FR. ARTHUR COX25 July 1891 - 11 June 1965

FR ARTHUR COX DIED IN ZAMBIA ON 11 JUNE 1965, AT THE AGE OF 74. HE IS BURIED IN CHIKUNI. HE HAD BEEN A MISSIONARY PRIEST FOR LESS THAN A YEAR AND HAD BEEN ORDAINED A PRIEST FOR LESS THAN TWO YEARS.His short time in Africa was a source of great pleasure, fulfilment and wonderment to him. It has served as an inspiration to many trainee solicitors in the firm which still bears his name.

To mark the fiftieth anniversary of his death, this booklet recalls Arthur’s decision to become a priest and his all too short time in Zambia with the Jesuit community.

I would like to thank the O’Malley family and John Donnelly for sharing with me letters received from Arthur during his time in Zambia and Damien Burke, the archivist in the Jesuit archives, for all of his guidance and support.

This booklet is dedicated to the trainees past, present and future, who have given, and will give, of their time, energy and skills in supporting the great work of the Jesuit community and others in Zambia and includes reflections of some of those who have participated in the visits to that wonderful country.

Eugene McCague

Dublin

June 2015

The establishment of the firm coincided with the birth of a new Ireland whose leaders were to include a number of Arthur’s friends from university, including Patrick McGilligan, Patrick Hogan, Kevin O’Higgins and John A. Costello.

It is not surprising that the leaders of a new independent State sought advice from the lawyer acknowledged as the most brilliant of their generation. He advised on the Shannon Scheme in 1927 and subsequently acted for the ESB for many years. His skills were recognised across the political divide. When Fianna Fail came to power in 1932 he advised on their flagship project, Bord na Móna.

As well as acting for the State, Arthur built up an impressive list of corporate clients, both domestic and international.

He played a key role in early efforts to encourage foreign investment in Ireland, devising complex schemes to facilitate foreign control of companies

while remaining within the letter of the protectionist legislation of the 1930’s, causing one commentator to observe that Arthur could ‘put... the Acts to music if he was inclined to.’

During his long career, Arthur’s caseload spanned many disciplines, from his work for Sir Horace Plunkett in the establishment of agricultural co-operatives, to defending Sir Winston Churchill in a defamation action brought against him in Ireland, advising Oliver St. John Gogarty in a similar action, working with George Bernard Shaw on a film venture and advising KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in the public inquiry into a crash which claimed 28 lives.

But it was as a company lawyer that Arthur was most renowned. His position as Ireland’s leading corporate lawyer was recognised by his appointment to the Company Law Reform Committee which he later chaired. The Cox Report, as it was widely known, was the first comprehensive review of Irish company law since independence and was given public expression in the Companies Act 1963.

01ALTHOUGH HE DIED A PRIEST IN ZAMBIA, ARTHUR COX IS BETTER KNOWN AS ONE OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED AND INFLUENTIAL IRISH LAWYERS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. BORN IN DUBLIN IN 1891, HE HAD GLITTERING ACADEMIC CAREERS IN BELVEDERE COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN BEFORE QUALIFYING AS A SOLICITOR IN 1915. IN 1920 HE ESTABLISHED THE FIRM OF ARTHUR COX & CO.

Arthur served on the boards of more than 40 companies.

He was President of the Incorporated Law Society of

Ireland in the centenary year of its charter and served a term as a member of the Irish Senate. For several decades, and at the

time of his retirement from practice in 1961, Arthur Cox

was the pre-eminent corporate lawyer in Ireland.

Arthur and Brigid lived for a number of years in Howth before moving to Ballsbridge. In February 1961, Brigid died. Though her family had become accustomed to her frequent illnesses, her death came as a great shock. Her final illness, a stroke, occurred only four days earlier.

Arthur was bereft. His heart was no longer in his work and he was approaching his seventieth birthday. He had no outside interests and recognised that the huge number of people who relied on him for advice would not have allowed retirement, even if he wished for it. He could make a break from his practice as a solicitor only if that break were absolute.

Through his lifetime, Arthur had a deep interest in religion. The history of the Catholic church and its rituals fascinated him. As a student he had considered joining the priesthood. Within weeks of Brigid’s death he decided that he wanted to become a priest. More than that, Arthur’s true desire was to become a Jesuit.

Arthur’s wish to become a Jesuit was undoubtedly influenced by his years at Belvedere College where he started his study in 1900 at the age of nine. The stated aim of the Jesuits at the time was to prepare students for the responsibility of one day leading a new independent Ireland, an aim which commended itself to Arthur’s parents and particularly to his father Michael Cox.

Michael Cox was born in Co. Roscommon in 1852. He graduated from the Catholic University School of Medicine (Cecelia Street) in 1875 and, at the very young age of 29, was appointed as physician to St. Vincent’s hospital in Dublin. He continued his association with the hospital until his death at the age of 73.

Michael Cox, as well as being one of the most distinguished physicians of his generation, had a keen interest in politics and became a close confidante of a number of the leaders of the Home Rule movement, particularly John Redmond and John Dillon.

02IN 1940, ARTHUR HAD MARRIED BRIGID O’HIGGINS, WIDOW OF HIS GREAT FRIEND KEVIN WHO HAD BEEN ASSASSINATED IN 1927. BRIGID HAD TWO DAUGHTERS, MAEV, WHO IN 1945 JOINED THE CARMELITE ORDER OF NUNS AND UNA, WHO IN 1952, MARRIED A RENOWNED SURGEON EOIN O’MALLEY.

Belvedere College was founded in 1832 and, since 1841, has occupied the stately home on Great Denmark Street built for Lord Belvedere. It is the alma mater of many distinguished Irishmen. Two years before Arthur Cox joined, James Joyce had left Belvedere for university and the world.

The ethos of Belvedere, which was well-established in Arthur’s time and survives in large measure today, can be traced to the arrival as Rector in 1883 of Fr Thomas Finlay S.J. A supreme educator and independent thinker, Fr Finlay ensured that Belvedere was no mere stagnant Catholic version of an English Protestant public school. Indeed, it was not a ‘public school’ in that sense at all. Fr Finlay’s philosophy of voluntarism and

co-operation, together with his antipathy to the State – whether England or an independent Irish State – as the sole provider of moral values and economic support, ingrained in Belvedere’s students a questioning outlook linked to a concern for those less well-off. As well as being prepared to govern in the future, Belvederians were taught to care for their fellow citizens through involvement in the social club established to help the poor of their own age who were forced to work as newsboys and the like.

Arthur’s career in Belvedere from 1900 to 1909 was one of brilliant academic success. His prowess in winning school prizes was such that he was eventually persuaded not to enter competitions so that other students might have a chance to win. He was appointed as the first auditor of the Belvedere College Debating Society. In 1909, he became the only student to win scholarships both to the old Royal University of Ireland and the new National University. On his final day in Belvedere, his fellow students carried him around the quadrangle on their shoulders and the school declared the following day as a holiday, Arthur Cox Day.

