Tag Archives: Fr Tom Ryan

A HEARBROKEN Doora-Barefield mother-of-four has described her son, Fionn as a “talented young man and a well of endless potential”. Fionn O’Brien, (20), died following a tragic accident while he was surfing in Lough Donnell beach off the coast between Doonbeg and Quilty between 6.30am and 7am on Monday. It is understood that the former Rice College student got into some difficulty while he was in the water, his friends administered CPR and called the emergency services. Emergency services arrived and he was airlifted by the Shannon-based Coast Guard helicopter R115 for emergency medical treatment to University Hospital Limerick (UHL). He was pronounced dead on Monday around lunch time. In a heart-rendering tribute at his Funeral Mass in the Church of Our Lady, Fahy Hall, Roslevan, on Thursday, his mother, Michelle recalled their son, Fionn arrived promptly into their lives and their contented baby grew into the smiling calm and assured young man they knew and loved. She told the congregation the …

IT IS set to be a Christmas like no other. Level 3 restrictions have allowed religious ceremonies to resume and the popular Christmas tradition of attending mass will be a very different this year. Between the parishes of Ennis and Doora-Barefield alone, an unprecedented 33 masses will be celebrated over two days in seven churches. “We are of the firm belief that people want to come to Christmas mass and we will respond to that demand,” said Fr Tom Ryan, Co-PP of the Abbey Cluster. “We have to have social distancing and capacity restrictions, so our solution is to increase the number of masses. We’ll start on Christmas Eve at 4pm and finish with mass at midnight. On Christmas Day, we’ll have first mass at 7am and the last one at 6.30pm. We have the man power.” The two parishes, who alongside Clarecastle and Ballyea, and Quin, Clooney and Maghera make up the Abbey Cluster, are stopping short of issuing …

THE late John Hume was a man with a “vision of justice for all”, according to Ennis’ Parish Priest Fr Tom Ryan, who came to know the Nobel Peace Prize winning politician while working in Derry in the 1980s.   Following his ordination in 1984 Fr Tom was appointed to St Eugene’s Cathedral in Derry, where on Wednesday Mr Hume was laid to rest. Sharing his memories of the prominent politician who played a leading role in talks which led to the Good Friday Agreement, Fr Tom told us, “Over the years I would have gotten to know the family. John was the politician who was on the go all the time, and his wife Pat was the one who kept the show going on the ground in many ways. “He was the man who had the vision, and who wanted to implement his vision of justice for all. He had a great sense of justice, and he was aware of the …

COCOONING and leaving home only in limited circumstances is a new phenomenon in Ireland due to the Covid 19 pandemic, but it is a way of life for members of the Poor Clares’ community in Ennis. The nine sisters are engaged in daily prayer and contemplation and go outside of the walls of their Francis Street convent only for medical appointment or attend courses relating to their vocation or social issue. In earlier times, once a young woman joined the Poor Clares she remained in cloister for her entire life. “We have a constant quite atmosphere here in the convent but do not have a vow of silence,” said Abbess Bernardine Meskell. After five years as boarder at St Joseph’s Convent in Spanish Point, the Castleconnell, County Limerick woman joined the order in Ennis in 1963. “Our day is full, broken into seven different ceremonies, such as mass celebrated by one of the friars, morning and evening Divine Office and …

BEFORE Christmas, parish priest Fr Tom Ryan was affiliated as an honorary member of the Franciscan Order, in the Poor Clare’s Chapel in Ennis. He was given the affiliation award in recognition of his service and generosity towards the Franciscan Order. The ceremony was presided over by Fr Hugh McKenna, the minister provincial of the Irish Franciscans, and Bishop Fintan Monahan. Writing about Fr Tom, a spokesman for the Franciscans stated, “Fr Tom Ryan, a St Michael’s Villas native and parish priest of Shannon, has always been a good friend of the Franciscans. He has conducted the annual novena in honour of St Anthony in all our friary churches in Ireland. Any time we were away at meetings, Tom was always ready and willing to come to our assistance. In fact, people often joked saying Fr Tom was half a friar. “We certainly appreciated his generous help and decided to do something about it. We contacted our provincial Fr Hugh …

THIS Saturday is the 55th anniversary of the worst air crash in Shannon’s history and one family are travelling from Austria to commemorate the tragedy. Eighty-four people were killed when a President Airlines Douglas DC-6 crashed into the Estuary on September 10, 1961. Thirty-three-year-old Ferdinand Berger was one of those on board and his death left his wife and three children bereaved. This weekend, his two daughters, Eva and Christa, are visiting with their families. They have been in contact with Fr Tom Ryan over recent months and, speaking about their arrival, he said. “I was contacted during the summer by the Berger family, to help organise a memorial service this Saturday for their father, who died 55 years ago in this crash. “Their contact led me to do a bit of investigation into all that happened in that era in Shannon, which is fairly well documented. Unfortunately, at that time, so many people lost their lives. Everyone who lost …

By Owen Ryan IT now seems almost certain that no school in Shannon will be divested from the Catholic Church, as the  Bishop of Killaloe, Kieran O’Reilly has ruled out making any change. In April of last year, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn published the results of primary school patronage surveys from 38 towns across the country, Shannon being the only place in Clare that was included. The report, which followed that survey, recommended that the Bishop of Killaloe be asked to consider options that would provide accommodation for an Educate Together school locally. It claimed that its survey had established sufficient demand for such a school. However, Shannon parish priest Fr Tom Ryan told The Clare Champion that the bishop feels that any change is unnecessary, after consultation with the community. “The bishop, as patron, was asked to report to the minister by the end of October and he reported that after extensive consultation with the schools in Newmarket and …