A reader posts an interesting comment

Below is a comment, posted yesterday, on the blogpost of Thursday, May 28.

The comment is clearly self-explanatory.  It's worth posting. It tells a tale.

It doesn't take rocket science to know that the website of the Irish Jesuits is 'far superior' to its Irish Dominican counterpart.

Billy said...

Michael,

The well written obituaries which you publish on your blog for Irish Dominicans who die are, it seems to me, measured and fair.

The website of the Irish province stays silent when a member of the province dies. This is a glaring lack. Your obituaries ought to be also published on the website of the province.

This website needs a lot of work. It ought to be developed and improved. In it's present format it is unfriendly and unattractive. It gives no great sense of the work of the province. You won't like me stating that the website of the Irish Jesuits is far superior. The content is substantive and informative and mention is always made of Jesuits who die.

Schönborn criitical of some John Paul appointments

In a report in The Tablet of May 23 Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn said that he is of the opinion that  some of the episcopal appointments made by Pope St John Paul II had gone badly wrong.

He cites the appointment of his predecessor Benedictine, Hans Hermann Groer, whom John Paul appointed personally, and breaking a promise that he would consult Viennese archbishop Cardinal Franz König. Groer was a paedophile.

"It was an unfortunate choice as were several of John Paul II's episcopal nominations in the second half of the 1980s. There is no doubt that John Paul had weaknesses. But who has none?"

Spectacular words from a serving archbishop about a canonised pope. Martini was one of the great cardinals of the church.

But the Dominican cardinal did point out that John Paul II also directly appointed Jesuit Carlo Maria Martini as archbishop of Milan.

The right-wing calls for early opening hours

The extract below is from an article in yesterday's Guardian. The link to the piece is included on this post.

When the US has endured past attacks by stealthy enemies – Pearl Harbor, say, or 9/11 – there has been some effort from the White House down to rally the nation around a common defense. Not so this time.

When Americans are asked about key policies relating to coronavirus, such as when lockdown should be eased and economies reopened, their answer is starkly partisan. A survey by the University of Chicago found that 77% of Democrats want lockdown restrictions to remain in place for as long as needed to protect health, while only 45% of Republicans take that view.

“Politics more than economics is dividing Americans,” the Chicago researchers concluded.

Trump has adopted a similar partisan stance. Instead of acting for the nation as a whole, he has favoured party political point scoring ahead of November’s presidential election.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/28/us-coronavirus-death-toll-racial-disparity-inequality?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Fr Tim Hazelwood, a priest of the Diocese of Cloyne and a member of the Association of Catholic Priests of Ireland, said on RTE Radio yesterday that there was a Catholic media that was calling for a relaxation on the rules concerning the reopening of churches.

When pressed to name who he was talking about he mentioned The Iona Institute and The Irish Catholic newspaper.

Why is the right-wing so intent on pushing for an early opening? In the US it is the Republicans and the Trumpites, who are pushing for early opening. And now in Ireland right-wing Catholics are calling for an earlier opening of churches.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin was clear on radio and television yesterday pointing how important it is for the Catholic Church to heed the advice of State authorities.

It is a pity that The Iona Institute and The Irish Catholic are attempting to hijack the Catholic Church in Ireland in order to shape it into a conservative/right-wing organisation.

A thoughtful reminder of the late Michael Neenan OP

Yesterday someone by the name of Mary left the following comment on this blog: "Happy birthday. Gone but not forgotten."

Mary was leaving a comment on the short piece that was written about her uncle, Michael Neenan, who died on February 25, 2016. It was the fourth comment Mary has left on the blogpost of March 3, 2016. What a lovely touch.

Back then this blog was not as systematic as it is today in writing about Irish Dominicans who die. It was a much more hit-and-miss operation. So, apologies for writing such a short piece on Michael Neenan.

There was a short note on the death of Michael on this blog on March 5, 2016.

Not once but indeed, on many occasions a member of staff at St Luke's Hospital in Rathgar, Dublin, where I am chaplain, talks to me about Michael Neenan. He often travelled with Michael to Fatima and speaks in glowing terms of the A'dorney man. People not from Kerry, indeed, many in Kerry, may not be aware that the local people abbreviate the north Kerry village, Abbeydorney to A'dorney.