GIVEN HIS UNWAVERING BELIEF IN EDUCATION AND IN THE NEED FOR IRELAND TO HAVE ITS INDEPENDENCE, IT IS NO SURPRISE THAT DR. COX CHOSE TO SEND ARTHUR AND, BEFORE HIM, ARTHUR’S OLDER BROTHER AEDAN, TO BELVEDERE.

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Arthur’s wish to become a Jesuit was also influenced by his frequent visits to University Hall in Hatch Street. He was particularly close to Fr Edward Coyne S.J., and prayed with him at his final hour.

In April 1961, two months after Brigid’s death, Arthur contacted his friend Fr Roland Burke-Savage S.J. and shared with him his wish to become a Jesuit. Fr Burke-Savage, in turn, approached the Archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid. Both men recognised the practical difficulties of a 70 year old man starting the long road of study to become a Jesuit. McQuaid proposed a compromise: if Arthur were to receive two years’ private study at Milltown Park (the Jesuit Theologate in Dublin), he would ordain him as a priest in the Archdiocese and would willingly give him his ‘exeat’ to join the Jesuits if he still wished to do so.

Fr Burke-Savage next approached Fr James Corboy S.J., then Rector of Milltown Park.

Fr Corboy was not very enamoured with the idea of Arthur joining the community at Milltown. He was concerned that Arthur would find it difficult to adapt to the structured religious life and would not fit in with the other scholastics who were obviously much younger than he and who, by this stage, had been together for a number of years. Despite his doubts, Fr Corboy relented and agreed that Arthur could enter Milltown in October of that year.

Fr Corboy’s concerns about Arthur not being able to adapt were very quickly allayed. The ascetic life expected of scholastics was nothing new to Arthur who had always led a spartan existence. From the beginning he insisted on being treated like all the other scholastics. He sought and received no special favours, apart from a telephone in his room so that his office could continue to contact him. He adjusted quickly to his new life. As with all previous challenges, he was

determined to succeed. Each morning there were prayers in the chapel for about an hour before early Mass. One priest who, before Arthur’s arrival, had been accustomed to being first into the chapel in the morning remarked to Fr Corboy that no matter how early he came down Arthur Cox was always there before him!

That Arthur fitted in so well at Milltown was a tribute to his own determination and resourcefulness but it was also thanks, in no small measure, to the friendship of one particular fellow scholastic, Frank O’Neill. Fr Corboy decided that Arthur should have someone to look after him and to act as a link with the younger men at Milltown. Frank O’Neill was chosen for this role as ‘guardian angel’, a role he fulfilled with great devotion and understanding.

Arthur was very fortunate to have Frank O’Neill as his support and friend in Milltown. Through him he became friendly with his fellow scholastics. He also got to know a number of the older priests who were very scholarly and who were living in Milltown at the time. These included Fr Aubrey Gwynn S.J. who more than 50 years earlier had signed his name in the Register of the new University College beside that of Arthur Cox.

Arthur did not attend lectures with the other scholastics. Instead, he was given private tuition in his room by two priests:

Fr O’Grady who taught dogma and Fr Joy who taught moral principles. His faith was simple and unswerving. He could not see the reason for ‘all the fuss’, explaining to Frank O’Neill: “Since God has revealed all this, I believe absolutely.” He was very orthodox in his views and had great difficulty in coming to terms with the more modern trends in theological thinking. The times were changing quickly. Vatican II was on the horizon but Arthur’s view remained that theology was little more than a synonym for cathecism. Study therefore played little part in his life at Milltown.

Arthur donated his library and that of his father to Milltown Park, filling over 200 shelves.

Arthur’s father’s collection included a great deal of Irish political biography, works of Scottish gaelic literature and Scottish ecclesiastical history along with first editions of Abbey Theatre plays and a copy of W.B. Yeat’s first volume of poetry, The Wanderings of Oisin, which he had bought in Sligo shortly after it was published. Arthur’s collection included several important first editions, one being a copy of Joyce’s Ulysses, together with works by Dante, Cervantes, Machiavello, Goethe, Rabelais, the Elizabethan dramatists (he had written his M.A. thesis on Philip Massinger) and a large collection of books on Spanish history and art in which he had particular interest.

Arthur arrived in Milltown Park on 15 October 1961. He brought virtually no personal belongings with him. He was given a small room on the second floor of the Retreat House

which Una did her best to make comfortable for him.

The area had strong links with the Jesuits, dating back to the early part of the century when two Jesuits from the English Province made their way north from the Zambesi River and developed a mission at Chikuni. In 1927 the mission was taken over by Polish Jesuits. A college was founded, providing primary as well as secondary education, along with teacher training courses.

Since 1946, the Communist government in Poland had prevented Polish Jesuits from joining the Chikuni mission. With the project in danger of collapse, nine Irish Jesuits were sent in 1950 on a ‘rescue mission’ to lend their support. Two years later the number of Irish Jesuits had trebled. Throughout the 1950s the mission flourished, education inevitably being the Jesuit priority. In 1960 a formal hierarchy was established in Northern Rhodesia. Given the enormous contribution made by the Jesuits at Chikuni it was entirely appropriate that the first Bishop of Monze, which included Chikuni within its diocese, should be an Irish Jesuit.

Bishop Corboy would remain as Bishop of Monze until 1992. Under his leadership the diocese, and with it the Chikuni mission, went from strength to strength. New parishes, new churches, a cathecist training centre and a diocesan secondary school were added to the older foundations. As Louis McRedmond in his history of the Irish Jesuits observed:

‘With a bishop sympathetic to the conciliar vision, a friendly Government, further Jesuits arriving from Ireland and a native African clergy beginning to take shape, the story of Chikuni becomes frankly boring, as unrelieved good news will always become! In 1971 the Father General declared the Mission to be the Jesuit Vice-Province of Zambia. The Irish Jesuits might fairly ask themselves whether a rescue was ever so impressively effected.’

04IN EARLY 1962, FR CORBOY WAS APPOINTED BISHOP OF MONZE IN NORTHERN RHODESIA. HE WAS THE FIRST BISHOP APPOINTED TO THIS NEW DIOCESE. IN GEOGRAPHICAL TERMS, IT WAS APPROXIMATELY THE SAME SIZE AS IRELAND.

Though delighted for Bishop Corboy on his elevation, Arthur was becoming anxious about his own position. His anxiety was increased by the departure to Africa of someone to whom he had grown close and on whom he had begun to rely.

When Fr Frank O’Neill followed Bishop Corboy to Monze, Arthur’s closest bonds with his new life were suddenly gone. He decided that he too should go to Northern Rhodesia. He immediately wrote to Bishop Corboy asking that he be allowed to join the mission.

Bishop Corboy, who had been concerned about Arthur surviving in Milltown, was all the more reluctant to have him face the challenges of Africa at his age. Life on the missions was primitive. Disease was an inherent risk of the job. It was essential that the priests quickly learned the Tonga language. All these factors weighed heavily against Arthur being permitted to join. The task faced by the missionary priests was daunting enough without the added burden of having to look after a fragile 71 year old. Bishop Corboy refused Arthur’s request. Arthur was not so easily dissuaded. Letter after letter arrived to Bishop Corboy. As so often before, his persuasive skills won through. It was agreed that once ordained, he could join his friends in Monze.

