Donal O'Driscoll

Today, my dear friends, we gather together to pray for the happy repose of a senior Priest of the Diocese of Cloyne, to offer our deepest sympathies to his bereaving family and to thank God for all that He has accomplished throughout the almost eighty three years of a life lived in service and fidelity.

Canon Donal O’Driscoll lived his priestly life always conscious of what a priest should be and always giving practical expression to that conviction by his way of life. His priestly duties were always his first priority and he discharged them most conscientiously.

After his ordination to the Priesthood in June 1944 in the Parish Church of Midleton, he took up duty in the Diocese of Leeds for a short time before returning to the Diocese of Cloyne where he ministered in the Parishes of Mitchelstown, Aghinagh, Lisgoold, Killavullen, Newmarket, Charleville, Churchtown and Liscarroll and Cloyne. He is remembered with deep gratitude and appreciation by the faithful of all the parishes he worked in as a priest of the people. He was deeply interested in people, in their welfare and in any initiatives which would promote the well-being of people, especially in rural areas. He had a very strong social conscience and both by word of mouth and the use of the pen he supported causes which, in his opinion, were worthy of support because he considered they would enhance the lives of those to whom he was sent to serve. Indeed, apart from faithfully attending to the spiritual needs of the people he served, Canon Donal was deeply interested and involved in the material welfare of all local communities.

Canon Donal was one who always sought the truth. He was an avid reader and the range of his reading was most widespread. He had a library which is testimony to his search for knowledge in all subjects and the fact that he graduated with a Doctorate in Music was typical of one who sought for and found beauty and truth in harmony. He was a colossus of culture and indeed he would have been quite capable of taking a Doctorate in any subject. Indeed, he was affectionately known as “the Doc”, a term which he appreciated because it was all embracing and non-restrictive. Canon Donal was at his best when supporting his people, defending a cause, promoting entrepreneurship. Anything positive, worthwhile and exciting was enough to catch the interest and imagination of Canon Donal. In his search for the truth and in his promotion of it he was true to his vocation as a Minister of God, in Whom all Truth resides. Having worked in his priestly ministry in rural parishes it was not surprising therefore that, from his early years in the Diocese, he became very involved in two organisations in particular which had principally, though non exclusively, the best interest of rural communities as their primary objective - Muintir na Tire and Macra na Feirme.

Due to the very active part he played in these organisations he left his mark on the various parishes in which he worked, whether it was rural electrification in his early years as a priest, or the building, the extension and the equipping of Parish Halls, or the promotion of Adult Education, Debating and Public Speaking, Canon Donal had always a pivotal role. He was equally active in opposing measures which, in his opinion, would have had very adverse effects on rural communities, such as the downgrading of local Garda Stations and Post Offices. He was courageous in embarking on projects which might or might not succeed. An obvious example was the establishment of the Agricultural Show in Charleville, of which he was a founding member, and which, since its inception, has gone from strength to strength. He was also very involved in a similar initiative in Midleton. His interest in all which involved people in outdoor activities was highlighted in his reactivation and promotion of the Point to Point day in Cloyne.

Canon Donal’s high profile in Muintir na Tire and Macra na Feirme meant his leading delegations from time to time to Government Ministers and Civil servants. Those who accompanied him on such occasions often paid tribute to the articulate, clear and impressive manner in which he presented their case. Canon Donal was held in the highest esteem by the members of both Muintir na Tire and Macra na Feirme for his tireless efforts on their behalf. He was Honorary President of the County Executive of Muintir na Tire up to the time of his death. In his last illness, which he bore with exemplary patience, he was visited regularly by members of the same Executive. Today they pay their final tribute to him by their attendance at his funeral and by their providing a Guard of Honour for the funeral cortege. I thank them most sincerely for this kind and thoughtful gesture.

“Those who trust in Him will understand the Truth”. ( Wis. 3.9 ).

In his unceasing search for true and beautiful Canon Donal always seemed to have that extra step to go. Through his writings, especially his letters to the Press, he stimulated and provoked respect. Before he passed away he wrote his own autobiography. In it I am sure he will have much to say! As he faced the ultimate reality, death itself, he jokingly - or perhaps not so jokingly - would say: “I have many questions to put to God”. We pray that now he has all the answers. Indeed, having put his total trust in a God Who is all-loving and omniscient, he had the assurance that he would come to the total Truth in Him.

“Those who are faithful will live with Him in Love”. ( Wis. 3:9).

Fidelity was the hallmark of Canon Donal’s priestly service. As a Curate, Parish Priest and Member of the Cathedral Chapter - of which he was until quite recently the Secretary - he devoted all his energies. His care of Churches and parish properties was extraordinary. The work he promoted and supervised in Churchtown South and, particularly, in Cloyne Parish Church, the Mother Parish of the Diocese, are standing monuments to his memory. The occasions of the Station Masses afforded Canon Donal the opportunity of being closest to his people as their Pastor and he relished those occasions.

Canon Donal was a campaigner. He campaigned for worthy causes, such as the retention and upgrading of Mallow General Hospital. The weakest in society were those who would always benefit from Canon Donal’s interventions. His support for and promotion of a Centre and facilities for the mentally and physically handicapped in Charleville, along with Dr. Martin O’Donnell, are indicative of the deep interest he took in people, especially those who might be considered the less favoured in society. The Senior Citizens Jamboree in East Cork owes much to Canon Donal’s promotion and support. He often told me that he had looked forward to spending much of his retirement in following up on many of his varied interests but, as he said, ill health caught up with him and he has had to carry the heavy burden of the Cross of suffering right to his Hill of Calvary.

“Grace and Mercy await those He has chosen” (Wis.3:9).

Canon Donal was chosen by the Lord . He responded to that call with all his heart. He remained faithful to that call right to the end. He was a Minister of the Grace and Mercy of God to His people and now we pray that that same Mercy and Grace may accompany him into the Kingdom of the Father. For fifty-eight years of his life Canon Donal celebrated the Liturgy of the Church, especially the Eucharist, - in persona Christi - in the Person of Christ. Through Priestly Ordination he was configured into Christ. We commend him now to the Christ he served, to the Christ he loved, to the Christ in Whom he trusted. We pray that Mary, the Mother of Christ and his mother may give him now a mother’s welcome into the home of Her Son. May She, who is full of Grace and the Mother of Mercy, intercede for Canon Donal for in Her he trusted and to Her he entrusted his entire priestly life.

Our prayers and deepest sympathies go to his family at this time, to his brother, Noel, his sister-in-law, his nieces and nephews and to all his wide circle of friends. Even though his passing to the loving hands of His Saviour was a moment of great relief from his suffering, yet his death will leave a great void in the life of the family he loved. May the Lord fill that void with the assurance that Canon Donal is now at rest in the peace of the Lord.

The Priests of the Diocese of Cloyne will miss a dear brother and colleague. They will remember him as they celebrate at the Altar and they will continue, for some time to come, to recall many anecdotes and memories of a priest-brother who enriched their lives and indeed the entire life of the Diocese. We thank him being so open to receive the richness of the grace of Priesthood and for his fidelity to it. We will miss you, Canon Donal, but we pray now, especially in this Eucharistic celebration, that you will see God now as He is, that you will become like Him and praise Him for ever through Christ our Lord , from whom all good things come.( cf. Euch. Prayer III).

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