Michael was born on May 25, 1941.

A lovely thought Mary, and thank you.

So often the small gestures make such a difference.

It's a sign of a person when they are fondly remembered.

Top marks for Andrew Marr's BBC 4 history programme

Monday evenings from 8 to 9pm BBC Four television is airing a series on the history of Britain. It comes highly recommended.

'Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain' dealt this week with  life in Britain in the 1960s and '70s. 

This week Andrew Marr was most critical of Harold Wilson and his political machinations.

The programme also covered the events of Bloody Sunday when unarmed the British Army opened fire and shot dead innocent people.

Marr stressed that Roy Jenkins was the UK's most liberal Home Secretary. 

He told of how there was a board in the Home Secretary's office, which named those who were about to be executed by hanging.

Jenkins removed the board from his office and was  instrumental in removing capital punishment from the Statute Book.

Capital punishment was abolished in 1969 and in Northern Ireland in 1973.

The killing of another person is wrong. Obviously, there are occasions when it is permitted, self-defence being an example.

On this day, May 27, 1942 in Operation Anthropoid, Reinhard Heydrich was wounded in an ambush in Prague. He died eight days later.

Surely Prague and the world was a better place without this man, who had inflicted unspeakable crimes.

At the time of his death he was acting Reich Protector for Bohemia and Moravia. He had been sent to Prague to enforce Nazi policy. 

Heydrich played an influential role at the infamous Wannsee Conference, where plans for the 'Final Solution' were decided.

Important events are wrapped around our relationships

This week's Independent News & Media Irish regional newspapers' column

Michael Commane

In last week’s column I wrote about ‘Normal People’, both the book and its dramatisation, which is currently being screened on RTE and BBC.

At the time I had not finished the book and as the drama series is still running, I did not know how it would all end.

I’ve finished the book. I’m not going to ruin it on readers by revealing what happens.

Usually the written word wins out and while I’m enjoying the drama version of the book it would be impossible to show or depict on screen Sally Rooney’s genius in describing situations. She has an uncanny ability in putting down in words incidences, moods, feelings, the fraught moments experienced by people. She writes about the banal, the run-of-the-mill. 

The book is centred on the relationship between the two main protagonists, Marianne and Connell. Rooney says she could not imagine writing a novel about an individual person in isolation. She has never come across a novel about a character in isolation and she argues that such a novel would be an experimental work.

I had less than 80 of the 266 pages to read when I learned of the death of a fellow Dominican. Christy O’Flaherty died in Galway on Sunday, May 17. He was six years older than I. 

Thinking about Christy since his death, I was reminded of ‘Normal People’. It’s important to catch the moment. To make the best of times, to be kind. I’m wondering did we all tell Christy to his face how we appreciated him.

Christy was an extraordinarily talented man. He could do anything. He started framing pictures in St Mary’s Priory in Tallaght probably in the late 1970s. People came from far and wide for him to do framing for them.

Later he effortlessly turned his hand to cooking and gardening. He could turn a patch of unloved ground into a place of beauty.

Some weeks ago when a woman realised I was a Dominican and asked me if I knew Christy her face lit up when I told her I did. She went on to tell me the friendship she and her family had with him. 

He had an extraordinary ability to support and listen to people. He never judged and always put himself at the back of the queue. He disliked headlines and fanfares.

And he had a smile that told a thousand stories.

I remember having a discussion with him over Irish politics. It must have been in the mid-1970s. We had different political views. On that particular evening we were strongly disagreeing with each other. I have no idea what the issue was but I can still vividly remember his parting smile.

When I visited him earlier this year in Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital as soon as he heard my voice I saw that very same smile again. 

Christy’s funeral Mass was last Thursday in Galway. Because of Covid-19 I was unable to attend.

I am back thinking of Sally Rooney and how she can describe the tiniest of details, the incidental moments.

Aren’t they the magical moments in our lives? 

I’m hoping that Christy knew that he was cherished.

