Columban Fr Matthew Reilly RIP

Fr Matthew Reilly

5 April 1934 - 17 January 2018

Fr Matthew ('Mattie') Reilly was born in Bellair, Moynalty, County Meath, Ireland, on 5 April 1934. Educated at Moynalty National School and St Finian's College, Mullingar, he entered St Columban's, Dalgan Park, in September 1952 and was ordained priest there on 21 December 1958. He was a younger brother of the late Columban Fr Patrick Reilly who died in 1998.

Moynalty [Wikipedia]

Father Mattie's first appointment, in 1959, was to Korea where he was to spend twelve years. After language studies he worked in the Kwangju area, spent some time as secretary to the Papal Nuncio, completed a course in catechetics atthe East Asian Pastoral Institute, Quezon City, Philippines, and served as pastor of Youngsanpo, Gwangju, before doing pastoral work in Seoul.

Gwangju at sunset [Wikipedia]

From 1972 to 1978 Father Mattie did pastoral work in the Diocese of Meath, serving as chaplain to Our Lady's Hospital, Navan, and as spiritual director to various praesidia of the Legion of Mary and to the Society of St Vincent de Paul. 

St Bede's, Widnes [Wikipedia]

From 1978 to 1984 he served at St Bede's, Widnes, then a Columban parish, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool, England, where he is still fondly remembered.

Old chapel, St Columban's, Solihull

After a brief period in office work at the Columban house, Solihull, near Birmingham, he was involved as pastor and counsellor to alcohol and drug addicts in Clouds House, East Knoyle, Wiltshire, now part of Action on Addiction. He returned to Solihull in 1986 and served there as office manager until 1992. During that time he was responsible for extending the offices.

Father Mattie returned to Ireland in 1992 and did pastoral work in the Diocese of Meath along with being a part-time chaplain in the Mater Hospital in Dublin. From 1995 to 2003 he was chaplain to St Francis Private Hospital, Mullingar. Because of his own many illnesses he got great fulfillment from chaplaincy work and the care of the sick. As his health deteriorated he could do less work but he loved to help in parishes in the Diocese of Meath whenever he could.

Vase with Cornflowers and Poppies, Van Gogh [Web Gallery of Art]

During his years in St Columban's Nursing Home, Dalgan Park, Father Mattie developed the cultivation of flowers as a hobby.He created magnificent seasonal displays of flowers in the corridors, chapels and out of doors especially for Cemetery Sunday, Jubilee Days, Easter and Christmas.

Fr Cyril Lovett

This hymn was sung after Communion during Father Mattie's funeral Mass, at his request. The words are based on a Latin antiphon sung at Requiem Masses as the body is being taken out of the church: 

In paradisum deducant te Angeli; 

in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, 

et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem. 

Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, 

et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem..

Solas na bhFlaitheas ar a anam dílis. 

The Light of Heaven on his faithful soul.

According to family members, the song The Old Bog Road was a favourite of Father Mattie and he would sing it on occasion.

Columban Fr Patrick Donohoe RIP

Fr Patrick Donohoe

(1932 - 2016)

Fr Patrick ('Pat') Donohoe died rather suddenly in Dublin’s Mater Misericordia Hospital on 28 February, 2016. Born at Derryheen, Cavan on 20 May 1932, he was educated at Cavan Convent School, Drumcrave National School and St Patrick’s College, Cavan. He went to St Columban's, Dalgan Park, Ireland, in 1950 and was ordained priest on 21 December 1956. 

Cathedral of St Patrick and St Felim, Cavan [Wikipedia]

His first appointment was to Korea where he would spend the next twenty-three years. He served in Kwangju (now Gwangju) Vicariate before being appointed Regional Bursar for three years. Then he was appointed to the island of Cheju (now Jeju), where he spent five years keeping the books at the St Isidore Development Association and a further ten years in pastoral work.

Jeju Seashore [Wikipedia]

In 1980 he was assigned to the US Region in order to pursue studies in economics at Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.  This led in 1981 to an appointment to the Bursar’s office in Ireland and in the following year to becoming Bursar of the District of Britain. After seven years in that position, he felt the need of a fresh challenge and  was assigned to Jamaica where he again served as Bursar in Montego Bay.

Montego Bay pushcart vendor [Wikipedia]

At the end of 1991, he was assigned the Region of Ireland and served in pastoral ministry in the Diocese of Clonfert. In May 1998 he was assigned as Chaplain to the Missionary Sisters of St Columban in Magheramore. He spent almost eighteen happy years in this final appointment until he was confined to hospital with chest pains and died within twenty-four hours.

Logo of the Columban Sisters

As a Bursar, Father Pat was known to be friendly, thorough and competent.

His ability to prime a conversation, his gift for repartee, together with his wide interest in social, economic and political affairs made him  good company. He will be missed by all of his Columban colleagues and by the Columban Sisters whom he served faithfully until the end.

May he rest in peace. 

St Columban's Cemetery, Dalgan Park, Ireland

Fr Patrick Raleigh, Regional Director of the Columbans in Ireland, in his covering letter when emailing the obituary of Fr Donohoe noted that 'at the end of the meal one of Pat's friends from Cavan sang a few Cavan songs.' It is becoming a very praiseworthy practice to have a few songs at the post-funeral lunch in Dalgan Park, something that reflects our hope as believers in the Resurrection. And I cannot imagine that the song below, written by Percy French and the best known Cavan song of all, was omitted. 

It is said too that this was the favourite Irish song of Pope Pius XII and that he was introduced to it by a priest from Ballyjamesduff who was helping him with his English. I don't know if His Holiness spoke English with a Cavan accent!