Canon James Kearney O’Neill was a native of Ballypatrick, County Antrim, Ireland, where his maternal uncle, Thomas J. Kearney, had previously been parish priest.
He studied at the Classical School in Downpatrick, enrolled in St. Malachy's Diocesan College Belfast, in February 1872 and entered Maynooth in September 1875.
He was greatly influenced by the social teaching of the Church and particularly the encyclical "Rerum Novarum" Fr.
O’Neill (then Canon) died on 18 March 1922 and is buried at the rear of the church in Ballyvoy.
The Order pays tribute to him in May of every year by the celebration of Mass in Ballyvoy.