Denis Fahey - Early Writings

Early Writings

Fahey began to turn his attention to writing in the early 1920s, submitting articles for a number of Catholic journals, including the prestigious Irish Ecclesiastical Record, most of which were philosophical in nature. Coming form a position of neo-Scholasticism, his early theological works included Kingship of Christ According to the Principles of St. Thomas Aquinas, with its foreword written by Father John Charles McQuaid, the head of Blackrock College. At this early stage Fahey had little involvement in political issues, beyond being a strong supporter of Catholic Action as a bulwark against secularisation. In this respect Fahey was one of a number of prominent clergymen, including McQuaid, Edward Cahill and Alfred O'Rahilly, who praised what they saw as the value of Catholic Action in this respect.

It was in his books, most notably The Kingship of Christ and Organised Naturalism (1943) and The Mystical Body of Christ and the Reorganisation of Society (1945), that Fahey began to turn his attention to more political matters. Much of Fahey's anti-Judaic stance influenced other members of the church, such as Father Charles Coughlin, an American priest who regularly used references on his radio programs from Fahey's work.