During my seven years studying for the priesthood at Maynooth Seminary, there were occasions when the powers that be could have questioned the appropriateness of my suitability. Indeed there were several incidents, had they come to light, the authorities would have had good grounds to expel me. But like Al Capone being caught for tax evasion, my […]
Hope and healing key themes at Novena
A HUGE crowd is expected to turn out to Holy Cross Church Lisnaskea and St Mary’s Maguiresbridge later this month for a special St Peregrine Novena of Hope and Healing. Organised by Canon Jimmy McPhillips, the Parish of Aghalurcher is going to host a four-day Novena, which is hoping to give the Fermanagh community some […]
Novena of Hope concludes after nine days
AFTER nine days of prayers and reflection at the Graan Monastery in Enniskillen, the well-attended Novena of Hope concluded on Monday night with a special talk from a leading Irish playwright. Leitrim man Gerry Farrell, who has written a number of popular plays including ‘The Last Prime Minister’, shared his thoughts on faith, prayer and […]
COLUMN: Michael Hand – The Swan Story
I NEVER expected to be on the dating scene in my fifties but after 22 years my marriage ended and I wasn’t cut out for being on my own. I have heard it said that women grieve and men replace, so after a short period of grief I went looking for love. Dances and pubs […]
Fermanagh priest Fr Gary Donegan has fourth eye surgery
FERMANAGH cleric Fr Gary Donegan has said his admiration for the NHS ‘grows by the minute’ after he underwent another major surgery. Since December, the Newtownbutler priest has been in and out of hospital and he recently underwent a fourth operation on his eye, in a bid to restore hs sight. “Well it’s official. I’ve […]
COLUMN: Is there anything after this?
IN THE 1980s when I worked as a priest in a town in Fermanagh, I lived next door to a couple who were rather traditional, conservative Catholics. I wouldn’t have thought of myself as their type of priest as I was a product of the post-Vatican 2 church which for a very brief period flirted with some […]
Time for a helping hand
“HAND” said the booming voice of the middle-aged cleric who lay on my bed in Rhetoric House, Maynooth Seminary back in 1974. “Hand, McLáimh, I’m afraid that name does not have a good reputation in clerical circles. Your pedigree is not very good I’m sorry to say.” The man who uttered these words was the […]
Mary McAleese calls for end of celibacy
FORMER President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, has said there will be no priests left in the Western world in 30 years’ time unless the Catholic Church ends celibacy and the bar on married priests. Ms McAleese, currently chancellor of Trinity College Dublin, made the comments after Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, an adviser to Pope Francis and highly influential […]
Time for a Helping Hand
RECENTLY a man asked me out of the blue “Why did you leave the priesthood?” I was taken aback by the directness of his question and replied that I wasn’t cut out for the celibate life. He laughed at my response but that evening I reflected on that difficult decision I made 35 years ago. […]
Fr Gary Donegan has surgery for blindness
FR GARY Donegan has paid tribute to the many people who have “rallied around” him after he recently underwent serious eye surgery. Originally from Newtownbutler, the Ardoyne-based cleric, pictured below, had an operation to restore the sight in his right eye after losing his vision a few weeks ago when a bleed to it caused extensive damage. To read […]