Tag Archives: Bishop Fintan Monahan

As always, the season of Advent flies and seems to disappear like the blink of an eye with all the busyness in and around us. What a lovely time it is for many with all the excitement and anticipation of the season, holy and secular. Advent, Christmas and the restful days post-Christmas days often encourage a nostalgic looking back on what has been in the year just gone by. That’s before the energy and new beginnings of the fresh year around the corner kicks in. In Church and religious terms it was a lively and energetic year with so many things getting off the ground again, as was the case with several other areas of life, post-Covid. It was great to see people able to gather safely again for funerals, weddings and various sacred rituals and rites of passage. The international Synodal Pathway led to many fruitful meetings, discussions and times of discernment all over the world and in the …

WARM tributes have been paid to Scariff native, Fr Michael (Leo) Long, who was laid to rest on Saturday last in the grounds of the Scared Heart Church. At the concelebrated funeral mass, Fr Leo was recalled by the Bishop of Killaloe as “certainly his own man” with a warm and outgoing personality.  Born in 1929, he studied at St Flannan’s College in Ennis from 1941 to 1946. He undertook studies for the priesthood in St Patrick’s College, Carlow from 1946 to 1952. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Joseph Rodgers on June 8, 1952, alongside his brother Fr Jackie. Fr Leo was ordained for the Archdiocese of Melbourne, and ministered in Australia for many years, before returning to Ireland in 1991. He then ministered in Kilmurry McMahon for a year before serving in Silvermines and Templederry, retiring to Nenagh in 2017. He spent his final months at Carrigoran Nursing Home in Newmarket-on-Fergus and died at University Hospital …

AN ex-principal of St Flannan’s College in Ennis has emerged as one of a number of objectors to new plans for a €25m elderly care unit on diocesan owned lands at the college. Last month, the HSE lodged plans for the 100-bed Community Nursing Unit (CNU) on a seven-acre green field site at Clonroadmore at the post primary St Flannan’s College. The hospital is to replace the existing bed capacity at St Joseph’s Hospital in Ennis. The new unit is to contain 75 long-stay and 25 short-stay beds and according to planning documents lodged most residents will have high dependency needs “and a number may also suffer from Alzheimer’s/Dementia”. A total of 11 objections have been lodged against the proposal and in a detailed, hard-hitting objection against the application, Colm McDonagh has told Clare County Council that the proposed CNU “is inappropriate at this location and is not in the best interests of proper planning and development of the area”. …

FOND tributes have been paid on the passing, at the age of 92, of Fr Brendan Lawlor, Assistant Priest of Tulla.  At his funeral mass Bishop Fintan Monahan gave thanks for Fr Brendan’s long, happy and fruitful life and his “remarkable breath of pastoral experience”. The bishop paid tribute to Fr Brendan’s decades-long ministry. This was mainly in the priesthood, but Fr Brendan also ministered as a lay person and counsellor after being dispensed from his vows in his mid 40s to marry. After the untimely passing of his wife, Paula Jean Anthony, he returned to the priesthood and spend the last 22 years of his life in Tulla.  Michael Patrick Brendan Lawlor was born in O’Brien’s Bridge on March 4, 1930. He began studies for the priesthood in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth in 1948. He was ordained to the priesthood on the June 19, 1955 for the diocese of St. Augustine Florida. His first appointment was to St. Rose of Lima Parish …

THE ordination of Croatian native Antun Pasalic into the priesthood at the weekend was described as a “unique joy” by Bishop Fintan Monahan. Antun’s parents, Marko and Anđa, and his family, travelled from Croatia to be present at his ordination on Sunday in Ennis’ Cathedral of St Peter and Paul. Following his ordination, Fr Antun celebrated his First Mass of Thanksgiving in the Cathedral on Monday evening. In his homily at the ordination Bishop Monahan recalled how in 2016 he did the pilgrim climb of Croagh Patrick in County Mayo and Antun was on the climb with him that day. “Little did I think then that we would share the Pilgrim Path as colleagues in the Diocese of Killaloe. It is a unique joy for me to ordain him today and it is an immense joy too for the priests, religious and people of the diocese. May we continue together on the pilgrim path of Antun’s divine call to priesthood …

Antun Pasalic will be ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Killaloe by Bishop Fintan Monahan in the Cathedral of Ss. Peter and Paul in Ennis this Sunday, April 24, (Divine Mercy Sunday), at 3pm. Antun is a native of Zagreb, Croatia. He first came to Ireland when he was 18 years old and worked for some time in the Cistercian Abbey in Roscrea. He began his studies for the priesthood in St. Patrick’s College Maynooth in 2015. Ordained as a deacon in September 2021, he has been ministering in the Ennis Parish and Abbey Pastoral Area since then. During his time of formation Antun has ministered in Ennis, Nenagh and at Knock Shrine. Antun’s parents, Marko and Anđa, and his family, will travel from Croatia to be present at his ordination on Sunday. Mr Davor Vidis, the Croatian Ambassador to Ireland will also be in attendance. Fr. Antun will celebrate his First Mass of Thanksgiving in the Cathedral …

ANTUN Pasalic, seminarian in Ennis Parish, who is a native of Croatia, has been ordained a Deacon in the Cathedral of SS Peter & Paul Ennis. The ordaining prelate was Bishop Fintan Monahan, Bishop of Killaloe who said, “Today is a happy day and we rejoice in great delight on this occasion of the ordination of Antun as Deacon, another great milestone on his pathway to priesthood to serve in the Diocese of Killaloe. Antun was joined by his brother and his family in the Cathedral, and by his parents, brothers, and sisters, online from their home in Croatia. His Excellency, Dr Davor Vidishe, Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia in Ireland and Fr Yosep, chaplain to the Croatian community in Ireland also attended. The newly ordained Deacon will continue to minister in the Abbey Pastoral Area and reside in Ennis parish. Speaking during the celebration, Bishop Monahan welcomed those who had gathered in person and those joining the ceremony …

ONE third of the Catholic parishes in this diocese are now without a resident priest under the age of 75, the Bishop of Killaloe has revealed. Announcing the Killaloe Diocesan Appointments for 2021, which, in most cases, will take effect next month, Bishop Monahan acknowledged the challenges and opportunities for the diocese. He also expressed gratitude to a number of priests who have opted to continue ministering beyond the retirement age of 75. “One of the great signs of hope in the diocese at present is the coming on-stream this year of 25 lay people trained in the area of Pastoral Care and Catechetics,” the bishop said. “I look forward to working collaboratively with them in the pastoral areas of the diocese.”  Bishop Monahan also expressed thanks to the Covid committees and the many volunteers who have worked so hard to ensure that churches and places of worship across the diocese are as safe as possible over the past year-and-a-half.  As announced last month, Fr Ger …