I

The Story
The story is all, a seamless continuity covering five millennia of myth, legend, and history, with a
focus on Ireland’s western province of Connaught, more particularly County Mayo [the plain of
yew trees]; a story replete with heroes and heroines of Celtic mythology, saints and scholars of
Ireland’s golden age, proud clans and famous families that battled each other and the stranger to
preserve their rights and culture; and ordinary people who endured dispossession, even famine, to
remain faithful to their spiritual heritage, many forced to seek a better life beyond the sea; a story
that embraces a lovely landscape, investing each lake and plain, mountain and valley, river and
holy well, castle and monastic ruin with particular significance. Clare Island, just one example,
rising majestic against the western sky at the mouth of Clew Bay is home to the castle of the
legendary Grace O’Malley. It continues to brood above the surrounding seas over which with her
fleet of ships she reigned as undisputed queen in the 16th century. Another example is due north,
the Ceide Fields, a stretch of featureless moor where, by piercing through several feet of bog,
groups of archaeology students have managed to identify the fields and farmsteads of a highly
organised community dating back five thousand years, one of the oldest such settlements in Europe.
It is a story celebrated in great art as in the poetry of W B Yeats, the plays of J M Synge, in
famous novels and numberless popular ballads; a story that never lost its power to inspire Brother
Joseph in far away Singapore and would continue to supply rich themes for his sculptures to the
very end.
John Joseph McNally, later to be known as Brother Joseph, was born into this story 10 August
1923 in Dereerin, Ballintubber, Co Mayo. His father Thomas and mother Bridget Mannion, both
having grown up in Mayo, had met and married in the United States where several of his siblings
were born. Thomas brought his wife and family back to Ireland in August 1920 when he inherited
his father’s farm. Before John was born Thomas had returned to the US during the Irish civil war.
The war was over when John was born but he did not see his father until he was seven years of age.
The French speak of la jeunesse maternelle and la jeunesse paternelle, respectively the first seven
years of life when the mother is central to our development, and the second seven when the father
dominates. This was indeed very true for young Johnny. In 1930 when his father finally returned
it was to take over a new house and farm beside Ballintubber Abbey. In later years Brother Joseph
would always delight in that he was just ‘little Johnny from Ballintubber’.
He retained very warm memories of the family gathered around the fire during the long winter
evenings when great stories were told of personalities and events. Years, decades and centuries
were scrolled backward and forward with simple ease. In the collective memory it was as if just
yesterday that St Patrick who had brought the Christian faith to Ireland came by in the year 441 AD
and baptised the people into the new faith at the local holy well. Already sacred in druid times the
well became thereafter St Patrick’s Well, or as recorded in a number of Papal documents over the
centuries ‘fons S Patricii’. The well still bubbles today in the shadow of Ballintubber Abbey which
was built 775 years later in 1216 and which for another 775 years experienced a full cycle of
seasons from high renown and prosperity to the ravages of war and near total destruction, and to
eventual restoration. Again and again around the fireside it was proudly remembered as ‘the Abbey
that refused to die’! Even in penal times when Catholic worship was proscribed and priests if
caught faced execution, brave priests celebrated mass exposed to the elements in the roofless abbey
for a close knit congregation. Lines from Cecil Day Lewis capture something of this pride in the
beloved Abbey:
At the Head of Lough Carra the royal abbey stands
Huge as two tithe-barns: much immortal grain
In its safekeeping, you might say, is stored.
Masons and carpenters have roofed and floored
That shell wherein a Church not built with hands
For seven hundred and fifty years had grown.
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 A 17th century crucifix, austere
Stone-work – they take the eye: the heart conceives
In the pure light from wall to whitewashed wall
An unseen presence, formed by the faith of all
The dead who age to age had worshipped here,
Kneeling on grass along the roofless nave
[From ‘The Abbey that Refused to Die’]
Twenty-two miles due west is Croagh Patrick, the most commanding feature of the landscape,
rather like a great pyramid rising steeply from a sea of green grass and frequently capped in cloud.
It was a place of pilgrimage in Druid times and when St Patrick came this way he too went on
pilgrimage and spent forty days on its summit fasting and praying. Thereafter it became a place of
Christian pilgrimage, and one imagines young Johnny often joining his parents, perhaps barefoot as
was the custom of the more devout, for the annual pilgrimage last Sunday in July, popularly known
as ‘Reek Sunday’.
Tense stories of Sean na Sagart, the hated ‘priest-hunter’ were particularly gripping as the events
dating to the 1720’s took place in their very neighbourhood. Sean had been employed by the
occupying forces to hunt down and capture any Catholic priest found ministering to the local
people. It was dangerous to attend mass, even in the most secluded places, as Sean was cunning in
his methods. He had already murdered one highly revered priest and was in hot pursuit of another
when he was killed, the very spot clearly etched in popular memory. He was buried in
unconsecrated ground but his remains were disinterred by the authorities and buried afresh in the
grounds of the ancient Abbey where an ash tree sprouted from his grave, supposedly through his
wicked heart. The tree continues to flourish to this day!
Neighbours would come by to join the family around the fire and then the fiddle or melodeon
would be produced and a dance would start. The McNallys were a well-known musical family. A
new fiddler would sometimes be challenged as a test of virtuosity to play the ‘Coolin’, a hauntingly
beautiful and evocative traditional melody; one day it would be played at Brother Joseph’s funeral
at Ballintubber. Songs were sung celebratory of local solidarity, pride or sorrow. Typical was ‘The
West Awake’ which recalled the glories of the past, a sample verse of which covers a broad
canvas:-
For often in O’Connor’s van
To triumph dashed each Connaught clan
And fleet as deer the Normans ran
Through Curlew’s Pass and Ardrahan
And later days saw deeds as brave
And glory guards Clanricard’s grave
Sing O they die their land to save
At Aughrim’s slopes and Shannon’s wave!
Johnny listened in awe to how the people had fought against oppressive landlords who evicted their
tenants, usually in the depth of winter, if they could not pay the exorbitant rents that were charged
for meagre holdings. The famine years of the 1840’s had been particularly scandalous when the
potato crop failed and the people were still compelled to surrender their cattle and cereal crops to
the landlord to pay the rent, leaving whole families totally destitute. In Ballintubber alone some
3000 died of starvation and disease out of a population of 8000 and the countryside remained
dotted with abandoned homesteads.
Over the following decades of land agitation the Land League was founded to protect the rights of
the tenants. The family took pride in a certain P W Nally who played a leading role and a
monument to him still stands not far away in the town centre at Balla. A born leader of men he
was imprisoned by the authorities on the evidence of one unreliable witness and spent nine years in
the notorious Kilmainham Jail in Dublin. In 1891 on the eve of his release when bonfires were

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built on every hill in Mayo ready to be lit to welcome him home, word came through that he had
died in prison ‘under strange circumstances’ – as too often happened in those days of alien rule.
The McNally family lived in Kilbride at that time. Among Brother Joseph’s personal notes we
find the following:
While still in Kilbride my grandfather wooed and won the lovely if formidable Julia Lynch. To understand Julia
one has to stand once again at the top of the hill beside the ancient cemetery of Kilbride and look across the lake
from right to left and let the eye linger for a moment on a small island in the centre. Right, left and centre was
enacted a romance which often featured in story around the winter fire. The Lynches were descended from the
Galway City tribe and particularly from that Judge and Mayor James Lynch who gave a new verb to the English
language: ‘to lynch’. The story originated in 1493, it was one of rigid Irish hospitality and the punishment of its
violation. Mayor Lynch had returned from Spain with the son of a Spanish merchant as house guest.
Unfortunately this young man fell in love with the fiance of Walter, the Mayor's son, and persisted in his suit
despite warning. Walter killed him and Mayor Lynch was forced to condemn his own son to death. He could
find no executioner willing to carry out the sentence. To the horror of his fellow citizens he himself executed his
own son. His house, Lynch’s Castle, is still to be seen in Galway City, now used as a bank. From Galway the
Lynches spread to this part of Mayo.
My father went to school to a teacher called Mr Rabbett in Derreendaffderrig. The journey there was long and
bleak. I know it well because I had to walk there as a child of five during the winter of 1928 while our school in
Ballintubber was being reconstructed. He developed there an avid passion for reading which lasted throughout
his life. He did not learn the Irish language there; that was prohibited. Irish he would have to learn at his
mother's knee or back in the ancestral village of Kilbride. At the tender age of 14 he was apprenticed to a
shopkeeper in the town of Westport and four years later he was deemed old enough to emigrate to the United
States.
All through life Brother Joseph kept exploring the genealogy of the McNally family and made lots
of fascinating discoveries. He was able to establish the origins of the family in Celtic Wales. The
Normans, about to invade Ireland in 1169 AD, made an alliance with some Celtic families, and so
on arrival in Ireland a certain Sir David Barrett, son of King Daithi of Wales, got established in a
barony north west from Cork City that came to be known as the Barony of Barretts. Sixty years
later we find the Barretts among those invading Connaught, where eventually they would become
‘more Irish than the Irish themselves’, adopting Irish names, dress and customs. The name
McNally was among the names adopted, though the McNallys continued to identify with the
Barrett clan for another two centuries. The McNallys later joined in the exploits of the legendary
and warlike Grace O’Malley, better known as Granuaile, in her feuds with the Burkes and other
rival clans. Around the McNally fireside, it was often recalled how Granuaile had boasted that a
shipful of the Conroy and McNally clans was worth more to her than a shipful of gold. When
Cromwell invaded Connaught in the 1640’s, the McNallys were among those deprived of their
lands for refusing to adopt the alien faith.
Life became difficult and remained so right down to living memory. Brother Joseph had intimate
experience of how his grandfather kept his family in modest comfort. He writes with an obvious
fascination for a traditional way of life:
My grandfather came to live in Dereerin around 1870. He belonged to the hardy generation that by wit or skill
survived after the famine of the “hungry forties”. This famine had been caused by the failure of the crop of the
then staple food of the people, the potato. Efforts at charity were feeble. Soup kitchens were set up by well
meaning protestant groups, but unfortunately soup was given only on condition that the recipient converted to
the alien faith. A not dissimilar phenomenon in China at the same time resulted in families of “rice Christians”.
In my grandfather’s area the over-zealous evangelicals were called “Soupers” and their victims “Jumpers”.
Both were widely despised and however alluring the smell of the soup most people including my grandfather’s
family would rather die than accept.
Grandfather and two cousins, surnamed Prendergast and Meeneghan, settled on either side of the Aille river. He
could look across from the hill of Dereerin to Barnahaille where the other two houses were situated. He must
have envied his kinsmen the somewhat better land which they enjoyed high above the river. It was limestone
land whereas his farm, surrounded as it was by acidic bog, had a sandstone base. To win back a small field from
the bog he had to painstakingly bring cart-loads of limestone from several miles away, burn it in his lime-kiln
with the turf he had cut from his bog-hole and scatter the white lime by hand on his field before he had turned
the heathery "scraw" with his spade. This he did in long rows called ridges.
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 He then spread the manure from his stable along the ridges in between the overturned sods. Now the potato
seeds were ready for planting. This work had been ensured by grandmother in the days previously. For she had
taken potato after potato and cut out the fertile "eyes", each of which would produce its crop of nine or ten
"spuds" come the end of summer. But first the seeds would have to be placed in neat rows on top of the manure
and covered with earth freshly dug from the drain in between the ridges. This procedure ensured that the ridges
would not become waterlogged in prevalent rainy weather.
The following year the same field would be dug up again and this time be made to produce a crop of turnips. On
the third year it might be made to produce a crop of wheat for wheat was necessary not only for bread but to
provide straw for thatching the houses. On the fourth year with proper fertilizing it could still produce oats for
porridge or for animal feed; and on the fifth year it would be let out to grass. Now the pasture would be good.
The land in Barnahaille was less acidic and better drained and grandfather had reason for envy. But he never
complained. In those days it was good in Ireland to have any bit of land whatsoever to cultivate for food for
ones children.
Although I was brought up on a farm adjacent to Ballintubber Abbey, I was born about two miles to the west in
the very small village of Dereerin. It was a village of only five houses including ours and grandfather's. My
grandfather had lived there from the time of his marriage to Julia Lynch. His farm was quite small, having been
reclaimed, one small field after another from the surrounding bog. The only thing that was really plentiful was
the turf fuel which warmed the house in winter and with which Julia did the cooking.
In the springtime the turf was cut from the nearby bog. A suitable area was selected where there was known to
be sufficient depth before reaching bedrock. A drain was cut to carry off excess water. The top sod, called
scraw, was cut away. Then with winged spade called a shlawn, the cutting began. It was an operation that
required at least two people at once. One cut the foot-long brick-like sods, lifted them and placed them along
side on the bank. His assistant skewered them with a pitch fork and spread them out one by one in an orderly
way to dry partially. This was done by first leaning one against another like an inverted V. Then another two
were made to lean against the first two. Four more were placed in the angles against the first four. That made
eight sods of turf standing upright against each other. There was now room for two sods to lie horizontally on
the top of the eight; and another two horizontally across them.
For the rest of the summer they would remain there drying out. Perhaps if the children had time after the saving
of the hay they would be called upon to enlarge the crooks of turf by combining about five into one. At first the
cutter worked from above down into the embankment. But as soon as the hole was big enough and drained
enough he preferred to go down into it and cut horizontally into the bank, throwing the sods one after the other
in quick succession up onto the heathery surface. The face into which he was cutting might be five feet by about
thirty inches. If he was a good cutter he could keep two assistants busy moving the sods on wheel barrows about
twenty feet back from the edge of the bank.
A few weeks after the cutting and with exposure to wind and sun the upper side of the sods would be
sufficiently dry to turn upside-down so that the bottom would likewise dry. This was generally work for the
women-folk and the children as it was somewhat lighter. I cannot say that I ever enjoyed it. By early summer
the sods were sufficiently dry to upend them one by one. Apart from giving more drying time it allowed more
space to bring a donkey with wicker-basket "cleeves" or, if the bank was sufficiently dry, a cart, onto the bank to
collect the turf and bring it to the road-side. There a larger reek was constructed of the now dry turf, while it
awaited transportation in larger vehicles either home or to the market. In my grandfather's time that work was
done by horse and cart. It was for him an important means of supporting his family in what was for that time
moderate comfort.
Of course he had the farm besides, from which he was able to extract sufficient food, including potatoes, milk
and meat for his family. In addition to his own farm which had to be constantly tended to prevent acidity from
returning it to the bog he had unlimited access to commonage. That was bog-land which because of its poor
quality and pasturage was available to all. The cattle could roam and graze upon it at will. But they got little
sustenance from it; and they roamed widely enough to keep the children busy following them and bringing them
home for the milking.
Brother Joseph’s interest in genealogy extended to a vast network of relatives both living and dead,
even to cousins several times removed, and on both sides of the Atlantic. He took great pride in
recording their exploits and achievements. There was Mike McNally, American born first cousin
of his father from Minooka, who captained the first US base-ball team to play in England on
American Independence day in 1918. Mike was playing for the navy and they defeated the army 1-
0. It hit world headlines together with a photograph of Mike shaking hands with King George V.
It was not a happy moment to be seen fraternising with the enemy with Ireland just then in the
throes of its war of independence, in which Brother Joseph’s older brother Patrick held the rank of
4
Lieutenant in the Irish Volunteers! Mike went on to play in five world series. Another excerpt from
his notes:
The house in which my grandfather and after him my father was born is still to be seen in Kilbride, until
recently occupied by his nephew, Jimmy McNally. From that house generations of my relatives went into exile,
particularly to the United States. There must be McNallys rooted in every state of the Union. I am personally
acquainted with descendents of that family in the states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, California, Connecticut,
New York, Colorado, Ohio, Florida, Illinois. It was in Scranton, Penn that the American beach-head was first
established. A very dear relative of mine, a Mrs. Haggerty, nee McNally, told me of the Irish speaking village of
Minooka in which she had been reared. It was near Scranton. That was where her father, the brother of my
grandfather lived. Her daughter, Katherine Cannon drove me there once from her beautiful home in Bethlehem,
Penn. For me the occasion was a discovery of my roots for it was there that my father and mother met. Like so
many of his ancestors he also had gone there to the beach-head to be introduced to the American way of life. It
is a long way from Kilbride to Minooka but the McNallys who made the journey so often in the past brought
with them their total way of life including their language as an introduction to the American way of life.
A series of land acts passed in the 1880’s made it possible for his grandfather to move to a farm in
Ballintubber. It was not a great improvement but it was his own and it was enough to support a
large family with potatoes, meat, butter and eggs. It was his own father’s good fortune later to
move to a farm of good land around the ancient abbey. Brother Joseph concludes:
Thus the worst effect of colonialism, the confiscation from the native races, was being set right in ways full of
divine irony. Our [Barretts-McNallys] ancestors had come as conquerors and taken possession of lands not their
own. After a lapse of centuries they were in turn deprived of the same lands. But with another turn of God’s
mill they got their lands back with a difference. For the coloniser and colonised were now united; master and
servant were now equals; blood streams had mixed: all names were Irish names.
The days of empire were now numbered and colonialism had come to an ignoble end. There was still the small
matter of national independence to be settled; and I personally had the privilege of being born a free citizen and
subject to no foreign ruler.
Despite grinding poverty the people of Ballintubber had re-roofed their beautiful abbey. Seven hundred years
after the Barretts of Wales had occupied the broad plains of Co Mayo their McNally descendants took pride in
their new-found Irish citizenship and in their little bit of Irish soil.
Many years later he would declare:
I learned to love our ancient culture. What greater gift have we to pass on to our children’s children than what
we learned around the vivacious flames of our turf fires. It was a culture that no schools, however great, could
impart. I loved the story telling, the folklore, the Irish language, the song and dance.
This was the world that young Johnny would soon leave behind. In a sense he took it with him –
the mythology, the legends, the rich folklore which carried a readier credibility around the fire in
winter nights than any recorded history, as well as the landscape and Ballintubber Abbey. Above
all he would leave his mother, his father and other family members – all kept as sacred in the deep
heart’s core. Perhaps it was his profound love for his own culture that enabled him reach out with
passion and appreciation to other great cultures, especially those of South East Asia.

