"….those who are faithful will live with him in love;"(Wis.3:9).
My dear People of God,
We gather here today to pray for the happy repose of the immortal soul of a great Priest, a "gentle giant" as he was once called, a faithful servant of the Lord, the late Canon Bartholomew Troy, better known to all of us as Canon Bertie. To his family and large circle of relatives and friends, of every walk in life, go our deepest sympathies on his passing and the assurance of our prayers.
Canon Bertie was always proud of his Newtown roots and indeed of Newtown successes. Family was always huge for Canon Bertie. Born into an excellent Christian family on the 20th of March 1930, in Ballinakill in Newtownshandrum, Bertie was one of five children, two sisters, Sister Kathleen and Eileen, and two brothers Bob and Richard. When his sister Eileen and his brothers Bob and Richard had their families they became Canon Bertie's family as well - all twenty four of them. His nephews and nieces speak so fondly of him and particularly of their times in Ballycotton and Kanturk with him. It was providential that he spent the last two months of his life in Ballinakill so well nursed by his sister-in-law Mona.
The young Bertie Troy schooled in the Newtownshandrum National School and with the Christian Brothers in Charleville before going on to the Diocesan College of St. Colman in Fermoy where he showed himself to be a truly gifted and diligent student. His leadership qualities were recognised in St. Colman's, where he was appointed Prefect in his final year. He was a popular student with a good sense of humour and a hearty laugh. From St. Colman's College Bertie proceeded in 1948 to St. Patrick's College, Maynooth to study for Priesthood for the Diocese of Cloyne. As a student in Maynooth Bertie Troy was, in every respect, what a student for the Priesthood should be. He certainly never attracted the unwelcome attention of the Dean of Discipline! So highly thought of was he that he was appointed Monitor in his final year in Maynooth. He achieved a First Class Honours BA Degree in Celtic Studies in 1951, an area in which he never lost interest and would later on teach Irish in his Alma Mater, St. Colman's College, Fermoy. In 1954 Bertie Troy was awarded a First Class Honours Degree in Divinity (B.D.) by the Pontifical University of Maynooth.
The happiest day of his life came for Bertie Troy on the19th of June 1955 when he was ordained to the Priesthood by the late Archbishop McQuaid of Dublin. Now Father Bertie Troy, the young enthusiastic man from Newtownshandrum set out on his new mission as a Minister of Word and Sacrament, carrying with him all the natural talents and supernatural gifts of grace with which God had endowed him. His first priestly appointment was in the Archdiocese of Southwark, England, as Curate at Kingston-on- Thames, Surrey, where he spent the first year of his priesthood. He was then called back to his Diocese of Cloyne to serve as assistant Curate in the Parish of Carrigtwohill for one year, before being appointed to the Staff of St. Colman's College, Fermoy in 1957. Father Bertie Troy was to spend the next almost twenty years teaching in St. Colman's College forming the young students, both in the classroom and on the playing field to be the best. His motto was: mens sana in corpore sano - a healthy mind in a healthy body. In St. Colman's College he promoted the Student Branch of the Legion of Mary, organised regular meetings, hospital visitation and pilgrimages. In 1959 he was awarded the Higher Diploma in Education at Honours Level by University College Cork.
On the 25th of September 1976, Father Troy was sent to the seaside town of Ballycotton as Curate in the Parish of Cloyne where, for the next ten years, he would endear himself to the people of that Parish. He often spoke of his sense of freedom as he looked over the bay in Ballycotton compared with almost twenty years in the classroom in St. Colman's. But, of course, Father Bertie was never free. He endeavoured by work, word and example to spread the Gospel, to bring Christ to the people and the people to Christ. The presence of so many from Ballycotton here today is testimony of the lasting memory he left to that faithful people. In 1986 Father Bertie was appointed, by Bishop Ahern, Curate in the North Cork town of Kanturk and once more he excelled in his ministry, using all his talents of nature and grace to serve the people. He never seemed to tire in his endeavours to be present to every pastoral situation with sincerity of purpose. Bertie was always in a hurry to get God's work done; for him there was always work to be done and he did not spare himself. In September 1991 I appointed Father Bertie to be Parish Priest of this thriving and vibrant Parish of Midleton and to be the Vicar Forane of the Midleton Deanery in the Diocese. On the 25th of November 1991 he became a Member of the Cathedral Chapter of Cloyne with the title of 'Canon' and in 1996 he was elected Chancellor of the same Chapter.
