Edward Roach from
Borris, Co. Carlow was part of a mass emigration by the
Irish to Newfoundland. Arriving about 1823, his timing
was not optimal, but by about 1829 he had a government
job and, like many others, had put down roots.
Mannion of Memorial University estimates that between
1797 and 1836, the island's Irish population
quintupled, arriving in two major waves: 16,000 between
1811-16, and 8,000 between 1825-31. By 1836, there were
roughly 38,000 Irish, or 50% of the population. St.
John's was the principal port of disembarkation, so the
City became "the first substantial Irish urban ghetto".
But some did land at "ancient fishing capitals," and
dispersed along the coast.
note that the most emigrants embarked from Waterford,
Wexford and New Ross - but Borris-St Mullins-St Mary's
overlap Carlow/Wexford and are in the same Diocese
(Leighlin-Kildare)! Most new arrivals were natives of
Counties Wexford and Waterford, many originating within
a forty-mile radius of Waterford City.
out, was that "as late as 1828 there were probably more
Irish Catholics in Newfoundland than in any other
province or state in North America". But feuds and
rivalries from Ireland characterized their relations,
and many did not re-settle near former friends and
As a Yeoman, and government
employee, Edward had additional responsibilities to
the Crown. But with financial security, he married
Catherine Maher/Meagher of Borrisoleigh, Co.
Tipperary 7 Feb 1829 at the RC Basilica in St.
The couple were
the grandparents of the future RC Archbishop Edward
Patrick Roche (b. 1874, d. 1950).
information on Edward's family in Borris shows:
- Parents: James ROACH
and Mary Fogarty
- Children (likely
baptismal, not birth dates):
- Patt b 21 7 1786 -
Sponsors Edmond Phelan and Catherine Dwyer.
- Edmond (twin) b 18 4
1788 - Sponsors Richard Butler and Mary Dowling.
- Philip (twin) b 18 4
1788 - Sponsors James Butler and Elinor Byrne.
- James b 20 7 1789 -
Sponsors James Byrne and Mary Rute (Rupe?).
- Margaret b 22 5 1793 -
Sponsors John Byrne and Bridget Neill (without an
- Edmond b 23 12 1795 -
Sponsors Thomas Evans (possibly Evers) and Mary
Murphy (usually when two infants have the same
name, the eldest has died).
- Thomas b 14 12 1802 -
Sponsors Matthew Owens and Anne ROACH
- Edward died in St.
John's aged 85, after 56 years in the colony and
over 50 in government service, (Source: St.
son of Edward and Catherine (Maher) Roach, Edward J.,
moved to the town of Placentia to work at the
Anglo-American Telegraph Station and married a local
woman from a prominent family, Mary (O') Reilly [18
May 1871]. It was in Placentia that he seems to have
changed the spelling of his name to Roche - it is
shown and signed using that spelling on his Last Will
The couple had
two sons; the second, John, died at about age 20,
while working as a newspaper reporter in St. John's.
Both boys -
born in 1874 and 75 respectively - were completely
orphaned (by age 10-12). Their mother died just
months after John's birth - 11 Jul 1875; and their
father on 9 Apr 1885.
reason, two separate Baptismal Ceremonies were held
for each infant - the entries in the parish registry
of Edward and Jane Mary ROACH - 20 February 1874 sps:
Edward Reilly and Mary Sullivan.
1874 sps Edward ROACH (grandfather from St. John's or
from his mother's family?) and Sarah O'Reilly
entry is written - Archbishop of St. John's - (C.
Irvine, PP). Area of birth - Place Harbour,
John Thomas of
Edward ROACH and Mary Reilly - March 16, 1875 - sps:
Thomas and Sarah Reilly (maternal grandparents).
John Thomas of
Edward and Jane Mary ROACH - June 26, 1875 saps:
Edward ROACH and Sarah Reilly (maternal grandmother).
entry is written - Brother of the Archbishop of St.
John's. Area of birth - Place Harbour, Placentia.
sister, Catherine, cared for the young future
Archbishop in St. John's when he moved there to attend
school. Oral tradition has it that the O'Reilly family
did the same in Placentia, while the boys lived there.
Both were educated in St. John's from a relatively
early age, but there is no firm information on
timeframe, nor whom it was that was responsible for
Today, there are
no surviving male Roach/Roche descendants in
Newfoundland of Edward Roach of Borris .... leaving
something of a mystery for those families who claim
they might be related (and several do).
of Newfoundland and Labrador records in part (I have
taken certain editorial liberties...)
Archbishop Edward Patrick Roche
St. Patrick's Hall; St. Bonaventure's
College; All Hallows College, Dublin.
EDWARD PATRICK ROCHE
was born 19 Feb 1874, Place Harbour, Placentia Bay,
Newfoundland. He was appointed Archbishop by Pope Pius
X. and consecrated by Monsignor Stagni, Apostolic
Delegate to Newfoundland at the Cathedral of St. John
the Baptist 29 June 1915.
That was because Newfoundland
was NOT part of Canada until 1949 and the Archbishop
reported to Rome not to the Church Hierarchy in Canada.