Arthur had not given up on his wish to become a Jesuit. In May 1963, he approached Fr Charles O’Connor S.J. who agreed to write to the Father General of the Jesuits on his

behalf. In his letter to the Father General, Fr O’Connor said that ‘during the last two years while he has been living at Milltown Park, Mr. Cox has been a source of continued edification in the House by his regulatory in observance in every way, his gracious manner - and for the man he has been in earlier life - his altogether exceptional humility.’

Arthur’s request to become a Jesuit was discussed at a meeting of the Jesuit Province Consults in July 1963. It was noted that ‘age is an impediment and obstacle’ but his application gained wide support. One member declared that it would be both ‘ad bonum ipsum candidate’ and ‘ad bonum Societatis’ if he was to be admitted although another believed that it would be more ‘ad bonum universale’ if he were to remain a secular priest. Ironically, it was decided that Arthur’s application to go to Monze could have the effect of postponing his application to become a Jesuit.

The Province Consults next considered his application in December 1963, the minutes noting the ‘further complication of his desire to go to Chikuni.’ The Consultors unanimously approved that a petition be forwarded to the Father General asking him to exercise his power to dispense with the age impediment and to make adjustments to the noviceship requirements. Fr O’Connor, in his letter to the Father General on 26 December 1963 set out the reasons for the petition as:

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Father Cox’s exceptional adaptability to the demands of the religious life as exemplified by his own manner of life at Milltown Park during the last two years.

the detachment shown by Father Cox in regard to material possessions and wellbeing.

the edification that his life in preparation for the priesthood has provided not only for Ours but for externs as well.

the disedification that would be likely to result amongst externs if a man of Fr Cox’s known disposition and union with God were refused admittance into the Society.

The fact that Fr Cox has been a considerable benefactor of Milltown Park and of the Rhodesian Mission.

the fact that the Consultors are convinced that in making these representations they are speaking not merely for themselves but for all members of the Province, were their opinions to be sought.

In January 1964, the Father General replied that since Arthur had not completed his noviceship or his tertianship, he could not be accepted into the Jesuit community. That was the end of the matter.

Fr Brendan Barrry S.J. appointed two members of the Jesuit community to examine Arthur ‘in connection with his reception of sub-diaconate, Diaconate and Priesthood.’

Fr Barry reported to the Archbishop that the two priests had ‘given a favourable report as to his possession of the necessary knowledge’ and observed ‘Mr Cox has lived in Milltown Park for almost two years, and I am happy to assure your Grace that he is an excellent candidate for Major Orders.’

Satisfied with the reports he had received, the Archbishop fixed 15 December 1963 at 8am for Arthur’s ordination, asking of Fr Barry, whether he would like him to prescribe the weather also on that morning. Fr Barry replied that ‘as the occasion can scarcely be termed a causa publica within the meaning of the canon, I hesitate to petition the oratio ‘Pro Serenitate.’

The ordination ceremony was held in Milltown with Archbishop McQuaid honouring his commitment to ordain Arthur as a secular priest. Bishop Corboy was present for the occasion as were many of Arthur’s friends from the Milltown Park community. So too were old friends like John. A. Costello, Paddy McGilligan and George O’Brien, Arthur’s step-daughter Una, his cousin Aileen and other

distinguished guests including Sean T. O Ceallaigh, W.T. Cosgrave and James Dillon.

On the following day, 16 December 1963, Fr Arthur Cox said his first Mass in the chapel at the Carmelite Convent in Blackrock where his step-daughter, Maev, lived. Arthur originally had ambitious plans for a large celebration in the Church on Westland Row to which everyone he knew would be invited. He was particularly anxious to invite all of the many Dublin taxi drivers who had driven him over the years. He was reluctantly dissuaded from this course, it being rightly considered that the ordeal of saying Mass in public for the first time was such that a smaller congregation in a more private setting would be preferable.

On 10 August 1964 Arthur left Dublin for the last time, going first to Lourdes and then to Rome en route to his new life in Africa. Many of his friends were at Dublin Airport to wish him well. Fr Frank O’Neill was returning to the missions at the same time and, as so often before, he was on hand to assist and support Arthur on the journey. Aer Lingus gave VIP treatment at Lourdes to the travelling priests and again at Rome, although the privileges stopped for the flight from Rome to Nairobi when it was discovered that their belongings were overweight!

06IN AUGUST 1963, ARCHBISHOP MCQUAID HAD BEGUN THE PROCESS OF PREPARING FOR ARTHUR’S ORDINATION.

‘Rome was wonderful. We saw a lot, but it would take years to see one-tenth of what is there. We saw the Pope twice. He does not give private audiences at Castlegandolfo.

We had bad luck, because he passed with Fr O’Connell along a passage about two seconds after we left it. From Rome, we came down to Athens. It was sad to be there, closed in the airport and to see

nothing of the city. Athens is really one of the few places I have really wanted to see.’

From Arthur to Maev

Arthur settled in quickly at Monze. His wonderment at all the new experiences which were bombarding him daily led him to confess: ‘If I had a dictaphone, my old typists, and plenty of time, I might make an effort to write you [Maev] a worthwhile letter to recount all I have seen and experienced since we left Lourdes - but, even so, unless I were a James Joyce or an Evelyn Waugh, or someone like that it would be quite useless. And fortunately perhaps I am neither.’

From the start he was extremely happy: His first appointment was an Extraordinary Chaplain to the local convent and the new hospital at Monze which opened shortly after Arthur’s arrival. The Sisters in the convent were members of the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary from Killeshandra, Co. Cavan. When Fr O’Neill informed Arthur that he had been appointed Extraordinary Chaplain, Arthur, true to his old form, replied: “Extraordinary is the word!”

Shortly after his appointment to the convent and the hospital at Monze, Arthur was asked to undertake a journey of 200 miles to Namwala where, as so often had happened in the past at home, the Sisters of Charity required the benefit of his legal expertise and his business

acumen to sort out a problem they had encountered in relation to the opening of their new Arthur Davison Memorial Hospital. He later carried out a review of the insurance arrangements on all the mission houses and hospitals.

Bishop Corboy tutored Arthur in the Tonga language. Although a gifted linguist, Arthur found it difficult to learn the new language and was never more than adequate at speaking it. He was conscious of its importance, reporting to Una: ‘The Tonga language is a must. When the vernacular Mass comes, it will be largely used. Of course the schools all speak English and anyone who has been to school knows it. But lots of people don’t – especially of course the very poor. It is very difficult – or at least I find it so. In most languages you recognise words but there seems to be no connection at all here. And the philosophy is quite different. As you know, Zambia is a very large country. Tonga is merely one of the languages. The African is very keen on Africa for the Africans. One is hopelessly handicapped when one doesn’t know the language. And the people want things like the Prayers after Mass, or the Holy Rosary, to be in their own language.’ To another friend he wrote: ‘I have made representations to the Holy Ghost on the question of the Tonga language and the gift of

07FROM NAIROBI THEY FLEW TO SALISBURY WHERE THEY LUNCHED WITH SOME ENGLISH JESUITS BEFORE FLYING ON TO LUSAKA. THERE THEY WERE MET BY BISHOP CORBOY AND THE THREE SPENT A FEW DAYS IN LUSAKA BEFORE HEADING TO MONZE.

tongues. I gather however that in the modern world one must go the hard way!’

