Fr Francis Gleeson - The Irish saint of the trenches

Fr Francis Gleeson’s bravery as a WW1 chaplain is renowned, says James Fogarty

FRANCIS Gleeson was one of the thousands of Irishmen who served in the First World War. But he did not go to fight. He provided spiritual and physical comfort to the second battalion of the Royal Munster Fusiliers. He was their chaplain, a role iconically portrayed in the painting, The Last General Absolution of the Munsters at Rue du Bois.

“The scenes of enthusiasm are extraordinary,” he wrote on May 8, 1915, the eve of the Battle of Aubers Ridge. “I ride on my horse. Give absolution to [the] battalion during rest in [the] road...The men all sing hymns, ‘Hail Glorious St Patrick’. I go further up — near the trenches, and bid goodbye to all. So sad.”