Dublin on June 24, 1897, ROCHE was appointed to parish
duties at Topsail and Manuels, [near St.John's].
Topsail was not a hotbed of Catholicism. As early as
1837, a Methodist meeting house had been built there,
and in 1841 their first school opened.
In 1860, Topsail
was made a parish of the Church of England, and in 1871
a new Methodist Church built. It was not until 1922
that St. Thomas of Villa Nova Roman Catholic Church
opened its doors, after Father Roche had left. During
his decade there, he served his congregation from a
Church in a nearby community, always being careful to
cultivate positive relationships with non-Catholics.
In 1907, he was
appointed Cathedral Administrator and Vicar-General of
the Archdiocese of St. John's. In October 1914, Roche
became Administrator of the Archdiocese of St. John's,
and in June was consecrated Archbishop.
But he began his
episcopate under a personal cloud: the discovery of
tuberculosis. Many feared his episcopate might be a
short one. Instead it became the longest in the history
of the diocese. Through American medical expertise, the
archbishop recovered his health.
To a relative who
had also contracted the killer disease, he confided, in
1918: "... the year I was consecrated . . . there was
active tuberculosis and high fever . . . I went to New
York where I took treatment for five months, and I have
had no serious recurrence."
problems would plague Roche throughout his life, the
impact of being saved through US medical intervention
prepared the way for the many personal and
ecclesiastical relations he subsequently forged in
He continued his
annual visits to a sanatorium there and fostered close
ties with American orders and institutions of higher
learning, so much so that a close associate, Rev. P.J.
Kennedy, could characterize the relationship between
Catholics in Newfoundland and the US as more intimate
than with Catholics in Canada.
Early in his
episcopate, he oversaw amalgamation of the Presentation
Order (Sisters), deciding that education would benefit
if the various convents were under a single mother
house. Perhaps his most important institutional
development was St. Clare's Mercy Hospital .
With his star in
ascendancy, the Daily News reported Archbishop ROCHE
had a private audience with the Pope, 5 March 1930.This
no doubt played well politically and otherwise at home.
He was one of
Newfoundland's most influential proponents of
responsible government during the months leading up to
the referenda in 1948. He feared that union with Canada
would subject his flock to corrupt economic and social
influences, including secular education, a breakdown of
the family and rampant consumerism. (In retrospect,
some might say he was a prophet!)
As the parish
paper, The Monitor, declared, acceptance of
confederation was equivalent to admitting that
become a nation of shopkeepers, bartering autonomy and
self-competence for a political and economic mirage.''
Results of the
first referendum showed clearly votes were split along
denominational lines. The debate took a nasty turn. It
was reported that the Archbishop had released nuns and
brothers from their vows, allowing them the franchise.
took up the issue, the grand master asking Orangemen to
do what they could to thwart Catholic political
influence. While the actual effects of Roche's
involvement are debatable, his direct intervention was
perhaps the last example of overt sectarian influence
in Island politics.
interpretation of his legacy by supporters, of course,
is more positive, their believing his long episcopate
made him "an institution".
New parishes were
founded, churches, schools and rectories built and
convents established across the Island. Roche's tenure
spanned two world wars, the Depression, the loss of
self government, the impact of American, Canadian and
British bases, the onset of modern communications and
were strengthened, a Department of Education and
Memorial College, organized on non-denominational
lines, were accepted. The man was a pragmatist!
illness, Roche was influential. His attempt to sway the
referenda campaigns ultimately failed, but he stressed
always that constitutional change should be negotiated
only by an independent Newfoundland.
Confederation, he had the support of many clergy and
laity, but not all. Bishop John M. O'Neill qv of
Harbour Grace (1940-72) supported him. However, Bishop
Michael O'Reilly qv of St. George's (1941-70), where
the population had stronger links to Canada, held a
contrary view. Several priests were also openly
Roche died in 1950, he was succeeded by Patrick J.
Skinner qv, another Newfoundlander, but one who had
served in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Skinner, in the
immediate post-Confederation period, had the duty of
soothing angry feelings left over from Newfoundland's
joining Canada, 1 April 1949.
Roche's remains rest under the main altar of the RC
Basilica in St. John's. Soon to follow would be "The
A large tablet to
the right of the Altar to the Blessed Virgin, bears his
bas‑relief portrait. It was commissioned by his
successor, erected in 1951 and is the work of Italian,
Armando Batilli in Carrara marble. The inscription
Sacred to the memory of
Most Rev. Edward Patrick Roche, D.D.
Archbishop of St. John's, 1915‑1950
Born at Placentia, February 19th 1874
Ordained at All Hallows College, Dublin, June
Consecrated Archbishop of St. John's, June
Made Assistant at the Pontifical Throne, June
Died at St. John's September 23rd 1950
Metropolitan of the Church in Newfoundland
Brilliant Scholar ‑ Outstanding
Beloved Benefactor ‑ Eminent Churchman
Circumspice in Re
Encyclopaedia of Newfoundland and Labrador records in
part (I have taken certain editorial liberties...)