II
Becoming a La Salle Brother
Little Johnny was number eight in a family of ten. He was just seven when he first met his father,
and it took time to adjust and relate to him, as his presence intruded on a warm rapport he had with
his mother. But he would later be much influenced in his development by qualities he admired in
his father, and in the first exhibition of his paintings in 1954 in Dublin he gave prominence to a
portrait of his father who had passed away the previous year at 79. Johnny attended the local
national school where he was blessed with excellent teachers of both Irish and English.
Surrounded by 5,000 years of culture, he developed a passion for the ancient Irish language, its rich
imaginative imagery and Irish folk songs. ‘I hold my primary school teachers in the highest
esteem’, he said, ‘for it was their enthusiasm that planted in me a love for the Irish language.’
5
It was traditional in most families that one member would become a priest or a nun. Johnny was
attracted to join the church but not the priesthood, and so when he heard about the La Salle
Brothers he felt that was what he wanted - to teach, and not just to teach but with a priority for the
poor, not the rich. He was fourteen, an age when it was customary to make such decisions at that
time. He made the necessary contacts and in due course presented himself at the Brothers’
formation centre in Castletown late August 1937. Here he found himself in the company of other
boys of his age who also aspired to join the Brothers. They came from all parts of Ireland and
brought with them a diversity of temperament, with a great variety of local accents, which must
have bewildered him at first. Johnny was ever proud of his own Mayo accent which he jealously
preserved through life. His more rugged companions on the playing field tended to dominate the
group, and sadly he was not into games in a big way. Consequently his days in the junior novitiate
were not among his happiest.
The pre-novitiate or junior novitiate programme lasted two years during which his academic
education went forward as well as basic spiritual formation. The staff was made up entirely of
Brothers, who profiled for him what the Brother’s life was like. The programme was a balance of
lessons, private study, Gaelic games, walks in the delightful countryside, swimming in summer and
drama productions in winter. Spiritual formation was given some priority with fixed times for
prayer, basic theology, quiet reflection and for silence. He was profoundly affected by one superb
teacher in the person of the Director Brother Leo Healy who taught Irish literature and inspired him
with a lasting delight in Irish poetry. He did not like games, especially football and was often
relegated to being goalkeeper. However he liked hurling, and was on one occasion faulted in
public for playing hurling when he should have been playing football with the rest. He was greatly
upset and wondered what lay in store for such a ‘horrendous’ crime! Shortly after he feared the
worst when he was summoned to the office to meet Brother Leo. To his greatest relief he was
greeted with a warm smile and asked to take some letters for posting. Brother Leo became his role
model. Perhaps unconsciously he would even display some of his charming classroom mannerisms
and gestures when he later became a teacher himself.
Next came the novitiate, a whole year of purely spiritual formation which began 7 September 1939,
four days after the commencement of the second world war. The opening ceremony was a formal
affair with the entire establishment in attendance. Each novice was clothed for the first time in the
Brother’s traditional black robe, white rabbat, and flowing mantle, and given a new name
[thenceforth family names became somewhat taboo], a practice that has generally lapsed today,
apart from those elected to be pope. There was no prior consultation regarding choice of name,
and Johnny must have waited like his companions with a mix of curiosity and unease for his new
name to be announced: yes, from now he would be known as Brother Cassenus Joseph. For some
years he would be known by these two names, but gradually he was able to drop Cassenus, and
eventually he restored the proud name of McNally.
A key task of the novitiate year was to study the Rules of the Brothers, which with few variations
went back all the rugged way to the 17th century France. Some of its strictures did not sound quite
appropriate for Ireland in the 1940’s. Just the same novices were taught to regard the Rule as
sacred, nothing less than the will of God, and examples were quoted of heroic Brothers elsewhere
who had made a special vow of total observance, to keep every single article without fail for life.
Times have since changed and this Rule has made its way into history and has been replaced in the
aftermath of the Vatican Council with a Rule more attuned to modern times.
There was also a stress on studying the life and writings of St La Salle. While most novices came
to respect, even revere him, La Salle was somehow seen as distant and austere and he never really
warmed the heart as a person. This would come much later when his life and writings were opened
up for study by a team of great Lasallian scholars, with the result that a very human La Salle
emerged with whom he could identify wholeheartedly. But in 1939-1940 this was still far into the
future. But perhaps the most important emphasis was on meditation twice daily, for which an
elaborate method had been drawn up for beginners by La Salle.
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Monastic silence was strictly insisted upon apart from two half hour periods set aside for formal
recreation after lunch and after the evening meal when the novices walked sedately in the garden as
prescribed by the Rule in fixed groups of eight or so. The novitiate routine changed little from day
to day and included long periods of prayer, meditation, spiritual reading, the study of the scriptures
and manual labour. As regards manual labour each novice was detailed to perform a specific task
such as sweeping rooms and corridors and polishing floors, serving at meals, doing the wash-up,
helping in the kitchen or garden. Meals were usually in silence and novices took turns to read from
a spiritual book.
Sometimes there was work to be done on the extensive farm which supported the monastery. This
was always a welcome relief from the novitiate routine, such as saving the hay in summer or
harvesting the wheat and oats. Picking potatoes was more messy and back-breaking as also the
harvesting of other root crops. Nevertheless being out of doors whatever the conditions was a great
thrill, and the Brother in charge of the kitchen always prepared them a special treat on their return.
The Director of novices at this time was Brother Fintan Blake who had served in Malaya as a
young Brother and was obliged to return to Ireland for health reasons. He was an admirable person
in every way, scholarly, deeply spiritual, at the same time wonderfully practical and with an easy
flow of humour. He became Brother Joseph’s spiritual mentor. They would meet again in life and
remained ever close friends.
Apart from being a year of basic formation, the novitiate was above all a time for testing and
discernment when the candidate himself as well as the Director of Novices would determine if this
was indeed a way of life appropriate for him. A proportion of the novices usually did not make it
through the year. But those who did experienced a wonderful bonding as a group, a warmth of
relationship akin to family that lasted through life. Fifty years later April 1989 Brother Joseph
wrote to all surviving members of the group, all still in active service and distributed in different
countries, suggesting a reunion: ‘We cannot let this year pass without making contact with you and
recalling 50 years ago. .. we have a good record of perseverance, something to be proud of. We
were not a bad batch of novices!’
The novitiate year that began 7 September 1939 ended 8 September 1940 with another formal
ceremony, the taking of first vows: vows of chastity, poverty, obedience, stability and teaching the
poor - for a period of just one year. It was only at twenty-five that Brothers were allowed to make
vows that were binding for life, by which time they were expected to have dealt with any remaining
doubts about their vocation to be a La Salle Brother. Brother Joseph pronounced his perpetual
vows in Singapore 1948.
It was towards the end of the novitiate year that novices were invited to consider serving overseas,
which at that time meant joining the Province of Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong. Brother
Joseph was one of the few who opted for overseas, a strange choice perhaps for one so rooted in
Irish culture and so competent in the Irish language. As he relates: ‘I had not finished the novitiate
when I heard of Singapore and decided this was the place for me. I arrived exactly seven years
later.’ The choice meant a parting of the ways for the close knit group of novices, as those
remaining in Ireland travelled to Faithlegg in Waterford to continue their academic training in Irish,
while Brother Joseph and companions set out for De La Salle College in Mallow where they would
switch to preparing for English examinations.
Mallow had little of the heavily monastic atmosphere of Castletown. It was a much smaller
establishment and all in all more intimate, with lovely grounds and open fields, and nearby flowed
the great Blackwater river where it was possible to swim in warmer weather. In the community
there were retired Brothers who had spent their lives in Malaya and Singapore, and there was the
genial Brother Gordian Maher who ran the farm who had spent his best years as a member of the
staff of St Joseph’s Institution till he was obliged to return to Ireland because of a chronic eye
infection. Here Brother Joseph pursued his academic studies for the next three years.

7
His director at this time was the rather sickly Brother Stephen Buckley, retired in 1939 from
Singapore where he had been Director of St Joseph’s Institution and where among his many
achievements he had built St Patrick’s School in Katong in 1933. Brother Stephen was greatly
affected by the Japanese invasion of Malaya in December 1941, and he kept in daily touch with
developments by radio and the newspapers. He grew more and more concerned for the Brothers
and teachers he had left behind, not to mention the population at large. He became depressed as the
invading forces approached his beloved Singapore. When Singapore fell 14 February 1942 he did
not appear for prayer next morning or for mass, which was altogether out of character. It was
Brother Joseph who rushed after mass to see if anything was the matter. The door was locked, so
he summoned the burly chaplain Fr Twohig who with one smart push did the needful. Inside they
found Brother Stephen already dead, obviously the result of a heart attack in trying to rise from
bed.
By 1943 Brother Joseph had completed three years of basic training and would if times were
normal be already on his way to catch a boat to England, then to Southampton to board an ocean
liner bound for Singapore. But the war in Europe was at its height and Singapore and Malaya were
firmly under Japanese military control. Some of his companions were posted to teach in England,
pending a return of more peaceful times. Just then Brother Fintan Blake, former Director of
Novices, was appointed Director of De La Salle College. Very likely it was he who selected
Brother Joseph to remain behind and join the College staff. He was assigned to teach ‘O’ Level
mathematics, even though he felt this was among his weaker subjects.
At the same time he was continuing his own personal studies, and had begun to take lessons in
painting and in sculpture at the local technical college, where there was an inspiring lecturer at this
time. Soon he was able to produce plaster of paris figures. Long remembered were the busts he
executed of St La Salle and Brother Solomon, a celebrated victim of the French revolution, since
canonised. He coated the plaster of Paris in bronze colour paint and applied a varnish which gave
an impression of two matching bronze pieces which were then placed discreetly in niches on either
side at the entrance hall. To untutored eyes they appeared just perfect and professional and were
much admired by visitors to the house. However it was only when he submitted a painting for a
nation wide competition at the Festival of Limerick in 1946 and in the assessment of truly seasoned
judges won first prize, that he became convinced that indeed he had true talent. Brother Fintan and
himself cycled the fifty miles or so from Mallow to Limerick to collect the prize money and cycled
back the same day – a routine feat in those days when cars were few and mostly unavailable.
Another pointer to the future was a mural in the college chapel depicting St Francis Xavier’s death
scene on the Chinese island of Chang Chuen Shan. He was pictured, with his faithful servant as
sole companion, in a state of exhaustion from his travels and labours, lying on a simple mat under a
desolate atap shelter, with China the land of his dreams on the horizon. Sadly this mural like so
many of his later ones fell victim to passing time and changing circumstances. De La Salle College
building has long since been demolished.
Meanwhile groups of young Brothers in training were attending his lessons in mathematics. Yes he
was indeed a born teacher, but it was also evident as he bounced into class gripping several sheets
of paper covered with figures that he had made meticulous preparation. He would often mention
his own early difficulty with the subject and recalled his maths teacher, a legendary Brother Nilus,
who had given him much patient attention. It was felt that his own earlier struggles greatly
enhanced his rapport with the class, especially with those lacking confidence in their ability. The
proof of his effectiveness was not just in the excellent grades obtained by everyone in the public
examinations but even more in the love of the subject which he communicated.
With the approach of Christmas lessons were suspended and festive preparations took many forms.
Brother Joseph became an inspiring choirmaster and exposed the young Brothers to Christmas
carols in Latin, English, Irish, French, and Stille Nacht [Silent Night] had to be in German. He
also took delight in setting up a distinctly artistic nativity scene.
8
In general during these years on the staff he was somewhat retiring, mixing very little with the
Brothers in training, and devoting most of his time to personal reading and study. He showed little
interest in games or outdoor activities, apart from tending potted plants in the green house. One
project that he undertook was the setting up of a delightful rockery garden in the front of the main
building. This involved drawing wheelbarrow loads of earth and moss-covered rocks and putting
plants and flowers in place. All in all it was an exquisite achievement. Even during the occasional
social when many sang their favourite songs, he rarely ventured on his own, but readily joined in
general singing, especially if the song had to do with his beloved Connaught. On the other hand he
was the key organiser when it came to occasional day outings, making the necessary contacts and
arranging for travel tickets and meals.
Normal times were returning by 1946 and he was one of three young Brothers who were detailed to
leave for Singapore in October of that year. Accompanying them was his good friend Brother
Fintan Blake who had been invited back to Malaya as Director of St Xavier’s Institution in Penang
where he was to serve with much distinction for a period six years and provide superb leadership
and would later die during his term as Brother Visitor.
Brother Joseph arrived in Singapore 20 October 1946 and was posted to teach in St Joseph’s
Institution. This would be his home for the next five years.

III
Early Years in Singapore and Malaya
St Joseph’s Institution impressed him greatly from the outset, the distinctive architecture, the
international flavour of the community of Brothers whose life he would share, the dedicated
teachers and above all the students, smartly turned out and highly motivated in their studies.
Brother Joseph arrived when the academic year was gradually drawing to a close. End of year
examinations were soon under way and then the long holidays. For the Brothers, December was
the time for their annual 8-day retreat, which that year took place at St Michael’s Institution in
Ipoh. This gave Brother Joseph, travelling by train, his first experience of the world beyond the
causeway.
January 1947 when school reopened he was appointed form teacher of the senior class and here he
would have most of his teaching periods. He was highly popular and totally dedicated. Every
single student was important to him and each was made to feel special and unique. He would write
later:
I learned in my first year of teaching that the students were trustworthy and would perform any task given them
with a strong sense of responsibility. They proved to me that a first principle of classroom management was to
give students small or larger tasks to perform. They loved to be so entrusted and they did not disappoint. A
second principle was never to use sarcasm in addressing them.
Gradually in addition to the usual academic subjects, he developed programmes in art, set up
exhibitions and formed a drama group. His production of The Poetasters of Ispahan was long
remembered for its exotic Persian setting, complete with appropriate music in the background,
exquisite courtly costumes and superb acting. He spared no effort and typically settled for nothing
short of perfection. Some years later he mounted an elaborate exhibition celebrating the Madonna
using quality prints of great paintings drawn from traditions East and West, as well as sculptures,
music and texts. The labour of preparation must have been enormous and the number of
borrowings from various people and organisations indicated already his capacity for charming
others with his innovative projects and winning their cooperation. During these years that he
attended art lessons at the British Council and entered paintings for local exhibitions. Clearly art
was becoming a central interest and he was impressing one and all as a person alive with vision and
ideas.

9
In December 1950 there was consternation among his growing circle of friends when news filtered
through that he was going on transfer to St John’s Institution in Kuala Lumpur. Here for the next
two years he was to teach in the upper forms, and made life long friends among staff members,
students that he taught.
Throughout this period he was giving much thought to his university studies which he would be
pursuing when he went on first home leave, which was customary after five years. Already he was
thinking of taking modern languages especially Italian, the language of artists. When he finally
went on leave in 1952 he consulted a professor friend who told him not to waste the opportunity as
his future was in art, and that he should do a full course at the prestigious Irish National College of
Art in Dublin. He had some difficulty obtaining clearance from superiors as art was not seen then
as a very important subject on the school curriculum, and the need was more for specialists in the
humanities, science and maths, subjects which would be altogether more practical. Brother Joseph
knew how to fight a personal battle and finally succeeded in convincing those concerned that a
qualification in art was in no way lacking in practicality or alien to the Brother’s vocation, and
capped his arguments by citing the Brothers who staffed the famous St Luke Art Schools then
flourishing in Belgium.
In later years he often explained why he did not opt for sculpture despite a strong inclination in that
direction. In Ireland the sculptor still depended on chisel and hammer, which was much too slow
and laborious for a very impatient person like Brother Joseph. He decided instead to do painting
and specialised in portraiture. His choice of portraiture was very much in line with his intense
interest in people, in their individuality and uniqueness which he would now seek to study through
his paintings. From his bedroom window which looked down on a perennially busy Baggott
Street, he liked to take a few moments from his books to study the infinite variety of faces of
people passing below. Perhaps his first emergence in the media was during these years in Dublin,
when a leading Sunday paper photographer captured him seated at his easel in the depth of a
bitterly cold winter painting the picturesque snow scene in a public park, when people of better
sense were comfortably indoors,.
He was always very close to his confreres and a great conversationalist. When visitors came by he
was all attention. Brother Michael Jacques recalls his first visit to Ireland at this time. Brother
Joseph was waiting on the pier as the boat came alongside and over the next few days took him on
a tour of the city. ‘He was ever gracious and accommodating which was so characteristic of him all
through life.’ These years were particularly precious as he was able to visit his family in the West
several times and to some extent re-root himself in local history and folklore. His interest in
Ballintubber was also taking off in new ways. On his home visits he would attend mass at the
Abbey, where he had worshiped as a boy, and was keenly interested in ongoing renovation and
improvements. He got his professor to design a statue of Our Lady of Ballintubber, which he
would restore to popularity some decades later. He became a close friend of the renowned Fr T A
Egan, the parish priest and identified very much with his ambitious plans for the Abbey. Fr Egan in
turn valued his ideas and suggestions. In a letter dated some years later, he gives Brother Joseph an
update on recent developments, among other things the pending publication of the story of the
Abbey which had involved him in much research, and he ends with the amusing comment: I
wonder what did Ballintubber ever do that I should have descended on it like a torrent of
exuberance and engaged in such high pressure publicity. And the joke of it all is I was supposed to
have come here for a rest!
The first exhibition of his paintings was in October 1954 shortly after graduating with high honours
from his course at the Irish National College of Art. It was held in the exhibition rooms of Brown
Thomas in Grafton Street, strategically an excellent location. A leading Dublin personality at the
time, the Earl of Wicklow, officiated at the opening which was attended by quite a large number of
people, including several Brothers.

10
When he returned to Malaya he was posted for two years 1955-1956 to St Paul’s Institution in
Seremban. Here he was back in the classroom coping with the usual academic subjects once more.
Brother Casimir L’Angellier, director, was just then planning to relocate the secondary school to a
much more spacious property pleasantly elevated above the town. Here it was possible to have
ample playing space and better all around facilities. Brother Joseph relished being his key advisor
when it came to planning and design, and the supervision of the construction work.
After Seremban he was posted for three years to St Xavier’s Institution in Penang. Here he had
much scope for his artistic gifts, especially when it came to stage productions, student art
exhibitions, and involvement in the lively cultural life of Penang. He contributed regularly to art
exhibitions organised by the Penang Society. Brother Michael Jacques, Director of St Xavier’s at
the time, writes:
He threw himself into his work with his usual ardour, drive and enthusiasm, particularly in art for which a
special room was then set aside. One of his famous murals still remains at the foyer at St Xavier’s - depicting
St Francis Xavier, patron of the school. In 1957 at the approach of Merdeka he got some students to paint
Malaya’s coat of arms on the wall beside the staffroom. He also painted a formal portrait, which still hangs in
the school hall, of Mr Heah Joo Seang, distinguished old Xaverian, benefactor and Chairman of the Board.
He enjoyed the holidays on Penang Hill with the Brothers. In his free moments he painted the
portraits of individual Brothers, and for subjects he had a wide choice. As in later life, he often lost
interest in what he had painted, he rarely kept any. Friends were welcome to have them.
During this period he completed a number of highly regarded mural paintings in various churches
and Lasallian schools. One such was Magnificat in the newly opened library at St Michael’s
Institution in Ipoh in 1958. It sought to celebrate the great religious and wisdom traditions which
he saw as moving in a kind of grand harmony, a powerful expression of his own mindset at that
time. It was very much admired for many years. But sadly our local climate does not take kindly
to such murals, and with passing years many such paintings were painted over, to his keenest
disappointment. His later sculptures done in welded steel may suggest a dogged determination to
neutralise the Philistines of whatever stripe.
He was again due for home leave in 1960. In addition to taking a well deserved holiday, he was
invited to Rome for the year long second novitiate programme. He has left a number of books of
personal notes on the various religious topics that were studied, and these attest to the seriousness
that he brought to the programme. A major side benefit was of course this first experience of Italy
which was for him a source of endless fascination and artistic enjoyment, and he developed a
familiarity with things Italian, including Italian cuisine. Prior to his departure from Malaya he had
been asked to Ipoh by the parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Silibin to advise on
further decoration of the recently completed church. His main proposal was for a screen behind the
altar, and for this he agreed to do a design for a mosaic of the Last Supper scene and have the
mosaic work done in Italy when he would be there. This was done in due course and the screen is
still there today, though few realise the identity of the artist. A curious feature of his very striking
treatment of this scene was the vacant chair, Judas the betrayer having made his ignominious exit.
The experience of working with Italians was a little sobering, they broke his heart at times when his
demanding standards were not met, but thankfully it ended well with satisfaction all round.
Immediately on his return from Italy in 1961, he was appointed to direct the 30-Retreat on Penang
Hill. He was then posted to St Xavier’s once more for another two years. Khoo Boo Sun was his
student at St Xavier’s and he sums up the experience of his many students over the years:
I am privileged to have been taught by Bro. Joseph in 1962 - SXI, Penang. In fact, he was my Form Teacher
when I was in Lower Six Arts for two terms in 1962. I remember him as a kind, caring and humble person. He
was soft spoken but he could get your attention without raising his voice. Though Bro. Joseph was soft spoken
his work and actions were loud enough to let us know he was an extraordinary person. He made you feel special
when he talked to you. You could feel the passion emanating from him whenever he was teaching in class. As a
teacher, he was in a class of his own.

11
In 1962 because of the illness of Brother Ignatius Barry, he was appointed Sub-Director of St.
John’s Institution, Kuala Lumpur. The following year he was appointed Director and Principal. It
was in June that year that his mother passed away at 77. Two years later in 1965 he decided to
become a citizen of Malaysia so as ‘to truly identify with my students, teachers and parents.’
St John’s presented a challenge to match his energies and his many gifts. As he would write later:
‘I moved into management at the age of 40. Transparency both in personnel and in financial management was
de rigueur. Regular even weekly meetings of teachers ensured that any supposed grievances such as workloads
were listened to. Monthly meetings of the Board of Governors ensured that there were no budgetary shortfalls.’
His plan of action for the school covered all aspects. He lamented the lack of provision for art and
music in the curriculum, and indeed the lack of teachers qualified to teach such subjects. He
encouraged students with artistic talent and some of these opted for careers in art. Changes began to
appear in the grounds, as well as in the building, a new entrance, a platform for assemblies at the
rear of the main building, and a spacious new stairway gradually took shape, and plans were drawn
up for upgrading facilities and for new buildings. At the same time he instilled in the students a
sense of their tradition, and designed house logos in marble along the floor of the foyer. He
adopted a range of strategies to build up a strong sense of community among both staff and
students
Over the next five years he transformed St John’s in spirit as well as its physical structure. His
elaborate plans included a state of the art new hall, library and sixth form block, and he launched a
high profile campaign to collect funds. John Neo who worked closely with him in those years
wrote recently, indeed very shortly before he himself too passed away:
I have fond memories of Joe. When he became Director of SJI he asked me to be his Sub-director. Then he
asked me to be secretary of the School Building Committee under the chairmanship of Tun Ismail, the Minister
of the Interior, whose son was in SJI. I was responsible for writing the letters to various persons for donations
and hand them to Tun Ismail for his signature. In one year we received enough to begin building an extension
to house the Form Six classes and School Library.
He also involved me in the leadership workshops he had for the school prefects in SXI and SJI. He had a great
rapport with the students and they were attracted to him for his care and appreciation for them. I was very
impressed to see him standing in the field to greet every marathon runner who finished the course to shake their
hand and congratulate them.
I admired his dogged determination to achieve his dream for the glory of God and of LaSallians. He struck me
as a man of deep spirituality who shunned any outward show of it. His interior life must have been his mainstay
amid his trials at the hands of the those who did not understand his dreams.
He took every opportunity to speak personally and directly to the students, and for this purpose
visited classes on a regular basis to enquire about progress. On these visits he liked to dialogue
with the students to help them see in broader context the value of each subject on the curriculum,
and its future value in life. He felt strongly that a personalised appreciation for each subject would
greatly help the learning process, as well as their own development as persons.
As community director he was most affable and affirming. From his second novitiate experience
he received one central conviction about religious life: truly fraternal community has to be a main
priority, where each person has to be made to feel fully accepted and appreciated. He became a
byword for hospitality, always a warmth of welcome, and a readiness to go to any length to ensure
that guests were received with kindest consideration.
He supported in every way the Conference of Heads of Secondary Schools, and for two years held
the key post of secretary general. He was similarly involved with the Guild of Heads of Catholic
Schools. Both these organisations had a high profile role in dealing with the education scene and in
relating with the Minister of Education and the Ministry. He also found time to chair a team
appointed by the Visitor Brother Michael Jacques to draw up a new syllabus for Catholic / General
Philosophy for use in sixth form in all Lasallian schools. This was an opportunity for him to

12
articulate his growing convictions about how best to communicate a sense of the meaning and
purpose of life in a multi-faith setting.
His years at St John’s coincided broadly with dramatic developments in the Catholic Church during
and after the Second Vatican Council 1962-1966. Catholics were invited to be more open to life
and to change, and to welcome life’s diversity. Other religions were no longer to be regarded with
hostility and rejection, but were now to be studied and appreciated for so much that was beautiful
and true in all faith traditions. Religious orders were asked to return to their roots and study the
original inspiration that brought them into existence in the first place. A tradition of centralised
authority now gave way to a stress on subsidiarity, by which those at local level took more direct
responsibility for decision-making, and local and individual initiatives were encouraged. Brother
Joseph was particularly welcoming of these changes as they harmonised with his natural
disposition to be open and hospitable, and his capacity to do his own thinking on most matters.
When it came to leaving St John’s in 1967 after five momentous years he had left the imprint of his
personality as well as of his artistic genius, on floors, corridors, stairways, specialist rooms and
more besides. Also significant was the influence of his ideas, of his dedication and personality on
staff, students, and parents. The school magazine ‘Garudamas’ for that year was specially
dedicated to him. In a farewell message, we can sense something of the flavour of his personal
warmth, wisdom and his capacity to inspire:
My dear Johannians
For five years I have served you as well as I knew how; and finding a new interest to replace you will take a
little time. After all, for a Brother, his pupils are a substitute for the family he has sacrificed. It is not easy to
part from one’s family.
You have been my joy and pride for the past five years. Indeed my sorrows have come from you too but they
were few enough, thank God. I have seen many of you grow from childhood to early manhood and the sight of
your growth has been for me, as for any of your fathers, a constant joy. With this difference that my family has
been unusually large! Then your various triumphs have been mine also. During our Jubilee year it was my
privilege to be at your head. When you won your various trophies whether The King’s Cup or the Khir Johari
Cup or the Ungku Aziz Shield, I was at one with you. When our period of great development came we all –
teachers, pupils and Head - alike shared the burden. That was a difficult time …
One great privilege of being a teacher or a headmaster, lies in constant contact with the young mind. Teaching
does not imply a one-way traffic only. A teacher constantly renews his youth in associating his ideas with those
of his pupils. Thanks for making me feel young enough to go back to school again.
In truth one never gets too old to learn. Your studies here in St John’s are but the beginning. You have an
enormous capacity for knowledge, for truth. You will never be able to fill yourself to satiety. Never must you
put aside your books and say ‘enough’. I hope that is one thing you will take into life with you; the conviction
that education is a never-ending process during life, reaching complete fullness only when our minds are full of
God in Eternity. Surely that also is what gives a meaning to death.
And now I leave you – with one only joy, I leave you in good hands. I could not wish you a better Headmaster
than Brother Director Basilian. I am fully confident that you will treat him with the same affection and
cooperation that you have always shown me. Under his able guidance this great old School will grow from
strength to strength. The mighty spirit of the Eagle: symbolic of St John will ever infuse you.
May God be with you always.
Fide et labore!
Brother Joseph McNally
Shortly afterwards he went to Rome to attend the General Chapter as one of two elected delegates
from the Penang District. This was a special honour and reflected the measure of the confidence
the Brothers had that he would adequately represent their views. Prior to departure he visited all
communities in the District to obtain the views of the Brothers as to their special concerns and
priorities for action.