Writing to Maev, he observed: ‘I believe we will have Mass in Tonga or Bemba on 1st March. Having several active languages makes it worse than Irish – the other day when Fr Cremins was speaking in Tonga one of the men present shouted out “speak a language we understand”: he was a Bemba! And to Fr Aubrey Grogan: ‘I have been struggling with the Tonga language. It is (to me) quite different, but very interesting. It seems to ‘think’ in a different way to our Indo-European languages. Of course one’s memory for words is not improved by one’s age.’

In an article in ‘Province News’ detailing the extent of the library Arthur had donated to Milltown Park, the writer observed that ‘there is no truth in the rumour that Fr Arthur Cox is at present busily engaged on the translation of Ulysses into the Tonga language.’

Arthur was popular with the local people. He moved very slowly, spoke in his usual quiet tone and was very gentle, traits which appealed to his new flock. He continued to travel, doing his private retreat at Kalomo with Father Cummins whose father had been at Belvedere with him, relieving Fr O’Neill at Namwala, helping Fr MacDonald at Kasiya, taking a ‘joyride’ to Livingstone to visit the Victoria Falls. Christmas 1964 was spent

with Fr O’Neill at Namwala, where at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve the priest, in keeping with the new rite, faced the people for the first time. The locals, according to Arthur, liked it. Arthur himself continued to find it difficult to come to terms with the changes which were coming rapidly to the old order. ‘I don’t like at all the English version of the Mass which we must use’, he complained in a letter to Una; ‘It is called the ‘Standard Missal’ and is published in Belgium. I don’t

know what form is prescribed in Dublin. It is a great pity that more care was not taken to keep all English speaking countries with the same text.’

These occasional complaints were very much the exception in Arthur’s letters home. In his time in Africa he wrote regularly to Una and Maev and to many of his old friends and former clients.

His letters were always buoyant and vital, full of good humour and of reports of day to day life on the mission. His love of animals remained unabated. He sent regular messages to Una’s dogs, Ming and Chang, as always treating them as if they were able to read and write. ‘I am very sorry to hear that Ming hurt his leg’, he wrote to Una’s sons, ‘he and Chang should be ashamed of themselves running away.’ He befriended a cat called Sally and sent home regular reports on her welfare.

‘I am very glad I have come here. One feels it is very worthwhile and is very glad of the chance. One feels much closer to reality here and there is an enormous amount to

be done.’

He reported that:

‘The spiders here are much bigger than ours. And they seem hardly ever to spin webs. There is a big chap who lives on the ceiling of my room. He says he catches mosquitoes.’

Mosquitoes were one new experience which Arthur did not enjoy:

‘The mosquitoes are out in strength. Unfortunately, they like me more than I like them.’ Of other mosquitoes he observed that ‘they seem to be very much amused by mosquito nets.’

To Maev he wrote:

‘I am glad to say I have not so far met a snake but I have met a number of beautiful little lizards – about 6 inches or so long – the exact image of the Fairytale Dragons. I don’t think I have got any other sensational news at the moment.’

And in a later letter he discussed white ants:

‘They build ant heaps (or hills) which are just like Egyptian pyramids, and may be 10 or 12 feet high or higher. Sometimes, driving along,

we see places where there are hundreds and hundreds of such hills.’

In a similar vein, he wrote to his cousin Aileen:

‘We have wonderful lizards here. They are really delightful. Some of them have big round heads and they can change their

colour according to the stones they are on. But these poor chaps give themselves away, because if anything annoys them their heads change colour and become dark blue or green.

Not very many birds. I saw a flight of swallows, and wondered if they were people who had come from Ireland.

So far only 2 snakes have shown up. I do

not like them. They are not popular.

There is talk of a pleasure drive someday to one of the game reservations. There elephants, rhinoceros, giraffes, lions leopards live NOT BEHIND BARS. They are preserved and must not be shot. But of course when one is in the midst of hundreds

‘I am glad to say I have not so far met a snake but I have met a number of beautiful little lizards – about 6 inches or so long –

the exact image of the Fairytale Dragons.’

08ARTHUR WAS FASCINATED BY THE NEW SPECIES OF ANIMALS AND INSECTS HE ENCOUNTERED.

of miles of Bush, the poachers must often get away with murder, and of course there are crocodiles in some of the rivers. I saw that a young crocodile turned up the other day in the middle of Lusaka.’

In a letter to Aileen’s daughter Ilene, he informed her:

‘It is very interesting here on the Kafur river. Like all Africa rivers it is rich in crocodiles and in hippopotami. On the farther bank one can get onto one of the game reserves, and occasionally an odd leopard or elephant may turn up. Sometimes on the roads one meets crowds of baboons. Unfortunately the Africans shoot anything they can. Tell Aileen so far I have never met a parrot out here. The county is not a good one for birds. There seem to be far fewer than in Ireland. The Africans kill them when they can and eat them.’

The African climate and the weather were also constant themes:

‘The mornings are getting to be a bit cold and chilly, but once the sun gets up, everything is bright and warm and hot again. The sun is lazy at present - he is not up till about 6am.’

To Aileen he wrote:

‘The rains have come at last. We had a few smallish showers in the first few days, but all last night, no doubt in honour of Guy Fawkes, we had a wonderful lightning and thunder display all night, with the heaviest rain I could imagine. I suppose the rains will go on for some time. There will be a terrific outburst of vegetation now. It should make everything very beautiful. And it brings out a lot of quite interesting people - the

white Ants who I now realise can turn themselves from little ants like we have, into something like flying bats, about the size of big butterflies. Then there are the cameleons – who look like lizards but with big heads who hide by changing to the colour of their background - and a lot of other nice creatures – And it is nice to be out of the great heat.’

To his friend, John Donnelly, he wrote on a different theme:

‘The Africans are much keener on their drums than even

the northern Ireland people. Sometimes at night you can hear them throbbing in the far distance. They used to be used for the bush telegraph - but I doubt very much if they have the knowledge or skill to now use them in that way.’

‘It is very interesting here on the Kafur river.

Like all Africa rivers it is rich in crocodiles and in hippopotami. On the farther bank

one can get onto one of the game reserves, and

occasionally an odd leopard or elephant

may turn up.’

‘The Independence business is rather reminiscent of 1921’, he enthused to Una: ‘at the moment the outlook seems reasonably bright. There is some wealth in the Copperbelt. Of course the takeover by the Africans involves some potential difficulties. They can be so emotional, as witness the Lumpas.’

He was disappointed that the Pope who canonised a number of African Martyrs in the same week failed to say that Protestant missionaries who were killed were also martyrs, ‘because they obviously were’ and also feigned regret to his cousin Aileen that the Princess Royal did not call to see him. At Monze, the priests blessed the new flag amid great ceremony. Reporting on the occasion presented Arthur with an opportunity to joke about political differences, once so important, which now seemed so far away: ‘Mr and Mrs Frank Aiken came to represent the Irish Government and came here. They were very nice. I suppose that, as a Christian, one is expected to forgive after 40 years and 4000 or 5000 miles.’

