| born 1 February 1899 |
| died 27 July 1967 aged 68 |
| clothed 1920 |
| professed 1921 |
On 29 July 1967, Bro. Magnus O’Brien died, after suffering for many months from cancer.
Born in Motherwell in 1899, he worked for some time on the old Caledonian Railway and visited the Abbey on numerous occasions with the Glasgow retreatants. In August 1919 he came as a postulant and was clothed the following year.
He lived the ordinary life of any brother in any monastery, doing all the ordinary things – boilerman, cook, baker, groundsman, until the day came when he could no longer work.
A man with a big body, a big voice, a big laugh and a big heart, he went into every task given him with a large enthusiasm. He was, in the true sense of the word, a simple man.
Taken from Abbey Boys by Mike Turnbull
Brother Magnus’s headstone in the monk’s cemetery