13
The year 1967 represents a kind of watershed in his life, because he was indeed going ‘to go back
to school again’ to continue his personal studies. He was then a youthful 44 and had clearly done
his thinking and forward planning for the future direction of his career as a La Salle Brother.
IV
The Sculptor
Brother Joseph studied for his masters and doctorate at Columbia University from 1968 to 1972,
during which time he resided with the La Salle Brothers in New York. He was to regard this
community experience with the Brothers as significantly formative in that he was able to participate
in several of their initiatives for the renewal of the Brothers’ life and work. This was in the heady
aftermath of the Vatican Council, and more particularly of the General Chapter of 1966-1967
which he had attended and which sought to apply the orientations of the Council to the Institute of
the La Salle Brothers. It was a time of ferment and some excitement. These too were the years of
student protest at several US universities and anti-Vietnam war rallies. Partly to ease personal
expenses he agreed to do some teaching at the Brothers’ College, and he would recall with a rare
trace of bitterness that American youth had become truly spoilt and unmanageable.
But what made for greatest change was rediscovering his gift for sculpture, which thanks to modern
equipment no longer depended on hammer and chisel. He recalls:
In the old school of thought the method was more important than the end product. It became more a matter of
how one held the chisel at a particular angle rather than what was produced.
I rediscovered my talent as a sculptor during my American experience. The Americans took a very pragmatic
view. They introduced me to machinery as a tool for sculpture. They told me to use whatever means necessary
to get the job done. The end product is more important – a sound philosophy within certain moral constraints.
The discovery led to a burst of creativity. In 1969 he held a one man exhibition of paintings and
sculptures in Bermuda and the following year a similar one at Columbia University. He was
receiving glowing recognition in art circles, and this led gradually to an unshakable personal
conviction that indeed he had the potential for greatness in this field. Life moved on a rising curve
from that point. By the end of his life he would have completed almost 200 sculptures.
Of special interest in view of later developments was that his doctoral thesis, already suggested to
him while studying for his masters, was On the need for a School of Art in Malaysia. Over the
years he had travelled widely in the region to study artistic expression within various cultures. His
was a passionate enthusiasm that was further enhanced with each new discovery. He now
envisaged a college that was firmly rooted in traditional south-east Asian cultures and be a bridge
to the world of today.
He took time off in 1970 for more particular study in Bali, Java, Sumatra, Singapore and Thailand
to familiarise himself with traditional skills and processes in the handling of various materials.
All this would be reflected in his thesis. A key urgency for him was that such a college should
rescue certain traditional processes of rarest aesthetic value that were in danger of being sidelined,
even forgotten altogether, in the rush to go modern. He felt that if such a college could bring the
artist and the craftsman closer together the whole of life and culture would be greatly enriched. He
insisted strongly that art must have a central place and role in modern industrialised society. He
abhorred any idea of art for art’s sake. Art must be for life in all its manifestations, or be not at all.
He would wait twelve years before he could see the beginnings of his dream coming to realisation,
but his determination and enthusiasm grew steadily rather than diminished in the interim. These
intervening years were not lost, in fact they provided admirable experiences which prepared for his
eventual great leap forward.
On being conferred his degree of Doctor of Education by Columbia University, he was posted for a
year to St Joseph’s Training College in Penang and then to Singapore, which he had left more than
twenty years before, this time to teach at St Patrick’s School. For three years he was a member of
14
the teaching staff teaching English, General Paper and Art. St Patrick’s still had pre-university
classes and it was here he did most of his teaching. Meanwhile there was a matter of adjusting to
Singapore and to a new post-independence social and political climate. He became intensely
interested in everything connected with the Republic and delighted in updating visitors on the latest
exciting developments. Some time later he wrote to a friend:
On my return to Singapore after an absence of more than 20 years there were tremendous changes taking
place at all levels of education and society. It is hard to convey a sense of it all. What I had left as a colony
in 1951 was now a self-confident self-governing and compact state which had taken its place on the world
stage and was determined to demonstrate its incorruptibility and the superb quality of its people. It had
virtually eliminated poverty and had provided housing for its citizens which was the envy even of its not so
poor neighbours. It is a small country and in many ways it is a designer’s paradise. It was then engaged in
reclaiming from the sea some one-tenth of its total land area. It had embarked on the planning of its road
systems and its mass rapid transit system as well as a magnificent new airport. All of these have now been
realised.
In 1973 he became Director of St Patrick’s School, a post he would hold until 1983. Built in 1933
and basically a very beautiful building, it had a rough passage through the war years, and was now
in extreme need of general overhaul. One can imagine Brother Joseph being excited at the prospect
of doing just that. He writes of some of his priorities on taking charge:
Building a gymnasium and enlarging the athletics and football field became necessary. But a first duty was to
ban all corporal punishment in the school. If the school is to represent the importance of spiritual values; and its
teachers were expected to respect the pupil then caning was repugnant. We could not use violence if we taught
the importance of non-violence. A second task was to bring in teachers of different religions to teach their
adherents. Parents confide their children to schools because of the quality of education imparted to them and
not for purposes of religious conversion. In fact it becomes the duty of the school to safeguard the family
culture – not to create within it a new culture. School management was therefore aimed at protecting and
respecting the culture of the children which the families entrusted to the school and not to distance them from
their parents. So teachers were engaged: for Muslims an Uztas, for Hindus a Sanyasi, for Buddhists a Monk and
for Protestants a Preacher. The majority of pupils were Catholics and they also were instructed simultaneously.
It proved a good system.
Preparing students for responsible citizenship and for political life was important, therefore, an effective
parliament was set up in the school which drafted laws for discipline throughout. In like manner courts were set
up which tried offenders and maintained good order. It is true that students like all citizens will respond if they
are trusted and will maintain good order and discipline.
The parliament proved effective, thanks in some measure perhaps to a basic rule not to discuss their
teachers. This calmed fears among staff members. Parliament with the Head Prefect as President
met once a year, while the school council with its prime minister met once a week to study the day
to day running of the school. Among his first steps was to set up a development committee headed
by Mr George Bogaars, with his own name the last on the list of committee members, ever typical
of his determination to give a full and equal voice to all members.
A comprehensive plan for school development was drawn up to be executed in two stages over a
period of five years. This was to include a gymnasium, a spacious canteen, squash courts, a
grandstand, an arts and crafts centre and a bandstand. The plan which was circulated in an
attractive brochure with layout and artist’s impressions created a wave of excitement which
electrified the whole school and the larger community of past students and parents. When with
passing time the plan was seen to be systematically implemented, and the whole school complex
gradually took on a delightful aesthetic appearance, and there was a wonderful pride in being
associated with the school. Apart from the items mentioned in the plan there were numberless
improvements such as developing gardens and an impressive assembly area. Increasingly his own
sculptures were displayed here and there to excellent effect. Funding was ever his greatest
problem, but one which never set limits to what he wanted to achieve. Money had to be found, and
somehow it was, thanks to a mix of rugged determination and personal charm.
On first taking charge he found the teachers inclined to remain silent and passive during staff
meetings. He set about getting them to express their views frankly and openly, and soon there was
15
lively discussion. Looking back he would recall ‘we had our difficulties and fights but my teachers
have always been professional enough not to sulk. They are a professional and critical lot.’
His priority at all times was for the students. He was an outspoken critic of existing education
policies, as when he wrote:
We teachers make one great mistake in our system. We think that by passing on to the young the legacy of the
past we have done our job. We see ourselves as channels from the large reservoirs of knowledge to the smaller
containers who are children. And so, to change the metaphor, in almost all subjects we ‘spoonfeed’ our young.
We allow little time for them to challenge our wise utterances. We do not allow them to think for themselves.
How we thus pervert our role as educators! Education is the process of leading youth outwards from within
themselves; of bringing out inherent qualities within each child.
He sought in every way to make their learning experience as meaningful and as integrated as
possible. In fact he introduced a weekly integration session during which students were
encouraged to discover meeting points of different areas of the curriculum so as to unify the entire
studies programme. Simultaneously he produced a number of exquisite pocket-size booklets, often
with amusing illustrations, on topics such as the philosophy of the school, Patrician courtesy, and a
pocket diary which gave an overview of the school’s history, its Lasallian heritage, and a preview
of the year’s main events. He wrote with simple clarity often using a direct chatty style. The
school’s philosophy was linked to the great models in the school’s tradition:
St Patrick’s is a school very much in the Catholic tradition of education. It views man as a harmony of spirit and
matter and it insists on the absolute value of each individual human being. In the Catholic sense of the universal
Church it views all races as equal and all religions as containing elements of truth about God and mankind.
Christ and his teachings form the first model for St Patrick’s pupils. St Patrick is the second model. He was the
young ex-captive who in 430 A.D. started his teaching career in Ireland. The third model is St John Baptist De
La Salle. He is the one we call Founder because he founded the Christian Brothers and the modern system of
conducting schools, over three centuries ago.. .
Each pupil and each teacher is of absolute importance. Each is the image of God, who is perfect truth, beauty
and goodness. They are and will always be imperfect but they become better by trying. They build God’s
image. They know how important they are in themselves and to each other. They cooperate. They work
together to become better teachers and better pupils. Because each teacher and each pupil is important there is
strong respect one for the other. The pupil respects the teacher: the teacher respects the pupils. The teacher
never treats the pupils with less than human dignity. The pupil never consciously annoys the teacher or causes
him pain. Each sees God in the other.
Courtesy is placed in the context of modern Singapore, a centre of world communication. He
writes:
The cultures which have formed the basis for the present culture of Singapore have evolved for thousands of
years in many parts of the world. They are now influencing each other in various ways. They are fusing.
Our culture is the richer thanks to all of them. Culture is formed by the citizens. In turn culture forms the
citizens. Whether people go to school or whether they are now working they are being formed by the culture.
Even if they have no formal school and are illiterate they are still educated by the culture. The truly
educated person: the most cultured person is not the one with the highest degrees but the one who most fully
accepts the culture of his people.
‘Patrician Courtesy’ is a down to earth practical guide for life in the home, school and society, and
covers such matters as courtesy at table, courtesy in speech, courtesy in posture, courtesy and
cleanliness, courtesy in public places, conduct on wheels and conduct in general. This gem of a
booklet concludes with what many will regard as a self-portrait of Brother Joseph himself:
A person of integrity:
☼ Easily forgives and forgets personal affronts.
☼ Keeps a promise.
☼ Avoids all rudeness and rough language.
☼ Does not have double standards of conduct.
☼ Respects others as he wants to be respected himself.
☼ Speaks the truth and acts honestly.
☼ Speaks well of others. He rather remains silent than speaks ill of them.
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 ☼ Seeks occasions of helping others.
☼ Avoids outbursts of anger.
☼ Remembers that ‘a gentleman is one who never inflicts pain.’
☼ Is tidy in dress and pays more attention to its cleanliness than to its expense or cut.
☼ Avoids indebtedness.
☼ Is punctual for appointments.
☼ Is neither a borrower nor a lender. Where borrowing is necessary great attention is paid to
handing back. One never loans to another what is on loan to oneself.
☼ Renders thanks by word or letter for services received.
☼ Maintains correspondence with friends and always answers letters received.
☼ Does not write anonymous letters. Such conduct is despicable.
☼ Does not read the letters or private papers of another.
☼ Does not look over another’s shoulder while he writes or listen in while others are talking.
☼ Cultivates good humour and pleasant conversation.
☼ Is a good listener to others.
☼ Uses ‘Sir’ and ‘Madam’ when addressing people for the first time.
☼ Shows visitors every courtesy and never reads or seems preoccupied in their presence.
☼ Does not use other people’s phone or facilities without permission.
☼ Values HONOUR more than life itself since it is a quality of the soul that survives death.
The Golden Jubilee of the school in 1983 was another opportunity to go deeper into the school’s
history and heritage. ‘Our Story’ was produced, giving a whole range of new information about the
school, in particular as regards the war years. Contacts were made with Australian and Japanese
sources. Personal memories were shared by army personnel and others who had worked in the
school at that time. Stylised portraits of all past directors with accompanying write-up were also
included. It was an aesthetically delightful publication worthy of the occasion which few but
Brother Joseph could have produced.
During these years he was already becoming something of a public figure in Singapore, partly
through his involvement with the art life of the Republic, partly for his outspoken views on
Singapore education. In 1979 he represented Singapore at the College of Education Conference in
Perth, Australia and he became Vice-Chairman of the Singapore Educational Administration
Society. His name was also linked increasingly to the achievements of his students. Among the
latter was the school band which in 1982 capped its many local successes with a tour of the US
where they participated in the famous annual St Patrick’s Day Parade in New York as well as in
Washington. This guaranteed high profile publicity and lots of interviews in the popular press
both in Singapore and in the US. The logistics in terms of sorting out flights, accommodation and
fixtures would have baffled most people, but not Brother Joseph who went along with them and
personally made all the needful contacts. The Brothers in the US who had grown to appreciate
Brother Joseph as one of their own when he was studying there a decade or so earlier, opened all
doors to give the band a truly phenomenal welcome.
This very same year he had a one man exhibition of his sculptures in Galway, Ireland. Among his
exhibits were some in bog oak, including a charming representation of the traditional fox from a
piece of bog oak which he merely trimmed in a matter of minutes, sandpapered and varnished – it
was a much prized item.
Brother Joseph was able to inspire and personally guide a great diversity of development and still
find time and space for his personal work with his sculptures, which evolved in a growing diversity
of shape, size and colour. Already in the early 1970’s he had done an altar in welded steel for the
chapel at St Joseph's Training College in Penang using the motif of the tree of life whose roots were
in the garden of Eden and which flowered with a representation of the risen Christ. When St
Joseph’s Training College was leased some years later, De La Salle University in Manila requested
to have it. He also used the tree of life motif in the sanctuary of the chapel at St Patrick’s School.
St Michael’s Institution, Ipoh, approached him in 1973 for a centre piece for the school library. He
chose a theme from his beloved W B Yeats’ ‘Second Coming’ which he called The Falcon and the
Falconer. It was done in welded steel and shows a human figure reaching out in spiral motion
17
seeking contact with the falcon. If Yeats had envisaged modern society as poised for disintegration
– ‘things fall apart’, Brother Joseph by contrast suggests a more caring world with close and
trustful relating, thanks to a Falconer who strenuously reaches out in love and understanding.
Another piece commissioned by St Michael’s Institution for its foyer was St Joseph, a favourite
subject for Brother Joseph. However the Brothers out of regard for the multi-faith character of the
school decided with his permission to rename it ‘Paterfamilias’ which translates as ‘parent’. It
pictures St Joseph the carpenter inducting Jesus into the skills of his trade. A striking feature of
this sculpture is that some see it as a profile of Brother Joseph himself, slightly bent forward in his
customary caring stance, feet apart and firmly planted on the ground. The wonder for many was
how he could express such delicate concepts and sentiments so exquisitely in welded steel, steel
taken from the bumpers of used cars. Hospital Fatimah in Ipoh commissioned two pieces for their
newly completed chapel. These he did in Ipoh stone, perhaps the only time he worked with this
material. He fell in love with Ipoh stone, especially the warm rose tint. However it was
heartbreaking as it fragmented at the slightest touch of the electric drill. Nothing phased, he glued
it back again each time, till he began to realise that the more it fragmented the more firm and solid
it gradually became, thanks to the gluing.
Working on a piece of sculpture was often a kind safety valve to release a build up of frustration,
such that those closest to him felt that his best works were produced in times of greatest stress. One
such piece featured in the local press was completed in 1976 and named ‘Man and a Horse’, and
was made up of ten car bumpers and two broken chairs! It won a place in a local exhibition.
He frequently spoke of his own spiritual vision without which he confessed there could be no art,
particularly the Paschal mystery, the mystery of Christ suffering, dying and rising to new life – a
theme which underlies the cycle of seasons in nature. It was expressed for Brother Joseph when he
took material like the bumper of a car, particularly one associated with a fatal accident, and by
means of his art restored it to new life, even to a very much more enhanced significance. His
supreme joy in later times was to take a piece of wood that had lain buried deep in bog for several
millennia and shape it into something truly delightful and aesthetic.
It was during these years as Principal of St Patrick’s that he had an early taste of Balinese culture.
He was attending the first meeting of Asian Christian Artists. He sent back to the Brothers at St
Patrick’s an exciting account of the experience, dated 30 August 1978:
I’m writing from the lovely Bali within sound of the raging surf so unlike our calm Port Dickson waters. In the
past few days I have been constantly moved not only by the loveliness of the place and its many arts but
also and most of all by its Christian presence and art forms. Imagine the Way of the Cross as a
Balinese Dance also the parable of the Ten Virgins; or the story of Adam and Eve with full gamelan
orchestra [from a Christian village] and glorious costumes …
We have been fed to surfeit on artistic expression. We have had the most beautiful prayer sessions and Bible
studies – all oriented towards the Lord’s prayer. We have had works of art created here ranging from that most
ephemeral art, Japanese sand painting [Bonseki], to Ikebana [also Japanese] to Maori totem-carving - about
eight feet high in coconut wood. In addition to the percussion of the angklung and the full throated orchestra of
the gamelan we have had the haunting sounds of the Japanese flute and the low groan of the didgery-doo by an
Australian Aborigine. I myself brought along as requested a steel sculpture about five feet in height based on
the Lord’s Prayer. It will remain in Syyana Pura – much too troublesome to transport back to Singapore! It
aroused some curiosity.
Some of you may rightly wonder why I came to represent Malaysia and Singapore at this conference. It really
wasn’t my fault. A few years ago I was approached by a Japanese professor who was producing a book on
Christian art of Asia [published 1975] for some slides of my work and an early sculpture now in New York was
chosen and published. So I was invited to attend… They sent me my ticket and provided free board and
lodging. So who could resist! It’s a wonderful experience.
But it would seem to have its price and I will now probably be involved in getting a group organised of the
Christian Artists of Malaysia or Singapore or both.
We have set up the Association of Christian Artists in Asia to perpetuate the good work.

