O’Reilly name is remembered in Wildfield

April 27, 2017 · 0 Comments

By Bill Rea
The name O’Reilly has been a prominent one for generations in the Wildfield area, and it has been recognized, particularly in the Vales of Humber subdivision.
Local resident Dan O’Reilly was pleased to see that a park in the development, at the southwest corner of Mayfield Road and The Gore Road has been named Father Eugene O’Reilly Park.
Father O’Reilly was his great-great grandfather, and one of the prominent priests at the St. Patrick’s Wildfield Parish.
Father O’Reilly was born in 1786 in County Cavan in Ireland, and actually married and fathered a daughter, according the book From Macdonell to McGuigan by Perkins Bull. But his wife died young, and in his grief, he got rid of his holdings and took the infant daughter, named Margaret, to the New World. He took courses and became ordained, eventually serving in Wildfield for some 25 years.
He was very popular among his flock, according to Bull. He was known both for his piety, as well as his wit and dignity.
“He persuaded many a disgruntled and rebellious Irish immigrant to lay aside time-worn animosities and co-operate with the authorities,” Bull wrote.
Margaret, in time, married a distant cousin, so she kept the name O’Reilly all her life.
Brampton City council approved the naming of the park in 2012. O”Reilly said the sign went up April 13.
City staff reported Father O’Reilly initiated construction of St. John’s Agricultural College on the site of what eventually became St. Patrick Elementary School, which is still in operation. He also was involved in the construction of other churches in Albion and Caledon. He was remembered too for assisting people fleeing the Irish Potato Famine and assisting cholera victims in the area, at substantial personal risk.
O’Reilly said he had been active in getting the name recognized. The park is at the corner of Maple Syrup Street and Sister O’Reilly Road. He said Sister O’Reilly was his aunt, and the first principal at the current school.
He also persuaded people to send letters suggested the naming of the park, adding he also lobbied to have it located close to the school.
The name is remembered elsewhere in Wildfield, including in the cemetery on the church grounds. O’Reilly said he had the tomb stone restored a couple of years ago with lead lettering.
“There are only a few people in the province who do that any more,” he said.