‘Bishop Casey treated abysmally by the Church’

BISHOP Eamonn Casey may have had his faults, but he was also a dynamic, visionary man who had a hugely positive impact on society.

Frank Lewis who worked as a PR consultant with Eamonn Casey during his time as Bishop of Kerry fondly remembers a man “who made a bigger impact on life in Kerry than anybody since Daniel O’Connell” and was then “treated abysmally” by the Catholic Church after he fell from grace.

Mr Lewis this week recalled the “extraordinary venture” that was the Kerry Seminar Executive as one of Bishop Casey’s most significant achievements in the diocese. The Executive held seminars in 10 centres across the Diocese on four or five separate occasions to raise public awareness and stimulate debate on key issues of the time.

In Mr Lewis’ view, this extraordinary series of seminars led to the defeat of the Buchanan plan to centralise Irish economic planning in six centres, informed people about the pros and cons of joining Europe, and raised awareness of poverty locally, nationally and internationally.

To help pay for this work, Bishop Casey held ‘Bishop’s Concerts’ in the Brandon Hotel in Tralee and he was able to enlist the free services of Gay Byrne and entertainers such as Ronnie Drew, Frank Patterson and Hal Roache for the shows which always sold out.

Bishop Casey also formed the Full Life for Youth Project scheme that ran in Kerry in 1972 and 1975 and engaged up 2,500 young people in working on 200 projects that involved them more closely in the life of their communities. Mr Lewis said Bishop Casey “invested in democracy when nobody else was doing so” and, through his ground-breaking work, helped create a public that was better informed about politics and social issues in the county.

Mr Lewis said there was huge regret that Bishop Casey “did not stand and put up his hands” rather than leave Ireland after his affair with Annie Murphy erupted into a national scandal.

“A whole lot of us would have been happy to stand with him,” he said. “He was treated abysmally by the Church... I reckon they told him to leave.”

Siamsa Tíre founder member Fr Pat Ahern dancing at the sod turning ceremony for Teach Siamsa in Finuge, Co Kerry, in 1973, with Bishop Casey among the guests.