A Tribute to Fr Odhrán Furlong 
With heavy hearts and in the quiet sorrow of sudden loss, we at the Bishop’s House received the painful news of the passing of our dear brother and friend, Fr Odhrán Furlong, on Thursday morning. When he did not come to offer the morning Mass in New Ross, word reached us quickly, and a great stillness of grief settled over our diocesan family.
For several years Fr Odhrán carried the ministry of Director of Communications among us here at the Bishop’s House. With his gentle warmth, his clear and thoughtful voice, and his steadfast love for the diocese, he helped the light of the Gospel and the caring heart of our parishes reach many souls near and far. In recent times the Lord called him first to serve as Chaplain in Wexford General Hospital, and then, from last September, as co-Parish Priest in New Ross, his spirit remained ever close to us, and his love for the Diocese of Ferns never wavered.
His priestly path, begun at ordination in 1995, was one of quiet, faithful pilgrimage through so many places dear to us: Templeudigan, Gorey, Tara Hill, Rathnure, Rathgarogue, Cushinstown, Enniscorthy, and others besides. In the hospital wards of Wexford General he brought the gentle presence of Christ to those in pain and to families bearing heavy burdens. How fitting in God’s providence that his ministry should come full circle, beginning and ending in New Ross, where he was shepherding God’s people until the Lord called him home.
We hold especially in our prayers his sorrowing parents, Tom and Angela, his sisters Niamh and Majella, his cherished nephews and nieces, and all the wider family circle of which he spoke so fondly and whom he served with such open-hearted generosity.
We offer our deepest, prayerful sympathy also to Bishop Emeritus Denis Brennan, to Fr Odhrán’s brother priests throughout the diocese, to the many parishioners who knew his devoted care across the years, and to our own diocesan household here and in every corner of Ferns. His passing leaves an ache we feel together.
May the merciful Lord now gather Fr Odhrán to himself, reuniting him with his brother Tom and with all those he walked beside so faithfully through the joys and sorrows of life and ministry.
“Well done, good and faithful servant… enter into the joy of your Lord.”
May he rest in the peace of Christ and may perpetual light shine upon him.
From the Bishop’s House, Diocese of Ferns