18
And the District Newsletter Editor Brother Anthony Cheung adds a helpful comment:
We are all so very proud of you, Brother Joseph, our worthy representative. Br Joseph welcomes anyone who
wishes to see his studio in St Patrick’s School, Singapore. You are very welcome to bring alone any scrap metal,
car bumpers for instance!
He would remain closely involved with this Association in the years ahead.
In 1982 he was appointed consultant to the Ministry of Education, in which capacity he helped
revise the Art syllabus at all levels, and was detailed to go to England to negotiate its adoption by
the Cambridge Examination Syndicate. Through this growing rapport with the Ministry of
Education, the Brothers were approached to see if they would accept to run a hostel for foreign
students, the government bearing the full cost. Many students, especially from Malaysia, were
then opting to study in Singapore. This was realised with the building of St Patrick’s House which
soon established a reputation for efficient management and quality pastoral care of its boarders, as
well as becoming a favourite venue for the Brothers for their larger gatherings such as annual
retreats, seminars and District Chapters.
In June 1982, following his announcement of retiring from the post of Principal he was interviewed
by the Straits Times. He made it clear he was not retiring from education. In fact he would still be
closely associated with the school as he worked close by to build up the Music Department into a
centre for fine arts – pottery, painting, sculpture, drama and speech training. Some quotes:
I want to retire to the sidelines and work from the outside. Hopefully I can bring about the kind of school St
Patrick's ought to be. I already built up the right attitude towards study and professional development among
students and staff. I can now open the students’ minds to greater creativity, to music, painting and sculpture. If a
student is good at pottery, extra tuition will now be available….
I have always said that the weaker students are the salt of the earth. They have a realistic view of themselves.
They have tasted failure and know the truth about themselves, and that is the first step towards wisdom…..
Our education system has focused too much on books, too little on life. We are almost back to the days of
Imperial China when scholars were prepared for exams in the nine classics. Education has lost all fun for most
of our pupils. The connection between education and life is almost ignored. We seem to neglect life for the
sake of the academic subject, and as a result the student suffers. I would rather have the subject suffer
instead….
Writing to a friend in 1991 he provides a backward glance at these years:
For me personally after having run a school, very close to and controlled by the Malaysian Government I was
now running one under the equally close scrutiny of the Singapore Government. It was a very different
experience and I particularly relished the creativity which was encouraged by the latter. I enjoyed the years
between 1973 and 1983 while I was running St Patrick’s. I officially retired in 1983 at the age of 60. I then set
out on my second career.
In 1983 following his retirement as Principal came his final important contribution to St Patrick’s –
the redecoration of the School Chapel. This was a fairly elaborate project based on the theme of
‘the burning bush’. The floor of the ante-chapel bears the inscription from the Bible: Put off thy
shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. High up along both
sides the full length of the chapel a theme of creation is developed in stained glass continuing from
window to window. The sanctuary was redesigned, the pre-war altar of Connemara marble was
reset and beside it was placed a large crucifix done in welded steel with the tree motif.
Those years at St Patrick’s must have ranked among his most fulfilling thus far. He had achieved
what he had set out to do and by a kind of royal right which none could challenge and none could
grudge. The school which had perhaps been drifting a little in public estimation was now regarded
as among the most forward moving and dynamic. The Brothers’ community quarters had been
spruced up and made more convenient and pleasant. Visitors to St Patrick’s were impressed by a
sense of general integration of grounds, buildings and cultural pursuits, producing the most
satisfying impression of good planning, superb maintenance, and lots of aesthetic surprises. His
goal was excellence, and that is what one encountered.

19
 V
Ballintubber
THE BALLAD OF BALLINTUBBER

There’s a lakeen in The Bottom where a stream reflects the sun

And a fountain that a god lived in when time had just begun.
Then St Patrick came around thee with the message of Our Lord
And enthralled all the people with the beauty of the Word.
In the shadow of the blue Reek seen against the western sun
On the gently sloping hill and on the grass they sat around
There he blessed them and baptized them, and the seed found fertile ground.
See the harvest in their children’s sons whose faith and love abound.

On the wild brink of that tubber where the yellow iris grow
You should see the whitethorn blushing when the petals start to snow
When its leaves fall off the red haws last the wildest winter through
And the grass is ever emerald though the sky be rarely blue.
Now the waters of that fountain there in which God Slan held court
While he scattered out his largesse to the dwellers in the fort
Became the saving waters of the Spirit of Our Lord
Whom St. Patrick loved and preached and taught to all his Irish fold.

The waters kept on gurgling as they built their Kill and church
Ever mingling solemn music with the psalmist and the cruit,
And reflecting all the beauty of the mighty arches five
Which the men of Ballintubber carved and hoisted to the skies.
But sadness soon descended when the violent foreign hordes
Raped and plundered that fair country and then left the church a corpse.
And the blackbirds in the whitechorn waxed silent in unrest
While the ever angry waters headlong galloped in protest

Sean Na Saggart too, the traitor, was no stranger to the place:

With his cruel deeds rewarded; execrated by his race.
Beneath the Ash-tree buried, doubled down with dread and curse,
He sold his soul for money's sake,. no fate than his is worse.
While the holy well still lived on there beside the ruined church
The despoiled population crouched in silent prayer and trust
Underneath the great stark arches and around their penal cross
To await the resurrection of their Abbey and their church.

For the Great God was preparing as He did in days of old

To send to them a leader to prepare for Him a road.
And the Abbey now stands proudly in that village by the well
And the voices of the waters join their chorus to the swell
Of the Ballintubber people who are living near and far,
Raising voices in loud ballad for the theme to them so fair.
There's no people in the wide world prouder than the people there
Of the immortal Abbey to which they are the heir.

To get a more balanced sense of Brother Joseph at this time of his life we need to return briefly
from multi-faith Singapore to the very Catholic world of his beloved Ballintubber which now
increasingly engaged his interest and energies. This is amply evidenced by his personal library
with its range of books, maps and publications dealing with the history of Mayo, but more
particularly Ballintubber and its historic environs. Originally the Abbey was built on the shore of
the highly scenic Lough Carra, but with passing centuries the shoreline has shifted a little further
away. Among the islands on the lake is the secluded 3.2 hectare Church Island where saintly
20
hermits lived in ancient times, and later a greater monastic centre of learning flourished. This too
became a focus of his interest.
The Abbey church has been an enduring passion for me since my childhood. Founded in 1216 by King Cahal
O'Connor it managed to survive centuries of despoliation and is currently being restored to some of its former
splendour. One of my early successes in this area was to call attention to the penal cross which was being cast
aside and destroyed by wood-worm. It is now in a position of honour over the high altar.
I was instrumental in getting Professor Herkner, then teaching in the National College of Art to sculp "Our Lady
of Ballintubber' in 1954.
I worked very closely with Fr Frank Fahey in the current restoration, helping him select "Sculpted Stones" and
developing concepts for there and for Church Island. But he really did not need much help from me. I was
particularly pleased to be able to work with him and with the Abbot of Roscrea [Dom Colmcille O’Toole] on
"The Spirituality of Ballintubber". This is something which I hope to work towards publication in due time.
Father Frank Fahey and Brother Joseph were kindred spirits. They worked together on a number of
projects such as the three ways or tochair: [1] the Way of Christ or the stations of the Cross, [2] the
Way of Mary or the mysteries of the Rosary and [3] the Way of Patrick, the pilgrim path that leads
from the Abbey across the countryside to the peak of Croagh Patrick twenty-two miles to the west.
The setting up of these ‘ways’ was in the context of a rich local folk culture and of Celtic
spirituality, and it was very much in line with Brother Joseph’s life long passion for integration of
experience, past and present. The Way of Christ laid out in the Abbey grounds made use of upright
stones of suggestive shapes instead of statues. These were collected from the countryside round
about, each imprinted by the forces of nature with a record of past millennia. A booklet was
produced which elaborated on the historical and spiritual context. The commentary also makes
direct reference to the Way of Patrick, suggesting its integration with the Way of Christ. One
example is the Second Station: Jesus carries his Cross. After appropriate quotations from the New
Testament, the text continues:
The Good News that Patrick preached by word and example was uncompromising. It was the message of Christ
who said ‘unless you take up your cross and follow me you cannot be my disciple’ and again ‘He who loses his
life for my sake will find it’. This road or Tochar is a symbol of how the generations since St Patrick tried to
follow his way that led to life. It is the pilgrim road stretching from here to Croagh Patrick, approximately 22
miles distant. It pre-dated Patrick by centuries. Since St Patrick's time, this road has become known as Tochar
Padraig, Patrick’s Causeway. It is 12 feet wide paved with flags. St Patrick and his chariots and caravans
travelled on these flags. Many of the stones on the Tochar were marked with crosses to remind pilgrims of the
nature of their journey. While they kept to the path they were protected.
When they returned here, they were given shelter and hospitality. This stone tank was for the washing of their
bruised and tired feet. The water was heated with hot stones. Later they would be given a meal and invited to
the church to join in prayer.
They returned home with their sins forgiven, peace restored in their hearts, penance done for the past and a new
vision for the future. All along that Tochar are little churches and mass rocks, caves and cilleens, druid stones,
Normal castles. It is really a pilgrim path through Irish history, culture and spirituality. And it hears the mark
of the cross.
A sense of 5000 years of history is suggested by the next station represented by one stone lying
across another: Jesus falls and rises again:
These two stones represent two cultures and the hope that sustained them. The stone lying down represents the
Celtic Druidic culture, remains of which are evident along the Tochar, especially in Lankill, Lanmore and
Boheh. These ‘longstones’ have inscribed circles on them representing the sun. The Neolithic people built
huge monuments, as in Newgrange, to mark the return of the sun and the hope of spring. In death they were
symbolically buried facing the north, where there is no place for the sun or for hope.
St Patrick took their ‘sun symbol’ or power and life and put the cross through it, thus forming the Celtic cross.
And the tradition of burying the dead facing the east and the rising sun began with the Christian period in
Ireland. It was this hope in the abiding love and power of the Son of God, that sustained them in their many
failures and shattered dreams down through the ages. ‘God’s help is nearer than the door’ was a familiar phrase
on their lips and in their hearts. In Him they could ‘hope against hope’. All the graves except one in that
graveyard face the east and the rising sun. That exception is the grave of Sean-na-Sagart, the notorious priest-
hunter. He was given a pagan burial, facing the north. The tree marks the spot of his grave.
21
 Just one more example, the fourth station Mary meets her Son, depicted by two stones standing in simple
encounter:
These two figures represent Mary meeting the pathetic figure of Christ on the way to Calvary. These two rocks
have been shaped by the weather, rain and frost since the ice age passed here 10,000 years ago. The figure of
Christ expresses what scripture states ‘He was pierced through for our faults, crushed for our sins’. And that is
particularly applicable here. The history of the destruction of the Abbey and its environment was brought about
by Christian against Christian. The first time the Abbey itself was destroyed was in 1264 when the Normans
and the Irish fought. The next time was when Henry VIII suppressed it and he was a Christian, as was
Elizabeth. James I who confiscated all the lands and effectively got rid of the community, was a Christian.
Cromwell’s army came fifty years later and destroyed most of the Abbey – he was a Christian. The Penal Laws
were enacted by a Christian Parliament, and the famine that devastated half of the population, should never have
happened if the landlords were truly Christian.
Today we are still at it – Christian against Christian. The rockery in the shape of Ireland depicts this situation.
The Way of Mary depicting the mysteries of the Rosary, also within the Abbey grounds, is given
similar treatment. The Visitation for example is situated in a traditional Irish kitchen and the
message is one of hospitality while the Nativity scene is a familiar old style stable complete with
harness hanging on the wall. The Way of Patrick extends for twenty-two miles across countryside
with pauses at places of historic significance. It is along this path that we come to where the
dreaded priest-hunter was finally ambushed and killed.
Father Frank Fahey kept Brother Joseph updated on all these developments, and in one letter
thanked him for your inspiration, encouragement and your ability to blow my mind with the idea of
rocks not stones as the medium of the message. Few would have guessed the power of weather
beaten rocks to convey the most profound messages.
Church Island was a special focus of attention as well. Scholarly excavation has revealed that this
island was one of several centres of religious, artistic, political, social, and economic life in early
Christian Ireland, an ‘island of saints and scholars’ over a period of eight centuries. Brother Joseph
and his brother-in-law Dom Colmcille O’Toole, then Abbot of Roscrea Cistercian monastery,
worked closely with Father Frank Fahey to restore the island as a centre of Celtic spirituality, in
tune with the needs of modern times. The ruined 11th century church has been restored and there
are plans for restoring a few other key buildings to provide space for solitude and contemplation,
with individual beehive or cell units for those wishing to have a few days of quiet. An information
sheet tells us:
This ancient place of contemplation and seclusion has lost none of its atmosphere. It is a setting that summons
the modern wayfarer, bombarded by stimulation, noise and feverish activity, to discover the 'desert' within the
person and to set about establishing a haven of contemplation within the heart.
The journey to Church Island is an introduction to this reflection and depth of search. The walk along the lake
shore from Cummins Walk, named after the 14th century monk from the Abbey who spent 50 years on the
Island, opens up the heart and soul to the beauty and mystery of nature. The lake in all its moods and mysteries,
the cry of the seagull, the water-hen guarding her brood, the wild flowers in the shade of the woodlands, the
fossiled rocks of ages past, the little animals of field and wood, the grazing sheep and bleat of lambs, the playful
otter, the glint of the fish in the bright water, the flight of the duck, the silence of the shore - all help to awaken
within the person a fountain of silent questions requiring some explanation and answers perhaps found on
Church Island.
The search for meaning on Church Island will follow the Biblical story of man’s first fall in Eden On the Island
a ‘Way’ will trace man’s wandering on the earth in darkness until that time when a group of shepherds found a
little Child in a cave whom the angels proclaimed to be the Messiah. The ‘Way’ will then follow the life of
Christ Who proclaimed himself to be the ‘Way’, the Truth and the Light. This ‘Way’ will follow closely the
Scripture scenes depicted on the Irish High Crosses. The Calvary events will be symbolically portrayed on the
little Island off Church Island.
Reclaiming the past was a passion for Brother Joseph and he loved to talk of Father Frank Fahey’s
latest plans and of work in progress. But in the case of Church Island he was no longer dealing
with a piece of bog oak back in Singapore but with holy ground, indeed a whole landscape, with a
powerful association with ancient Celtic Christianity and spirituality and his delight was to see it
22
achieve fresh life and relevance for the new millennium. He also found time to identify with
similar developments elsewhere, notably in Glendalough where Dom Columcille’s brother Father
Sean O’Toole was parish priest. Interestingly one of his more recent sculptures dramatises the
extended hand of St Kevin, the patron of Glendalough. The significance of the extended hand
refers to St Kevin during long hours of meditation with arms outstretched in his cell which was so
narrow that he had to extend one arm through an aperture in the wall. A bird nested on it and laid
its eggs. In his reverence for the miracle of new life he held his arm in position some weeks till the
fledglings were mature enough to fly away.
Those closest to him often wondered how in the midst of setting up LASALLE-SIA, attending to
its day to day running, arranging for exhibitions, playing a major role in art circles, and
participating fully in the life of the community at St Joseph’s Institution, that he was able to commit
precious time and creative energy to developments in distant Ballintubber, Church Island and
Glendalough. His supreme gratification was when in 1991 Archbishop Joseph Cassidy of Tuam
formally appointed him a Trustee of Ballintubber Abbey.
In November 1996 he attended a function in Castlebar on the occasion of being honoured as Mayo
Man of the Year. The previous year at University College Cork he was given the high distinction of
an Honorary LLD from the National University of Ireland in a very formal ceremony at which his
great achievements as teacher and artist were named and applauded. However being recognised
and honoured by his own home county of Mayo, among his very own people, touched him deeply
and his speech of acceptance was understandably all the more emotional, reflecting deep-seated
pride in his native county:
I take fierce pride in being with you - the same ancient blood that ran through the veins of the farmers of the
Ceide Fields. Before the time of Abraham we were here ploughing our fields and herding our livestock. We are
no blow-ins. When you honour the boy from Ballintubber the honour returns to you. You have made me what I
am.
I think back some 70 years to the little boy in Dereerin who recklessly ventured too close to the flock of grazing
geese. I see that incident as a symbol of what I now am. The angry gander took hold of my trousers and with
strong wings proceeded to administer the punishment I deserved. Two weeks ago in Singapore with a hunk of
Irish bog oak I tried to honour that gander in a life sized sculpture…
I also learned to love our ancient culture. What greater gift have we to pass on to our children's children than
what we learned around the vivacious flames of our turf fires. It was a culture that no schools, however great,
could impart. I love the story telling, the folklore, the Irish language, the song and the dance.
I was fortunate in my schools but not more fortunate than all of us were. At secondary level I had a wonderful
Corkman who introduced me to the fili of Munster… But it was the powerful 17th century poetry which early
convinced me that we Irish had an artistic greatness equal to what Michelangelo proved to the Italians or
Beethoven to the Germans. We are inferior to none.
I have never been ashamed of my Irish Mayo accent, nor lost it, despite 50 years of exile. Great was my joy in
my late teens to discover in such plays as “Playboy of the Western World” by Synge the beautiful cadences of
our local dialect in English. It is also a precious heritage which we can pass on to our children's children. Mayo
has nothing to be ashamed of in having produced for the English language an Oscar Wilde, and a George
Moore. I remember the day in 1933 when the ashes of the latter were sprinkled on the lake which he so loved
and which I love. My boyish feelings for him then were not what my adult admiration for a great novelist have
since become. No matter! Both writers have proven to us the inherent greatness of our Mayo people if they
develop their talents and are conscious of their heritage..
Exactly fifty seven years ago I made the fateful decision which led me to make my home in Singapore seven
years later. At the time my only regret was that I would have to abandon my Irish language studies. Strangely
my only current regret is not having studied Malay and Chinese on arrival in Singapore…
Singapore has been good to me, I have come to love its people as I love you. They in their turn have
taken me to their hearts. Two great loves of my life have been Ireland and Singapore. They are very
different needless to say. Singapore is an island city about the size of County Louth. It is a tropical
country with lush growth in a perpetual summer. It did not build its lovely architecture by destroying
nature. It balanced both. It is a disciplined country with great respect for law and order and with
minimum corruption. Singaporean students must really be the best in the world to work with
23
 (apologies to all my Irish friends). They are highly motivated to succeed, strictly self disciplined and
hardworking. They are, thank God, protected against drugs and against an unclean environment.
Ireland has changed enormously since I left it… Its landscape on a fine day is ravishing in its beauty. And on a
wet day, well in the pubs its conversation, music and storytelling scintillate. For me one of its greatest
attractions is its archaeology, its sense of antiquity, its aura of great age. When I work a piece of limestone from
Ballintubber, I not only see in it the sea-shells of millions of years ago; I also take over from where nature left
off with its rain and sun, frost and wind had sculptured its surfaces ever since the last ice age. When I look at the
rounded hills of our central Mayo plains looking like eggs in a huge basket and then I look at the domed shape
of Nephin or the cone of Croagh Patrick, I realize how much we Mayomen and women have been sculptured by
the forces of nature and the goodness of God.
His abiding feeling for Mayo translated through life into a genuine enthusiasm for other cultures,
notably those of South-East Asia and through his art he found amazing ways to integrate them all.
A kind of personal credo written on a scrap of paper is perhaps another such statement of
integration. It reads as follows:
I am happy to be Johnny McNally from Ballintubber
I love both Ballintubber-Ireland and Singapore
I have been and am an educator and an artist
I am glad to have been born free and to remain free
I believe that God gave us all including every child creative gifts which are precious
I believe that God had a purpose in creating the Celtic race
I know that the Irish Celts refused domination both by Roman and English empires
I know that we have a deep sense of the spiritual which has come down to us from Indo-European culture and
from Christ
I know that the arts are an expression of spiritual values.

VI
LASALLE-SIA
It is not intended within the limits of this brief sketch to give the full story of LASALLE-SIA, the
peak achievement of a distinguished career. The College itself has listed the key stages of its
development as follows:
“1984 Brother Joseph McNally founded LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts as a small arts centre at
the St Patrick’s School premises with only his own means. His mission was to build a teaching
and learning environment in the visual and performing arts that focused on nurturing creative
excellence. The Centre started with full-time studies in Painting, Ceramics, Sculpture and
Music.
1985 The arts centre was expanded to its second campus at Telok Kurau. The institution’s name was
changed from St Patrick’s Arts Centre to LASALLE College of the Arts.
Brother Joseph McNally became a Singapore citizen.
1992 The College was reorganised under the aegis of LASALLE Foundation Ltd and a Board of
Directors was formed to manage the operations of the College.
1993 In dire need of funds to accommodate the growing number of students, Brother Joseph
McNally sought an alliance with Singapore Airlines. The College was renamed LASALLE-SIA
College of the Arts to signify the goodwill of Singapore Airlines (SIA) for its contribution of
S$15 million for the construction of new buildings on Goodman Road.
1995 The new buildings were officially opened and this enabled the College to unite its diverse
activities on one campus at Goodman Road, precipitating what has become a vigorous
atmosphere of creative interaction amongst all art disciplines.
1997 Brother Joseph McNally retires as President and is appointed President Emeritus of LASALLE-
SIA College of the Arts and Director of LASALLE Foundation Ltd.
He continues his art making as artist-in-residence at his own studio at LASALLE-SIA.
Dr Brian Howard was appointed as the second President of the College.
24
1998 Dr Tony Tan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, announced the government’s
plans to upgrade Singapore’s two arts institutions – LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts and
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. With the upgrade, the arts institutions are placed under the
Division of Higher Education within the Ministry of Education along with National University
of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and the polytechnics.
1999 As part of the upgrade, LASALLE-SIA receives polytechnic-level funding for all diploma
programmes. Fees are lowered and eligible students are in receipt of tuition grant from the
Ministry of Education.
2001 LASALLE-SIA receives the endorsement of the first International Review Panel that the
College’s curriculum, delivery of courses and operations are up to international standards.”
In a paper entitled Management in Education delivered in Indonesia 2002 on being conferred an
Honorary Doctor of Management by the University of Jakarta, Brother Joseph looked back over
the years of struggle and gave his own illuminating synopsis of the founding story of LASALLE-
SIA:
The time had come for retirement at the age of 60. Now was the time to start a school of the arts. There were
some empty classrooms and a concept, which had been maturing for many years. In creative activities, money,
however desirable or even necessary, is not essential. Much more important to start with is a good concept. If
there is a need for an educational venture and if the author plans it well then the money is made available either
from the private sector or from Government. The formula of balancing a modest student fee with an equally
modest teacher’s salary every month saw the College through its early days.
Numbers of students increased by 25% every year, and at one time the school operated on 4 different campuses.
Government proved not only tolerant but also encouraging. In 1986 it leased at a very low rental an empty
primary school and in course of time it gave the College a 30-year lease of a disused large secondary school
building which served the purpose and which is used to this day. Singapore Airlines came up with 15 million
dollars with which it erected two new buildings and by means of which it was possible to bring all the arts on to
a single campus.
Indeed the College philosophy was that there should be interplay of all the arts. That would allow of the rubbing
of shoulders of all disciplines and a cross-cultural learning process. That has largely been achieved through
elective subjects and through the use of a common dining area. It is generally true that a student who is creative
in one area is creative purely, and will learn other arts informally while he learns one at depth
Right from the beginning there was a professionalism about everything he did. The somewhat
shabby old ‘Japanese’ building, constructed during the Occupation at St Patrick’s, was transformed,
the floors were carpeted and there was a sparkle of neat glazed partitioning, with display shelves
and an art gallery. His own office as always was exquisite in its simplicity and transparency. Here
and there one came upon a surprise piece of sculpture, very often his own work. Even more
important was the strong focus and sense of purpose that one felt among staff and students alike
even in these early days when the enrolment was just 20.
His vision and rationale for such a college was based on his conviction that the arts have a key role
to play in a modern state. This was his special emphasis when in May 1992 he read a paper at the
Ministry of Culture in Moscow:
A school of the arts must be very conscious of its relationship to the industries for which it trains young people.
Industry and commerce also must become aware that they depend on the art school to develop skills which they
will not otherwise gain. If one looks at the broad spectrum of courses offered by the art school and the skills it
produces, one immediately sees how valuable these skills are to commerce and industry. First of all is the
creative energy that it develops and places at their disposal. Artists, by and large, are right brained persons.
They think laterally. They see alternative courses of action more easily than left brained people. They are good
entrepreneurs. They are good team members. Secondly arts trained people even if they do not practise the art
they have learned are the best managers of the related industry. Hence the best curators of galleries and
museums are painters who have also learned to administer. The best managers of theatres and stages are actors
and dancers who have a keen understanding of what is being produced under the lights…. Hence schools of
design and schools of fine arts should share premises and campuses in order to promote the link and turn out
designers who are artists, and painters and sculptors who have a business sense.

