Matthias Bodkin aka Matthias McDonnell Bodkin,

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, 26 June 1896 – 2 November 1973. Bodkin was a son of

Matthias McDonnell Bodkin Matthias McDonnell Bodkin (8 October 1850 – 7 June 1933) was an Irish nationalist politician and MP. in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Anti-Parnellite representative for North Roscommon, 1892–9 ...

but never used his middle name, to differentiate himself from his father. He served as a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

and aboard in the Pacific. He was a prolific writer on religious subjects, but also adventure stories for boys ( usually as M. Bodkin). In 1940, he published Halt Invader! – an account of a secret attempt to establish a ( foreign) military base in Northern Donegal, which is discovered by two visiting schoolchildren. His most acclaimed work was a biography of John Sullivan, a fellow Jesuit, published as ''The Port of Tears'' in 1954. In later life, his eyesight began to fail, so he turned to retreat work and councilling. He died in Dublin. He was a brother of

Thomas Bodkin Professor Thomas Patrick Bodkin (21 July 1887 – 24 April 1961) was an Irish lawyer, art historian, art collector and curator. Bodkin was Director of the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin from 1927 to 1935 and founding Director of the B ...

, and a descendant of the Tribes of Galway.

References

* ''Thomas Bodkin:a bio-bibliographical survey, with a bibliographical survey of his family'', Alan Denson, 1966. * ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'', p. 627, Cambridge, 2010. * ''Halt Invader'', Browne & Nolan, Dublin, 1940. * ''http://www.ricorso.net/rx/az-data/authors/b/Bodkin_MSJ/life.htm'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bodkin, Matthias Christian clergy from Dublin (city) Irish writers 1896 births 1973 deaths 20th-century Irish Jesuits Irish military chaplains World War II chaplains Royal Navy chaplains Irish officers in the Royal Navy