Fr Joe had many postings in Africa
FR JOE SPILLANE of the St Patrick’s Missionary Society was laid to rest in the Society Cemetery in Kiltegan last Saturday.
Fr Spillane served in the Diocese of Cork and Ross, as well as Kealkill and Ballydehob in Nigeria. He was born in Aghada, Co. Cork, on October 18, 1924, and was educated in nearby Middleton CBS. He was considered a diligent student and an especially talented hurler. He retained a love for hurling throughout his life and had an extensive knowledge of the game and its heroes, both past and present.
He came to Kiltegan in 1945 and was ordained on Easter Sunday of 1952.
He studied Missiology in Rome for two years before being appointed to the then Prefecture of Ogoja in 1954. He served in Ugep, Kakwagom and Afilkpo and was the founding rector of St Augustine’s Junior Seminary, Ezzamgbo.
He was recalled to Kiltegan in 1962 to serve as Bursar General of the Society, a post he held until 1982. Upon his return to Kiltegan Manor, Fr Spillane also took over the management of the order’s farm and succeeded in restoring it into a successful enterprise.
He then went to work in the Diocese of Cork and Ross where he ministered in Kealkill and Ballydehob.
After celebrating his Diamond Jubilee of Ordination he retired to Kiltegan in July 2012 after 60 years as a priest. Of his surviving classmates, he was the only one still active in ministry.
He passed away peacefully in the Care Unit at St Patrick’s, Kiltegan.
Fr Spillane is predeceased by his sisters Rita (Geeleher), Phil (Nolan) and Rose (Murray) and by his brother Richard. He will be sadly missed by his nephews, nieces, grandnephews, grandnieces and great-grandniece; his cousins, relatives, Society family, Bishop John Buckley of Cork and Ross and his former parishioners.
May he rest in peace.