He recognised that independence would cause some upheaval: ‘unfortunately a great many Europeans are selling out. This does not seem to be so much because they are afraid to stay as that they can see no future here for their children when the Africans have taken over completely. I saw the Chief Justice in Lusaka. He will be resigning for the same reason and it looks as if he will be a very great loss to the country.’

In the same letter to Una he reported: ‘I met Dr. Kaunda, the President here, at the blessing of the new church at the Jesuit college. His two sons are students there and Catholics. He himself was baptised a Methodist but says he is Ecumenical. He is a very able person and seems very level headed. If he can hold on he will save this country’. And later he observed: ‘It looks as if the people here will be more sensible than Ireland was with the Treaty. There seems to be unanimous support for the government. The country appears to be very fortunate in the President.’

He kept in touch with news at home and mourned the decision of the electorate not to re-elect his friend Paddy McGilligan or Sean MacEoin in 1965 ‘but at least the election has brought in some young people, new blood.’ He recalled in letters to Kevin McCourt, at that time Director General of RTÉ, and Don Carroll, the Governor of the Bank of Ireland, their days together on the Board of P.J. Carroll: ‘How superior the three of us would have been at one of the Dundalk Board Meetings if we had been told that in a few years one of us would be seated in the Control chair of Irish television, one in the chair of the Governor of the Bank, and one in the South of Africa!’ To his friend from University and later from Milltown, Fr Aubrey Gwynn, he wrote: ‘Our two lives would seem to disprove Euclid. We have been parallel, but meet each other at varying intervals. I hope that we can sometime repeat that, even in this world!’

09IN 1964 NORTHERN RHODESIA GAINED ITS INDEPENDENCE AND BECAME ZAMBIA. ARTHUR WAS VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE INDEPENDENCE CELEBRATIONS.

A teacher from the school accompanied them, as did a young catechist and two local girls. Fr O’Neill, Arthur and the teacher sat in front. Arthur and the teacher had a lengthy discussion about Irish history. At 1 o’clock they dropped the teacher and the girls at the school. The three remaining travellers decided to travel on to a Prayer House, a distance of about 30 miles, before stopping for tea and sandwiches.

About four miles from their proposed stop they suffered a blow-out on the right back tyre of the Land Rover, which skidded and turned over on the side on which Arthur was sitting. Arthur was the only one hurt. He had a bad gash on the left side of his head.

Fr O’Neill, with the help of the catechist, moved him to the side of the road where he drank some tea which they had brought with them for the journey. He was partly unconscious but managed to whisper the first words of the Act of Contrition, a fact which pleased him greatly when he was told later.

An official Government Land Rover was coming from Namwala. Its driver agreed to bring Arthur to the hospital in Choma which was closer than Namwala. Fr O’Neill sat in the back with Arthur, who lay on a mattress. They arrived at Choma at about 3:50pm. The hospital was run by the Irish Sisters of Charity for whom Arthur had such a great regard and whom he and his father had served so loyally. The doctor who attended Arthur advised that the wound was not serious and stitched it. Arrangements were made to have him moved back to the hospital at Monze.

On the following day, 9 June, Arthur was in good spirits. Bishop Corboy, who was acting as Chairman of the Bishops’ Conference at the time, telephoned and was assured that there was no need for him to travel to Choma. Arthur dictated to Fr O’Neill a letter to send to Una, which read:

Dear Una

Motor accident going Namwala 9th (sic) June. In Choma hospital. Believe nothing serious - don’t worry. Above all don’t dream of you or Eoin

10ON TUESDAY 8 JUNE, 1965, ARTHUR SET OUT FOR NAMWALA TO RELIEVE ANOTHER IRISH PRIEST, FR EDWARD O’CONNOR S.J., WHO NEEDED TO GO TO HOSPITAL TO RECEIVE TREATMENT FOR AN ULCER. FR FRANK O’NEILL CAME TO MONZE TO COLLECT HIM. THEY TRAVELLED IN A LAND ROVER LOADED WITH CEMENT, SHOPPING AND VARIOUS SUPPLIES FOR A SCHOOL WHERE THEY INTENDED TO STOP EN ROUTE.

coming out here whatever happens. Please give love to friends - such as Aileen, Ilene, Forsyths, Frs. Counihan, O’Grady, Gwynn, Burke-Savage, Kielys, George O’Brien. Tell Irish Times don’t publish etc etc. All love to you and Maev and thanks for everything. (Fr Frank writing this: I am in bed).

Arthur

That afternoon Fr O’Neill returned to Namwala. On Thursday, Arthur was visited by Fr O’Connor and Fr O’Loughlin. He was in good form and, on learning that Fr O’Connor was from Waterford, spoke at length about John Redmond. As ever, his only concern was not to be a burden on those caring for him. He told the Sisters that if he got the attention in Heaven that they were giving to him, he would go as soon as possible. He prayed silently that evening and had a good night’s sleep.

On Friday morning Arthur received Holy Communion from Fr Carroll. At about 10:30am, while chatting to one of the nurses, he collapsed. Fr Carroll and Fr O’Connor were called and administered the Last Rites. Fr Carroll left to telephone Bishop Corboy while Fr O’Connor continued to say prayers for the dying. Arthur was sinking fast. At 11:20 am on Friday 11 June 1965 he breathed his last. A post mortem revealed that he had a cerebral haemorrhage and a fracture to the skull. Slight pneumonia had set in. He also had traces of Parkinson’s disease.

Arthur’s two great friends, Bishop Corboy and Fr O’Neill, arrived at Choma that evening. They travelled with Arthur’s remains to Monze next day where Bishop Corboy said Requiem Mass. The packed church learned of Arthur’s life since he arrived at Milltown and of his brilliant

career before that. The two orders of nuns who Arthur had so faithfully represented were closely involved. The Choir included Sisters of the Holy Rosary from Killeshandra while the Sisters of Charity provided a beautiful floral tribute in the shape of The Cross.

He was buried that afternoon at Chikuni in the grounds of the Jesuit Retreat House. Local schoolchildren sang Tonga hymns by his graveside. His tombstone read simply ‘Fr Arthur Cox, R.I.P, died 11 June 1965.’

Later that day, Bishop Corboy wrote to the Jesuit community in Milltown Park to inform them of Arthur’s death. ‘It was a great shock to us all’, he reported, ‘he seemed to be extremely happy and was making all sorts of plans for the future and I will miss his sound advice and constant companionship. He was a truly saintly man and an inspiration to us all. He was completely detached from everything that did not concern the service of

God and never thought of himself and for an old man in a new country it was astonishing how interested he was in everything we were doing.’

Fr Brendan Lawler S.J. wrote to the Father General:

‘Fr Cox was old when he became a priest and was closely attached to the Society and edified all who knew him. The news of his death struck everyone at first as being very sad, but on second thoughts not so sad, as he has gone to heaven where he belongs.’

