No words of mine in these few moments can fully lift the heavy cloud of grief that has settled over the Diocese of Ferns since last Thursday, when we learned – suddenly and with profound shock – that Odhrán had gone to his eternal reward. Angela and Tom, nothing can fill the void left in your lives as parents; Niamh and Majella, nor ease the pain of losing a beloved brother. Yet even in this sorrow, we gather as a people who believe that death does not have the final word. Odhrán’s life of connection continues in God’s presence, in our memories, and in the communion of saints.
At best, my words now may stir in everyone’s mind some cherished memory of how Odhrán touched your life. If you are family, perhaps the young child or teenager; if a colleague, times in the seminary or early parish days; if newer to his circle, how he made space for you, welcomed you, and wove you into the community. There is a word for that connection – and for the disconnection we feel today – and it is the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is not only our future hope; it is here and now, in all of life’s joys and griefs, triumphs and failures, births and deaths. This is the very material from which Odhrán was always busy building the Kingdom, in every circle he belonged to.
The Gospel Fintan read for us today offers Jesus’ image of the Kingdom as a vine, with its branches and fruit. When the news of our shared grief reached me on Thursday, I knew immediately this Gospel would best capture Odhrán’s life while showing his deep link to the Source of Life, Jesus Christ. Jesus teaches that fruitfulness comes from abiding in Him and in one another. Odhrán lived this reality in so many ways.
He was a man of connections. First, his family, of whom he was so proud: Angela and Tom, Niamh and Majella, Tomás, his nephews and nieces, and the wide network of first cousins rooted in Wexford and Kerry who are scattered across the world. His passion for genealogy was no mere hobby; it sprang from his conviction that people matter to people – and therefore matter deeply to God. In the vine, Jesus shows we are linked to Him only when linked to each other. Odhrán knew this and lived it.
He blessed the people of New Ross, Gorey, Templeudigan, Rathgarogue and Enniscorthy with his ministry. In recent years, his chaplaincy at Wexford Hospital allowed him to walk with those carrying the crosses of illness and pain, and with those who care for them. For many years also he brought joy to the young people with special needs who travelled to Lourdes with the Children’s Pilgrimage Trust. He loved it and hhis ability to get people involved made the pilgrimages memorable for all. His return to New Ross last summer closed a beautiful circle of ministry begun there years ago – a sense of completeness that, sadly, lasted all too short a time.
Odhrán lived the vocation who the great English Cardinal and theologian, John Henry Newman, described in his prayer “The Mission of My Life”: “I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work.” Odhrán’s life and ministry were exactly that: a link with deep bonds of connection.
That same spirit of fruitful connection shone in his work with young people. As a young priest, he brought the Meitheal programme to schools across the diocese. The original Meitheal – neighbours helping neighbours at sowing and harvest, without pay, trusting the favour would be returned – was never just practical; it was joyful, communal work that healed body and soul. Adapted for schools, it rested on the truth that the best help for a struggling young person often comes from another who has faced and overcome similar fears. Coming from Kerry, where Meitheal was a living reality and word, Odhrán felt utterly at home championing it here and making it real for the 21st century.
For many years, he served as Spiritual Director to Wexford GAA and motivator to various teams. Hurlers, footballers, and camogie players all drew from his wisdom and encouragement. On Friday night, Fr Brian Whelan and I visited the senior hurlers’ training in Ferns. It was deeply moving: players and mentors lit candles in his memory, each sharing one word about what he meant to them – courage, historian, friend, wise, fun. Every word rang true. We ended with prayer, commending his soul to God, then continued training as Odhrán would have wanted. The word that lingered most with me was “historian,” for it captured the Odhrán who knew the value of roots, of knowing your place and drawing strength from those who went before. His talks atop Vinegar Hill, Wexford’s memorial battle site, linked players to the energy of their forebears.
Every email or text from Odhrán ended with the Latin blessing: Oremus pro invicem – “Let us pray for one another.” It was one more sign he saw us not as isolated individuals, but as God’s people on a shared journey – a great Meitheal of prayer, lifting each other toward the Lord.
His going was so sudden, so unexpected, that it leaves us breathless. Yet even in that abruptness, we glimpse a life poured out generously in service, now completed in God’s hands.
Angela, you got great comfort from an image that was shared with you over the past few days, an image from the west of Ireland that tries to make some sense of why some lives are cut short. The image is that at the dawn off life everyone is given a basket to go out and fill – with good deeds, and kindness, and love. While some take a long time to fill their basket, others fill their basket quite quickly—through intense, concentrated love and service—and are “called home” early. Odhran has filled his basket to the brim, and has returned home leaving behind a legacy of kindness, memories, and love.
Angela and Tom, Niamh and Majella, and all your extended family; all of us blessed to have had Odhrán as family member, colleague, priest, friend – whether at cards, hurling, or a lunchtime gathering – let us do the one thing that makes deepest sense in our grief: what Odhrán himself asked. Let us pray for one another.
As branches united to the true Vine, may we continue the Meitheal of prayer he began – Oremus pro invicem – and trust that he now abides fully in the eternal harvest.
Leaba i measc na naomh duit, a Odhrán, sagart dílis, cróga, críonna agus mealltach. Go mbeidh an obair atá déanta agat le hóg agus aosta curtha mar fhómhar síoraí.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh d’anam dílis.