New clerical appointments in Killaloe Diocese

A NUMBER of new clerical appointments have been made in the Killaloe Diocese to take effect ahead of the retirement of Bishop Willie Walsh. The newly appointed priests will take up their new posts from Friday, August 27 and include placements in O’Callaghan’s Mills/Kilkishen, Coolmeen-Cranny and Bodyke-Tuamgraney-Ogonnelloe.

Among the new parish priest appointments in the diocese is Fr Colm Hogan, who will take up duties at Kildysart and Coolmeen-Cranny.
Fr Hogan is a native of Lorrha, County Tipperary and was educated in Birr Community College, Athlone RTC and St Patrick’s College, Maynooth. 
He was ordained in 1998 and was first appointed as curate in Roscrea. He was appointed as curate in Shannon in 2003. In 2007, he joined St James’ Missionary Society to work in Guayaquil, Ecuador and it is from here that he returns to Clare.
Meanwhile, O’Callaghan’s Mills native, Fr David Carroll has been appointed as parish priest of Birr, County Offaly. Fr Carroll was educated in Scariff Community College and St Patrick’s College, Maynooth.
After his ordination in 1992, he was appointed as curate in Templederry, County Tipperary and studied catechetics in All Hallows College, Dublin. In 1996, he was appointed as curate in Cooraclare and director of the Primary Schools Catechetics.
He was appointed curate in Nenagh in 1998 and curate in Borrisokane in 2000 and went on to serve as curate in Templederry in 2005 and in Nenagh in 2006.
In July 2007, he was appointed curate in Birr, where he now takes on his new position as parish priest.
Another change in County Clare is that Fr Neil Dargan, who was the parish priest of Kildysart, will now become priest in residence in O’Callaghan’s Mills/Kilkishen, while Fr John O’Keefe, who was the parish priest of Coolmeen-Cranny, he has been appointed as assistant priest in the same parish.
Fr Donagh O’Meara will be returning from Port Elizabeth, South Africa to become parish priest of Bodyke-Tuamgraney and of Ogonnelloe, where he will reside.
Arising from the new appointments, this will mean that there will be 95 Killaloe priests in full-time parish ministry in both parish priest and curate capacity and five priests who are engaged in full-time school chaplaincy, teaching, diocesan administration and other pastoral work.
A further eight Killaloe priests will be serving overseas in various ministries and seven priests from the diocese will be fully retired from active ministry. Included in these figures are four priests from other dioceses or religious congregations serving as priests in parishes of the diocese.
There are currently four students studying for the priesthood for the Diocese of Killaloe. Among them is O’Briensbridge native, Gerard Jones, who was ordained a deacon last April.