The important events in our lives are wrapped around our relationships with other people. And often the tiniest of things are what count.

“Normal People’ is a love story between two young people but it’s also a great piece of writing about the ordinary, the run-of-the-mill, as Rooney puts it. There’s a lesson in it for all of us.

Astute words from Henry Ford adapted for political situation

A quote from Henry Ford. It was used by German commentator Gabor Steingart in his piece forecasting the political demise of CDU politician Friedrich Merz.

Success is to have exactly the skills that are in demand at the moment.

The unseemly behaviour of Johnson and Shapps

Anyone who has followed the Dominic Cummings story over the last 24 hours must be left confused, confounded, annoyed and in disbelief.

In the weeks leading up to the UK general election a senior Conservative member and retired government minister publicly stated that Boris Johnson tells lies.

Those who watched yesterday's press briefing at 5pm and observed Mr Johnson must give the UK prime minister full marks for a brazen neck. It was interesting how his eyes changed when he was talking about the Cummings affair.

Earlier in the day the UK Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps appeared on BBC's Andrew Marr programme. He was sent out to bat for his boss. The usual suave and articulate operator was at sixes and sevens. He was all over the place and simply not credible. 

In this affair someone is not telling the truth and on this occasion it would seem the newspapers are telling the truth.

Watching these politicians trying to defend the indefensible is not pleasant. They come across as pathetic people, obviously attempting to circle the wagons.

It is an awful sight and can't be good for democracy, especially at this time.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is cutting a good image in his first days as party leader. In an interview on Sky yesterday he spoke with clarity and conviction, making the point that the British people deserved better than what they are getting from Johnson and company.

There seems to be an honesty in Starmer that's clearly missing in Johnson and his band.

American dream lies in chaos

This is an editorial in The Tablet of May 16.

By comparison with the British, Americans have every reason to feel profoundly depressed. There have been more than 80,000 deaths from coronavirus in the United States so far, and epidemic modelling at the University of Washington (admittedly an inexact science) predicts 140,000 by August. The economy is shrinking fast and unemployment is soaring. Yet political authorities, not only in the White House, have abrogated their responsibilities for the common good and decided now is the time to start returning the economy to normal. 

That is despite a warning from Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, that a premature return to work will cost many lives. Premature means now. But that is not the advice they are hearing from Donald Trump. The biggest reason for American citizens to feel depressed is the chaotic leadership of their President, whose single priority seems to be his own re-election in November rather than steering his country through its most severe health crisis ever.

As in Britain and indeed throughout the world, governments have to find a fine balance between the safety and wellbeing of the population and reviving the economy, on which lives also depend. The issues are subtle and complex. The view in much of Europe is that the safety of the population has been more or less secured by lockdown and social distancing, with the disease reproduction rate (R) at or below one. So businesses, schools, places of worship and even cafes and restaurants may gradually reopen, provided the necessary precautions are taken. 

This caution has been thrown to the wind in much of the United States, where local lockdowns are being lifted by county and state authorities – public health in America is hugely fragmented – regardless of the disease transmission rate. This is a climate of denial, and is being fostered by President Trump. Sometimes he accepts the need for monitoring and testing; sometimes he is dismissive of it, worried that the more testing there is, the more cases will be discovered. 

Mr Trump is even more worried that his one ticket to success in November, the booming US economy for which he is undoubtedly entitled to some credit, has turned to dust. His deeply unattractive alternative is to pin the blame on China, where the disease appears to have originated. The Chinese authorities did not act promptly enough, for sure, or with transparency, but many other governments – including the US and the UK – reacted with similar hesitation. Donald Trump’s watchwords are “divide and rule” and “pass the buck”. He is banking on these as his road to re-election. His latest target is ex-President Barack Obama, whom he has accused of the “crime of the century”, while declining to specify precisely what that crime is.

Demonising his opponents may or may not be politically profitable, but it is deeply damaging to the American spirit, at the heart of which is national unity and solidarity. And it gives a free pass to coronavirus to do its worst, to a people large numbers of whom are already wounded by poverty, inequality and ill health.

