Second print planned for Lest we Forget

A BOOK on religious vocations in North Clare has proved intensely popular and next month will see its second print hit the shelves.
Detroit-based priest TJ Maloney compiled Lest we forget, a compendium of Ambassadors for Christ that had roots in the parish of Inagh-Kilnamona, before Christmas. Since then, almost all the copies have sold out and he and his fellow researchers are hoping to update the details of the book for the next edition.
“About 18 months ago, Flan Garvey and myself were talking and we thought no-one has done it. I’m not far from Adrian, Michigan where there are nine Inagh nuns buried,” said Fr Moloney of the Irish Pallottine Community in Wyandotte, Detroit. 
The project was an enormous one documenting the lives of more than 140 people from the North Clare parish who had gone into religious life.
“I started working on it by driving to Adrian, Michigan and taking pictures of each of the nun’s graves there. While I was there, I also got a write up on each of the nuns. I spoke to people in Inagh and I got more information. The more people I spoke to about the idea the more information people gave me,” Fr Moloney recalled.
The Inagh man admits that the 18 months were busy ones for him but also very rewarding.
“It was a tremendous amount of research but Flan Garvey was the moving force behind it. I was in America though and was able to contact a lot of people. I’m not far from Adrian so I had access to the records there. It was a labour of love and if it is not done now, it will never be done. It is for the present generation, to give them a sense of roots, a sense of identity and help them to be proud of the past,” he continued.
Fr Moloney himself has much in common with some of those whose contribution he recorded. He was ordained in 1973 before spending three years in Tanzania. He then moved to the United States ,where he travelled extensively. 
The book contains stories of religious from the parish of Inagh-Kilnamona who travelled to Puerto Rico, Australia, Africa, England, Tasmania, China and the Philippines as well as those who stayed in Ireland pursuing their vocation.
“It is amazing the amount of people from the parish who were committed and went to teach the good news. They also affected so many people. It was sort of a ripple effect like when you throw a pebble in a pond, the ripples keep forming,” Fr Moloney explained.
“There were so many interesting stories it is hard to pick just one that stands out,” he said.
“The story of Monsignor Barry is particularly special to me. There were books written on him. He was supposed to be a deeply spiritual and saintly man,” Fr Moloney added.
Another person who stood out in the book was Sr Mary Thomasine Hehir who was arrested on Easter Monday 1916 in Florida. Sr Hehir was the principal of St Benedict’s School where she taught black students, something which had been outlawed in the state three years earlier.
“There were a lot of great characters. There were a lot of great people and they gave their all. A lot of them, when they left they were gone for good and never came home again,” Fr Moloney stated.
Fr Moloney himself is a regular visitor to his home parish of Inagh and to his mother who lives in Corofin. Indeed he promises to return again very soon.
“I hope to go back in February and I think the books are going to be printed after that. We produced 300 in the first print but it is very specialised publication and so we weren’t sure what the demand would be like for it,” he said.
“What is important is that people should have a sense of history. People need to know that we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. Sometimes people don’t realise the culture and tradition we inherit of giving and going forth and I think it is important that young people are aware of this,” Fr Moloney continued.
Former Mayor of Clare and Inagh man Flan Garvey stated that the parish of Inagh-Kilnamona owed Fr Moloney a “deep debt of gratitude” for his role in assembling this unusual anthology.
“This book is a historic record and one the people of the parish can be proud of; all our nuns, brothers and priests of the past and the present,” Flan continued.
In his foreword to the book, Bishop of Killaloe Willie Walsh commended Fr Moloney and Flan Garvey on the initiative and said he “hoped that other parishes may be inspired to undertake a similar project in their own parishes”.
If people have any new information on those featured in the book or others who may have been unintentionally overlooked, Fr Moloney is asking them to get in touch with him by email on tjm46Inagh@yahoo.com or to contact any of the priests in the parish of Inagh-Kilnamona.