Fr Jim was a strong man with a very tender heart
COMMUNITY SAYS GOODBYE TO A MAN OF DROGHEDA AND A MAN FOR DROGHEDA
Each man’s death diminishes me, For I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
(John Donne)
HOW appropriate it was that Fr Jim Donleavy’s old friend, Fr Denis Murphy should quote from Donne’s epic about life and death as he said farewell to a man who dedicated the last few years of his life to Drogheda.
The funeral mass for Jim Donleavy (pictured) last Wednesday was essentially beautiful. Not a surprise that Jim himself organised all the details prior to his death.
With the incredible voice of Eugene Ginty touching every beam of the magnificent roof of the church, the ceremony lacked just one thing, a few words from Jim himself.
Even Fr Denis admitted to being nervous. Jim was regarded as a master preacher, a man who taught others and the task of filling his shoes on his final journey was pretty tough.
But he rose to the occasion, describing Jim as a ‘strong man with a tender heart’.
He got some good advice from Archbishop Eamon Martin who visited the Dominican on Tuesday.
He said to draw inspiration from Jim’s deep, personal faith, a faith that marked his life.
He joined the Dominican order on September 4 1954 - inspired years earlier by a visit to the church in Drogheda at the age of 14.
He studied at the University of Sterling and Maynooth and began life as a preacher.
It also took him to Rome and a spell in Italian rugby as a dashing wing forward with Roma CUS under the name of Augustine Albani Babeiri.
‘He was a great preacher, devoted to the art,’ Fr
Denis remarked.
His gift was reading the Gospel in terms that people understood, born from days when his father would read from Shakespeare and the Bible.
Down the years, many came to assist Fr Jim in his daily life, the likes of Canon Jim Carroll and Fr Phil Gaffney, ‘ there was a great sense of harmony here,’ he added.
As he spoke about Jim’s decency and generosity, he said some people said he should ‘canonise him’ but he didn’t have time to get to the see the Pope!
The mass was celebrated by Fr Larry Collins OP and attended by over a dozen priests, including Canon Eugene Sweeney, PP, St Peter’s, Fr Colm O’Mahony, Prior of the Augustinian and Canon Jim Carroll.
Many were thanked for their support of Jim down the years, not least Rita and Declan Hanratty who dedicated much of their daily lives to caring for him.
Rita revealed that Jim had a great wish that the song ‘My Old Walled Town’ by the Boyne Folk be adopted as the anthem of Drogheda in the future he loved it so much.
As he left the church, members of the ONE - the organisation of ex servicemen and women - formed a guard of honour and marched alongside the hearse to St Peter’s Cemetery (pictured).
His father was a member of the South Irish Horse during the first war and he did a lot for the ONE and was made an honorary member in recent years.
Along the way, members of An Garda Siochana made sure the route was uninterrupted. It was stunning organisation.
And a bugler played the Last Post by his graveside as a final tribute.
Goodbye to Jim Donleavy, a man of Drogheda, a man for Drogheda.
His Month’s Mind mass will take place at noon on Sunday March 8.