Daniel Conway

(Western District) Born in Glasgow, 8th May 1829, the son of Patrick Conway and Elizabeth McConnell; completed his course, left for Scotland, 16th February 1857, and ordained a priest by Bp. Murdoch in St. Andrew’s, Glasgow, 13th March 1857; died in Port Glasgow, 12th July 1884.

Date	Age	Description
8 May 1829		Born Glasgow
1847-1849	18	Blairs
3 Oct. 1849	20	Arrived in the College
16 Feb. 1857	27	Left for Scotland
13 Mar. 1857	27	Ordained a priest by Bishop Murdoch in St. Andrew’s, Glasgow
1857-1859	28	St Mary's, Glasgow
1859-1868	30	Stranraer
1868-1872	39	Dalry
1872-1884	43	Port Glasgow
12 Jul 1884	55	Died Port Glasgow

Report of the ordination of Daniel Conway in the Scottish Catholic Directory of 1858.

The Rev. Daniel Conway was born in Glasgow, on the 8th May, 1829, and entered Blairs College on the 27th July, 1847. He was sent, on the 15th September, 1849, to continue his studies in the Scots College of Valladolid. He returned to Scotland in the end of February, 1857, and was ordained Subdeacon on the 7th, Deacon on the 9th, and Priest on the 13th March of the same year, at St. Andrew's Church, Glasgow, by the Right Rev. Dr. Murdoch. He is stationed at St. Mary's Church in the same city.

Obituary of Daniel Conway from the Scottish Catholic Directory of 1885.

Pray for the soul of the Rev. Daniel Conway, who died at Port-Glasgow on the 12th July, 1884, in the 56th year of his age and the 28th of his priesthood.

Mr. Conway was born in Glasgow on the 8th May, 1829. In July, 1847, he entered Blairs College, from which he proceeded in August, 1849, to the Scots College in Valladolid where he completed his studies. He returned to Scotland in February, 1857, and having been ordained priest by Bishop Murdoch on the 13th March in St. Andrew’s, Glasgow, he was stationed at St. Mary’s in the same city. From the outset of his missionary career he showed himself a man of much simplicity of character, blameless life, and great zeal for the salvation of souls. In July, 1859, he received charge of the poor and remote mission of Stranraer, with the care of the Catholics scattered over the parishes of Kirkmaiden, Stoneykirk, Leswalt, and Kirkcolm. During his residence there he devoted his leisure hours to the ardent pursuit of national history and archaeology, especially ecclesiastical, which had always had a peculiar charm for him, and which formed throughout life his chief relaxation from the cares of the ministry. He delighted to investigate the ruins in Wigtownshire and the adjoining counties, to visit the various Holy Wells, and to store his mind with information about these localities in the old Catholic times. In May, 1868, he was removed to the mission of Dalry in Ayrshire, from which he was transferred in November, 1872, to Port-Glasgow. In the following year he was one of the sufferers in the railway accident at Shields Station, by which, besides other injuries, his nervous system was severely shaken, and which probably shortened his life considerably.

In the Scots College, Valladolid, there is an old portrait of Fr. John Ogilvie, S.J., who was put to death for the Faith at the Cross of Glasgow in 1615. Towards this holy man Mr. Conway ever cherished the most profound veneration, and perhaps the very dearest wish of his heart was to see him raised to the honour of the altars. He spared neither time nor trouble nor expense in investigating the details of his life and the circumstances of his martyrdom, and in endeavouring to make him better known and honoured. It was he who communicated to Fr. Karslake, S.J., the “Pelatio Incarcerationis et Martyrii P. Joannis Ogilbei,” printed at Douay in 1615, which that Father translated and published in 1877; and he himself drew up a long and interesting paper on the same subject, which appeared in the first three numbers of the Month in 1878. Mr. Conway’s name well deserves to be remembered in connection with the revival of interest in the martyred Jesuit.

The volume for 1882 of the Ayrshire and Wigtownshire Archaeological Association, of which Mr. Conway was a member, contained a paper by him on the Holy Wells of Wigtownshire. He subsequently engaged in a work to be entitled “Scotia Mariana” being an account of all the Holy Wells in Scotland that had been dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. He has left nearly 200 pages on this subject, but unfortunately both this and some other treatises, to which he had devoted much time and inquiry with a view to their publication, were unfinished at the time of his death. His lectures and addresses, delivered on special occasions and on a variety of subjects, mostly however religious or historical, were always replete with sound learning, and often rose to genuine eloquence.

In May, 1882, Mr. Conway was prostrated by an attack of congestion of the brain, the result probably of over-work, and for some weeks his life was well-nigh despaired of. On his recovery he resumed his labours, now lightened by the appointment of an assistant priest, and devoted himself to the work of his projected new schools. Some account of this fine building, a lasting memorial of his zeal in the cause of religion and education, will be found in the Appendix. He had long contemplated also the erection of a new church, and had taken the preliminary steps towards it, but he did not live to carry out his design. A second shock proved too much for his enfeebled constitution, and he expired on the 12th July. On the 16th his obsequies took place in his church at Port-Glasgow, and were attended by a numerous body of clergy. Canon Condon was celebrant at the Requiem Mass, and Provost Munro preached the funeral sermon. To quote the Ulster Examiner: “The church was crowded to overflowing in every part. Clergymen from all parts of the Archdiocese were present, as were also members of the local Town Council and School Boards, the leading shipbuilders of the vicinity, and the principal business men of the town. All the shops and other places of business in the town were either closed or partly closed, out of respect to the deceased, who was honoured and esteemed by all classes of the community, public and private, rich and poor; indeed, his death is looked upon as a public loss to the town, in the affairs of which he took a great interest. Such respect as was evinced today has seldom if ever been shown for a Catholic priest in Scotland. After the Requiem, the coffin was carried to the railway station, the approaches to which were crowded with people, gathered in respectful silence, and it was conveyed by special train to Glasgow. The remains were drawn in a hearse, followed by about 50 coaches containing mourners, to Dalbeth Cemetery, where they were interred. The service at the grave was read by the Archbishop of Glasgow.