Originally published in The Gateway Issue No. 29 (March 2011)
Exuberant, full of zest and energy, busy as a bee, a flair for fund-raising, a hearty laugh, quaint idioms and generous to a fault - such are the images of Brother Martin that flash through the mind.
Born near Macroom, Co Cork, Ireland, Jeremiah Kelleher entered the Novitiate of the De La Salle Brothers in Castletown in June 1927 and in August took the holy habit, receiving the religious name of Brother Martin. He was a strong, sturdy youngster.
The novitiate completed and his first vows taken, he was assigned to some tasks in the Castletown community. These he tackled with the zest and energy that was to characterise him all his life.
From Castletown he was transferred to the Scholasticate at Kilmacow, not far from Waterford city. Here he assumed the role of 'chef' for the Brothers. He had not the slightest preparation for such a role but that did not baulk Brother Martin. He bustled about the kitchen among the pots and pans as if to the kitchen born and served up wholesome, if somewhat basic, fare. The young scholastics had few complaints.
Around this time, a new Brothers Formation Community was opening up in Inglewood, Berkshire, England, and Brother Martin was called upon to continue with his culinary efforts there as well as take some study courses. It was here, too, he seemed to hear the call to go on the missions to the Far East and so it was that in the summer of 1933 he set sail with a group of ten missionary Brothers. They were led by Brother Anselm Foley as far as Lembecq, Belgium, and there handed over to the care of an ‘old hand’, Brother Marcian Cullen, who was returning to Penang, Malaysia.
They sat sail in a French ship named the "Chenanceux". For most, it was the first taste of sea travel and the nausea of sea-sickness. After a long and evidently exhausting voyage, they at last arrived at their destination, Penang, an island off the north-west coast of Malaya.
Recalling these events almost fifty years later, one of Brother Martin's companions writes: "We arrived in Penang harbour on 24th June 1933. There we were met by Brother Paul Gallagher who was Director of St Xavier's Institution. With him was a senior teacher of that same school, Mr Ng Seng Loong. After that a line of rickshaws dragged us along to Pulau Tikus where Brother Marcian marshalled us into a verandah near the kitchen. We had been so long together that we never even thought that now we were to be parted, some of us forever."
But parted they were. Some were sent to the different communities in Malaya, others to Burma and to the Philippine Islands. Brother Martin was kept in St Xavier’s. Here he was given his first mission assignment, without any initiation or introduction, teaching a class in the Primary school. To the young boys of Primary 3 and 4 Brother Martin may have appeared like a huge apparition but he himself knew this would be the acid test for his career. That evening after school, he confided to a confrere that it was the 'most terrible day’ in his life. "I thought I'd faint," he confessed. But from that first day he never looked back.
Despite a slight stammer he succeeded in establishing a kind of avuncular relationship with his little tots. He had a special charisma for handling primary kids. His methods might not be found in any pedagogical text-nooks but were invariably successful. Referring to those methods a confrere who knew him well, writes: ”Brother Martin taught in the primary school, usually with outstanding results. This was all the more noteworthy since he did not have any professional training or any paper qualifications. He always managed, somehow, to have good and bright boys in his class and parents had to be very much involved in the progress of their sons too." He showed a special interest in the Christian education of his pupils. Commenting on this, another confrere has this to say:" He realised that the prime object of his vocation was to teach the Christian Doctrine to his charges and thereby to give his little flock a good knowledge of God."
Whatever the methods, by hook or by crook, within a month he had the best class in his level and in all the inter-class competitions for the whole school his class was consistently in the lead. This was no flash in the pan as he maintained this high standard throughout his teaching career in many different schools.
Popular in class, he was equally popular with his confreres wherever he went or stayed. His hearty laugh, his humour, his generosity, his quickness to forget affronts and his occasional eccentric ways, all combined to make him a colourful character. To quote from an obituary note, "There was no mean streak in Brother Martin. He was ever ready to go out of his way to render a service. He knew how to forgive and forget." Enlarging upon this trait, another Brother writes, "I met Brother Martin a little over twenty years since our last parting in Penang, after our voyage out East in 1933. He was the same jolly, chatty and warm-hearted Brother that I got to be friendly with on our voyage out to Penang."
