John Christopher Drumgoole (15 August 1816–28 March 1888)[1] was an Irish Roman Catholic priest. He emigrated to the United States at the age of 9 from his native Ireland. He became an ordained priest at the age of 52. He worked tirelessly to help homeless youth in New York City and founded the Mission of the Immaculate Virgin in Manhattan in 1871, it has been on its current site in the Pleasant Plains section of Staten Island since 1883. Mount Loretto, an orphanage for boys and afterwards girls, was run by the mission for many years.[2]
He was a hero of the newsboys who thronged the area when Park Row was the headquarters of New York City's major newspapers, including The New York Times. Drumgoole Plaza, a New York City park, is named in his honor as are the service roads of the Korean War Veterans Parkway on Staten Island. (Drumgoole Road East and Drumgoole Road West).Public School 36 (P.S.36 John C. Drumgoole) on Staten Island is named after him.