Fr R.G. Cremins S.J. wrote to Maev: ‘The final chapter in Fr Arthur’s life has really been a splendid one. Some people may have had misgivings about his coming out here. But it was a real success. For one thing he was really needed and his loss, just as an extra man, to say nothing of his personal characteristics, will be felt. He was there to do the odd jobs that add up to an extra man - to say Mass when one of us wanted to go distance or on a First Friday evening to relieve me of a third Mass:–to go here and there to hold the job when someone had to be away from his mission: to hear the odd extra confession as he was beginning to do. I think he appreciated being able to be of service in these ways, as a priest, more than anything else. Besides that, his business acumen and experience were of great value to the Bishop. As Fr Fitzgerald, the Bishop’s Secretary, said to me the other day, he already had some of the lawyers of Zambia on their toes.’

A former school friend, Gretta Collins Hudson, then living in Zambia wrote to Una: ‘Few men can have experienced such achievement in their life and the way in which he spent his last few years can call nothing but admiration from all of us.

How a man of his years could begin all over again and sit down to study a local language with such great success was something people here, less than half his age, would envy.’

A month later, Bishop Corboy again wrote home to say that it had been suggested that the new Seminary Chapel be named ‘The Arthur Cox Memorial Chapel’ and that, hopefully, some of Arthur’s friends would contribute to the cost.

The reply to Bishop Corboy indicated that while both Fr Grady and Fr Burke-Savage, who had been consulted, were in favour of the proposal, ‘they vigorously opposed making any appeal to persons in his inner circle who knew that many previous gifts to Fr Cox were in turn given to the Society and the Mission’. The response also noted that ‘the terms of his will are being passed from ear to ear.’ It was later reported that Arthur had left his entire estate to the Jesuits in Ireland, amounting to just under £60,000, a considerable amount of money at that time.

In Dublin, a Memorial Mass was held in the Church of the Sacred Heart, Donnybrook, where Arthur had been baptised in 1891 and where he married in 1940. The large congregation included Chief Justice O’Dalaigh, former President Sean T.O’Ceallaigh, representatives of many of the companies which Arthur had advised over the years and many of his friends and relatives who had attended his first Mass 18 months earlier.

‘Few men can have experienced such

achievement in their life and the way in which he

spent his last few years can call nothing but admiration from all of us. How a man of his years could begin all

over again and sit down to study a local language with such great success was something people

here, less than half his age, would envy.’

Scores of tributes arrived from clients, friends and colleagues recalling his brilliance, his kindness and his gentleness. Terence de Vere White wrote in The Irish Times:

The tragic irony of Arthur Cox’s end – its utter inappropriateness – completes the life of an extraordinary man. A brilliant student who afterwards came to the top of his profession, to retire at 70 and become a priest when a childless and recent widower – there is nothing in that raw summary of the facts to suggest the nature of the man or the manner of his life. One shrinks from the banalty of describing him, as ‘a character’ – that expression is so readily put to use where eccentricity is unredeemed by qualities of value.

Father Cox’s eccentricities were always secondary. They were accidental or at least incidental. Opinion was always divided as to the extent of self-consciousness that lay behind the dilapidation and woebegoneness of the façade. There were no two opinions about the quickness, keenest grasp, knowledge and articulateness behind it. On the surface he was shy and abstracted; and in conference he did not so much rush in to dominate as bide his time, more concerned to say the last than the first word. After he had spoken there was rarely anything left to say.

He did not brook contradiction nor care greatly to listen. Eminent Counsel used to dominating consultations, found themselves sitting at a table with clients while the solicitor in the case walked up and down behind them, setting out the facts with enviable lucidity.

He used to say that he wanted to be an artist and he left his enormous practice to

become a priest when still in undisputed mastery, but his degree of dedication to his profession was unprecedented.

Apart from his cleverness, he had qualities that made him invaluable to clients. Reticence was natural to him. Loyalty was absolute. He fought like a tiger for anyone whose case he took up. And if he could ‘see all round’ a situation, it never blunted his presentation of his clients’ case. Jealous of his honour, he was wonderfully kind in times of trouble, and an unswerving friend...

The tribute which Arthur would most have appreciated came in a letter to the Evening Herald on 16 June 1965:

Tribute to late Rev. A. Cox

Sir – As a taxi-driver who frequents the rank on St. Stephen’s Green, I would like to pay our last tribute to one who endeared himself to us over many years.

Over a long span, the late Rev. Arthur Cox was very highly regarded among the people we met and drove. He continually observed all the drivers and whenever he missed one from the rank, his first thoughts were about the missing one’s circumstances and family difficulties.

He would never hear of any complaint about our men on the rank; and when consulted about matters concerning our livelihood or other affairs, his advice and guidance were freely given without fee or reward.

We mourn his loss and extend our sympathy to all connected with such a kind and gentle soul. He has gone to the eternal rest and reward which he fully earned throughout his wonderfully lived life-time. May he rest in peace – J.J.K.

The Arthur Cox

Legacy:

The Zambia Project

The Project is a trainee-developed initiative designed to raise standards of living in some of the most rural regions of Zambia, by developing sustainable health, education and agricultural infrastructure, hand in hand with local communities.

The Project was pioneered by Arthur Cox trainee solicitors in 2008 and to date over 100 trainees have participated in raising approximately €250,000 to fund various initiatives. All monies raised go directly to initiatives on the ground; the trainees and the firm bear all administration and travel costs personally.

The Project’s initiatives are conducted with the communities they benefit. The

community leads decision making and implementation through committees set up for that purpose. Volunteers from the community build the infrastructure with local contractors. To ensure sustainability and avoid dependence, the Project’s initiatives are designed to become self-funding and are conducted within defined timescales with carefully managed handover to community leaders on exit together with ongoing monitoring of progress. Community decision-making, planning, ownership and handover are key pillars of the project ensuring its success and sustainability.

THE ARTHUR COX ZAMBIA PROJECT

2008-2013 THE MWANDI REGIONConscious of the high infant mortality rates and very poor medical facilities in a remote cluster of villages on the outskirts of the Mwandi region of south-western Zambia, the Project renovated a rural medical clinic at Masese, which provides services to a population of 5,700 people. The clinic was in a decrepit state, but is now recognised by the regional administration as the most developed rural clinic in the district. Between 2008 and 2013 electricity, a bore hole water supply and plumbed running water were provided; sanitation facilities and a specialised seven-bed maternity ward were built. Responsibility for the Clinic was handed over to the Department of Health in 2013.

From 2010 the Project began addressing food instability and lack of nutritional variety by developing the Lutaba Agricultural and Rural Development Centre (‘LARDEC’) in conjunction with local partners. From humble beginnings LARDEC now provides training in farming practices and crop diversification to over 380 families over six outpost villages; this number continues to grow. A training centre, agricultural training plot, bore hole water supplies, ablution blocks and a maize milling machine and maize dehuller have been provided; additional agricultural plots have been constructed in

the outlying villages to assist in the spread of knowledge. A qualified co-ordinator was temporarily funded to design and operate a training programme that can be taken over by trained local leaders. The Maize Milling Machine and the sale of produce creates income which contributes to the sustainability of LARDEC.

