaree, Dunnstown, Tendon, Navigators, Warrenhelp, and the outlying districts, moved forward shortly after 2 o'clock. In the front were close upon 200 members of the Hibernian Society, followed by over 300 observers of total abstinence, the representatives of both societies wearing their regalia. The members of the Christian Doctrine Society, came next, mustered pretty strongly to pay respect to their late spiritual adviser, as did also the Young Men's and Children of Mary societies. Prominent in the processionwere about 1500 school children and inmates of the Orphan Asylum, who were marshalled by members of the Christian Doctrine Society and kindred societies. Bishop O'Connor's carriage containing Monsignor Moore, Dr. Corbett and the Rev. John Hoyne followed and then the hearse and mourning coaches. In the cortege we noticed representatives of all classes of Ballarat society. There were a number of Protestant clergymen present, prominent, among whom were the Rev. R.T. Cummins, of St. Paul's; the Rev. Julius Lewis, of Christ Church Pro-Cathedral and the Rev. Heber T. Tranmar. Altogether there were nearly 100 vehicles in the procession. Numerous shops were closed along the line of route, and it was estimated that many thousands of persons viewed the cortege between the cathedral and the cemetery.
Rev. Fr. Michael Sheridan’s memorial - The Ballarat Star Wed 22 Oct 1884.
The Roman Catholics of Bungaree erected a headstone over the grave of the Rev. Michael Sheridan in the Old Cemetery. The monument, erected by Messrs M‘Donald and Sons, of the Creswick road, consists of a massive Celtic cross of Carrara marble, trusses and wheel, neatly carved with shamrocks, on a bluestone pedestal, with marble, tablets inscribed, supported by a bluestone base, the whole resting on a substantial foundation. The grave has also been enclosed with a bluestone coping and handsome iron fence. It may be added that the monument is about 12 feet in height. On the front marble tablet is the following inscription, cut in large and imperishable letters:—
"Erected by the Roman Catholics of Bungaree district, in memory of the Rev. Michael Sheridan, died 9th October, 1882, in the 27th year of his age, and fourth of his sacred ministry. RIP.”
The Poem.
The following poem was found in an exercise book owned by Patrick Connellan and preserved down the years by Hugh Linehan of Dunnstown. It is not known whether Connellan himself, a school child, or some other adult wrote the metrically imperfect piece, but it is known that a few days before his death Father Sheridan expressed the sentiments of the opening words, used by the writer as a kind of chorus.
“I must write to Darling Mother
Else she’ll think that I am dead”.
Were there ever words more touching
Than those a priest-son said?
As he mailed to her his picture
In a letter spelling love
“Widowed Mother! -- he who sent it
Now has gone to God above”.
“I must write to Darling Mother
Else she’ll think that I am dead”.
Ah! ‘tis true that now the grave clods
Rest above his youthful head’
But his pure and gentle spirit
Now rejoices in the smile --
The Saviour’s. Give that mother now,
Dear Saviour, courage in her trial.
Blessed Jesus be thou near her;
Hover round her childless bed
When she hears the doleful tidings
(In old Erin far away):
That her son, her hope and solace,
Was killed that luckless day
“I must write to Darling Mother
Else she’ll think that I am dead”.
Ah! we know dear Father Sheridan
That your grave is now your bed,
And all miss you -- sadly miss you --
Sadly mourn your early death.
Sure your name is linked with blessings
That are breathed with every breath.
And to your Darling Mother,
In the old home o’er the sea
Has word been sent to tell her
That your happy spirit’s free –
That none was more beloved
On Victoria’s sunny shore –
Than you, dear Father Sheridan,
Beloved of rich and poor.
I wish to acknowledge the National Library of Australia for making the above newspaper articles available through ‘Trove’ at https://trove.nla.gov.au and to Ted Connellan for photographs, The Poem, additional information and The Bungaree Parish Notice-Sheet, 29 May 1966.
Carmel O’Callaghan
[1] Killian J. Mitchell, The Missionary Priests and Bishops of the Diocese Kilmore, 2000, p. 121.
[2] [2] https://www.britannica.com/place/Ballarat.
[3] https://www.ballarat.catholic.org.au/our-diocese/dsp-default.cfm?loadre….
[4] https://www.ballarat.catholic.org.au/our-diocese/dsp-default.cfm?loadre….
[5] https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10858-478830/michael-sherida….
[6] http://www.historic-shipping.co.uk/monwigram/kent%2076.html.
| Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 1st Jan 1855 (circa) | |
| Date of Death | 1st Oct 1882 | VIEW SOURCE |
