THERE was great joy and pride in the parish of Tulla on Sunday morning last as the community  welcomed home Bishop Ger Nash for his first official visit to his native parish since being appointed as Bishop of Ferns last year. 

The Glandree native was ordained last September at St Aidan’s Cathedral in Enniscorthy, but Covid restrictions meant many friends and neighbours were unable to attend. The homecoming provided a welcome opportunity for catching up, good wishes and congratulations.

Bishop Ger was the main celebrant at the Sunday morning mass in Saint Peter and Paul’s Church in Tulla.

The celebration was attended by a a large cross section of the community, including former classmates from Drumcharley and Tulla National Schools as well as from Saint Joseph’s Secondary School, where the Bishop Ger received his early education.

The Harty Cup, so recently won by his Alma Mater, had a special place in the sanctuary.

Also present were a group of the new lay ministers who will be commissioned at the Chrism Mass in Ennis Cathedral during Holy Week.

This initiative for lay-leadership in the local church was pioneered by Bishop Ger during his time as Director of Pastoral Planning in the Diocese of Killaloe and will form an integral part of his legacy from his time as a priest of this diocese.

Led into the church by a lone Tulla Piper, Bishop Ger was welcomed by Carmel Moroney on behalf of the Tulla Parish Pastoral Council.

In his homily, the Bishop paid tribute to the family and community which formed and shaped him. “Insofar as I have any skills in leadership and community building, it was the examples that I saw and experienced in this place that planted those seeds in me,” said Bishop Ger.

He went on to pay tribute to the dynamic nature of the Tulla parish which he said continues to flourish in community, sporting, artistic, learning, and other human achievements.

At the social gathering after Mass in Cnoc na Gaoithe, the cake was cut, and the opportunity was taken to celebrate the Bishop’s birthday which coincided with his visit home.
Locals from his home area of Glandree and Drumcharley presented him with a painting of Market Day in Tulla by local artist, Tim Moloney. The painting will now hang in the Bishop’s House in Wexford.

Reminding those gathered, that he lived just two doors down from Wexford Park, Bishop Ger promised free parking to any Tulla people attending matches between Clare and Wexford that might happen there. With true episcopal diplomacy and divided loyalty, he refused to be drawn on who he would be shouting for.