Matthew Russell, SJ correspondence
Scope and Contents
Correspondence between Matthew Russell, SJ and Sister Mary Ignatia of the Sisters of Mercy at Manchester, New Hampshire. Sister Mary Ignatia was editor of the periodical, The Magnificat, and the letters in the collection concern the magazine's releases, its writers, and new book recommendations. There is also a letter to Russell from the Irish poet Aubrey De Vere and a black-and-white portrait of Russell.
Dates
- Creation: 1894 - 1912
Creator
- Russell, Matthew, 1834-1912 (Person)
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
These materials are made available for use in research, teaching and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The original authors may retain copyright to the materials.
Biographical note: Matthew Russell, SJ
Matthew Russell, SJ was born on July 13, 1834 in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland, to Margaret (Mullen) Hamill and Arthur Russell. He was educated at Castleknock College and St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, and entered the Society of Jesus on March 7, 1857. Russell was ordained in 1864, and taught at Crescent College, outside Limerick, until 1873. From 1873 to 1877, he was a priest at Saint Francis Xavier Church in Dublin.
Russell founded The Irish Monthly in 1873 with Thomas Aloysius Finlay, a colleague from Crescent College. The initial title of the journal was Catholic Ireland. The Irish Monthly had a reputation for publishing the work of young, upcoming writers and printed some of the earliest writings of Hilaire Belloc and Oscar Wilde. Russell was the editor until his death in 1912. He was also a poet, and published collections of devotional verse such as Emmanuel: a book of eucharistic verses (1880) and Erin verses, Irish and Catholic (1881).
In 1874, he worked at Catholic University in St. Stephen's Green and in 1886, he was appointed as spiritual father at University College, Dublin. Russell died on September 12, 1912 in Dublin, Ireland.
Sources:
Murphy, David. "Russell, Matthew." Dictionary of Irish Biography. October 2009. https://doi.org/10.3318/dib.007840.v1.
“Rev. Alexander J. Cody, S.J.” 2025. Catholicauthors.com. http://www.catholicauthors.com/cody.html.
Full Extent
0.5 Linear Feet (1 container)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Correspondence of nineteenth and twentieth-century Irish Jesuit, poet, and editor, Matthew Russell, SJ. Most of the letters are written to Sister Mary Ignatia and discuss her editorial work at Catholic periodical, The Magnificat.
Arrangement
Alphabetical.
Provenance
Because the current accessioning system was not used until January 1986, it is not possible to know exactly the dates of acquisition of materials received before that time.
- Title
- Matthew Russell, SJ Correspondence
- Status
- Completed
- Subtitle
- 1894-1912
- Author
- unknown, 2017; Molly Aleshire
- Date
- 2025
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the John J. Burns Library Repository
John J. Burns Library
Boston College
140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill MA 02467 USA
617-552-4861
burns@bc.libanswers.com