author
Ambrose Coleman
b. 1858
A Dominican priest and historian, he wrote on church history, the Philippines, and Irish religious life at the turn of the 20th century. His work combines a strong Catholic point of view with a clear interest in preserving the history of the Irish Dominicans.
1 Audiobook
The Friars in the Philippines
by Ambrose Coleman
About the author
Born in 1858 and later known as Rev. Ambrose Coleman, O.P., he was an Irish Dominican writer whose surviving work shows a deep interest in Catholic history and the life of his order. Records connected with his books and author listings identify him with titles including The Friars in the Philippines (1899) and The Irish Dominicans of the Seventeenth Century (1902), and indicate that he died in 1942.
Coleman also contributed articles to the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia, including pieces such as "Archdiocese of Armagh." His writing often focused on the history of Irish Catholic institutions and Dominican foundations, suggesting that he saw scholarship as a way to preserve memory as well as to argue for the importance of the Church in public life.
He appears to have been involved in the wider literary and historical culture of the Irish Dominicans, and later writers in that tradition continued to cite his research. For listeners coming to his work today, he offers a window into how a learned Dominican author of his time interpreted Irish church history and the religious controversies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.