25
Back in the Singapore of 1984 there was little public perception of this relationship between the
arts and industry. Singapore’s priorities were still largely focused on developing a thriving
economy and the emphasis was rather on roads, housing, and education for all. Art was seen as a
picture on the wall, as Brother Joseph would say, something that could be added later, but for now
the wall was the clear priority. There was as yet little official interest in promoting culture.
Brother Joseph became a passionate voice for change in public attitude to the arts:
A pre-requisite for any change in art education in Singapore is a change of attitude on the part of the university
both in its entry requirements and in its preparation of art specialists. I am saying that we need tertiary-level art
education and need it badly. Our art education must have equal status with teachers of physics or mathematics –
that is to say they must have the possibility of an honours degree, and our pupils must have full confidence that
Art will be like any other subject ‘needed’ as a pre-requisite for university studies in related fields, for example,
architecture. Needless to say our manpower planners must also be convinced of the significance of art
education for our developing industry and engineering.
And writing in the Asia Magazine 6 March 1988, while giving a picture of the developing scene at
LASALLE, again he makes a strong case for education in the arts:
We’ve established a school to train artists, sculptors, musicians, artisans, designers. Dance and drama come
next. Young men and women come here to be trained and taught, not how to copy established works but to
innovate and be creative. We try to tap their innate talents.
And we don’t just teach the fine arts, like painting and music. There are also practical vocational trades, such as
graphic design, print-making, product design, woodwork, photography and others. In the first year we expose
them to everything to discover their inclinations and interest. The following years they specialise for either of
their associate diplomas which can get them into colleges in Britain, or licentiate diplomas which can get them
into post-graduate university anywhere.
The school is based on the philosophy that art, whether it is painting a sunset, playing a piece of music,
designing a chair or choreographing a dance, is important to the human spirit and human psychology. On a
larger scale, it is essential to a nation, its people, even its economics. It is life-enriching, life-enhancing and in
many cases it even wards off mental disorders which would otherwise arise. I’ve seen emotionally unstable
children being put right after developing an interest in art or music.
Changing public attitudes was just one of many concerns. Ensuring standards and obtaining
recognition for his courses was another, and finances were a perennial anxiety. And then there was
the question of his health. In a rush to reach Dublin in 1983 he rented a car in London and drove
across country to catch the boat at Holyhead. He missed a turning and lost precious time and in his
haste to make up he began to experience piercing chest pains, which he endured till he got to
Dublin, where he was hospitalised on arrival. Returning soon after to Singapore he left for Sydney
where he underwent a four way bypass under Victor Cheng and Harry Winsor. Such operations
were still something of a rarity and regarded as high risk. After the operation he wrote back to the
Brothers in Singapore 17 September 1983 giving an extended account of the whole experience:
My deepest thanks for all the kindness of the Brothers everywhere during my recent operation. The knowledge
of this support was a tremendous boost at all times. There is no doubt that psychological factors played an
important role, but most important was the spiritual conviction that I was in the hands of God as a member of a
community of God’s people who wanted me to live and who willed me to continue living. On the eve of the
operation when the chaplain came to anoint me, although I was quite resigned to die and happy to die, I knew
everyone wanted me to live and I knew I would live. I was very happy during the recuperation period to be able
to convey my optimism to other patients who were just admitted. It was for a few days a splendid apostolate
which even Victor Chang asked me to exercise in the case of three Malaysian and Singapore patients who were
fearful of the operation.
I’m sending you a copy Dr Chang’s report … veins were taken from both legs, the sternum was cut in two to
open up my chest, the defective arteries were opened up above and below the affected areas and the new veins
were inserted to bypass the clogged areas. Then the sternum was joined together again and secured by wire
which will remain indefinitely. Chest and legs were sewn up and after about five hours I was sent to intensive
care and wired up to all kinds of monitoring instruments. Coming back to consciousness some hours later I felt
intense thirst but no drink was allowed – only an occasional lump of ice was placed on the tongue. After 23
hours, I was moved to another room with fewer monitors and 48 hours after the operation I was allowed to walk
a few tentative steps. It was a wonderful feeling on the Sunday after the operation and every day after that to
join the Sisters at Mass on the ground floor.
26
 St Vincent’s is a splendid hospital – the best in Australia for this kind of operation. It is run by the Sisters of
Charity. It is interesting to us that the Sisters face the same kind of internal tensions about working for the poor
as we do. Perhaps it is easier to rationalise their position. I certainly felt the awful poverty of ‘those about to
die’ and had no qualms about enjoying the charity of the Sisters – the luxury of their goodness to the full. Yet
there are misguided members of the order who seem to feel that the Sisters should not run ‘luxury hospitals’ but
should work only for the poor as if death distinguished riches from poverty.
I must say that I enjoyed the whole experience and it wasn’t only the Sisters who lavished on me the luxury of
their charity. I like the Australian medical practice of informing the patient at all stages of what is happening to
him or what is about to happen. There are no secrets kept from patients. They are treated as equals by doctors
and nurses and told everything. That helps the healing process. Our own Brothers both at the Provincialate and
at Castle Hill were great. So many of them came to see me and sat with me when I most valued friendship, led
by Brother Claude Sweeney and our own Brother Philip Callaghan of course…
He made a swift recovery and within weeks was back to his sculpturing with a zest which surprised
many. Later on he developed respiratory complications and was diagnosed to be allergic to wood
dust. This was heartbreaking in view of his almost mystical attitude to working with wood. He tried
using different kinds of masks and medication with limited success, the problem remained to the
end. Otherwise he seemed to enjoy good health and was able to work long hours on his sculptures
when time could be spared from his administrative duties.
It is not easy to capture a sense of Brother Joseph’s routine during these years. No matter the
variety of constraints the work went forward each day under his close supervision and
encouragement, exhibitions and other functions he took in his stride, the College kept expanding
and extending a network of contacts across the globe. This entailed frequent travel to other parts of
Asia, to Australia, US and Europe. Such contacts helped to publicise the College and raise its
profile.
His very personal 1989 Christmas letter circulated to family members provides us with a sense of
the extraordinary diversity of this action and forward thrust, as well as of his vast circle of personal
acquaintances ranging from the rather formal to the close and intimate. Typical of his long-term
perspective he refers to the end of a decade rather than just one year.
My final Christmas letter of the decade leaves me in very good form and looking forward eagerly to the
challenges of the nineties. The eighties had their ups and downs for me; both as to health and to work. But,
thank God, at the end of the decade the health is fine and the work is to my liking.
The year was one of great activity and movement. In March I had the privilege of representing Singapore as
sculptor at the ASEAN Sculpture Symposium in Manila, Philippines. For 45 days I worked [as I rarely can
nowadays] at my own project which I called “Man Of 89”. 1 did this simultaneously with five other sculptors of
the ASEAN region who were working on their own themes. Unfortunately the model which I had done for the
purpose did not arrive in Manila [by diplomatic bag] until weeks after the project started. So 1 had to rush a new
one, with an effect that was not quite what I had originally planned. It is a 15 ft bronze piece on permanent open
air view at the Cultural Centre in Manila. By the end of April when our 45 days Symposium had ended the site
was not ready. That necessitated another trip back there in August when the Foreign Secretary, Mr Manglapus,
formally unveiled the six sculptures. That is the only real art work, apart from a few design jobs, I have been
able to do for several years and I liked doing it. It would be nice to retire to such work!
In July I attended the ASPACAE conference in Columbia, Missouri, US and had a chance of spending a few
days with my sister Bridie in Chicago. From there I went to Ireland for the 50th anniversary of my novitiate
group. It was a very happy occasion marked by original shock that people whom one had not seen since 1940,
had changed so much. Then followed the euphoria, reminiscence and exchange of biodata covering the
half-century. There are 11 of us still around, marking a total of 550 years in the service of youth. My family
marked the occasion in November with a beautiful reunion of the clan including families of my brother Jimmy,
and sister Teresa. That was happily held in Ballintubber and the chief speaker was my kinsman Dom Colmcille
O'Toole. I followed through in September by celebrating with Bro Henry Pang in Hong Kong his 50 years of
Brotherhood. That also was a beautiful occasion.
In November the EDB/LaSalle Trustees and I did a tour of art colleges and universities in the US, the UK,
Canada, France and Italy; afterwards I alone took in some places in Ireland. The purpose was to see what was
being done mainly in the field of design teaching and particularly in Film and Fashion design. Hopefully we will
develop better programmes and have exchange programmes as a result. It also gave me a chance of seeing my
relatives including my brother, Aidan, in some of the places we visited.

27
 In case you might think that my year was all play and no work, I must reassure you that in between
travels something did get done back home in Singapore. The college continued to grow and by mid-
year had reached 557 students and some 40 teachers. We are already beginning to burst our seams and
are looking around for another building or for one which will be large enough to hold all of our
classes together. During the June holidays we gave a face-lift to our second campus, set up several
music studios and workshops, and purchased pianos and machinery. Our art collection continued to grow and is
now spread over several galleries.
Our students did particularly well in all kinds of awards and competitions ranging from jewellery to painting
and product design. One of our most interesting competitions was for a new corporate image for the college. We
offered very good prizes; in fact the first prize in the graphics area was a complete scholarship through
university. Although it was nation-wide one of our own students emerged winner; and you will probably see the
result in my 1990 Christmas Letter. So this is the end of the triangle of harps. Our music students also had their
triumphs, and our Baroque Players were called upon to play for the German Community their wonderful music
on the occasion of their 40th National Day.
Just now as I write we are enjoying a period of comparative rest while the college is on holiday. We have just
completed the annual diploma exhibition and are planning our reopening on 2 January for the 1990 academic
year. It is an important year for Singapore as the 25th anniversary of Independence. A good enough way of
starting off the new decade.
Man of 89 ranked very special for him personally, not just for the high honour of being selected to
represent Singapore, but as an opportunity to give himself exclusively to sculpture for a period of
six wonderful weeks in the company of some of the top sculptors of the ASEAN region. His 5m
high sculpture Man of’89 still stands out impressively today in the cultural centre in Manila.
Significantly, the man is reaching upwards but looking downward. It shows a left hand scooping a
large segment from a globe while the right holds up a cube of finished ‘product’. When
interviewed by the Manila Bulletin, he explained: It represents man as an intelligent entity, a
producer of primary products, and as a spoiler of his environment. The man does indeed look
impressive and in full control when viewed from up front. However the rear view conveys a very
contrasting impression, a sense of half a head, recalling Yeats’ suggestion that modern man is half
dead at the top.
One wonders how he managed time and energy for these extra commitments. Over these few years
we find him, for example, heading a study team for the famous Merlion Project at Sentosa, judge
for Christmas lighting up competition involving at least all the leading hotels, vice-chairman of the
Singapore heritage society, a member of the selection committee to choose the best artworks for
MRT stations, member of the Singapore National Arts Council, member of the Coin Advisory
Committee hosted by the Board of Currency etc. Each would have received his best attention.
There were frequent invitations to present papers and in 1990 he received a formal invitation to the
Sydney Conference of Heads of Schools of Art and Design, and was guest of the Australian
government for a tour of Art Colleges and galleries.
The year 1990 was to prove especially fruitful for sculpture, a whole month was spent in Balaraja
in Java, arranged by a former student of St Patrick’s who owned a large timber factory. At first he
stayed in town six miles or so away and made his way out each day to the factory. Such was his
creative frenzy that he set up a make-shift bed in the factory to save on travel, and so took fullest
advantage of the supply of magnificent wood as well as of workers with the necessary equipment
and skills to cut it to his requirements. He worked long hours every day on trunks of mahogany
which he had carved into human form. They became a major attraction when exhibited back in
Singapore.
One of these sculptures he later exhibited at the Marina Mandarin foyer under the name Finian. It
was about 2.5m in height. The mythology in this case, he explained, was Irish-American, as it
seemed to reach upwards for the Rainbow. When asked in 1993 to execute a sculpture for the new
Singapore Embassy in Washington D.C. he took back Finian and developed the fingers and toes
respectively into branches and roots of a tree so that the mahogany turned into bronze and the man
into a tree. The message was that man and nature are one. Man must respect nature. There are
28
many mythologies worldwide to illustrate this but he chose for title the Malay notion that certain
trees are sacred, exactly like the Irish. Hence he called it Datuk Finian. He would later execute
several other ‘trees of life’.
Whatever his other commitments, the life and development of the College was a non-negotiable
priority which he pursued with vision and unrelenting vigour. But prime time was also given to
community life with the Brothers and to his own spirituality. By 5.00am his day had already
commenced. He rarely missed being present in the community oratory with his confreres for
morning prayer and meditation. One task which followed for some years was preparing breakfast
for an elderly Brother which was for him a labour of loving care. His own breakfast was Spartan
before leaving at 7.00 for the College. He would be back again in time for community evening
prayer at 6.00pm, which was followed by Mass. He had a preference for evening Mass, as it meant
bringing together all the highs and lows of a long day and celebrating their deeper significance for
him as God’s work. After dinner came quiet relaxation, a time to watch TV and do some personal
reading. The collection of books in his room testify to a wide range of interest. All through life he
found time for serious reading, and he was a regular visitor to bookshops on his travels and made
frequent purchases. In moments of relaxation with friends he liked to talk about books he had
found particularly arresting and stimulating.
Back at LASALLE.SIA his speech to the graduating class for 1990, delivered at the Convocation
Ceremony held 19 January 1991, is remarkable for its sense of current reality. It includes a sober
assessment of the status and role of the College at this point in time and above all of how he saw
the artist impacting on society. Perhaps it should be quoted in toto:
Our fifth annual convocation seemingly places 80 creative people, highly skilled artists and musicians at the
service of the Republic. They will not all begin immediately to practice their various arts. Some of them are
completing their national service. Quite a few have gone abroad for post-graduate studies. Some have entered
the workforce.
However let it be understood that those starting their careers in the arts are still, and should expect to be, treated
as novices. They have to learn on the job, and indeed they have a long way to go before they can be truly
creative and make their due contribution to society. One thing is that the creativity we laud has its limitations in
morality and good taste. Another is that a conservative society sometimes resents creativity.
If all of the 80 graduands were truly creative they could prove an explosive force for the good of society. Even
one outstanding artist can cause contemporaries to look at things with a fresh vision. One good designer can re-
present household objects in a way which can be better suited to the needs of the housewife. He or she can
re-design tools in a manner which causes less fatigue in the user. Graphic designers can make people look twice
at what they have often seen before on the shelves of a supermarket, but now they want to buy it. Fashion and
jewellery designers can produce goods here in Singapore that would be worn with pride anywhere in the world.
Interior designers can do much to enhance economically the living conditions of quite ordinary people.
LASALLE was founded to enhance the lives not only of the artists who would emerge from it, but of all
Singaporeans. No aspect of life is unworthy of the concern of LASALLIAN artists, musicians and designers.
They should be equally at home in the factory, salon and gallery. They should not regard painting an oil-colour
as of more value to society than designing a light fixture. They view the arts as being at the service of society
rather than practicing them for their own sake. It was because of this philosophy that from its inception
LASALLE drew up a curriculum which would be broad enough to embrace almost all fields of design, fine arts
and music.
It is particularly in the design field that a broadness of curriculum is needed to cater not only to existing needs in
Singapore but to prepare our youth for change in the future. There is no way that a college can prepare students
for any and every field of design since these fields are always changing. What a school can and should do is
give an excellent basic training as designers and convey the conviction that they must adapt to changes of all
kinds and be ready for them. The contemporary designer must be a person for all seasons and prepared to work
with all kinds of experts in other professions.
LASALLE is justly proud of the achievements both at home and abroad of its music students. They have
competed brilliantly and won many awards just as have their peers in visual arts. It is a curious fact that the
discipline imposed on young musicians by a classical training can lead to such a blossoming of both creativity
and skill in their more mature musicianship. Our young musicians have proved it. If in addition to western
classical training they had also been adequately exposed to Chinese, Indian and South East Asian musical forms

29
 what an added richness they would have. But as yet we cannot afford Gamelan, Chinese and Indian musical
forms. Neither have we the space for them. That is regrettable. The richer the musical culture of the college, the
better will our musical graduates be. Contemporary electronic musical forms must absolutely be grounded in
tradition.
The visual arts have an advantage as regards the visual culture of the college in that there is a greater
assimilation in that field, of oriental and western art forms than is found in music. The close association of
Design and Fine Arts on the same campus enriches both Schools. We look forward to the happy day when
music, fine arts, design, drama and dance will come into close proximity on one single campus. But it looks as if
only the EDB can work that kind of miracle.
It is a constant source of surprise how in Singapore the right kind of person always seems to fit into the right
kind of leadership post. Mr Philip Yeo’s inspirational leadership of the EDB is a case in point. He has brought
the Board to new heights of achievement. The fact that in the midst of his affairs of national importance he has
found time for LASALLE is gratifying indeed.
On behalf of the Deans and faculties of all three Schools of LASALLE I congratulate this year’s graduands and
wish them well in the careers they are about to begin.
Thank you EDB; thank you Mr Philip Yeo.
In 1992 with the rapid increase in the number of students, he sought an alliance with Singapore
Airlines. He received a contribution of S$15 million for the construction of new buildings on
Mountbatten Road. The College was then renamed LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts to signify
the goodwill of Singapore Airlines (SIA) for its contribution. The move to Mountbatten Road was
a special moment in the story of the College, vision was becoming reality, a far cry from the small
beginning eight years earlier with 20 students in the first year. The Straits Times produced a
special supplement 28 November 1992 to mark the official opening of the Mountbatten Campus.
Brig-Gen George Yeo, Minister for Information and the Arts, and a staunch supporter of the
College was Guest-of-Honour. In the souvenir programme he wrote:
It has been a long hard struggle to get LASALLE to where it is today. Along the journey strong characters
emerge and great strengths are forged. LASALLE has already become a major factor in the artistic life of
Singapore. My respects and admiration to Brother Joseph McNally and his supporters who struggled on when it
was so much easier to be sceptical.
Professor Tommy T B Koh, National Arts Council chairman and a valued friend of the College,
expressed confidence in Brother Joseph as President and in Mr Tan Chok Kian, Chairman of the
Board of Directors, that their complementary talents and expertise augured well for the College.
He had the highest expectations for the future:
LASALLE today has carved a unique niche for itself in the cultural life of the Republic. One of the main
reasons for its success as a college of arts is its diversity. The arts flourish in proximity to each other.
Creativity in one art form stimulates it in another. With the recent acquisition of the Mountabatten Campus, all
four Schools will eventually operate from this site, thereby maximising creative interaction within each of the
fields of visual and performing arts and between the two.
With the planned teaching facilities on campus and a cultural centre, comprising galleries and theatres at its
heart, LASALLE is poised to become one of the greatest education centres for the arts in the region. It will
nurture artistic talent and groom them to be outstanding professionals in their chosen fields.
Brother Joseph expressed hopes that LASALLE would one day issue its own degrees, but he felt it
would still take some time. He was to live to see this goal achieved. He also rejoiced when another
dream was fulfilled with the purchase of a complete Gamelan, an elaborate set of Javanese
orchestral instruments, which would give a strong eastern flavour to the musicology department; he
even had hopes of housing it in a Javanese-style building traditional for the gamelan.
Both China and Russia sent missions to examine the functioning of LASALLE-SIA, in particular to
study how a College of the Arts can succeed in the private sector. In the case of Russia this led to
an invitation to Brother Joseph and two Board members to visit Moscow May 1994 to study their
arts institutions and galleries. The visit included a stop at the famed Moscow Conservatory which
produces some of the best musicians in the world, and where in their honour there was a colourful
performance of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture complete with live cannon. He delivered a superb
30
paper, already referred to above, to the Russian Ministry of Culture. Herewith a few further
excerpts:
I make the point that [the various disciplines] are best studied in common in an atmosphere of freedom and
creativity. If the student is not free to make mistakes while in training she will make them in industry, when the
matter becomes much more serious.
The involving of arts students in industry during their training is important. Design students must learn what is
happening in factories and design studios. Theatre and dance students should get involved in stage productions.
Art students should have experience in galleries and museums. Musicians should experience concerts and music
hall management. In all of the above industrial attachment they and their colleges should gain financially. In
other words the industries concerned should help pay for services rendered by students and for the support of the
school…
There are still people around who claim that pure art should not be associated with money; that it is a spiritual
activity which transcends physical considerations. Let me say that ‘art for the sake of art’ is pure nonsense, We
practice art for the sake of life and all art is at the service of humanity. Therefore art and advertising and
industry and design must walk hand in hand and all the arts industries must cooperate in developing the markets
of the world. Hence the arts schools must not only be conscious of related industries but they must be seen by
government and by industry itself to be so…
In his conclusion he cited LASALLE-SIA as an example of how a college of the arts can be made
viable in a modern state:
LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts has been fortunate in getting help both from the Singapore government and
from major corporations. It started 10 years ago without any money except sufficient student fees to pay
teachers’ salaries. Gradually the number of students increased until now when we have 900 in four schools.
Precisely because we were seen to teach design disciplines in addition to fine arts and music, we received
government help with land and buildings. They gave us a 30-year lease on a seven hectare site to house all four
schools. The Singapore Broadcasting Corporation gave us help with our Drama School. The Totalisator Board
gave us a very large donation for library and computers. But it was the Singapore Airlines that gave us the
biggest donation of 15 million dollars to erect new buildings on the site.
A private school can survive in a market economy if it is seen by both government and industry to be relevant to
the needs of the economy.
The first degrees awarded through the College were with Kingston University in UK and RMIT in
Melbourne in Australia. The former were discontinued in 1995 because they involved students
spending a full year in London. But Australian degrees continued to evolve until just before his
retirement in 1997. Having completed two new buildings which had been officially opened by the
Deputy Prime Minister in 1995 the College proceeded to plan for the next phase. At the end of
1996 an approach was made to the Prime Minister appealing for financial assistance. Earlier in
1996 the College had received the first grant-in-aid. It was a sum of three quarters of a million
dollars or one sixth of the College’s annual budget – a comparatively small sum to cover
operational expenses. Before the 1996 elections the Board asked him for a 25 million dollar
building grant. By now the profile of the College was high partly because of a formal visit to the
campus of President Ong Teng Cheong.
In January 1997 the Deputy Prime Minister paid an official visit with a duel purpose [a] To assure
of Government funding, [b] To tell the College to prepare to award their own degrees independent
of NUS, NUT or foreign universities.
When the full story of LASALLE-SIA is told due credit must surely be given to the very many
people who identified with this project. Their unstinting help and encouragement was critical to the
final outcome. Prime Minister Mr Goh Chok Tong’s warm tribute following his death makes
reference to such good people:
Brother McNally had a compelling vision, and a tenacious spirit. He achieved seemingly impossible goals, with
passion, doggedness and tender care. Through his enthusiasm, he activated a whole community of supporters
and well-wishers – artists, educators, students, corporations, professionals, government officials – in his
projects.

