Fond memories of the good priests of Kiltegan

Dear Editor,

Because my generation was born into a way of life which is now slipping into the realms of history, I want to leave a written record of what the High Park priests meant to us when we were youngsters in Kiltegan.

The unique gifts that their lives brought to us while they were in our company should not be allowed slide into oblivion. Fathers Matt Grehan, Charlie Smith and Jim Lane enriched our lives back in the 1940s and 1950s.

They gave us all hope in transcending that grey world of the times and they did it without praise or prize, devoting their entire lives in service to others. Their example almost drove most of us into priesthood, because if men of their calibre were members, then it must be some marvellous society. However, in many cases, the lights of Swinging London intervened in the 1960s.

The sense of faith that these priests had was far removed from the hell-fire theology which was in fashion at the time, it came from charity rather than fear. If the fear of God was ever put into us back then, it was by the sudden appearance of their motor cars as they dashed along those corrugated-like roads around Kiltegan.

One of our best loved memories of Fr Grehan was on our Confirmation Day at Rathvilly, when he brought a whole gang of us off to Arklow for the day. He bought us ice cream and sweets, and showed us the sea, which some of us had never seen before. We finished off the day at the carnival – what a day, what a man! A few weeks later he showed the movie film he had taken of the Confirmation ceremony in the parochial hall on the big screen.

We had so many happy memories of the numerous acts of kindness of these priests. Of Fr Hickey on his bicycle collecting the newspaper at Jack Brisco’s, or was it Katie Lowes? It doesn’t matter which shop, it’s the image of him waving and smiling at us that summer day that’s remembered with fondness.

As I stood at their graves at High Park recently, a blast of gratitude, joy and a little sadness blew through me as I remembered them and their boundless energy, enthusiasm and beaming friendship.

It had a profound effect on the way we lived our lives afterwards, as aren’t each one of us a collection of memories that happens to us on our way through life?

However, these priests need not be enlarged in death beyond what they were in life, but simply remembered as good, decent fellows, who saw Christ in everyone. They were really typical of the vast majority of their colleagues at the time, as man of my age will remember. It should remind us all that the goodness that is at the centre of the Church, despite its recent scandals and abuses.

The Church will overcome these disgraces because of the Christ-like work of priest such as these. Dermot Kavanagh, Stormanstown, Dublin