A story of love and respect

'Thinking Anew' in The Irish Times today.

Michael Commane

Tomorrow is the feast of the Ascension. The Catholic Church in Ireland moved the feast to the Sunday after the traditional Ascension Thursday, which was the 40th day of Easter. The Anglican Church in Ireland continues to celebrate it on the Thursday.

St Augustine, who lived between 354 and 430 says that the Ascension has been celebrated since Apostolic times.

It is the day when we celebrate in faith the definitive withdrawal of the visible physical presence of God from the world. Jesus came from the Father, returns to the Father and then sends the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Sunday, May 31 is Pentecost Sunday. On that day we will celebrate the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the world.

While tomorrow’s feast is about Jesus’ return to the Father, it throws a great light on the Triune God. God is about community, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Apologies for the sexist language, but everything we say about God is said in human language, said analogically, and also said in a language couched in history.

The spectacular and great significance of tomorrow’s feast points us to community. Just as it is almost impossible to say anything about God, so also is it to say anything about the Trinity, because the Trinity and God are one. But I think it’s fair to say that it points us to an understanding of the importance of community, our interrelatedness with one another.

Last Sunday at the Dominican Priory in Tallaght Fr Donagh O’Shea in his sermon mentioned that people who experienced the London Blitz, later spoke about it in nostalgic terms. He said that during that time Londoners learned to realise how important fellowship and solidarity were to survive. Years later they came to realise how they missed that fellowship.

And so too in the time of Covid-19 we are realising our dependence on one another. We are also realising our own fragility. We are being made aware of how easy it is to lose ourselves chasing rainbows. Rainbows of their nature are illusory and transient.

Over these last weeks I have heard some people say that Covid-19 is a great leveller. It is anything but. It was heartening last Sunday to hear former President Mary Robinson talk on Miriam O’Callaghan’s RTE programme about how Covid-19 is pushing us to be more empathetic and compassionate towards our neighbour. But she stressed that it is also exacerbating the inequalities that exist in our own society and across the world. 

She went on to say that it is making more visible the interconnectedness of poverty, and migration She said that here in Ireland the plight of refugees and migrant workers is worse because of Covid-19.

“We have an unequal world. We don’t want to go back to business as normal,” she said.

And just some few hours earlier, former President Barack Obama said during an online commencement address to graduate students of historically black colleges and universities: “Let’s be honest, a disease like this just spotlights the underlying inequalities and extra burdens that black communities have historically had to deal with in this country.”

The God story is centred on community. It’s a story of love and respect. It is reached in its sublime perfection in God. It’s our privilege and obligation to work on it, to shadow it here in this world. And I’m inclined to say that if we are not involved in that, so many other aspects, that seem part of Christian living, are some sort of a game, an exercise in fake carry-on, in other words a sham. And it happens ever so easily. 

We can all get caught up in what one might call extra-curricular activities. We can so easily give it all sorts of pious touches and names and then go off and create realities for ourselves that have everything to do with giving ourselves importance  and nothing at all to do with the message of Jesus and the feast we are celebrating tomorrow.

Before he ascends into heaven he tells his disciples to observe all that he has told them. He also gives them great assurance when he tells them that God will be with them and their descendants till the end of time. And that too is interesting. How often are we inclined to think that God has left us. Again, by saying that we are giving ourselves an importance that we simply don’t have.

Is it odd for me to say that I learned so much about the feast of the Ascension by reading and listening to the words of Mary Robinson and Barack Obama? And there is a story in that too.

President Donald Trump on prayer

"We need more prayer and not less."

- United States President Donald Trump

Editorial independence in Catholic media is critical.

From the National Catholic Reporter.

What is it about Mother Church?

 https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/ncr-connections/editorial-independence-catholic-media-critical

German foreign minister warns against extremists

An interesting article in yesterday's Guardian.

German foreign minister Heiko Mass said in an interview yesterday: “If radical extremists and antisemites use demonstrations in order to stoke hatred and to divide, then everyone should keep a lot more than just a 1.5-metre distance from them,” 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/21/germany-braced-for-more-protests-against-coronavirus-polices?CMP=share_btn_link

Viganò and his band of conspiracy theorists

From the current issue of The Tablet. 