31
His goal for LASALLE-SIA was at last well in sight. In the course of thirteen years his concept for
a college of the arts had gradually achieved realisation and widest recognition. Perhaps the time
had come to pass the tiller and be free at last to get on with his sculpturing.
In 1997 he decided to retire from the post of President. He was 74. Soon afterwards he was
appointed President Emeritus of LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts and Director of LASALLE
Foundation Ltd and as artist-in-residence with his own studio at LASALLE-SIA. The appointment
of Dr Brian Howard as the second President of the College gave him growing satisfaction as time
passed, in particular because he looked set ‘to encourage the performing arts in a way that I could
not’.

VII
Artist-in-Residence
Though Brother Joseph would have liked to be remembered primarily as a teacher, posterity will
more likely focus on the sculptor. Even before retiring from the post of President of LASALLE-
SIA and assuming the role of artist-in-residence, his output was already considerable and his works
widely exhibited. The following is a list of those on permanent exhibition taken from a catalogue
dated 1994. It speaks for itself.
Altarpiece at St Hilda's Singapore
Altarpiece at St Joseph's Training College, Penang
Altarpiece at St Patrick's Singapore Chapel
Altarpiece at St Francis Xavier Church, Penang
Steel Sculptures in St Michael's lpoh
Organ Pipe Sculptures at the Victoria Concert Hall
Stained glass windows in St John' s Chapel, K.L.
Sculpture in Fatima Hospital, lpoh
Sculpture at Tba Payoh Civic Centre
Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, Silibin, lpoh
Convent Chapel Jurong
OLPS Siglap, Singapore
Little Sisters' Noviciate Chapel, Singapore
Sculpture in Sneem Church, Ireland
Sculpture in St John's, Kuala Lumpur
Sculpture design in St Joseph's Institution, Singapore
Sculpture in St Patrick's Downpatrick, Ireland
Fountain at LASALLE-SIA Singapore
Sculpture in Singapore Embassy, Washington DC
Sculpture in Lincoln Hall, New York
Painting and Crib Figures for Cistercian College and Church, Roscrea, Ireland
Sculpture in Mazenod College, Melbourne
Easel paintings and small sculptures held in many private collections in Singapore,
Malaysia, US, Bermuda and Ireland
Thus even in the midst of impossible demands on his time since returning from studies in 1972 he
did find space and energy to produce an extraordinary flow of remarkable sculptures. Some he
exhibited in Fukuoka in 1980 and again in 1985. It was in 1982 in his beloved city of Galway that
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he had a first solo exhibition of sculptures in Ireland, a number of recent paintings were also
exhibited. In Singapore he had contributed frequently to group exhibitions, memorably following
his return from Indonesia in 1990. All this and more was achieved while serving fully and
successively as teacher, principal of St Patrick’s and President of LA-SALLE-SIA. Now as Artist-
in-Residence he would understandably be able to spend more time in his studio. Little Johnny had
indeed come a long way since his earliest taste of artistic acclaim when at 10 he ranked first in a
singing contest in his native Ballintubber!
His first solo exhibition in Singapore, hosted by LASALLE-SIA, was 29 October to 6 November
1994. It was entitled A Terrible Beauty, a somewhat intriguing title with strong echoes of W B
Yeats. By way of setting the scene the catalogue has a delightful poetic evocation of trees familiar
to the Irish countryside, underlining Brother Joseph’s passionate interest in the tree motif:
The bushy leafy oak tree
is highest in the wood,
the forking shooting hazel
has nests of hazel-nuts.
The alder is my darling,
all thornless in the gap,
some milk of human kindness
coursing in its sap.
The blackthorn is a jaggy creel
stippled with dark sloes,
green watercress is thatch on wells
where the drinking blackbird goes
Ever-generous apple-trees
rain big showers when shaken;
scarlet berries clot like blood
on mountain rowan.
Briars curl in sideways,
arch a stickle back,
draw blood, and curl up innocent
to sneak the next attack.
Holly rears its windbreak,
a door in winter’s face;
life-blood on a spear-shaft
darkens the grain of ash.
Birch tree, smooth and blessed,
delicious to the breeze,
high twigs plait and crown it
the queen of trees.
The aspen pales
and whispers, hesitates:
a thousand frightened scuts
race in its leaves.
But what disturbs
me more than anything
is an oak rod, always
testing its thong
Anon
In all some 18 works were exhibited, several with the tree motif, including no fewer than five
studies of the tree of life.
Even those of us who observe and admire from outside the charmed world of great art were
fascinated by the sheer beauty of each work, in particular the range and blend of the materials used
– mahogany, ironwood, teak, chenghai, acacia, marble, granite, bronze, copper, brass and silver.
33
Those familiar with the story of the Children of Lir from Irish Celtic mythology were drawn again
and again to Datuk Lir, a piece 18cm tall done in Verona rossa marble, depicting Lir in total
anguish of spirit at the loss of his four children whom he had loved so dearly. The face is blank, the
shoulders slightly hunched, and his heavy cloak seems to symbolise a whole universe of sorrow
weighing him down.
The theme of The Children of Lir haunted Brother Joseph through life and would return again in
later works. The full story as told in Irish mythology is a perennial favourite, and may be
summarised very briefly as follows:
King Lir married in succession two sisters. By the first he had four graceful children whom he
loved greatly, twins and later two sons. Their mother died in childbirth and Lir married the second
sister. She was childless and jealous of her husband’s love for the children. So she snatched them
away and cast a spell changing them into four beautiful white swans, granting them only that they
would retain human speech and that no music in the world would equal the plaintive songs they
would sing. They were condemned to remain on lake Derevarra in West Meath for 300 years,
another 300 on the stormy shores of the north and the final 300 on the Lake of the Birds in the
West.
Eventually St Patrick came to Ireland and a holy man built his hermitage on Glory Isle in the Lake
of the Birds. The Children of Lir heard his bell calling to Matins and knew their deliverance was
near. Calmed by the holy man they joined in his singing. The tragic spell would end when the
Prince of the North would marry the Princess of the South. They were seized as a gift for the
Princess, but in her presence their plumage fell away to reveal four vastly old people. They were
baptised, and before dying requested that as they had been in life, they should be laid together in
death.
Brother Joseph saw this exhibition as an exploration of ‘Irish and Malaysian mythologies’, in
particular ‘their love of nature, and the incarnation of spirit’.
Perhaps the highlight of 1995 was the very striking 10-metre tall LASALLE Tree erected at
LASALLE-SIA. The accompanying text supplies important insights into Brother Joseph’s personal
identification with St La Salle and the La Salle Brothers world-wide :
THE LASALLE TREE
SYMBOL OF THE LASALLIAN FAMILY
Brother Joseph McNally's new sculpture has as its main theme "The Lasallian Family". It is made of copper and
steel and is his personal tribute to the man who has most influenced his life - St John Baptist De La Salle.
The two materials, copper and steel, show the kind of man our Founder was: flexible yet strong. Copper is soft
and comparatively pliable. Steel is strong, hard and unbending. A Sculpture in copper needs a hard core; as a
normal, friendly person needs moral fibre to withstand pressure. Steel, though strong, corrodes and has to be
protected.
Copper, though soft, withstands the weather. It also develops in time a beautiful green patina on top of its warm
reddish colour. The green patina on this sculpture is artificially produced.
The LASALLE Tree at 10 metres in height is probably one of the tallest public sculptures in Singapore. Above
ground it weighs 2 ½ tonnes and it has a solid reinforced concrete foundation of 10 cubic metres. This
enormous foundation was necessary because the campus is "floating" on soft marine clay. The head alone is 1.5
metres in height and follows the measurements of the oil portrait by his contemporary Pierre Leger.
For several years Brother Joseph has been executing a series on "trees of life". In the series he shows the
intimate connection between mankind and nature; a tree turns into a person or a person into a tree. In this
sculpture he uses as a metaphor the palm tree with its radiating branches and leaves. That symbolises St De La
Salle's influence on history. Each fan-like leaf of the tree signifies a school radiating goodness into society.
Works of art mean different things to different people. Quite rightly, viewers give their own
interpretations of what they see. In this case the criss-crossing of branches of the same tree may be seen as the
different countries in which the Institute works, inter-relating through regions of the world. The centre point of
each leaf may be seen as a symbol of the individual community of Brothers animating the schools or indeed it
may be seen as a family reaching out towards other Lasallian families and schools. In the college it is regarded
34
 as the artist at the heart of society and the leaf itself is the discipline being studied, inter-relating with other
disciplines.
The LASALLE Tree was completed between July and October 1995. Most of the welding was done by
Chandran Nair assisted by Yew Cheong (Asiapac) Pte Ltd.
As with other pieces which he did without charge, many for places connected with the Brothers, he
made it clear that this piece was on loan and belonged to the Institute of the Brothers and should a
time come when it was not needed by LASALLE-SIA it was to be restored to the Brothers.
He set his sights on another exhibition in 1996 at the Dr Earl Lu Gallery at LASALLE-SIA. He
called it A Flash of Lightning. Here he felt he was going much further by including such themes as
‘Creation, Incarnation, Redemption and Resurrection’:
I use wood, metals and glass to enhance the metaphor, but for any discerning eye the message is clear. The
important point as I see it is how God can use a humble instrument to further His work of creation and
particularly in wood, how ‘dead wood’ can be brought to life again.
In this exhibition Brother Joseph seems to plumb greater depths of meaning while at the same time
he moderates his earlier love of the abstract. He begins to supply some comment on individual
exhibits, perhaps out of a growing consideration for a wider public, a tendency which will develop
further in later exhibitions. The catalogue includes a forward by Ms Constance Sheares in which
she seeks to explore the significance of the various exhibits in the light of Brother Joseph’s
evolving sense of the spiritual and of the inter-connectedness of all creation. She quotes from an
interview in which he reveals his evolving approach to his work:
Whereas my last exhibition showed works with a more animistic theme, such as the Tree of Life, those in this
exhibition have a clearer Christian definition. I am looking at nature as the creation of God. I am myself a
product of nature, therefore I work with nature to augment the beauty of God’s creation. I take a piece of wood,
stone or metal and try to work with it, never against it. I communicate with my materials, look for their internal
structure, and then work on that structure. I take inspiration from the lines and forms of the material with which
I’m working, communicating as deeply within myself as within the material. It is essentially an instinctive and
subjective process.
It is in the nature of the process that the sculptor spends long hours communing with his material,
something which flowed easily with his reflective nature. One cannot but see a parallel in his
attitude towards young people with whom he communicated through life as teacher and mentor, his
reverence for the uniqueness of the person, his openness to the giftedness of each, and his tendency
to discern potential and foster its full realisation rather than seek to take control and shape
according to his own image and likeness.
His main piece Lightning Tree, taken from a tree actually struck by lightning, reveals the naked
force of nature stripping away branches and leaves and consigning the wood to oblivion. By his art
he redeems it to beautiful and exciting new life. He also has a special fascination for the Banyan
tree sacred to Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Lurking somewhere in his memory was the famous
banyan tree familiar to him in his early days in Singapore, a landmark deep in the semi-jungle of
Frankel Estate where during holidays generations of Brothers went trekking in their white robes.
The banyan tree was a welcome refuge when caught in a sudden shower, as well as a faithful
reference point in a maze of paths radiating in several directions. Brother Joseph’s banyan tree is a
stylised blend of copper, bronze, brass and polyester and was originally a working model for part of
a fountain complex. He sees the tree with hanging roots as a symbol of family life.
Two relational pieces were Mother and Child and Competition, both in beautiful richly grained
tembusu wood, the one on the universal theme of bonding and regeneration, the other a close-knit
group locked in competition, suggesting a tense moment on the playing field. In more recent years
he made it an annual routine during Holy Week to do a sculpture bearing on the Paschal mystery of
suffering, death and resurrection, usually in the context of current world events. Two such pieces
figure in this exhibition. Man of ’95 in copper and bronze shows a tortured figure bound hand and
foot as was Christ when condemned to die, evoking the mindless killings in Bosnia and Rwanda
that year. The other, Mockery, in tembusu wood and copper shows the bust of a figure wearing a
35
crown of thorns, again representing Christ, as well as people in all ages exposed to mockery and
denigration.
The catalogue for this exhibition in 1996 includes an insightful statement from the artist:
This exhibition indicates the present state of my person and my art. I am God’s creation as much as is the tree
struck by lightning. I therefore work closely and in harmony with nature. I seek inspiration there and in the
Bible.
On his retirement in 1997 he was honoured with one of the highest awards of the state: the
Singapore National Day Meritorious Service Award. The event received elaborate coverage in the
media and led to his next exhibition 1998-1999 entitled Wind of the Spirit in commemoration of the
conferment of the Meritorious Service Medal. This was hosted by the Singapore Art Museum on
Bras Basah Road. It was largely retrospective, a review of his life’s work and development as an
artist. Several of his early paintings were on display for the first time in Singapore. The very
location too had special significance. The Museum occupies the historic building famous to
generations as St Joseph’s Institution, built in the early 1850’s shortly after the arrival of the first
Brothers and in recent years restored to pristine charm and beauty through the ingenuity of
Singapore’s best artists and craftsmen. It was a building particularly familiar to Brother Joseph
who had been a teacher here for five years following his arrival from Ireland in 1946.
The tree continues to be a favourite theme, and the Tree of the Elements was a particular focus of
interest, as it had been in some of his murals in the 1960’s. He wrote about it as follows:
This is one of a series on trees which have interested me for some time. Apart from their sculpuresque
appearance which is so easily abstracted, I saw them as powerful symbols which they are in most cultures. At
the same time I was conscious of the animism which pre-dated formal religions particularly among the Celtic
peoples and those of South East Asia. Hence the related series which I called ‘Datuk’.
‘Tree of the Elements’ is a departure from the latter. In it I symbolise Chinese motifs. The form itself looks like
an abstract tree or the element of WOOD. The base material however is the METAL copper-bronze. The lower
section I made to resemble a wooden piece now in the Singapore Art Museum [SAM] called ‘Animalhood’ and
which for me is a metaphor for EARTH. Above that is a fish form which stands for WATER. The fish seems
to ‘kiss’ a phoenix which in the West is the bird of FIRE.
Many will remember during the exhibition how forthcoming he was in explaining to visitors the
genesis of particular pieces. Previously he would seem to challenge them to make their own
discoveries in terms of theme and process. For some at least it was a welcome development. His
venture into depicting Chinese characters dates very notably from this exhibition, and in time
developed into something of a passion.
Liberated from administrative duties, he was able as from 1997 to devote more time to his
sculptures and set about preparing his next exhibition November-December 2000 at SooBin
Gallery, Singapore. This was entitled Here to Infinity. A major focus of interest was The First Big
Bang, a copy of the millennium piece he had done for the Ministry of Information and the Arts
[MITA]. It depicts a succession of three globes each a millennium rising from a dome of clear
water which represented the Big Bang. Of very special interest is Brother Joseph’s introduction in
the catalogue. It gives insights into his evolving methods and his approach to the use of different
materials:
I have lived my life primarily as an educator and therefore I have no professional secrets. Likewise as a sculptor
I want to be an open book. If I should happen to have been innovative in any way 1 have no hidden formula to
guide my production. 1, myself, am constantly learning new tricks of the sculptor's trade in my environment.
And indeed I can truly say that the materials and tools that I use are constantly telling me what to do. That does
not discount the human factor in my art development. Like all other teachers "by my pupils I have been taught".
By the very fact of having to explain processes to my pupils 1 have benefited.
Then there were those who actively assisted me in making these sculptures whether by welding, grinding,
polishing or by making moulds, wax models, casting in bronze, chasing or patinating. I am fortunate to have
learned from the skills which they demonstrated. Of course, nothing can replace work. One can never become
an artist by theorizing on compositions and forms. It requires sustained hard physical labour to make a
sculpture. 1 have learned by working.
36
My preoccupation with the Creator, Creation, the creative process and spirituality may be attributed to several
factors, not least of which is the new Millennium itself. To begin to live in the third of that era is to review the
two earlier ones and to think back to the beginnings of the Universe. I was stimulated by having access to very
ancient wood from an Irish bog. In its growth it had been "incarnated" through the Spirit of God thousands of
years ago. It had died, been buried by nature and now it is resurrected through the same Spirit into a new beauty.
Increasingly, I am seeing myself as a successor of those Irish monk-artists who spread throughout Europe after
the collapse of the Roman Empire with a message of love.
In this catalogue I focus mainly on recent work; that is work 1 did since my exhibition of 1998. 1 have not done
any stone or marble work over that period. So in the following pages I will seem to be concentrating on wood,
copper, glass, rock crystal, bronze and resins as my basic materials.
In due measure I have used various combinations of these in my work. Although I probably love my finished
bronzes most of all, they generally go through the wooden process. That is to say that I take inspiration from
wood as I work it through to its final satisfactory form. Then I have it cast in bronze. Wood is transient. It
cannot be expected to survive centuries. It breaks or burns easily. It can be eaten by termites or bored through by
beetles or wood worms. Mind you, I have no such experience with ancient woods; from which the edible
starches have probably been removed or perhaps they are too hard by virtue of old age to be interesting to
animal appetites. I do love wood as being very deeply ingrained by the Divine Spirit. Hence I regard the wooden
“model” as being the original and I use every known device to bring out its natural beauty. Because I have taken
care to find, work and re-work wood of such antiquity I generally require greater recompense for it. Wood is
part of me.
Wax is even more transient than wood but it is a necessary process in the casting of bronze. First
comes casting in plaster of paris or rubber. The wooden model has now been turned into a negative
form and the empty mould is filled by a shell of wax of the same thickness as the final bronze. It is
important to keep the wax shell even in thickness because solid bronze castings would shrink
somewhat in cooling. Also the matter of weight is important. A shell of bronze must be sufficiently
thick to bear its weight, yet not too heavy to be moved. If my Millennium piece at MITA had been cast
solid, it would be too heavy for an average crane to lift into place and it would have been a nightmare to cast
because of distortion in the cooling process.
In the present state of archaeological research, the oldest bronzes in the world were cast in Ban Chiang in
Thailand. In that country there is a living traditional craft of casting because of the Buddha images which are in
constant demand. Hence, all of my bronzes in the last two years have their provenance in the Kinnaree Foundry
in Chachoengsao, southeast of Bangkok. I go there fairly often to inspect the waxes and sometimes to do
additional work on them before they enter the “lost wax” stage of the process. If for any reason, I don’t prepare
the model in wood then I bring it with me in styrofoam, which translates easily into wax. The wax model is
covered inside and out with plaster or ceramic.
Now comes the process of completely burning out of the wax. If it were left inside the mould it would explode
when touched by the molten bronze. It is equally obvious that air vents must be provided to allow hot gases to
escape and channels to allow a free flow of metal. On cooling there is a lot of work involved in cutting and in
burnishing the sculpture to remove such traces.
Finally there comes the chasing and patinating of the sculpture. It takes a special expert to do this work and it is
a fairly long process involving heat and certain acids. The commonest patina colour is green and we have many
examples of it in copper roofs around the city. It is induced in the studio by acetic acid applied with heat. A
variety of colours in greens, blues, blacks, browns and reds are also possible.
When I use welded metals - more recently copper pipes or sheets - I often combine them with wood or rock
crystal or glass of various colours. At a younger age, I also welded steel and a little aluminium but not now.
Stainless steel does not appeal to me. The approach to welding metals requires drawings of the final desired
project. Hence, the need for good compositional and drawing skills which I had developed at the Irish National
College of Art.
In the course of the last two years my themes have varied somewhat. Needless to say, the passage from the
second to the third millennium has influenced me, as has the fact that I was entrusted with the Millennium
sculpture for the Ministry of Information and the Arts. I regard that as the most important of my life, so far, and
I gave it all I've got. In a way it was a mighty challenge to express in one single metaphor the moment of the
creation of the Universe, its extraordinary expansion over millions of years and the fact that our feeble human
intelligence and imagination and our current technology range through it.
With my energies still focused on the Big Bang, I used the working model, also in bronze, to express in another
form what the fountain does at MITA. I designed a fourth sphere to express the explosion of primal substance as
it responds to God's "Let there be”. I used slabs of opalescent glass to suggest this phenomenon. While on the

