Edmond Nolan was born on 9 December, 1857, at Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim, the son of John Nolan of Logboy and Anne Curtis. At the age of sixteen he was sent to England to be educated at Ratcliffe College in Leicestershire (1874-76). He began his studies for the priesthood at St Edmund's College, Ware, Herts. (1876-78), and completed them at St Thomas's Seminary, Hammersmith, from which he was ordained for the Diocese of Westminster, 4 March 1882. For some unrecorded reason he spent his first two years as a priest outside his own diocese at Heron's Ghyll in Sussex (1882-84). His next appointments were to the staff of St Mary's, Chelsea (1884-91), and to that of St Edmund's College, Ware (1891-96), in which from 1892 he held office as Vice-President. In this capacity he collaborated with Baron von Hugel, Bernard Ward and the Duke of Norfolk in the negotiations which led up to the establishment of St Edmund's House in Cambridge, and in the April of 1896 he was appointed Chaplain to the Catholic students of the University. For the next six years, he held at least two positions concurrently. His primary appointment was to the chaplaincy and he held this throughout the six years, residing first at the Catholic Rectory in Hills Road (April to September 1896) and then at St Edmund's House. Concurrently, he had an ill-defined position from the April of 1896 to March 1897 as an unofficial Principal of St Edmund's House. As he was not an MA of the University he had to give up this position, but remained at the House under William Sutcliffe until 1902 as Dean. He added to his commitments by admission as an undergraduate to Trinity College in the January of 1897. He read for a research BA and, in collaboration with Dr S A Hirsch, submitted an edition of 'The Greek Grammar of Roger Bacon and a fragment of his Hebrew Grammar' which was subsequently published by the University Press. He proceeded BA in 1899. In 1902 he was busily engaged taking up appointments and resigning them. He was re-appointed Vice-President of St Edmund's, Ware, but renounced the appointment when invited to teach Ecclesiastical History and Ascetics at Oscott, then declined this post when appointed President of the boys' college at Prior Park. After two years as President he left the college in a state of collapse. He had proceeded MA in 1903 and so was able to accept the invitation which came to him in the June of 1904 to succeed William Sutcliffe as Master of St Edmund's House. On the completion of his five years of office (1904-1909) he returned to parochial life as parish priest first of Thorndon, Essex (1909-10) and then of the Church of Our Lady in the Marylebone Road (1910-16). He then spent five quiet years as Chaplain to the Visitation Convent at Harrow and in 1921 was appointed parish priest of the important London parish of St Mary Moorfields. A succession of honours came his way. On his appointment to Prior Park he had been nominated a Camariere Segreto to Pope Leo XIII. In the May of 1909, having been appointed the University's representative at the seventy-fifth anniversary of the restoration of the University of Louvain, he received from the University of the honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy and Letters. In 1911 he became a member of the Association of St Edmund's House, and in 1921 its President. In this same year he was nominated a Canon of the Westminster Chapter. In 1924 he was the Lord Mayor's Chaplain and was also elected to the Old Secular Brotherhood. He became President of that body in 1929. He died at Hertford on January 9 1931. [Notes courtesy of Garrett Sweeney, 'St Edmund's House, Cambridge: The First Eighty Years'.]