It's worth noting that Viganò and his band of followers have large numbers waiting in the wings. And they are so devious and persistent, secretive too.

This nonsense has been going on in the Catholic Church for a long time now. Seldom has a bishop or 'religious superior' spoken, said a word in public.

It's alive and well today across priesthood and still not a word being said and no one willing or able to take action.

And then the secret warfare, the division that exists within the hierarchical church must be reaching a critical moment.

                   ___________________

GERMANY’S Catholic bishops have dissociated themselves from a letter signed by a group of high-ranking churchmen, including retired papal diplomat, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, published on 8 May, which warned Catholics that “certain forces” are using the coronavirus pandemic “to create panic”.

“The German bishops’ conference does not, on principle, comment on individual appeals by bishops from outside Germany,” conference president Bishop Georg Bätzing said in a statement to the Catholic news agency, KNA, last week. “I must, however, add that the German bishops’ conference’s evaluation of the corona pandemic differs fundamentally from that pub- lished yesterday.”

Other signatories to the letter, entitled “An appeal for the Church and the World to all Catholics and people of Good Will”, include the former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the Bishop Emeritus of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen, and the Archbishop Emeritus of Riga, Cardinal Janis Pujats. It maintains that the Covid-19 pandemic is being exploited to restrict people’s basic rights “unjustifiably and disproportionately”.

The vicar-general of Essen, Fr Klaus Pfeffer. “I am simply speechless as to what is being spread here about the Church and Christianity: crude conspiracy theories without facts or proof together with a right-wing populist militant rhetoric which sounds very frightening.”

Bishop Gebhard Fürst of Rottenburg-Stuttgart tweeted: “Whosoever reinterprets the efforts of politicians to save human lives from the pandemic into a dubious world conspiracy, is playing with fire.”

However, Cardinal Müller has rejected the criticism. The appeal had been “deliberately misunderstood”, he said when interviewed in the Vatican on Sunday, and he had not wanted to evaluate the text of the appeal strictly as a scientific analysis.

Missed call

Yesterday afternoon a phone call was made to this blog. Unfortunately the number was engaged at the time of the call. While a message was recorded, no number was available.

It would be great if the caller would call again please.

Thank you.

Sally Rooney writes so perfectly about the normal

Sally Rooney's 'Normal People' is a great read and she is a brilliant writer.

She has a superb gift of describing little details. She catches the moment. She writes about the normal, banal, the run-of-the-mill. After all isn't that what we do most of the time, all of the time.

In an interview about 'Normal People' with Kishani Widyaratna of London Review Bookshop, Rooney says she could not imagine writing a novel about an individual person in isolation. She has never come across a novel about a character in isolation and she argues that such a novel would be a most experimental work.

Is it possible in our society to talk about the Gospel without having read Sally Rooney?

It certainly must help.

In 'Normal People' sex has as much meaning as words

This week's Independent News & Media Irish regional newspapers' column.

Michael Commane

Early last year or in late 2018 a fellow Dominican mentioned two Irish writers to me. He asked me had I read anything by Anna Burns or Sally Rooney. I hadn’t. Over the years he has always recommended good books to me.

On his recommendation, I read ‘Milkman’ by Anna Burns. It might not be the easiest book to read but it’s a fascinating story about the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland and all the subplots that go with a broken and warring society. It’s the sort of book that has the effect of cleaning your soul, at least that’s what it did for me.

In the meantime I forgot all about Sally Rooney until Aislín McGuckin, a friend of mine, told me that she was playing a part in ‘Normal People’. 

Aislín plays Denise, who is the mother of the main character, Marianne.

Before it appeared on our screens RTE put a big effort into advertising it. It was difficult to miss the advertising, and also, I wanted to see my friend in it. I’ve been watching it from day one. Along with watching it with one eye, I’m also keeping an eye on the reviews and comments that are being written and spoken about it.