37
 theme of God I have done four large calligraphic pieces on the Christian Trinity. I followed through with
smaller pieces. Perhaps the most interesting of these is a sandal wood (from East Timor) attempt on my part to
represent God, seated with the Universe on His lap. It is a foolhardy effort, but then other artists in the past have
been equally mad. Apart from the sandalwood and a piece of yew which I called Prodigal Father I have used
mainly the ancient wood from an Irish bog which I mentioned above. Needless to say the very antiquity of the
material inspires me with primal as well as commonplace themes. Anything created can be a theme for the artist.
Some of my Chinese friends may query why 1 am still intrigued by their ancient and contemporary calligraphy.
They know that I am not a scholar in that area. So why do I try to put a three dimensional form on what is
essentially not so?
For me, the beauty of the Chinese character is primary; the literal meaning is secondary. I am not a calligrapher.
I just admire the Chinese sense of beauty. I have mentioned above representing the Trinity in this form. But I
have also treated such a mundane subject as the human heart and of course there is the ONE with which I
started this whole exhibition series. My other tribute to Chinese culture is Nature-Nurture where I use bog oak
and rock crystal to symbolize Nature, and Chinese blue and white bowls to symbolize both ceramic and culinary
arts.
By the way the naming of works of art can be quite arbitrary. The purpose of so naming can simply be
identification. Sometimes the given name can help the viewer or the owner to understand what was in the artist's
mind as the work evolved. But sculptures are not exercises in thinking but rather in feeling. It is only when a
work is commissioned by a client [as in the case of Big Bang] that the artist has to think about what the client
wants. But after that intellectual process has been completed, feeling and imagining take over. It is a very
subjective process. It goes deep into the sub-conscious as the artist struggles with, for example, the grain of the
wood or decisions as to what to cut or what to retain, how to use certain machines or which abrasives should be
used, what to fill or what to leave hollow. These matters are urgings and intuitions, which lead to the final form.
In the finished work the "half-statement" can be more provocative and stimulating to the viewer than realism.
Hence for example the "unfinished" quality of a piece like "Meerkat". When did I so name it? At the end.
1999 and 2000 have been good years for me. Thanks be to God
Brother Joseph McNally
Founder and President Emeritus
LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts
The Big Bang remained his pride and joy among all his works, and apart from its beauty it
represented some of his latest insights as regards Creation. For months he had talked excitedly
about the human genome, particularly when he read Matt Ridley’s GENOME which gives a sense
of the wider implications of the recent mapping of the human genome. He was convinced we were
on the threshold of great things for the future of mankind. As for his sculpture, it would appear
again in later exhibitions with some modifications and was pictured on his calling card.
Brother Joseph prepared a highly original nativity scene for Christmas 2001 – the last Christmas of
many he would celebrate in Singapore. It was placed in the Brothers’ community at St Joseph’s
Institution. The explanatory text ran as follows:
Christmas Installation
St Joseph’s Community - Singapore
Using bog oak [6000 years old], bronze and amethyst, the sculptor tries here to represent the history of salvation
by highlighting key figures.
Mary the Mother is shown about to nurse the baby Jesus [in the arms of Joseph] for the first time. They are the
key figures in the traditional crib.
Behind them are the shepherds who double up as the principal prophets who foretold the birth of Christ or in the
case of the shepherd, John the Baptist, holding a lamb pointing him out.
The shepherds Isaiah and Jeremiah are also in the background. See there King David with a kingly crown and
of course Adam and Eve taking the forbidden fruit.
Archangel Gabriel has to be depicted as a purely abstract figure. However the Creator of the universe who
made us all in His image and whose Son was a true man is here made to look human.
It was one of many nativity scenes he had designed over the years. In Rome for his second
novitiate in 1960 he was the obvious choice among Brothers of several nations to design the crib.
38
Another of his nativity scenes remains a cherished possession of the Monastery at Roscrea in
Ireland.
His visits to Manila had become more frequent in these years, where his services as art consultant
were much in demand at De La Salle University. There too he would meet up with long time
friends among the Brothers notably Brother Andrew Gonsalez, the President of the University for
many years and for some time the Philippines Secretary for Education.
Indeed his personal schedule became even more crowded than ever. He identified closely with the
National Arts Council and the National Heritage Board both of which were playing high profile
roles in the cultural life of Singapore. He represented the Catholic Church with the Inter-Religious
Organisation [IRO] and fully supported its aims of promoting greater mutual understanding and
cooperation among the traditional faith groups in the Republic. He saw this as a highly important
aspect of social integration. His sincere admiration for the expressions of great art in each tradition
made for lasting bonds of friendship and mutual trust across the various religious divides. Very
notably much of his time was taken up with hospitality, entertaining visitors to Singapore,
sometimes members of his own family, taking them on an unhurried tour of Singapore’s latest
wonders and treating them to a sumptuous meal. It was no easy matter juggling these various
commitments, and one found him routinely rushing for a meeting at the last minute, taking
advantage of a traffic light stop to put on his tie and switch to his better shoes. At these meetings
and gatherings he was no passive presence. Rather he would be seen moving among an ever
increasing circle of friends and acquaintances and exchanging updates on their particular fields of
interest.
Still haunted by the story of the Children of Lir, he produced sculptured figures of the four swans
reaching out in plaintive song seeking to assuage the anguish of the slightly bent figure of Lir, the
father they loved so dearly. One of the four strains its neck a little more eagerly than the rest,
perhaps this is Finuala who shielded her three brothers through all their many vicissitudes.
He had long set his sights on an exhibition of his works in the United States. He was in the States
making preparations for such an exhibition in September 2001 when as he was being driven to
Newark airport he witnessed the actual collapse of the WTO South Tower. He had been present at
the official opening of the Twin Towers several years before, never imagining then that one day he
would witness their tragic destruction. He was profoundly affected by the spectacle and in 2002
when the Singapore Broadcasting Authority decided to feature Brother Joseph on its Self Portrait
series, this became the subject of an elaborate work which he did for the occasion. While he was
being interviewed on his life and on his work, he demonstrated his sculptural methods. It was a
truly impressive performance. Of special interest was his use of the root of an apple tree all the
way from Ballintubber, a tree he saw his father plant. It now formed the fiery base of the
collapsing tower. He used white American oak to represent the towers. The whole process showed
how even impossible features like the curling smoke could be represented in a sculpture. Once a
concept was formed it could and would somehow be realised. He disclaimed any suggestion that
he was capitalising on a tragic event. Rather, being an artist, he simply sought to record the
horrendous nature of his own experience. When asked what he planned to do with the completed
sculpture, he dismissed the question as of secondary importance. He just did not know and
seemingly was not really concerned.
He continued to receive regular commissions for a piece of sculpture, notably from the corporate
sector and from civic institutions. One such entitled Family was for the entrance to Singapore’s
Family and Juvenile Court which was unveiled by the Honourable Chief Justice Yong Pung How
on 11 June 2002. Brother Joseph took no chances with the message he sought to communicate, and
provided an accompanying text:
These sculptured figures designed in the minimalist style and cast in bronze represent an ideal family bound
together by love, mutual respect and concern. Intentionally abstract, they transcend racial identities. Each
figure stands as an individual. Together they reflect the harmony and balance of a family unit.

39
 The mother figure compassionate yet firmly grounded is bending forward and looking towards her children.
The father slightly more formal is bending his knees as an accommodation towards the viewpoint of the family
members. The growing boy is close to his father reflecting the importance of paternal influence in the raising of
youth. With his hands in his pockets the boy appears to be saying ‘I’m alright, Ma and Papa. I’m part of this
family.’ A very cute figure, the little girl with pigtails has her arms raised as she is about to be picked up and
hugged as affection is core to the family. In portraying this family scene at the entrance to the Family and
Juvenile Court, we are conveying the high regard we place upon protecting family obligations, promoting
familial ties and upholding the values of restorative justice in our Family and Juvenile justice models.
In 2001 he managed two exhibitions in the States entitled East West North South at St. Patrick’s
High School, Chicago and at Christian Brothers University, Memphis respectively. The proceeds
of these exhibitions went to the Brothers’ deprived children fund managed by former Superior
General Brother John Johnston. The following year 2002 he returned for two exhibitions in July,
this time in Chicago and Washington, with the theme A Celt in Singapore. It was destined to be the
last of some 16 exhibitions in Singapore, Dublin, Galway, and the US.
There was a recurrence of palpitations and severe chest pains despite which he continued a round of
business contacts as well as visits to friends and relatives. It will be recalled that already in 1983 he
had a major bypass operation. His work entailed much expenditure of sheer physical energy, and in
general he projected a robust image. In December 2001 he had a fall in his bedroom while
attending an assembly of the Brothers in Johor and was hospitalised for some days. Then in
February 2002 he started to experience palpitations and chest discomfort and had to be hospitalised
for treatment. In April he was given Hot Pack Inteferential Therapy for persistent back pain. Now
the chest pains and palpitations were further complicated with respiratory problems.
Following a successful exhibition in Washington he reached Ireland in August with plans for
another exhibition in Dublin. But he was already seen to be a sick man. Asked on one occasion
what kept him going in his many rather testing situations, he said simply, ‘Cussedness’. He now
kept up a schedule of visits, and even did some painting with little thought of rest. One of his last
paintings was a self-portrait which remained unfinished. Some who saw it failed to see a real
resemblance in the strained features and piercing eyes. Others were reminded of the portrait of his
father exhibited at his first exhibition 1954 in Dublin. Brother Senan who spent some time with
him during these final days recalls in hindsight how he kept giving quiet hints of approaching
death. He had already made it clear that he wished to be cremated and his ashes brought back to
his beloved Singapore.
The McNally clan of which he was an important anchor had gathered from both sides of the
Atlantic for a big family wedding in Galway scheduled for Thursday 29 August. He was able to
make it clear that the wedding should go forward as planned. In the event the clan was to attend his
funeral as well.
Back in Singapore and Malaysia there was a shock at the news that he was admitted to hospital in
Galway 25 August following a serious angina attack. A little over two weeks earlier he had
entered his 80th year. Then on Tuesday 27 August 10pm Singapore time, Brother Michael
Broughton flashed the following message by email:
Our dear Bro Joe passed away back home in Ireland in the past hour. He had had a heart-attack and was in
hospital at Galway. His funeral is set for Saturday at 2.00 pm at Castletown.
Death mostly comes as a surprise, but in the case of Brother Joseph a big question in recent years
among those closest to him was how long more could he sustain his hectic pace. One is reminded
of the well-known lines made famous by his old friend of former days in Singapore, the legendary
Brother Paul Gallagher:
I burn my candle at both ends, it will not last the night.
But oh my friends and oh my foes it sheds a wondrous light!
Galway, the capital of the West of Ireland, was ever dear to him, a place of many charms and his
cultural home. He would not have wished to pass away anywhere else. And while the body was
40
indeed taken to Castletown the traditional headquarters of the Brothers in Ireland to lie in state,
arrangements were made to hold the funeral ceremony in his native Ballintubber, in the ancient
Abbey of which he was an official trustee, located beside the family farm. Brother James Macken,
a life long friend, arrived on the scene as the cortege was making its way from the McNally home
to the Abbey and he penned the following account:
There were two Chinese ladies there from La Salle/SIA, one of whom was carrying a framed picture of Joe
which was placed on the coffin later. The hearse came over the hill with Bro. Joe Kiely and Bro.Senan Bergin
walking in front of it. We followed the hearse in and just managed to get inside the door of the abbey with our
backs to the wall. There was just a sea of heads in front of us. Irish laments were being played on a violin and
flute, notably the “Coolin”. Welcoming words were spoken and prayers were said. Then the coffin was opened
and all were invited to pay their respects and condole with the relatives. Since we were at the back of the
church, we were among the last up and it must have been twenty minutes before we got there. Joe looked good
and was in a white robe and was wearing his glasses.
Next day we got to the abbey in good time and then the Brothers were asked to come to the front to the right of
the altar, which we did. We were about 15. There were about 12 priests round the altar including the former
abbot of Roscrea [Dom Colomcille O’Toole]. Everybody was talking in church and the atmosphere was very
homely and very Irish. The former abbot was very down to earth and it was simply the final homecoming and
farewell to a native son by his countrymen. In a light vein he said that he was sure that Bro Joseph was up there
already advising the Heavenly Father how to improve “the many mansions”. This caused quite a titter. Bro.Joe
Kiely spoke very well and praised Joe for a wonderful life that had touched so many and for his creative art,
which was summarised in his appreciation of bog oak and his recreation of it as an art form. His brother-in-law
in the Offertory procession brought up a big piece of the said oak.
Laments were played and individuals sang and we all joined in. After Communion, Bro. Pete Foo spoke very
well and said he was a boarder in SXI when he first met Joe. Then he made a very telling comment. He said that
when he was chosen to be Visitor he was very hesitant to take on the responsibility but he got a very
encouraging personal letter from Joe, which made all the difference to him.
When the mass was over, the coffin was brought out to the family grave and Joe’s sister addressed Joe and
spoke of the family and how much they loved him. A large bunch of heather from the surrounding countryside
was at her feet, which was to accompany the remains to Singapore. It reminded me of words from “The Men of
the West” of which Joe was a sterling example - “Remember the boys of the heather, who rallied their bravest
and best”. Then a neighbour said that his father would sing, as Joe always liked his songs and the old man sang
a lament. There was hardly a dry eye in the place. After singing the Salve Regina, all were invited to the nearby
hostelry for refreshments. It was a great send off. As the cortege left the graveyard, a couple of horses in a field
below and across the road from the graveyard galloped furiously towards the procession and reared up as if
saluting the procession. I thought it was Nature saluting a son of the soil, who loved Nature so much.
Brother Joseph Kiely’s eloquent and perceptive eulogy, truly worthy of the man and of the
occasion, was greeted with a standing ovation:
In his own words, Bro. Joseph McNally wanted to live his life as an open book. Even within the limitations of
the two dimensional pages of various beautifully produced publications on his oeuvres one can glimpse a
vibrant presence of a sensitive and loving personality. His sculptures, all of them, are so engaging as was the
artist himself. They evoke a response in a higher register. One not confined by the limitations of his three
dimensional art form. The ethereal dimensions were his true milieu. As he said himself, I quote: “My
preoccupation with the Creator, Creation, the creative process and spirituality may be attributed to several
factors, not least of which is the new Millennium itself. ‘To begin to live in the third of that era is to review the
two earlier ones and to think back to the beginnings of the Universe’.
Some years ago Bro. Joseph mentioned that he was stimulated by the enduring quality of his native bog oak. In
its growth it had been “incarnated’ (his word) through the Spirit of God some six thousand years ago. It had
died, been buried by nature and now it is resurrected through the same spirit into a new beauty. It is worthwhile
to mention however briefly his engagement with the log of bog oak. Somehow it encapsulates his Celtic
spirituality as enshrined in the Book of Nature.
He consistently draws attention to the natural elements, the beauty of the grain and sensuous cavities where a
branch might have struck off earlier. He perceived the grain lines as veins in the heart of the tree. The way they
move along the surface of the final form gave a sensation of life-blood. Where the swells show and the wood
twists or protrudes contain the pulsating spirit. Such was the intense engagement with his medium as its spirit
unfolded. Only later did he suggest a title. That was Bro. Joseph’s authentic life-style: always perceptive, never
judgmental, always noticing and encouraging potential.

41
 He was among the first group of young Brothers to volunteer for the mission in the Far East in 1946
immediately after the devastations of the Second World War. He was a very successful and enthusiastic teacher,
Principal and Director of various schools in Singapore and Malaysia.
After resigning from Principalship in 1983, he devoted practically all his energies towards establishing what was
first a mere ‘art school’ in very humble circumstances to what has now become a prestigious and internationally
recognized College of the Arts in Singapore. The breadth of his vision, his prodigious energy, his single-
mindedness are simply incredible. His enthusiasm, his dogged determination, knew no bounds. It is to the credit
of the man that he succeeded so magnificently against all odds. And during all this while his creative genius
produced a constant flow of intriguing sculptures. These were the manifestations of an indomitable spirit in tune
within daily dialogue with the Ultimate Reality.
In recognition for his services to the arts and culture both as artist and promoter of the arts, the Singapore
Government awarded him the Public Service Medal in 1990 and the Meritorious Service Medal in 1997. This
was the highest honour the State could confer. In view of this very prestigious honour, the State sponsored his
Retrospective Exhibition which was held in the Singapore Art Museum.
Bro. Joseph was awarded several honorary Doctorates: in 1994 by the Royal Melbourne Institute of
Technology; in 1995 by University College Cork; in 2000 by the University of Jakarta, Indonesia. Other
prestigious awards were the Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International in 1996; and the Mont Blanc de la
Culture in 1998. Perhaps the award nearest his heart was the Honorary Award conferred on him by his alma
mater, the National College of Art and Design in 2000.
We have records of sixteen major exhibitions held in Singapore, Ireland and the US. In spite of his untimely
passing, the Singapore Government together with AIB decided on Wednesday to continue to sponsor a major
exhibition of his work in Dublin next March.
In spite of honours and awards, Bro. Joseph McNally never lost the common touch. He was so accommodating,
genial, thoughtful, compassionate, so loving and caring. His was a sensitive soul whom we all loved. As a
Religious he was deeply spiritual and a great Community man. As a friend he was charming and sincere. He
reciprocated the smallest kindness with great generosity.
We extend our deepest sympathies to the members of his extended family who loved him dearly and who meant
such a lot to him. He is so sadly missed by all of us.
Bro. Joseph, the Paschal Mystery of suffering, death and resurrection was so meaningful to you through life.
You resurrected so many pieces of organic matter through your creative genius. It is now your time to be
resurrected to rest in the arms of the Lord for all eternity.
Ar dheis De go raibh a anam alainn uasal!
His ashes were duly returned to Singapore with some Brothers and family members in attendance,
notably his two sisters, Bridie, the elder, all the way from Chicago and Theresa, the youngest of the
family, from Ballintubber. A memorial service took place at Holy Family Church in Katong,
attended by a very large gathering of Brothers, family members, former colleagues, past students,
staff and present students of LASALLE-SIA and a host of friends from near and far. Brother
Michael Broughton in his eulogy paid a warm tribute to Brother Joseph as a humble confrere in
community, an easy man to live with, a loveable companion who bore his burdens and his honours
with little fuss, prayerful and deeply spiritual, with a strong faith vision that saw the whole of
creation as the work of the Divine Artist. He had the gift of making everyone feel comfortable,
whether it was the taxi driver, the gardener or the ambassador at art events.
There was a noteworthy presence of Inter-Religious Organisation [IRO] members representing
different faith groups: Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Taoist, Sikh, Zoroastrian and Baha’i.
Several warm tributes were paid to his memory. Thereafter the ashes were taken to the chapel of St
Patrick’s School where in a simple ceremony they were placed beside the ashes of other Brothers
who had served and died in Singapore in the course of the preceding 150 years.

Envoi
This brief sketch is intended as a small contribution to an ongoing process of making sense of a
deeply spiritual teacher-artist in the context of our sceptical and materialistic age. His stature is
destined to grow as a great modern pioneer in art education, as an exceptionally innovative and

42
successful sculptor. While visitors to Rome may seek out the works of a Bernini or a Caravaggio,
future visitors will surely find among Singapore’s many attractions the works of Brother Joseph,
not least LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts.
In the last analysis he was the seed sown in rich soil which yielded a hundredfold, the mustard seed
which planted in Singapore soil grew into a great tree in which the birds of the air found shelter and
security. We thank God for his kindly presence and companionship among us these many years
and the splendid example of a life nobly lived to the full and to the end. May his gentle soul rest in
peace.

