Fr Raymond Donnelly, curate at St. Michael’s Enniskillen
AT JUST 35-years-old, Fr Raymond Donnelly is almost certainly the youngest priest in Fermanagh, if not the whole diocese of Clogher.
The Monaghan man was ordained in June 2013, and for the past six months has been adapting to life in Fermanagh as the curate in St Michael’s Parish, Enniskillen.
A ‘late starter’ to the priesthood, Fr Raymond left his job as a teacher in Castleblayney in his late 20s, in 2008.
And, despite having a career carved out for him through teaching, he has always felt that the priesthood was a line he was certain to go down.
“I suppose like many young people you maybe want to experience other aspects of life.
“Maybe you want to try college or university, or travel. And that was a good thing. But I think in the back of my mind I always knew that priesthood was going to be the ultimate goal,” Fr Raymond said.
On resigning his job, he said: “In the back of your mind you always think, where’s my safety net here?
“Because I had resigned my job, I think when it came to making the decision I had to take the decision to leave very seriously.
“It’s a very personal and spiritual journey too. But I never doubted as soon as I started that journey and I never looked back.”
Asked whether recent scandals within the church had affected his resolve, Fr Raymond explained: “None of that really entered my mindset. When God plants that seed in your heart, it’s not that it doesn’t matter – you’re aware of it – but in time you’re able to rise above it.
“There was that sense that you could make a difference in people’s lives.”
He added: “It’s interesting, the one thing I learned about going away was that sometimes you think that when you hear things in the media that, well, that’s obviously the universal perception. And then you leave Ireland and it’s not.
“Sometimes you get the impression here that you have to apologise for being a Catholic, or I have to apologise for being a priest – so I think the experience of being away and coming back has been very helpful because I don’t feel the need to apologise.
“I have absolutely no problem telling anyone I’m a priest, I have no problem wearing the collar.”
‘Quietly’, Fr Raymond was delighted to be coming to Enniskillen. He had completed two two week placements here – and described the church community here in as very healthy.
“I kind of had a sense that it might be happening, Fermanagh’s a beautiful county to come to, it’s scenic and there’s so much to discover.
“There’s also a sense that people here are really friendly and that the church is really alive here – the church is a huge part of people’s lives. You know that from Mass attendance here, people coming for baptisms, weddings, the various groups that meet on a regular basis. All these are people who love their church and contributing to it.”
The curate is becoming increasingly aware of major social issues that exist in the county: unemployment, alcohol abuse, and highlighted the church’s role in mental health.
“That’s where I think the church and the personnel of the church really provide a very important listening ear to the young – and I think that message of ‘we care about ‘you’, has to come across very strongly so that people have the confidence to approach a priest to talk about something.
“Very often a listening ear can achieve an awful lot – and just having the ability to direct a person on to a professional service. It’s remarkable how many people knock on a priest’s door and ask, ‘Can you speak to me?’.”
In St Michael’s Parish, Fr Raymond works with Monsignor Peter O’Reilly, Fr Joseph McVeigh, Fr David Donnelly and although the ‘junior’ member of the group, he doesn’t see too much of a generation gap.
“I’m sure there probably is, but there’s such a respect for shared experience that even if we had a different opinion, it wouldn’t matter.
“There’s a nice variety, and that’s what I like about this house. There’s a variety of experience and a variety of approaches and styles, and they’re all complementary.
“They would have the years of experience that I don’t have. But that’s not to say that I am treated as someone who doesn’t have a valuable contribution to make – I’ve never felt that. There’s tremendous freedom here that I appreciate.”
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