Remembering the Taejon Martyrs

Source: Columban Missionaries

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the deaths of seven Columbans in the Korean War. Historian Mairéad O'Brien writes about three of the seven who were killed in the Taejon Massacre.

The 24th of September 2025 was the 75th anniversary of the Massacre at Taejon, which took place during the early months of the Korean War (1950-1953).

Among the 1,000 people killed by Communist forces were three Columban missionaries based in Mokpo, South Korea. They were Mgr Patrick Brennan, Fr Tommie Cusack and Fr Jack O'Brien.

On 25th June 1950 the North Korean People's Army launched an attack on the Republic of South Korea. The Columbans in Mokpo were not unduly worried as the war zone was 320 kilometres away, across mountainous terrain. However, three weeks later, the US Command sent an envoy to Mokpo, offering the missionaries safe passage to the port of Pusan, from where they could travel safely to Japan. Aware of the risks, all three men refused the lifeline, choosing to remain with their parishioners.

The North Koreans arrived in Mokpo on 25th July. A week later, the three Columbans were arrested and transferred to Kwangju, where they were interrogated and placed in a police cell. One night, three American soldiers, one of whom was Lieutenant Alexander G. Makarounis, were thrown into the cell with them. They all chatted for a while in the dark.

The Columbans shared their blankets with the soldiers and Mgr Brennan encouraged the newcomers to get a good night's sleep.

From the "brogues" of Fr O'Brien and Fr Cusack, it was clear to the Americans that two of the men were Irish. When morning came, they were surprised to learn that their companions were three Roman Catholic priests.

Their cell was small, and they had little to entertain themselves. Fr Jack sang songs to help pass the time. On one occasion, he even danced an Irish jig. Food rations were skimpy, leaving them constantly hungry. American planes often flew overhead, strafing and bombing their detention centre, which also served as a military stronghold. The American prisoners believed that the prayers of the priests kept them safe during this period.

The six priests and soldiers were loaded onto a crowded truck one night. As they sped along the rough mountain roads, the guards tried to intimidate them by pointing their guns in the air and firing, laughing maniacally, and singing loudly. Whenever the prisoners moved, the guards would jab them with a gun and click the chamber as if preparing to shoot, relishing the fear in the prisoners' eyes before erupting into hysterical laughter.

They travelled for three nights, under the cover of darkness to avoid detection by Western forces. Each morning, they were thrown into a cell and given a rice ball. Despite huddling together for warmth, they always seemed to be cold.

Just before dawn on the third night, the truck broke down about 12 kilometres outside the city of Taejon. The group had to walk the rest of the way. Fr Tommie and Fr Jack supported Mgr Brennan and Lieutenant Makarounis, who struggled to keep up. It was crucial to keep everyone moving, as the guards threatened to shoot anyone who fell behind.

As they approached a river, light bombers appeared overhead, prompting everyone to run under a nearby bridge. Mgr Brennan, exhausted, slipped on the rocks leading down to the water. Fr Jack reached out, grabbed his hand, and pulled him back to safety before he could be swept away.

They resumed their journey, with the Monsignor and Lieutenant Makarounis still struggling to keep up. When a guard signalled to the two men to step back, they were expecting to be executed. To their surprise, the guard indicated they could slow down.

Eventually, all six men arrived at Taejon, weakened by hunger, thirst and fatigue. That night, the American soldiers were moved elsewhere. After the war, they spoke fondly of the stoicism, positivity and deep faith of the three Columbans.

In Taejon, the priests were imprisoned at a Franciscan monastery along with the wife of a Korean judge who recalled that whenever someone was taken out for torture or interrogation regarding Catholics in Taejon, "the three foreign priests went down on their knees and prayed throughout the night for that prisoner."

The monastery served as the temporary headquarters for the North Korean Forces, and whenever there was an air attack by American forces, the Western prisoners were ordered onto the roof to act as human shields.

By September, United Nations forces, led by American General Douglas MacArthur, had recaptured Seoul and sent a task force southward towards Taejon to prevent Communist troops from rushing north to retake the South Korean capital.

On the night of 24th September, the North Korean army were forced to retreat from Taejon. Before they withdrew, they massacred about 1,000 prisoners. Among those executed were the three Columban priests. The blood-splattered and bullet-riddled walls of the monastery bore witness to the brutality of their deaths.

Bodies - both dead and alive - were dumped in caves and into deep wells. In 1952, these remains were recovered, cremated, and buried on a nearby hill. In 1996, a Catholic historian took some of the bones and placed them in three urns, which were transferred in 2008 to a memorial erected by the Daejeon (Taejon) diocese in their honour.

The Seven Columbans who died in Korea in 1950

Taejon:

Mgr Patrick Brennan (49) from Chicago, of Irish parents, who was killed on the 24th of September 1950 at Taejon.
Fr Tommie Cusack (39) from Ballycotton, Liscannor, Co Clare, killed on 24th September 1950 at the massacre at Taejon.
Fr Jack O'Brien (31) from Donamon, Co Roscommon, killed on 24th September 1950 at the massacre at Taejon.

Elsewhere in Korea:

Fr Tony Collier (37) from Clogherhead, Co Louth, who was killed on the 27th June 1950. Tony was the first foreigner to die in the Korean conflict.
Fr Jim Maginn (38) of Newcastle, Co Down (born in Butte, Montana to Irish parents), who had been missing in Korea since June 1950, was killed on 4th July that year.
Fr Patrick Reilly (34) from Drumraney, Co Westmeath, who was killed on 29th August 1950.
Fr Frank Canavan (35) from Headford, Co Galway, who died in a prison camp in North Korea on 6th December 1950. On 4th December he told Mgr Tom Quinlan, who was in the prison camp with him, "I will be having Christmas dinner in Heaven."