In 2010 the Project began an initiative through LARDEC to empower farmers reliant on maize to grow rice for the first time. Rice can be produced in the fertile floodplains of the Zambezi River and gives a greater yield and is sold for a higher price than the staple food, maize. By 2014 a new rice industry had been created with the local community at the helm. Over 150 farmers now grow rice on plots provided by the local Chief, increasing food stability. With relatively little investment the Rice initiative now contributes approximately USD300,000 annually to the local economy. Most recently, in 2014, a mechanical rice polisher was supplied to increase the quality of rice produced so farmers can obtain a better price.

Funding has also been given to existing local initiatives including the Limpupu and Lutaba school, an infant-feeding programme, a biogas initiative and an orphanage. The Project has also assisted with the purchase of new beds for the regional hospital in Mwandi.

In accordance with the Project’s focus on sustainability an exit and handover to the local communities in Masese and Lutaba took place in 2013. The initiatives supported by the Project are growing organically with the communities at the helm. The Project continues to monitor, support and assist going forward, but in a less visible and active manner.

2014-2017 – THE CHIKUNI REGIONFollowing the exit from Mwandi, the Project has moved to a new phase in a different part of rural Zambia, called Chikuni, where Fr Arthur Cox worked and is buried, to build Radio Schools in conjunction with the Jesuit Community, Canisius Secondary School (one of the earliest and most respected centres of learning in Zambia) and Chikuni local radio.

The Radio Schools provide a government-approved curriculum to children who cannot attend formal schools due to

geographic and financial barriers, tackling poor access to education which is one of the most recognised impediments to development.

Lessons are broadcast over wind up radio and facilitated by locally trained mentors. The first school was completed in Hakalinda village in 2014, and will provide primary education to children from the surrounding 13 villages. It will also operate an adult education and agricultural training programme. The schools are two classroom blocks built

to the highest standards together with the local community who engage in an extensive mobilisation programme in advance to ensure they are prepared and value education; in turn, promoting sustainability. A school is not built unless the local partners are satisfied that the community is in need and is mobilised. Ablution blocks and agricultural plots are constructed alongside to improve sanitary conditions and provide agricultural training. Solar panels provide electric light to support evening adult training

programmes as well as homework clubs for the school children.

It was originally planned to build two schools over four years, but due to extensive community participation and increased fundraising, that programme was increased to four schools over four years in mid-2014.

Following additional external support from the Fergal Quinn Foundation and higher than expected fundraising in 2014, the Project increased that number further and will construct two schools in 2015 alone.

AISLING BURKE (2008)

In 2008, 12 trainees from the Arthur Cox ’06 intake decided to use the break

between the completion of exams at the Law Society and the resumption of life in the office to undertake a fundraising and volunteering project. The primary objectives were to choose a project consistent with the values of Arthur Cox; to ensure that all monies raised went directly to the chosen project; and for the project to be enduring, allowing successive groups of trainees to improve and build upon the work carried out.

As Arthur Cox had worked with the Jesuit Mission in Northern Rhodesia, Zambia was an obvious choice of destination. We made contact with Slí Eile, a Jesuit charity with links to the country, which put us in touch with the inimitable Fr Klemens of Mwandi. Looking back, Fr Klemens didn’t have much choice in the matter – we were determined to help whether or not he or Mwandi wanted our help. In the end Mwandi didn’t really need us but thankfully Masese, a more remote outpost of the parish, did and so our enthusiasm for wilderness survival and manual labour found an outlet.

Bearing in mind that painting, plastering, roofing and bricklaying were not areas in which many of us, with the notable exception of Martin Cooney, had experience, the local contractors directed our efforts in refurbishing Masese Health Centre with remarkable patience and

tolerance. At times they may have wished that we had just wired the money for materials; but instead we were camping in the middle of their community, pumping water at the village well, playing volleyball with the schoolchildren and sharing a tipple at the shebeen.

The paint and plaster of 2008 have no doubt faded and flaked but foundations were laid for the incredible achievements of subsequent trainees. What started out as a rudimentary mission has been turned into a best-in-class corporate social responsibility initiative which broadens its reach and ambition year on year. ‘Going to Zambia’ has become an aspiration amongst incoming Arthur Cox trainees and that might be the most lasting success of the 2008 trip.

MARY CLARKE (2010)

I was fortunate to be a member of the 2010 Zambia trainee group. Our plan was to further

develop the projects started by the 2008 and 2009 groups in Masese, in particular, to install facilities for running water and solar power electricity in the medical clinic. While there, we also had the opportunity to start work on a separate agricultural project in the nearby village of Lutaba.

We arrived in Zambia laden down with building materials (which, in the case of most of us, myself included, we did not know how to use), the significant stockpile of cash we had raised back in Dublin, and even more significant levels of enthusiasm.

REFLECTIONS FROM VOLUNTEERS OVER THE YEARS

We were well schooled by the earlier trainee groups about what to expect, but nothing prepared me for the warmth and sincerity of the welcome we received on the ground in Masese and in Lutaba. Coming from the corporate suits environment of our everyday lives, where it would not be unusual to be met with some level of hesitancy, and perhaps at times, scepticism, it was truly overwhelming to see how excited both communities were to meet us and to work side by side with us every day. That experience is, by far, my most enduring memory of the trip.

My hope for the project was that we would, even in some small way, help to establish an infrastructure within the communities which could be maintained and further developed by the communities themselves, long after our return to the office. The communities I experienced in Masese and Lutaba had a strong enthusiasm to develop their resources and had the capacity to complete a lot of the work required to do so themselves. What we helped to provide was the funding and raw materials and also, by our presence on the ground, a reason to get started. Every year when the report from the latest Zambia group is circulated around the firm, I am so very happy to see that what was started back in 2008 by the first group has continued to grow stronger and stronger and I am extremely grateful to have had the chance to be a small part of that.

RYAN FERRY (2010)

I became involved in the Zambia Project in 2010 as a trainee volunteer, and have been a

leader since 2011. I’m now responsible for the Zambia project on the firm’s CSR Committee. Over this time the Project has grown exponentially. From the humble beginnings of an ad-hoc volunteering opportunity, the trainees have built a best practice charity project focused on sustainability and led by the partnership and empowerment of local communities.

Even though we have relatively modest resources, by focusing on small rural populations often untouched by those mainstream NGOs, and working with local leaders to meet community identified needs side by side, we can make a huge impact. The best example of this for me is the creation of a new rice industry, which was possible with modest investment because of the leadership of our partners on the ground, and the vision of the local people in taking the opportunity to better their lives.

The Project has an incredible impact on the trainees who participate. No matter how much we try to prepare them for the experience it has to be seen to be believed. When sharing their experiences they are often taken aback by how difficult the tasks we take for granted are for those in rural Zambia, and how disease, injury and hunger are too often a part of everyday life.

More striking than the hardship witnessed is the dignity and beauty of the local people that the trainees have met over the years. From the songs and music around the fire to the laughter of the

children enjoying games, these incredible people have left an impression on each trainee that will last a lifetime.