There was nothing else to do than get the book and read it. Is it somewhat strange or odd to say something about ‘Normal People’ while I have not yet finished the book, and nor has the series been completed on television? Maybe I’m biased in favour because I know one of the actors. But, no, I’m sure that’s not the case.

Some of the comments made on the Joe Duffy Show have been amusing. 

One listener phoned in to complain that, ‘Normal People’ was akin to pornography. Surely to compare it to porn one would have to have watched porn. I can’t imagine it has anything to do with porn.

‘Normal People’ is getting much publicity. 

Viewership in both Ireland and the UK is going through the roof. It’s a joint RTE/BBC production.

I came across a piece written by Louise Burne on extra.ie about Archbishop Michael Cox calling on RTE to cancel an episode of the series. I’m still trying to discover who Archbishop Michael Cox is. I’m wondering if Ms Burne is referring to the Michael Cox, who is the man who ordained Sinead O’Connor some years back? As far as I know there is no Archbishop Michael Cox anywhere in the Catholic Church.

From my watching the series and reading the book I’m impressed. I can understand why so many people are talking about it.

Zoe Williams who is a columnist with UK newspaper the ‘Guardian’ makes the point that in the TV drama, sex has as much meaning as words. ‘It was like a best friend, whispering what had happened directly into your ears,’ she writes in her Guardian column.

In many ways the clue to it all is in the title. And it tells the story both in the book and the TV drama in an extraordinarily sensitive way. I can’t imagine it has anything to do with pornography, which is exclusively about sexual arousal.

Maybe what’s most amazing about it is that Sally Rooney was a mere 27 years of age when she wrote the book. I’m flabbergasted that someone so young could have such a way with words, such an understanding, such a feel for reality and insight into how people think, so as to be able to write, ‘Normal People’.

Christopher O'Flaherty OP (1943 - 2020) - an obituary

Christy O'Flaherty OP

Christopher O'Flaherty died close to midnight on May 17 in University Hospital Galway. He was a member of the Dominican Community at The Claddagh in the city.

Christopher was born on Christmas Day 1943 and grew up on the family farm outside Kinvara, Co. Galway.

It was through his contact with the late Dominican, Bertrand Naughton, a fellow Galway-man, and also a giant, that Christopher learned about the Dominicans. 

He made his profession in the Dominican Order on July 19, 1970.

Before joining the Dominicans Christopher was the part-owner of a Galway hooker. He and his German co-owner collected seaweed and sold it on for processing. Always enterprising.

It so happens that some days before Christopher died his German business partner featured on a TG4 programme.

I have known Christopher since 1969. When our group of young students moved from Cork to Tallaght, Christopher was already in Tallaght.

Throughout the Irish Dominican Province he was known as Christy, so let's refer to him from here in as 'Christy'.

Christy was above all a perfectionist but the kindest of perfectionists. 

Whatever he did, he did it to perfection. Christy was a genius.

In the 1970s many of the paintings in St Mary's Priory, Tallaght, were in need of tlc. Christy began the job of cleaning and repairing. That was the genesis for a thriving framing business he developed over a number of years.

Right across Tallaght there are paintings in family homes, which were framed by Christy.

Most likely, he was one of the few large-scale framers in Dublin at that time. He was the only one in Tallaght.

I have two of his frames in my home. 

Many Maynooth seminarians engaged Christy to frame their class photographs. Among those who availed of his craftsmanship in 1986 is the director of the Priory Institute, Fr John Littleton.

He was also an accomplished carpenter. There is furniture in many Dominican priories across the country made by Christy.

Fr Pat Lucey's desk in St Aengus' Presbytery was made by Christy.

If my memory serves me, I recall that at one stage he took an interest in photography.

And every job he did was done with precision, done perfectly. Shortcuts, shoddy work were words that were not part of Christy's vocabulary. 

Christy lived in Dominican priories in Tallaght, Cork, Limerick and Galway.

And in all those places he plied his art, trade and skill to perfection.

After his time in Tallaght he developed an interest in gardening and cooking. What happens? The gardens in all those priories are turned into fabulous places of beauty. 

And the best times to visit any of those priories were the days when Christy was cooking.

