PARISH priest Father Arnie Rosney is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his ordination, with a silver jubilee mass at Ss John & Paul Church on Saturday evening at 6.30pm, followed by a parish reception at the Oakwood Hotel.
Entering the priesthood is a major commitment, opening the door to one way of life while closing other doors, and as Father Arnie made his way through Maynooth in the early to mid 90s, he increasingly realised that it was for him.
“I’m not sure it (becoming a priest) was something I always wanted to do, but I always thought it was something worthwhile doing. I saw it as a good way to spend my life.
“When I was going through Maynooth I never expected to see the whole thing through, I never expected that. But as you went up along and got closer to it, you got more settled into it and you suddenly realise this way of life is for you.”
After being ordained to the Deaconate, Bishop Willie Walsh asked him to go to Rome to continue his education, and after coming back to the Diocese in 1999 he spent a couple of years in Ennis, before arriving in Shannon.
“In September 2001 the Bishop asked would I come to Shannon to replace Father Mickey Mac as teacher chaplin in St Patrick’s Comprehensive. I came to Shannon then, and I’ve been here ever since.”
While he has been based locally for quite a long time, he says that the life of a priest does have a degree of uncertainty, as all lives do.
“You can’t predict what’s going to happen next year, no more than in any one else’s life. Whether you’re living in a married state, a single state or religious state of life, you never know what’s going to be around the corner. Life has thought me that over the last 25 years, you just never know.”
A parish priest sees a lot of life, being close to people at times of joy and celebration and in the midst of grief and loss.
“One of the things I remember Bishop Willie saying the day of our ordination that you have the privilege of being with parents at happy times, baptisms, first communions, confirmations, wedding days, sharing in anniversaries, but also the privilege of being with parents and families at sad times, funerals, loss, challenges, I’ve had that experience.”
Of course he has seen a lot more than he had when he arrived in Shannon, and does that stand to him now?
“There’s no book, no template to tell you what to do. I think you develop your own inner sense on one hand, but how do you explain to someone who has lost their child? You just try and journey with them.
“I’ve learned one thing as I get older, you can only understand something when you’ve been through it yourself, I think that’s the case with things in general.
“Unless you have experienced loss you can’t empathise with someone else. Someone who has gone through a separation, you don’t understand unless you’ve gone through it yourself.
“You can offer a message of hope through the gospel, which people do appreciate and do want in their lives, but really to understand where someone is at, you have to be in their shoes.”
He met the Clare Champion at 9am one morning, and in the coming hours he would preside at three funerals, bringing him into close contact with several groups of bereaved people.
The workload of a priest also brings one into regular contact with the sick and the suffering, as well as there being a range of everyday demands, so can it be rather draining?
“I think you learn to develop a way of taking time off, of looking after yourself. Not in a selfish way, but being able to say, right I need to be able to remove myself from a given situation for a moment, and then come back refreshed.
“I think this is where burnout can happen, that you’re constantly driving on, but there comes a point where you have to put your foot on the brake. I’m conscious of doing that, I have to do it.
“You’re here to serve the people to the best of your ability, but your ability won’t be there if you don’t have energy, or if you lose momentum. You can’t function if you’re burned out. I think that’s true of any area of life, and the world is becoming more difficult and challenging for people.”
However, he says that in many ways there are more demands on people with families and he finds a lot of meaning and fulfilment in what he does.
“If I didn’t enjoy it I wouldn’t be in it, I wouldn’t do something I don’t enjoy, but enjoyment is one word, fulfilment is different.
“I keep going back to other people’s lives, I think I see my life as a parallel with others, that we’re in this together coming from different angles, but to the same centre.
“I say I’ve an opportunity today to brighten someone’s life, I may not know their story, but if they leave my company feeling that bit better, job done.”
Father Arnie is a native of Birr, and he still goes back there very regularly, while he feels he has been fortunate to have been sent to Shannon.
“I’m lucky to be in an international town, there’s so many people and we’re all new to Shannon, there are people now who are originally from Shannon but their parents and grandparents came from somewhere else, no more than myself. I get a great sense of welcome, a great sense of support.
“I suppose love, in the sense that people appreciate what you do and they do look out for you, I’ve experienced that. And gratitude, people are grateful for what you do. Anyone I meet out and about there’s a welcome and a chat or so on.”
If it was 25 years ago, would he do it all over again?
“I’d have liked to have been married and have kids and so on, but I would, knowing what I know now I probably would. At the time we thought it was a good thing to do, I thought it was a good way of life for me, and I took a risk and it has worked up until now.”
When he looks back, the time seems to have passed like a flash of light.
“It’s gone really quickly, really quickly. Maybe that’s because I try and do what I do to the best of my ability and there’s been so much support from so many people.”
The best moments have been little ones, he feels.
“The small things are the highlights for me. Easter Dawn Mass, events and celebrations that mean something to people, ones that lift people up, that help me to grow. To name specific highlights, I couldn’t really.”
Father Arnie really wants to express his gratitude to all those who he has encountered over the last quarter century.
“I just want to thank the people in the parish for everything they’ve done for me and enabled me to do the best I can. I’ve my own faults and failings, my limitations that I’m aware of.
“I’m grateful to my family and all those I’ve been privileged to meet along the road, people I know, people I only met on a once-off, people who sent a card a funeral or event I’ve done, I just want to say thank you, also to colleagues, I’ve worked with and the bishops who’ve been supportive of what I’ve done.”
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.