He suffered a heart attack and was found dead in his room.
At the time of his death he was teaching computer science at the University of Limerick.
Although a computer scientist, he did not own a personal computer.
He was a highly intelligent man, who had the great ability of cutting through so much waffle.
John walked and climbed every byway and mountain in the country.
On one occasion walking in the midlands on his own he fell into a bog hole. By means of winching himself out of the hole, using his elbows, he managed to rescue himself.
Immediately after that a fellow Dominican gave him a mobile phone with a SIM card that had no credit on it but allowed him phone 999/112.
He lived the most frugal of lives.
In his early 50s he asked the Master of the Order if he could resign from his priesthood. Whether or not it was ever granted, John retired from sacramental ministry.
John was one of the great Dominicans of his generation.
It is said that he got so bored in theology class that he went off and learned Greek and subsequently took his theology notes in Greek.
John O'Gorman was a deeply spiritual person.
The most thumbed and used book in his room was his Bible.
In his years living in Rome the local people thought he was a Roman his Italian was so good.
And yet in spite of his great intelligence and overall knowledge, in the weeks before he died he was complaining of 'heartburn' and found he was unable to eat certain foods. Instead of going to the doctor he began to take off-the-shelf remedies. He did this, knowing that there was a history of heart problems in the family on his father's side.
The Dominicans lost a great man far too early.
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