Rev. Fr Edward J. Cahill, S.J. (1868–1941) was an Irish Jesuit priest and academic, born in Ballyvocogue, County Limerick

County Limerick

It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...

. He was educated in Theology at Maynooth

Maynooth

Maynooth is a town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to a branch of the National University of Ireland, a Papal University and Ireland's main Roman Catholic seminary, St. Patrick's College...

, and ordained a priest in 1897. In 1924, he joined the staff of the Jesuit Milltown Park Institute in Dublin as Professor of Church History, Lecturer in Sociology

Sociology

Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

, and later, Spiritual Father.

In October 1926, on the occasion of the first celebration of the Feast of Christ the King, he founded "An Ríoghacht", the League of the Kingship of Christ. The object of this society was to ensure the use of Catholic Social Teaching in the Irish Free State

Irish Free State

The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...

. "An Ríoghacht", under Fr. Cahill's guidance, organised public meetings three or four times a year, published pamphlets on current topics and even attempted to produce a weekly paper to further its ideals. This organisation would go on to form the basis of Fr. Denis Fahey

Denis Fahey

Father Denis Fahey, C.S.Sp. was an Irish Catholic priest. Fahey promoted the Catholic social doctrine of Christ the King, and was involved in Irish politics through his organisation Maria Duce. Fahey firmly believed that "the world must conform to Our Divine Lord, not He to it", defending the...

's Maria Duce

Maria Duce

Maria Duce was a small ultra-conservative Catholic group in Ireland, founded in 1945 by Fr Denis Fahey, a priest associated with antisemitic opinions....

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He was a regular contributor the Irish Ecclesiastical Record and the Irish Monthly

Irish Monthly

The Irish Monthly was an Irish Catholic magazine founded in Dublin, Ireland in July 1873. Until 1920 it had the sub-title A Magazine of General Literature. It was founded by Rev. Matthew Russell, S.J., , who was the editor for almost forty years from 1873...

. His works often stressed the link between Catholicism

Catholicism

Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....

 and nationalism

Nationalism

Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...

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He died on 16 July 1941, aged 73, after a long illness.