The Late Fr. Sean Oxley There was no fanfare in the ministry of the late Fr. Sean Oxley, who bore witness to the sufferings of christ in his own illness, and who extended compassion to those who felt the weight of the cross themselves. Fr. Sean came to work in Clonfert diocese in 1995, firstly as a curate in Portumna for three months and then to Loughrea Cathedral in August 1995. "As a community, we have a lot to be thankful to Fr. Sean" said Fr. Cathal Geraghty speaking at his months mind Mass, held in the Cathedral last month. "Over ten years, he baptised and buried, he anointed and absolved, he preached and he made present the Body of Christ in the Eucharist. "He bore witness to the sufferings of Christ in his own sufferings and he extended compassion to those who felt the weight of the cross in their lives. "His presence in the parish was important in because he was a solid practical man. He saw us through stressful times and sad times and he celebrated with us on happy occasions. Fr. Sean was born in Thomastown, Killucan, Co. Westmeath, on August 7, 1942. 18 years later, he entered St. Columban's College, Navan, to study for the priesthood, and was ordained on December 21, 1966. He was assigned to the Columban Mission in Korea, where he ministered happily until illness forced his return home. In 1995 Fr. Sean came to work in the diocese of Clonfert, firstly as a curate in Portumna for three months, and then to Loughrea Cathedral, however illness forced his departure in January 2005. "His compassion for people was his outstanding quality, especially for the weak and most vulnerable. He always had time to talk and to listen. The value of his service to this parish cannot be underestimated. There was no great fanfare about his ministry - he did the ordinary things, but he did them well," said Fr. Geraghty. "There are many people in this parish who experienced his kindness. One of the places where he certainly outshone the rest of us was in St. Brendan's Home. He would wander around the wards, sit and chat and give of his time to those who needed a listening ear. He recognised the value of the elderly and the obligation we have towards them in recognition of their contribution to building up our society. Those who had laboured in the heat of the day deserved to sit now by the heat of the fire and have somebody listen to them and talk with them. "As a colleague Fr. Sean was a pleasure to work with because he knew what had to be done. He knew that sometimes there was problems to be overcome, sometimes things had to be said to encourage or maybe to even curtail. "And even if on occasion we had to disagree it didn't make life difficult because, through it all, he knew we were all working for a common purpose. He was great company at table where he could discuss sport, politics, current affairs and sometimes even religion with his inimitable insight. "When it came to holidays, Fr. Sean was easy to accommodate. He only wanted two weeks in the year, but they were special weeks and nobody else could look for them. They were the last week in July and the first week in August. "Why? Because he had to make his annual treat to the Galway Races. He was a good judge of form, but he wasn't a tipster; he left you to do your own research and make up your own mind - he wasn't going to be responsible for anyone elses losses. "Fr. Sean was also a great GAA man. having played hurling and football in his youth, he retained a passionate interest in our national games. He was of course a keen follower of his native Westmeath and his home club of Killucan/Raharney. "During his time here, he followed the progress of Loughrea and Galway teams and on a special day in 1998, when the Sam Maguire Cup was presented in the Cathedral during a Novena Mass, Fr Sean was the chief celebrant. I knew that he, more than any of us, would take great pride in receiving 'the Sam' at the gate of the sanctuary. And he did. "Fr. Sean was a man for whom the word of God was important. He never celebrated Mass without having explored the readings first, and one of his little mannerisms was that having proclaimed the Gospel at Mass he pointed to the book with thew back of his hand while saying 'this is the Gospel of the Lord'. "His gesture emphasised that he believed what he had proclaimed. He was, maybe without realising it, fulfilling an instruction given him on the day of ordination when he was presented with the book of the Gospels and the Bishop said - 'Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you now are. Believe what you read, teach what you believe and practice what you teach.'" Fr. Cathal said that Fr. Sean left a little of his heart in Loughrea when illness forced him to leave in January 2005. "He was fond of Louhgrea and on my visits to him in Navan he always held out the hope of someday returning to the presbytery. On one occasion he said that he hoped he was still at least an honourary member of the Cathedral staff. I assured him he was. "Over the past two and a half years Fr. Sean's illness took away his speech and eventually his independence but it never quenched his spirit. His illness meant that, physically he was not the man we knew, but he retained his characteristic sense of humour and insight. He bore his illness with the same dignity that he lived his life. He didn't complain, he cleared each hurdle as it was put before him. "On my last visit to him in Dalagan Park he greeted me with the customary 'I hope you are going to or coming from somewhere that you didn't make the journey especially to see me.' He didn't like to think that someone would put themselves out for him. "But it was the least we could do for a man who had put himself out for others in service to the church. On that evening he became emotional when I was leaving. "He probably knew deep down that the end was not so far off and although he was a big man with strength in abundance at one time, the only strength now was his strength of character and his big heart." Fr. Sean Oxley died on July 31, in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda. He was laid to rest in the cemetery of St. Columban's College Chapel at Dalgan Park, Navan. "Fr.Sean has gone to God and he can be proud of the service he has given. His family can be proud of him, his confreres can be proud of him and we the people of Loughrea, the community in which he last served are very proud and thankful for having had him in our midst," concluded Fr. Cathal. The month's mind mass was held in St. Brendan's Cathedral, where Bishop John Kirby was the main celebrant. Concelebrating with him were Fr. Cathal Geraghty, Adm. and Fr. Sean Egan, CC, along with priests representing the Columban Missionary Society, the Diocese of Clonfert and the Carmelite Order. Courtesy of the Connacht Tribune. 28 September 2007 Tweet

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