Canon Bertie Troy, as Parish Priest of Midleton, was a true Pastor of Souls for fourteen years, truly committed to preserving and enhancing the various structures for which the Parish was responsible. Above all else he was a Pastor of the old school much loved by his people for whom he never spared himself. He was at heart a genuine Churchman. Whenever discussions went on about Church affairs, he would listen attentively and then he would ask what was the mind of the Church in the matter and how best it could be achieved. When he was convinced of the right thing to do, he did it without fear or favour. Whether something was the popular thing to do or not, when he realised that it was the right thing to do nothing would stop him. He was entirely single-minded and brought all of his considerable energy to whatever project was on hand. When the renovation of this beautiful Holy Rosary Church was in progress, it occupied every moment of his day. Similarly he devoted himself totally to whatever needed to be done in Ballintotas Church. Two of the high-points of his time as Parish Priest of Midleton were the150th Anniversary of Ballintotas Church in 1992 and the Centenary of Holy Rosary Church in 1994.
All through his life, Canon Bertie Troy had an abiding interest in matters historical, particularly of local history. Over the years, right to the very end, he had worked on various aspects of the History of the Diocese of Cloyne and has left a valuable body of work for other historians into the future. He had an amazing capacity for listing the various cohorts of priests who has served in diverse pastoral roles within and without the Diocese. The Diocese is greatly indebted to him for his publication of two volumes of "Directory of Catholic Clergy of the Diocese of Cloyne"(1836-1930). He also produced detailed maps of the parishes within the Deaneries of the Diocese with the townlands delineated. This has been a very useful service for the Parishes and the Diocese.In addition to all that he travelled down many byways in search of data on some colourful characters who had graced the Diocese in times past. For Canon Bertie, to visit Dublin meant calling to family members but also spending long hours researching in the National Library. At the end of his recuperation in Newtown recently, just before his final return to Midleton, Canon Bertie went to Dublin to visit family, but even then he spent several hours in the National Library. For fourteen years as Parish Priest of Midleton, he printed a parish bulletin and invariably there was a heritage item in every issue. Were he not a priest, there is no doubt that he would have been a professional historian.
It would be rather difficult to be born and reared in Newtownshandrum and not be involved in hurling. This was certainly a life-time passion for Canon Bertie. When he went to Secondary School in St. Colman's in Fermoy his interest in hurling continued and he proved himself to be an expert at the game. As a hurler he was ambidextrous, speedy, strong and determined. His extraordinary balance and characteristic swerve enabled him to send opponents the wrong way. He was an outstanding member (at centre field) of the St. Colman's College Team which won the Harty Cup for the first time in 1948. He played with Newtown teams until the year of his Priestly Ordination. It was as coach to the Cork Hurling teams that Canon Troy became a national figure in the hurling world. He coached four Cork minor teams to all-Ireland success, four Cork under-21 teams to win all-Irelands in a row, 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1971 and, of course, he was coach to the last Cork senior hurling teams to win three all-Irelands in a row in 1976, 1977 and 1978. That tally of eleven all-Irelands is some record! His love of hurling, his love of the Irish language made this great priest a fior-gael and an outstanding servant of the High-Priest Jesus Christ.
Canon Bertie Troy was, first and foremost, a Priest of God, deeply devoted to the mission he received from Christ on his Ordination day. A man of deep prayer, of ardent devotion to the Eucharist and total dedication to the celebration of the Sacraments, especially the celebration of Holy Mass, Canon Troy was an exemplary priest in every way. His devotion to the Blessed Mother of God was always to the fore in his life and the Rosary was never far from his hand. A life-long dedicated member of the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association he encouraged young people to consider seriously following the same path of self discipline and prayer. He was very much a Cloyne Priest, totally loyal to his fellow-priests and to the Diocese. In the various formal committee meetings, which he would have attended in the course of diocesan pastoral and administrative work, he was a man of few words but when he spoke he was listened to with attention because he spoke his mind, having carefully assessed the situation. I myself treasured his wise counsel at all times and I shall miss his frequent visits to the Cloyne Diocesan Centre when he would come to visit the Diocesan Archives.
Canon Bertie Troy gave faithful priestly service in this Diocese of Cloyne for almost fifty-two years. The words of Saint Paul to his faithful disciple Timothy, when the Apostle was facing the end of his life, come to mind and can be applied very aptly to the late Canon: "My life is already being poured away as a libation, and the time has come for me to be gone. I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith; all there is to come now is the crown of righteousness reserved for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that Day; and not only to me but to all those who have longed for his Appearing" (2 Tim. 4: 6-8).
Canon Bertie, thank you for your faithful service, for the joy of your presence among us and for being a Pastor according to the Heart of Christ. May your noble soul rest in the Peace of the Lord for "those who are faithful will live with him in love" (Wis.3:9).