Francis Gleeson (priest)

Father Francis Gleeson was an Irish Roman Catholic priest who served as a British Army chaplain during Irelands involvement in the First World War. Educated at seminaries near Dublin, Gleeson was ordained in 1910 and worked at a home for the blind before volunteering for service upon the outbreak of war. Commissioned into the Army Chaplains Department and attached to the 2nd Battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers he served with them at the First Battle of Ypres. During this battle Gleeson is said to have taken command of the battalion after all the officers were incapacitated by the enemy. He was highly regarded by his men for tending to the wounded under fire, visiting the frontline trenches, and bringing gifts.

Gleeson was born onMay 1884 at Templemore, County Tipperary in Ireland, one of thirteen children. Gleeson decided to become a Catholic priest and was educated at the Holy Cross College in Dublin and St Patricks College in Maynooth. He was ordained as a priest in 1910 at St Marys ProCathedral, Dublin and lived in Glasnevin before going to St. Marys Home for the Blind in March 1912. Gleeson was a Jesuit, a nationalist and a speaker of Irish Gaelic.

Source: Wikipedia