Matthew Gibney
Encyclopedia
Killeshandra
Killeshandra or Killashandra is a village in County Cavan, Ireland, located 20 km northwest of Cavan town and is central to County Cavan's lakeland and geopark region, set in the unique Erne catchment environment of rivers, lakes, wetlands and woodland...
, Cavan
Cavan
Cavan is the county town of County Cavan in the Republic of Ireland. The town lies in the north central part of Ireland, near the border with Northern Ireland...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. He studied for the priesthood at the preparatory seminary at Stillorgan and from 1857 at the Catholic Missionary College of All Hallows, Drumcondra
Drumcondra, Dublin
Drumcondra is a residential area and inner suburb on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is administered by Dublin City Council.The River Tolka and the Royal Canal flow through the area.-History:...
, Dublin. He was ordained priest in 1863 and arrived in Perth, Western Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
later that year.
In Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
on 28 June 1880, while travelling by train from Benalla to Albury
Albury, New South Wales
Albury is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Albury Local Government Area...
, he learned that Ned Kelly
Ned Kelly
Edward "Ned" Kelly was an Irish Australian bushranger. He is considered by some to be merely a cold-blooded cop killer — others, however, consider him to be a folk hero and symbol of Irish Australian resistance against the Anglo-Australian ruling class.Kelly was born in Victoria to an Irish...
's gang had been surrounded at Mrs Ann Jones's Glenrowan hotel and were shooting it out with police. Gibney left his train and tended the seemingly seriously wounded Kelly, heard his confession and gave him the last rites. In January 1887, Fr. Gibney was consecrated as His Lordship The Most Rev. Dr. Matthew Gibney, the Lord Bishop of Perth. Bishop Gibney served in this role until his forced resignation, due to the financial crisis the Diocese of Perth was then in, in May 1910.
He died of cancer on 22 June 1925.
Exhumation
St Mary's Cathedral, Perth
St Mary's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Perth, and seat of its Archbishop, currently Barry James Hickey...
in Perth, Western Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, but the exact location was kept secret to prevent the remains from being disturbed. The location of the grave was soon forgotten, and remained unknown until the 2000s. Around 2003, archdiocese archivist Sister Frances Stibi discovered a cross carved into the church's floorboards near the altar. Three years later, pews were removed during restoration work, and three more crosses were discovered, marking out the boundaries of a rectangle. When archaeologists probed the dirt under the floorboards, they discovered a small brick and plaster crypt capped with metal, and containing two coffins. Decorative plates on the lids identified them as holding the remains of Gibney and Bishop Martin Griver.