Born in Ireland in 1834, he then studied at Meath National school before performed tonsure and minor orders in Paris in 1855.
After being ordained as a Roman Catholic priest on 28 March 1857, Handy travelled to San Francisco, California.
After this time his health began to fail so on 5 November 1861 he left San Francisco for Sydney on the Nimrod.
Handy was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland until shortly before his death on 24 January 1874 at the age of 40.
[2] John Killeen Handy married Isabella Agnes Carse Kendall on 12 February 1863 in Sydney.