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St. Patrick’s Parish, O’Neill: The First 100 Years

The 1977 centennial history of St. Patrick’s Parish, from General O’Neill’s Irish colony of 1874 to the hundredth anniversary celebration on October 16, 1977.

This history of St. Patrick’s Catholic Parish in O’Neill, Nebraska, was written for the parish centennial in 1977. It is shown here in its own words. Chapter titles were added to make it easier to read, and obvious scanning errors were corrected. The photographs from the printed book are not on this site; their captions are shown in small type where they appeared.

Contents

1. The O’Neill colony and the first church
2. Father John T. Smith, the first pastor
3. Father Cassidy comes, and another look at the early years
4. St. Patrick’s and the first St. Mary’s Academy
5. The 1890s and the coming of the Sisters
6. A new century and a new church, 1901–1913
7. Monsignor Cassidy’s later years, 1914–1934
8. Monsignor John McNamara, 1934–1949
9. Monsignor Timothy O’Sullivan and the fire of 1965
10. The later years, 1966–1977
11. The centennial, October 1977
12. A hundred years in the records, and the future

Read more about the town on the O’Neill history page.