Some of my greatest and fondest memories are of our partners and friends in Zambia, and the tireless work they do day on day, year on year, to help the poorest in their communities.

Everyone takes home a lasting lesson for their own lives, rooted in their experiences with the Zambian people; for me it is the perspective of the people, the smiles and peace with which they cope with their daily struggles that make me grateful for those parts of life that can’t be counted.

AMELIA WALSH (2012)

There is something about Zambia and my trip to Masese in July 2012 that captured my heart. It’s hard to say

whether it was the stunning sunsets on the Zambezi flood plains that marked the end of a hard day brick-laying, the open arms by which the community welcomed us into their lives and their homes, or the shrieks and laughter of the school-children as we played football and netball on the plains after mass on Sundays. Whatever it was, it is still with me today and the memories of our trip to Zambia are still never more than a thought away.

Eight trainees travelled to Masese in July 2012; seven women and only one man. This in itself was something that caused great amusement to the community as we drove around the dirt track bend into the remote village of Masese, and even more so our building contractor Mr Kunda –

how were seven women going to build a maternity clinic from foundation-level to roof-level in ten days? To witness the look on their faces, however, when one of us got behind the wheel of the 4x4 Ford pickup truck, or gave orders to the men on the building site, was truly remarkable, not to mention the shock on Mr Kunda’s face when he realised that, due to our sheer determination and hard work, we were going to bring the building to roof-level ahead of schedule. It was a real sense of pride to us all to think that these small moments, which we would think nothing of in Ireland, could have a lasting effect on the community and bring a sense of empowerment to the young school girls working alongside us.

When the project first began in 2008, the existing medical clinic in Masese was in a very bad state, with new born babies sharing dirty wards with patients with tuberculosis, dysentery and malaria. By July 2012, however, it was one of the most developed medical clinics in the district catering for c. 5,700 people and we could really see the lasting impact our work had achieved over the years. Following consultation with the local health officials and the community in 2011, it was agreed that we would assist the community in building a bespoke maternity unit to sit alongside the medical clinic over the following two years. The fact that we could do something to make giving birth in this rural village of Zambia safer for all of the young women we met along the way was particularly close to us as a female-dominated group. In addition to the block-laying and hard hats, we volunteered in the local secondary school in Lipumpu, helped to build an agricultural plot with the children where

they would learn to grow simple crops, and also built a sign on the main road to put the medical clinic and Masese firmly on the map.

The most memorable and touching moment for me personally, however, was that when the first babies were born in the completed maternity clinic in the autumn of 2013 – the first baby girl was named Amelia. While we may have now moved on to a new phase of the project in Chikuni, where Arthur Cox is buried, our legacy will be sure to live on in Masese.

DANNIE HANNA (2014)

In July 2014, I travelled as part of a group to the remote area of Hakalinda, in the parish of

Chukini, in eastern Zambia. The purpose of this trip was to assist the local community with the building of a primary school. Prior to the school being built, pupils were taught outside, either under a tree or in open thatched huts. The children sat on cracked bricks for seats, and the teachers used broken blackboards. The importance of this trip was further underlined because Arthur Cox himself had spent his last years as a Jesuit priest working in Chukini.

On arrival to our camp in Hakalinda, despite a delay of over four hours, the local community organised local dancing, singing and festivities to celebrate our arrival. Our delay, coupled with the fact that we were yet to actually begin assisting with building the school, meant that I felt slight embarrassment at being celebrated. This embarrassment grew as some members of our group (myself

included) attempted to join in and dance with the locals!

As the initial trepidation, and subsequent celebrations gave way, it slowly dawned on me how little I was prepared for daily life in rural Zambia. Tasks such as the preparation of food, showering and keeping wandering livestock away from our supplies, reminded me of the comfort zone in which I surrounded myself when at home. Nonetheless, our group quickly became immersed in the local community - we queued with the children at the water pump in the morning, played in the local football league, and were also invited to a local wedding. While I’m still not sure who exactly was being married that day, it will be an experience that I will never forget.

At the end of our time in Hakalinda, I am glad to say that we progressed the building of the school from ground to ceiling level. The school will undoubtedly benefit the local community for many years to come. However, for me, my lasting impression of my time in Zambia will always be the manner in which the locals welcomed us into their community. This resulted in a friendship between our group and the people of Hakalinda which will continue far beyond the summer of 2014.

2008

Aisling Burke

Peter Callanan

Martin Cooney

Tara Creegan

Niamh Dillon

Michael Gill

Derek Hegarty

Louise Howard

Michael Keaveny

Iseult Ni Ghallchoir

Ciara O’Donovan

Deirdre O’Mahony

2009

Ronan Burke

John Colleran

Ann-Marie Corcoran

Aoife Counihan

Diana Diamond

Michael Doule

Jerry Healy

Aoife Martin

Ian Martin

James Murphy

Gemma Newell

Una Ni Mhurchu

Daibhi O’Leary

Claire Walsh

Zambia Volunteers , 2008 – 2015

2010

Aine Bambrick

David Black

Jennifer Burke

Liadhain Canavan

Mary Clarke

Laura Cunningham

Niall Esler

Ryan Ferry

Conal Honan

Katie Joyce

David Kilty

Mary Liz Mahony

Geraldine Mulhall

Olivia Mulooly

Siobhan McBean

Killian McSharry

David Ormsby

Orla Ormsby

Jillian O’Donoghue

Mary O’Dwyer

Michael W. Twomey

2011

Colm Bellew

Domhnall Breatnach

Alan Cusack

Patrick Daly

Grace Gannon

Jacqueline Ho

Amy Kelly

Margaret Murray

Aonghus McCarthy

Ed McDonagh

John O’Donoghue

Kate O’Donohoe

Morgan Pierce

Maria Tuffy

Brendan Wallace

2012

Sarelle Buckley

Aileen Gittens

Fiona Healy

Orlaith Kane

Carmel Lohan

Eimear McNamara

Ronan Shanahan

Amelia Walsh

2013

Gillian Burke

Sinead Cantillon

Aisling Carey

Brenda Carron

Michael Caufield

Audrey Cowley

Brian Doherty

Christopher Joyce

Elizabeth Kiely

Philipa Mangan

Michael Montgomery

Ciara McGreevey

Joanne Neary

Claire O’Brien

Aoibhin O’Hare

Conor O’Keeffe

Jennifer Slowey

Peter Woods

Diyu Wu

2014

Ruth Donnellan

Maeve Doyle

Chris Fullerton

Ann Marie Glynn

Gillian Gorman

Dannie Hanna

Clodagh Power

Edwina Stewart

David Vos

2015

Lizzy Beecham

Sarah Blennerhassett

Lucy Byrne

Fiona Cotter

Sinead Crowley

Kylie Dollard

Emma Dunne

Niamh Fennelly

Mairead Finn

Richard Hannify

Golda Hession

Padraig Leyden

Christine Lynch

Joseph Lynch

Christina Moran

Maire Neary

Siobhan O’Donoghue

Dearbhla O’Gorman

Lisa Ryan

Alex Walsh