He also focused his aesthetic eye on the churches attached to the priories where he lived. He attended carefully and artistically to their interior design.

Christy was community bursar in Cork, Limerick and Galway.

When time allowed, he worked on the family farm in Galway.

He travelled to Lourdes over a number of years, where he worked with the late Fr Columba Leahy's CLM. He also had a devotion to Fatima and needless to say the Rosary was an important part of his prayer-life.

I can only presume that Christy taught himself all these skills.

But there was far more to Christy than his framing, carpentry, gardening, cooking and bursaring.

Some few months ago when a patient in the hospital where I am a chaplain realised I was a Dominican, asked me if I knew 'Brother Christopher'. I suddenly stopped in my step. The woman's eyes lit up. She told me that her father had worked in St Mary's Priory, Tallaght and that Christy was a great friend of the family. She went on to speak to me about the kindness and holiness of Christy. She saw him as a star and a saint.

And everywhere he lived it was the same story. 

His outreach to people, who were associated with Dominican priories and churches, was all about the message of the Gospel, a message of kindness and goodness. He was gentleman to his fingertips.

But it was all done under the radar. Christy was not a man of fanfares and headlines. They were anathema to him.

His brother Michael is a priest in the Diocese of Palm Beach, Florida in the United States.

Over the last 20 years or so Christy travelled annually to Florida to his brother. It went down in the book as a holiday but of course Christy spent his time throwing his perfectionist eye over what needed to be done on the parish campus.

It was on such a 'holiday' earlier this year that Michael noticed that Christy was not well. He returned to Ireland earlier than planned and underwent surgery. He was a patient in University Hospital Galway and Beaumont Hospital in Dublin.

In the weeks before his death he was receiving treatment in a Galway hospital for his illness.


It was in Beaumont Hospital that I visited him. He was a sick man, and as I arrived, a physiotherapist was instructing him how to move his legs. He was holding on to a rail. It meant he was fully occupied but the moment he heard my voice a smile came on his face, that roguish smile that he always felt was fitting for me.

Thinking of that smile reminds me of the political discussions we had in the 1970s. Christy was a staunch Fianna Fáil supporter and he was never too happy if people were disrespectful to the country's largest political party. We would disagree but our conversations would always end with that gentle quiet smile from Christy. 

The Irish Dominicans have lost a giant. The Province was extremely fortunate to have had a person of Christy's stature.

Above all else, Christy was genuinely interested in people and concerned for their welfare. He met them where they were, listened to them and supported them.

Often the word humility is misused and abused. It tends to be used in silly ways. Christy O'Flaherty epitomised the deepest meaning possible of that word humility.

Christy was the genuine article. I often wondered did he ever realise how his person, his wisdom, his faith, inspired and influenced so many people.

Some years ago Christy was fitted with a new hip. Unfortunately the surgery had to be repeated. As a result, he developed a limp and subsequently suffered much pain. But he made nothing of it.

What a terrible time to die. Because of Covid-19 restrictions it means his funeral will be close to a solitary celebration of his life. His brother Michael will not be able to travel from the United States for the funeral.

Fortunately, Michael was with his brother when he was in hospital in Galway and Dublin earlier this year, as were other members of his family.

May Christopher O'Flaherty rest in peace.

Requiem Mass for Christy will be celebrated at St Mary's Priory, The Claddagh, Galway at 10.00 on Thursday, May 21.

The Mass will be live-streamed at www.dominicanscladdagh.ie

Christopher O'Flaherty OP, RIP

Dominican, Christopher O'Flaherty died in University Hospital Galway close to midnight yesterday.

Christopher was a member of the Dominican Community, The Claddagh, Galway.


May he rest in peace.

Obituary to follow.

Wearing habits and belonging to God

This is a quote from Dominican Sister Mara Grace Gore. Sister Gore is a member of the US Nashville Dominican Congregation. She is currently living in St Saviour's, Glentworth Street, Limerick.

....people, especially when they see the habit, they know there is something about you that you belong to God.

Extraordinary. Neither my mother nor father ever wore a habit and they certainly belonged to God.

Do habits really make people belong to God? Do we not all belong to God?