Honoured bishop says Ennis is still his hometown

UNDERSTANDING, compassionate, kind, generous and honest – words used to describe the Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh who was accorded a civic reception by Ennis Town Council last week.
However, Bishop Walsh, who found himself in the eye of a storm over his handling of a canonical process concerning allegations of child sex abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese, availed of the occasion to declare that only by being open and transparent can the Catholic hierarchy regain the trust of the people.
He also admitted that it would “take a long time” for bishops to fully regain that trust and that the position of Irish bishops was “hazardous for sad reasons” and “at risk” from some mistakes made up to 50 years ago.
“I do believe that I tried to treat every victim with respect, with kindness, with sympathy and I do have a sense of their dreadful pain,” the bishop said.
“It’s very sad that mistakes have been made but I do honestly believe that nearly all of those mistakes were made historically, back a long time ago. From that point of view, I do believe that we have put structures in place which will ensure as far as is humanly possible that something like that will never happen again.”
Bishop Walsh said he was honoured to have been accorded the civic reception and that Ennis had become very much his hometown since 1946. He intended, he said, to remain living in Ennis when he stepped down as Bishop of Killaloe.
A native of Roscrea, Bishop Walsh was a student at St Flannan’s College and later returned to the diocesan college as a teacher of maths, science and physics. He also managed three successful Harty Cup sides with fellow Tipperary native, Fr Seamus Gardiner.
He was appointed parish administrator in Ennis in 1990 and four years later, succeeded the late Bishop Michael Harty as Bishop of Killaloe.
His brother, John, attended Thursday’s civic reception as did members of the Forever Young Choir, who gave a special rendition of the Tipperary anthem Sliabh na mBan.
Mayor of Ennis, Frankie Neylon acknowledged that Bishop Walsh was highly regarded for his ability, understanding and compassion. “You are known for your integrity, kindness and generosity,” he added.
Town manager Ger Dollard emphasised that Bishop Walsh had played an important role in the area of social housing, adding that he was “a person of humility and a strong sense of social justice”.