Raymond Mulrooney writes about the longest serving manager of the Morning Star Hostel
In this year of the Centenary of the Legion of Mary, it is right and proper to remember the many stalwart members who forged the way that led to the solid foundation of the future Legion of which we are proud to belong. One such unsung hero was Tom Doyle. Over the years I had the honour of meeting Tom on occasions of events associated with the beautiful hostel oratory.
From my few encounters with him, I found him a quiet and shy type of person, but ever so helpful. The recently deceased Liam Hayden, on the other hand, knew him quite well, having offered up a year of his early life as an in-door brother. Liam was devoted to his memory and spoke many times lovingly about the impression he made on him and on his comrades in the hostel.
Family
Tom Doyle, born in Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow, to a family of six, four boys and two girls. Sadly, both parents died young from tuberculosis, causing the children to be separated and reared by uncles and aunts. In Tom’s case, this meant going to an uncle on a family farm in Rathvilly, Co. Carlow and later attending school in nearby Tullow. In his early twenties, he moved to Dublin for work, becoming an apprentice in the grocery trade. He was introduced to the St Vincent de Paul Society by a mutual friend in Myra House, their local HQ. It was there he met Frank Duff, then a president of a SVP conference.
In 1927, responding to a great need to shelter hundreds of homeless men, displaced by the destruction of the Irish civil war, Frank Duff sought the help of volunteer brothers to man a shelter that the government facilitated, by providing the premises and offering some financial aid. This was the beginning of men coming into the Legion, which up to now, was completely made up of women. On March 25, 1927, the shelter/hostel was opened, then catering for over 200 men, almost overnight solving the then chronic crisis of homelessness.
From my few encounters with him, I found him a quiet and shy type of person, but ever so helpful”
Brother
In 1929, Tom joined the brothers in this venture in the Morning Star Hostel for men, as it is now known, and in January 1931 he gave up his external employment to become an indoor brother, in which he devoted the rest of his long life. In 1931, there were two elderly indoor brothers to cater for security overnight, so much of the burden of the day-to-day running of the hostel fell on Frank Duff, who was also holding down his employment in the civil service.
From here, I have drawn extensively from an article written by Paddy Tynan in 1992 in the Maria Legionis, the year of Tom’s death. He relates about Tom’s first job: the running of the “Stick Yard” where residents of the hostel could earn enough by bundling sticks for sale to defray their keep. (Frank Duff believed that for the men’s self-respect, they should make a small contribution towards their keep).
“Tom rose each day at 5:30 am and served 6 am Mass in the Capuchin Church of Our Lady of the Angels, Church Street,” Mr Tynan writes. “Then he attended to the residents’ breakfasts and the dormitories and was on duty until the afternoon. After provision of the residents’ tea, the rest of the evening was given to personal attention to the men. ‘There is a danger,’ he once said, ‘that we may fall short in our service by not giving full personal attention to each man. We should get to know them intimately, share their interests and, as friends, show an interest in their hopes and desires.’
“Frequently, Tom did not avail himself of the day-and-a-half off per week allowed to indoor staff. Instead, he might cycle to Carlow to a Curia meeting. He did extension work in various parts of Ireland and went on Perigrinatio Pro Christi projects to Scotland, England and Sweden. He was for many years Concilium Correspondent with Legion Councils in India. He helped also in the organisation of the Legion pilgrimages to St Patrick’s Purgatory in Lough Derg (a three-day penitential exercise) and he recruited many of the pilgrims as legionaries.”
Good humoured
Always good humoured, the experience of those who knew him for 50 years or more was that he was never glum or angry. He had cause to be angry, as when a resident whom he had nursed through an illness struck him, or when he had his leg broken while trying to separate fighting residents, or when the horse and cart used in connection with the distribution for sale of the firewood were themselves sold by a resident for his own profit!
Many sought the benefit of Tom’s prayers. One legionary was directed by him to a seminary where he was ordained. He was President of the Morning Star Praesidium from 1950-1956 and from 1960-1966. His deep spirituality was revealed in his allocutio’s, in particular his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady. He often emphasised the gifts received through membership of the Legion: the Mystical Body doctrine, True Devotion to Mary and appreciation of the Breviary. He was an avid student of the Legion Handbook.
❛❛The Morning Star Hostel where Tom dedicated his life continues to give help and refuge to men in homelessness”
Tom always retained his simplicity and told a friend he liked nothing better than to sit round the big log fire in the common room at the end of the day in the company of the residents. But at first, he found duty as an indoor brother very difficult until he grew fond of the men. One friendship is worth recalling: it was with a resident, formally a military officer and university graduate, who had a drink problem. This man went from the hostel to England for the conferring ceremony of a cadetship on his son. But tragically, the son was killed on his way to the ceremony.
Later the man settled in England but returned to the hostel to express his thanks and to inform Tom that he and his wife had entered the Catholic Church. Efforts by state departments and other bodies to reward him for his services were graciously declined by Tom. At the age of 80, he went to a nursing home run by the Little Sisters of the Poor, who were very kind to him and where he was universally popular. He attended two Masses each day and also the local praesidium meeting. To the last, he daily recited his Breviary. Tom died on Friday, 30 October, 1992.
Frank Duff sought the help of volunteer brothers to man a shelter that the government facilitated, by providing the premises and offering some financial aid”
Funeral
Twelve priests concelebrated Tom’s funeral Mass in the Capuchin Church and he was laid to rest (according to his own request), in the Morning Star Residents’ Burial plot in Glasnevin Cemetery, there to await Gabriel’s call in the company of his beloved poor. The morning of the funeral was wild and stormy, but after recitation of the Legion prayers and the singing of the Salve Regina, the sun broke through as if to let us know that the kindly soul of Tom Doyle was at home with Mary, the Beauteous Morning Star.
The Morning Star Hostel where Tom dedicated his life continues to give help and refuge to men in homelessness.
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