In 1935 a new assignment awaited him in St Joseph’s Institution Primary School, Singapore where he continued to exercise his special skills mainly in primary 5 and 6. It was at this time that an old stomach ailment recurred and he under¬went a surgical operation which was not entirely successful. Consequently, in 1937, it was decided to send him to Hong Kong where the cooler winter weather might prove more beneficial to him.
He was to spend the next fifteen years in Hong Kong, his First Spring as it were. St Joseph’s College was the scene of most of his labours. Besides the running of his Primary classes he was also engaged in organising the school's junior scouts or cubs as they were called. This was much appreciated in a school which had established the first Scout troop in Hong Kong. As had now come to be expected, he showed the same charisma for dealing with Primary boys in Hong Kong as he had in Malaya.
Then came the war years and the Brothers in Hong Kong and in Kowloon found them¬selves in dire straits. As one Brother put it, "For the Brothers in Hong Kong it was a time of extreme uncertainty and anxiety. There was no income of any kind; food was in short supply, the College was occupied by the Japanese Army, and there was no guarantee that an Irish Passport would continue to give any protection. Brother John Lynam, Director of St Joseph's, knew that hard work and endless ingenuity would be needed. He also knew his man and when most of the other Brothers were leaving for Indochina he asked Brother Martin to stay in Hong Kong." After the war, Brother John was heard to say that only for Brother Martin they would probably have starved. Shortly after the Japanese capitulation Brother Martin was offered a place aboard an aircraft carrier for his services and welfare activities and he was borne south¬wards to Australia where he spent a few months recuperating amongst the Brothers 'down under'. Here in a pleasant climate, amongst a happy people and with good wholesome Australian food he quickly regained energy before sailing home to Ireland, He was given a year's furlough like all those returning after the war.
He returned once more in 1948 to his El Dorado of the East, Hong Kong. Here, he carried on in St Joseph's for some time and then, in 1950, was shifted to La Salle College, Kowloon. A Brother who lived with him at the time takes up the thread:
“At that time La Salle College was being used by the British Army as a mili-tary hospital. The Brothers resided in a private house while the Boarders were accommodated in some temporary wooden structures nearby. As we had a small community of six, the vacant rooms in the building were used as a boarding department. Here Brother Martin was appointed as Prefect of Boarders. He paid great attention to two important items in the life of his boarders - food and recreation. He got a piece of ground close by levelled out as a football pitch by the servants. He then raised sufficient cash to purchase a projector and even set up a 'cinema hall' in one of the vacant rooms."
He likewise turned his energies to help out in other local charitable activities like aiding in fun fairs to raise funds for St Teresa's Church and collecting clothes and Christmas toys for parochial charities. Such activities engaged his attention until in 1953 he was due for home leave. After that holiday another surprise was in store for this man of many surprises. He was asked to return to Penang in Malaya. This change would not have been his personal choice but he obeyed and found himself back in St Xavier’s Institution where he had first started his missionary life.
He was to find a new St Xavier's, arisen out of the dust and debris of the old school that had been flattened to the ground by American bombers who suspected it of housing Japanese personnel. Once more he took up the chalk which he had first taken up in 1933. This time he was given one of the weaker classes in which to perform some miracles of improvement. To the astonishment of Headmaster and Staff alike the miracles swiftly materialised. Unorthodox methods were proving effective once more. Outside of all this he found time and energy to scrape and repaint the roof of the Brothers' bungalow on Penang Hill - an infernal job under the tropical sun.
From St Xavier's Penang, he was now transferred to a newly opened school and community in Klang, Selangor. His principal task was once more fund-raising. He was seen as having the Midas touch! His methods were down-to-earth and direct. No tilting at wind-mills but just in the front door with a knock and a smile and a plea for a good cause. And so the funds were raised. His former Director of Klang community has this to say of him, "When I was posted to take charge in Klang, Brother Visitor warned me just before I left, that it was a very poor locality and that I would not be able to raise funds for any building projects. And so it was until the arrival of Brother Martin. He started working wonders that astonished even our staff”.