Appendix
Messages of Condolence, Tributes and Memories
As soon as news of his death filtered through to Singapore, tributes and expressions of condolence
began to pour in from all sides. Many were carried by the media. The Singapore Broadcasting
Authority revised its schedule for its Self Portrait series and the feature on Brother Joseph was
shown early September to mark his passing.
A short selection of messages received:
THE HONOURABLE PRIME MINISTER, SINGAPORE
Ms Theresa O’Toole
Dear Ms O’Toole
I would like to express my condolences to you on the death of your brother, Brother Joseph McNally.
As an educator, Brother McNally touched the lives of many students who passed through the schools he led.
As an artist, his works have left a deep imprint on the arts scene here. He combined his passion for these two
fields, and built up an arts college from just two classrooms in St Patrick’s School. Today, LASALLE-SIA
College of the Arts is a centre of excellence in arts education.
Brother McNally had a compelling vision, and a tenacious spirit. He achieved seemingly impossible goals,
with passion, doggedness and tender care. Through his enthusiasm, he activated a whole community of
supporters and well-wishers - artists, educators, students, corporations, professionals, government officials -
in his projects.
I know that Brother McNally cherished his Irish roots. But that he took up Singapore citizenship
nevertheless, and wanted Singapore to be his final resting place, make us proud. Brother McNally’s passing
is a loss for Singapore.
Yours sincerely
GOH CHOK TONG
Prime Minister, Singapore

MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY SINGAPORE

3 September 2002
My wife and I will be in Malaysia on 7 September and will not be able to attend the Memorial Service at
Holy Family Church for Bro Joseph McNally. We join the many people in prayer who were touched by his
kindness, his dedication to teaching and his passion for the arts.
His vocation in life, first and foremost, as a Christian brother was to teach. While visiting his exhibition at
the old SJ1 Museum for Fine Arts four years ago, I paused to admire his bronze sculpture of a Christian
brother bending slightly over a young boy to counsel him. The bronze had a beautiful green patina. The
teacher was firm but kind. The child stood obediently erect but clearly had a will of his own. Brother
McNally explained to me that it was important to recognize the uniqueness of every child. Each has his own
God-given nature which had to be respected, He never believed in corporal punishment. A year later, he

43
presented me with a copy of the sculpture which I display prominently in my office as a reminder of his wise
words as I have four young children of my own,
After his retirement, Bro McNally dedicated his life to the teaching of the arts. He saw in sculpture, in
music, in painting and in other art forms, the work of the Holy Spirit. Always believing that God would
provide, he built up LaSalle College for the Arts without a careful calculation of the costs involved. His
superiors were not amused and I heard rumours that a complaint had been made to Rome. When he invited
me to be Patron of the Arts in 1988 after I entered politics, I accepted immediately because I believed in
him. When I became Minister for Information and the Arts in 1990, 1 supported him whenever I could.
Before SIA decided on a major donation, the company wanted an assurance from me that LaSalle College
would not soon collapse. I was much encouraged by Dr Goh Keng Swee whose advice I sought on the arts
when MITA was first formed. He told me that ‘there is one Bro McNally’ worth supporting. When I opened
the LaSalle College campus at Mountbatten in November 1992, 1 was glad and relieved to see that Brother
Visitor David Liao gave his full support to Brother McNally. A year later, I brought Chinese Culture
Minister Liu Zhongde to visit him at the College.
In 1999, LaSalle-SIA College for the Arts was officially supported by the Ministry of Education. Having
established it as an institution, Brother retired a second time and was able to spend more time on sculpture.
In 1997, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by President Wee Kim Wee. Of course, he never
retired. And, even now, he must be quite busy on one project or another.
All of us know that Brother was Irish but we considered him Singaporean, which he was since 1985. 1 was
away in China when he passed away in Ireland and thought that he might be buried there. Later, I was told
that he had expressed his wish for his ashes to be interred in Singapore. He never forgot his Irish roots but,
like so many great missionaries, he found his vocation far away from his birthplace and made his home here
in Singapore. It happened that I was considering inviting him to join me on my official visit to Ireland later
this month but it proved not to be.
We thank God for putting in our midst a remarkable Irishman who helped to make us a better people.
Yours in Christ
GEORGE YEO

ACTING MINISTER
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION,
COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, SINGAPORE
Ms Theresa O’Toole
Dear Ms O’Toole
Please accept my heartfelt condolences on the passing of your brother, Brother Joseph McNally. With his
passing, we have lost one of Singapore’s most respected artists and educators, whose life and work have left
a deep impact on the cultural life of our nation.
Brother McNally, as he is affectionately addressed by Singaporeans, answered his calling and left Ireland for
Singapore in 1946. While retaining a clear sense of pride in his Irish heritage, he subsequently made
Singapore his home. As an educator, he touched and influenced the lives of a whole generation of students
in Singapore who passed through the gates of institutions he had led.
In 1984, after he retired from teaching, he founded a college for the arts, building it up from scratch at a time
when the arts had not yet achieved widespread interest. This remarkable and far-sighted effort is an enduring
example of his quintessential spirit of endeavour and remains an inspiration for many. Today, it is known as
the LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, and has grown to become a highly regarded tertiary institution
offering students a strong foundation in the arts. Brother McNally’s passion for learning lives on through the
lives of the young creative talents that the college shapes.
Brother McNally was also known as an accomplished painter and an outstanding sculptor. Today, his works
have become an integral part of our physical and cultural landscape - in schools, public buildings and
community spaces -capturing the imagination of many, both in Singapore and abroad. For his lifetime

44
achievements in the arts and education, Brother McNally was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in
1997, one of the nation’s highest honours for individuals of distinction.
My wife Nyun Peng and I share your grief in losing Brother McNally. I hope that it will comfort you to
know that he was well-liked and much loved by those who knew him. His passing is a great loss to our arts
community and to the nation.
Yours sincerely
David T E Lim

NORTHEAST COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

Please allow me to express my deepest condolences on the demise of Brother McNally.
I had the privilege and pleasure of knowing Brother McNally. His contributions were aplenty. I enjoyed and
benefited tremendously from Brother McNally’s last exhibition at the Art Museum. Brother McNally made a
distinctive mark in the arts when he founded La-Salle-SIA College of the Arts, a top-class educational
institution. He had always been warm to the Malay/Muslim community and I am grateful for his friendship.
We will indeed miss Brother McNally
Yours sincerely
Zainul Abidin Rasheed
Mayor, NE CDC and MP for Aljunied GRC (Eunos)

THE SCHOOL OF ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

College President Brian Howard contacted me with the sad news of the death, in Ireland, of Brother Joseph
MacNally.
On behalf of all the member Presidents of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design
(AICAD), here in America, and our Canadian colleagues, I write to offer our condolences and sincere regret
at receiving this unwelcome news.
LaSalleSIA, and indeed your nation, has lost a truly remarkable man. His name was synonymous with the
college, but also with the development of Singapore itself as a regional leader in the visual arts, and in the
education of artists, designers, and performers. He was an extraordinary ambassador for Singapore, which he
deeply loved. Throughout the world I’ve met many people, who have remarked on Brother Joe’s
achievement in founding the College, his work as an artist, and unshakeable belief in education through the
arts. He is one of the very few people who was constantly and sincerely described as both a ‘visionary’ and
an ‘Inspiration’.
Brother Joe was here in Chicago last year for the opening of a wonderful exhibition of his work, which was
very well received. We had lunch, along with his sister and niece who live here. As always, he was serious
about his faith, his work as an artist, and his College, but there was also that irrepressible humour and sense
of fun that is unforgettable. And just last week National Public Radio here in the US had an extended feature
about him, including a lively interview with him, on the occasion of his exhibition in Washington DC. The
dedication and tremendous character of the man came over the airwaves even if one had never met him, one
would know that he was a very special person.
Please accept my sincerest personal condolences, with those of my fellow Presidents, on the passing of a
man who meant so much to your College and to Singapore.
Sincerely yours,
Professor Tony Jones
DipAD, BA, MFA, Hon AIA, FRSA, FRCA
President

45
 CATHOLIC JUNIOR COLLEGE
Dear Staff,
As you are probably all aware by now, Brother Joe (aged 80 yrs) passed away in Ireland early yesterday
morning following another heart attack. Brother Joe is one of the great legends of Catholic education in this
part of the world and has made extraordinary contributions to the development of the Arts in Singapore
during the past 15 years. The following may give you some glimpse into the life of this extraordinary
person.
He had suffered from a heart condition for many years and was one of the early, and successful, patients of
the famous Dr Victor Cheng at St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney. Joe was the only heart patient I ever knew
who did no exercise, ate what he liked, ...........and survived for another 20 years.
He loved life. He was a very bubbly person in company and could even talk underwater. He was warm and
affable to anyone and could make people feel at ease instantly. Highly intelligent, he obtained his PhD in the
early 1970’s from Columbia University, at a time when that was not the norm for Brothers in Asia. He was
widely read and could talk on almost any topic from religions to recipes though he was never a kitchen
person. He used get seasick at the sink! He was also awarded Honorary Doctorate’s from Ireland and RMIT,
Melbourne, respectively. He once casually remarked: “Getting to heaven by degrees!”
Having been the Principal of several schools e.g St John’s, KL, and St Patrick’s, Singapore, lie left schools
in 1983 to begin LaSalle School of the Arts. In the early years he funded its development in unusual ways
[not a popular move with many Brothers because of the extraordinary financial risks he was taking] and
begun to nurture something that was eventually to become LaSalle-SIA when the latter gave S16m to help
develop buildings at Mountbatten. It is incredible to see what the institution has become in less than 20
years; and nurtured from 3 rooms at the Brothers quarters in St Pats.
Joe was a maverick. He was a very creative person and therefore his mind was expansive and knew no
boundaries. He was a maverick with money, miles and meals, a maverick with regulations and red tape, a
maverick with religion and religiosity. Joe lived a simple life, in a sophisticated and artistic environment.
There was never any doubting that he was a deeply spiritual person, an artist who respected everyone’s
talents, and a man who admired, and respected, all that was finest in the human spirit.
Old age did not deter him. After “retirement” as the President of LaSalle-SIA, he continued on with his
studio over there and was prolific in his output, working mainly in wood, ceramics. and glass. He loved
sculpture. And he had unlimited energy to the end.
This year he was in Shanghai to identify a suitable location for a very large work which he had earlier done
for OCBC. He was a frequent visitor to a foundry in Thailand where many of his bronze pieces were cast.
And he recently visited Chicago, Washington and New York where he had very successful exhibitions. It
was these that had led him on to Ireland.
Even at his last he was lucid and clear with his instructions. He wanted to be buried in Singapore; he gave
instructions that he was to be cremated in his white robe—and he was adamant that the family wedding,
planned for tomorrow (Thursday) should go ahead in Galway. It was for that reason that the whole McNally
clan had gathered in his native Ireland.
Bro Joe left part of his legacy here in CJC. He was commissioned to do a sculpture of the family for the
front portico. When installed, it created a real storm as opinions raged about what it all represented. Even
the press got involved, interviewed students, and made the statue rather famous. Joe loved that kind of
scenario because his sculpture had great meaning and significance for him, in the first instance, and lie
always cherished the opportunity to explain his work to others.
The Brothers have lost a. great friend and loyal and devoted follower of the ideals of St de La Salle. The
Arts community has lost one of its most respected members. His most recent exhibitions in the USA were
titled: “ A Celt in Singapore”. That summed him up. Little wonder then that he left vary clear instructions
from his family that he was to be buried in Singapore.
Joe was well-known to many of you. Let us remember a man who contributed much to the development of
education in Singapore. especially the arts.

46
Brother Joseph McNally will be farewelled at a Requiem Mass at Castletown, Ireland, on Saturday, 31st
August. He ashes will be returned to Singapore where he will be farewelled at a Memorial service in the
Church of the Holy Family Saturday 7th September at 2.00pm.
Brother Paul Rogers

PARVATHI NAYAR
writing in the Business Times 31 August 2000, pays tribute to Brother Joseph McNally, whose contributions
leave a tremendous legacy in the local arts scene
‘BETTER pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion,’ says James Joyce in
Dubliners; words that could apply to Brother Joseph McNally, whose passion for - and contribution to - the
arts in Singapore is a glorious legacy that will live on.
Sculptor and arts educator, Brother Joseph McNally, 79, died of a heart attack on Tuesday while visiting
Ireland. The arts community mourns the passing of the founder of LaSalle-SIA College of the Arts and
former principal of Saint Patrick’s School. It’s sort of hard to believe we won’t run into him at local arts
events where he was a familiar and well-beloved sight armed with twinkling eyes and a genuine enthusiasm
for the arts.
Though I’ve met and interviewed him on a number of occasions over the years, Brother Joseph in a
contemplative mood during Wind Of The Spirit - his retrospective at the Singapore Art Museum (SAM,
1998) - remains a vivid memory. Retrospectives are about reminiscing, but this was an actual visual
reminiscence - a life story that unfolded from his early paintings of the Irish countryside. Brother Joseph was
born in 1923 in a small farming community in Ballintubber, and grew up in the country.
The venue of the retrospective was incredibly apt too, a circle completed. For when Brother Joseph first
came to Singapore in 1946, he taught at St Joseph’s Institution, which today houses SAM. His subsequent
career included a spell as principal of St John’s Institution in Kuala Lumpur; he returned to Singapore in
1973, and was the principal of St Patrick’s School.
As an art teacher Brother Joseph touched many lives; he was able to transmit his passion for the arts to
students like Ms Wong or Mr Leow, who recalls: ‘He was very energetic, and always full of ideas. His
classroom in St Patrick’s was a very inspirational space that allowed things to happen.’
Brother Joseph was a prominent figure in Singaporean and Malaysian arts circles from the mid-1950s. In
Singapore, he was involved in the arts at many levels. For example, he helped develop art works at MRT
stations; chaired the Visual Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Community Development (1985);
helped the Ministry of Education design the art syllabus and the Art Elective Programme; served on the
National Arts Council.
Brother Joseph will be missed. And the following Mary Frye poem is, perhaps, a fitting memorial to his life,
art and art legacy:
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
/ am not there... I do not sleep.
/ am the thousand winds that blow ...
I am the diamond glints on snow ...
I am the sunlight on ripened grain ...
/ am the gentle autumn rain.
When you waken in the morning’s hush,
/ am the swift uplifting rush
Of gentle birds in circling flight...
/ am the soft star that shines at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry..
I am not there... I did not die...

NEC SINGAPORE PTE LTD

30 August 2002
47
It is with great sorrow that I heard about the passing of Brother McNally. He was a friend who was
enthusiastic about everything be it the Arts, Education, the Environment or just life in itself.
I know that your Order and House will miss him sorely but with the passing of a man of God, we can rejoice
that he will be in the arms of the Lord receiving the rewards that he so highly deserves.
Society and the Arts scene too have suffered a great loss as his art and council has been invaluable in the
transformation of Singapore from a Cultural Desert to an Island of Culture.
Please convey my condolences and deepest sympathies to the members of your Order and House and to the
family of Brother McNally.
God bless. Kindest regards.
NOEL HON CHIA CHUN

FELLOWSHIP OF MUSLIM STUDENTS ASSOCIATION

Brother Michael,
OUR DEEPEST CONDOLENCES
All praises be unto the Almighty. May this letter find you and your family in the Grace of God.
We deeply bereave the loss of our dearest Brother Joseph McNally who has contributed so immensely in the
understanding of humanity and the search for the Truth.
His name will continue to be revered at FMSA as among the pioneer motivators for the setting up of the
Blood Donation Drive Club in April 2002 . His spirit and teachings in the short period we have known him
will always remain alive with us.
With all our hearts, we pray that he is placed among the Righteous in the Hereafter. Ameen.
Please inform us if we could be of any assistance to you in anyway. Appreciate also, if we could be notified
of the funeral arrangements, as we would like to pay our last respects to a good friend.
Regards,
Mohd Dzulfiqhar Mohd
Vice President I
Fellowship of Muslim Students Association
Resource Person
Blood Donation Drive Club

AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

201, Ulu Pandan Road, Singapore 596468.
August 30, 2002
On behalf of the staff and students of the Australian International School Singapore I would like to convey
our sympathy at this time at the news of the death of Brother Joseph McNally.
I had the pleasure of meeting Brother Joseph earlier this year when his work ‘The Counsellor II was
displayed at the Tanglin Club. The occasion was the farewell for our founding Principal Ms Corai Dixon.
In talking about the sculpture - the listening teacher and the perhaps ‘naughty’ young man with his hands in
his pockets, it was so easy to see the glint in Brother Joseph’s eye as he empathised with both, but especially
with the child. The sculpture is beautiful and will grace the lobby of our new school at Lorong Chuan next
year.
We are fortunate to have a lasting legacy of Brother Joseph in this work in which his spirit as a sculpture and
educator and lover of children shines through.
Vale Brother Joseph.
Sincerely
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Peter Bond,
Principal

EULOGY BY AMEERALI ABDEALI AT THE SERVICE FOR BROTHER JOSEPH

McNALLY 7 SEPTEMBER 2002
In the name of Almighty God, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful
First let me do my duty and thank Bro. Michael Broughton and the organisers for extending to me this
honour to say a few words at the special memorial service for our beloved Bro. Joseph McNally.
Like all of you here I was deeply saddened when I first learned that Bro. Joseph had passed away. I read
about it in the front page of the Straits Times. There was a quote from Brother Michael that Brother
McNally had stated in his will that he wished to be buried here. I was especially moved by that. It is the
ultimate tribute to the country one calls home. What an honour for us Singaporeans that a person like
Brother Joseph McNally wanted Singapore to be his final resting place. He is a true stayer in every sense of
the word.
We have heard about Brother Joseph’s vast contributions in the fields of education and the arts. But I think
we all know that these achievements are just part of his overall contributions to Singapore and indeed the
world. Brother Joseph was a true humanitarian. He quietly helped countless people, particularly the
disadvantaged and the poor. He made life better for everybody just by being in this world. He was the
personification of integrity, sincerity and uprightness. He touched the hearts of so many people including
mine.
I last met Brother Joseph 5th May this year. We were doing a TV shoot for a special programme in his
honour. In the programme, I welcomed him into a mosque. And on the way out I embraced him goodbye.
That was the last time I saw him. Had I known that, I would have hugged that dear man and just held on to
him. I would have never have wanted to let go.
I feel truly privileged to have served with Bro. Joseph McNally in the Council of the Inter-Religious
Organisation, Singapore better known as the IRO. He was a past Vice President of the IRO. IRO benefited
greatly from his contributions. Just 3 years ago, on IRO’s 50th Anniversary, he lent his considerable
expertise in the planning of the largely successful Religious Harmony Exhibition which was attended by
more than 7,000 persons.
Brother Joseph not only deeply believed in inter-religious harmony and but he practiced it. He had deep
respect for all faiths. And this was reciprocated. People of various faiths and backgrounds, we respected
him. We looked up to him. But more important than this, we loved the good Brother. For, above all, he was
a warm, caring and endearing human being.
Singapore, and indeed the world, has lost a good man. May the Almighty God bless his soul.

SECRETARY IRO
Congratulations on the success of the above McNally Mass at the Church of Holy Family, 6 Chapel Road,
Singapore. We are very grateful to be part of it.
Without the help of the La Salle Brothers we could not have paid a more befitting tribute to Brother Joe
McNally. He was an extremely humble person, an educationist, an artist, and a missionary par excellence.
Above all, he was a true Irish—Singaporean, who had great faith in God and His Creation. May his fine
example and his enthusiasm in life motivate others to try to emulate him?
Please convey our sincere sympathy to Ms Theresa OToole, his sister. And, may the Family have the
strength and courage to live by His Will.
For and behalf of the IRO
Yours faithfully
Harbans Singh
Secretary IRO

49
 ANDREW TAN ARCHITECTS PTE
We were saddened to hear of the passing away of Brother Joseph McNally tonight.
The Christian Brothers of De La Salle have lost a dedicated person in Brother Joseph in their teaching
fraternity. He has been a unique Singaporean who has given his entire life to students in Singapore and
Malaysia through his dedication to teaching and the Arts. In so doing, he passed on the love of Christ to all
whom he met along the way by his warmth and sincerity.
We pray that more of the future Brothers of De La Salle will be like him.
Ora et Labora
BROTHER HAROLD REYNOLDS, MANILA
Joe walked down the Valley of Darkness many, many years ago, suffering greatly at the hands of admirable
monks who could not accept that in our midst we were graced with a Renaissance Man, a man of vision and
creativity with a passion and talent for all things beautiful. Joe took that legendary less-travelled road at a
time when very few did . And, yes, it DID make all the difference! We now have the SIA-La Salle College
of Fine Arts in Singapore as a monument to his vision, his quiet doggedness and the blood and tears that
brought it forth. Joe’s many works of art, scattered around the world bear mute but powerful testimony to
his creative genius and multi-faceted artistic talents.
But Joe was much more than what he did. It was the WHO of Joe that made him deeply loved and highly
respected. He was profoundly religious, a good community man, and a committed son of the Founder. He
was noted for his gracious ways and kindly deeds.. To pass through Singapore and experience his kindly
attention to your ease and needs was a joy that quickly made the long, cramped plane journey a distant
memory.
HWEE HWEE
I am terribly shocked about Bro Jo’s passing. I was in London when he was in Ireland, I wish I had known
then and could pay my last respect. He will be in my prayer tonight.
For some strange reasons, all I can think of are my days in LASALLE and the last time that I saw him which
was less than a year ago and how he was so encouraging about my pursue in Art Therapy and was such a
source of support.. I really feel rather sad.
SAWN HWANG
The Late Brother Joseph McNally
He was there,
when I saw him walking,
with his tiresome steps from his workshop to the car,
still... with his heavy prints left on the grounds,
He continues.
He was there,
for a reason,
no one seems to know exactly,
but... it sure is for a good cause.
He was there,
for the sake of the many lost souls,
who yearn to find a piece of themselves...
thru... only Him.
He was there,
for who I am today,
without Him... I wonder, would I be who I am today.
I owe Him just too much,
to the values, I cherish and embrace now

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without it... I wonder, who I am now.
... to the late Brother Joseph McNally, the true human I had acquainted with.
just someone who benefitted thru his existence.

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