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| Christy O'Flaherty OP |
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
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