Even during school holidays Brother Martin was on the go. One of his confreres notes the following: "During the holidays up on the Cameron Highlands, Brother Martin would devote a lot of his time to assiduous preparation of lessons down to the smallest detail. He would frequently enlist the aid of any Brothers who could type and request them to type out pages of material relative to the primary topics in hand. He was never a man to talk or worry about his health, never of the hypochondriac bent of mind, notwithstanding his advancing years”.
Although he threw himself with gusto into the school and church life of Malaya, he pined for Hong Kong. He left no stone unturned, or boulder either, in his striving to get back there. Despite his idyllic surroundings of flower and fragrant bloom and fanning palms he yearned for the 'Barren Rock'. He must have made many private novenas on this account for in December 1966 Brother Visitor yielded and gave him his obedience for Hong Kong.
On reaching there he first ran the school book-shop in La Salle College for a brief while. A far more important assignment, however, awaited him across the harbour in St Joseph's. He was requested to take over the duties of Head-master of the Primary Section of the College. It was to function temporarily as an afternoon school while awaiting the opening of a new Primary School at Wood Road in the Wanchai area. In this capacity the new H.M. (as he liked to term it) swung into action once more, relishing the challenge and drawing on all his years of experience for organising and getting things done. These things included seeing to the furnishing, staffing and enrolment. The new St Joseph’s Primary School opened its doors in 1968 and became Brother Martin’s pride and joy.
A Brother who knew him well at the time declares: "The new Primary School was a major project. It was indeed to cater for over 1,600 pupils and it was big enough to draw out the best in Brother Martin. Hence it was that his new school incorporated the finest available in design, internal arrangement, materials used as well as up-to-date equipment." And in reference to the high hygienic standards the "H.M." maintained, the same Brother concludes. “In fact, the Heads of other schools including the Head of one European College came to find out how it was possible to uphold such high standards so consistently."
Within a short time the new primary had established itself as one of the leading Primary schools in Hong Kong, much sought after by the parents. If a parent heard one of Brother Martin’s quaint idioms such as, ‘He’s a nice little ladeen,” the way to school admission opened up. One of his gifts was a good eye for staff. He had the knack of attracting good teachers. He also liked to meet the pupils during recess or lunch in the school playground. The pupils liked to shake hands with ‘Uncle’ and he would sometimes distribute sweets. One Headmistress of the school recalls how Brother Martin’s special treatment of naughty students who had been punished to stand outside the Principal’s office. In passing, Brother Martin would enquire the cause, give the boy sweets and send him back to class. Some of these boys would then follow Brother Martin at recess time looking for more sweets!
But the years were stealthily gliding by. He was now in his late 60’s. In characteristic fashion he began to register his age in official documents with an enigmatic 60+. It was a noble gesture of defiance against old age and senile decay.
When a new Head-Master was appointed, Brother Martin took over the job of "Maintainance Manager”. This included supervision of all the premises and janitorial staff as well as the running of the book-store and ordering the book supplies. A former Principal of the school recalls: “Minding the school stationery was no easy job. There was the daily selling of exercise books throughout the school year and twice a year he had to cope with the bulk order of each class teacher. He was sometimes seen shifting piles of books from one place to another. Yet we never heard a word of complaint from him”.
Time was marching on and ill health began to take its toll despite the best efforts of the doctors. Although hospitalised a number of times he still strove to carry on. When in Queen Mary Hospital, he would frequently be surrounded by other patients, all chattering away amicably. As his health deteriorated the Brothers decided to trans¬fer him to a nursing home in his native land. On the flight to London, an elderly British gentleman seemed to recognise a kindred spirit, remarking: “poor old chap, tough as old leather”. All seemed to be going well at the nursing home and it came somewhat as a shock when the news was received of his death on 8th March 1983.
Here is the testimony of a close friend: “We have had many erudite men in our ranks, men who got more opportunities to develop their skills and talents, but not so many who can match Brother Martin’s dedication or even his achievements. He was a man of simple, trusting faith, untroubled by the doubts of the more sophisticated. Here too let us add in conclusion the great devotion he had to our Blessed Lady. Her rosary was continuously in his hands, slipping slowly through his fingers as “he told his beads”. May he rest in peace.
