O'Hanlon, Tommy Fr
June 23, 20101945- 2010
I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith
(The Second Epistle of Paul to Timothy iv.7)
As the footballers of Cork and Kerry and the assembled crowds in Pairt Ui Chaoimh stood to attention to observe a minutes silence in memory of the late Fr Tommy O'Hanlon who died on June 6 in Lahore, Pakistan, some in the crowd must have remembered that September Sunday in 1963 when a beaming youth of 18 who had captained Kerry to All-Ireland victory climbed the steps in Croke Park to receive the minor cup.
One of a family of six boys and four girls born to the late Patrick and Mary O'Hanlon, he grew up on the family farm in Dooncaha, Tarbert. An accomplished footballer he attended Tarmons National School and St Brendan's College, Killarney where he became an accomplished College footballer in the best tradition of 'The Sem'.
He developed a love of history and a keen interest in the evangelising effort of early Irish missionaries such as Columba and Columbanus. He attributed this interest to his later calling to join the Columban Missionary Society.
In 1969 he was ordained to the priesthood in St Mary's Church, Tarbert the first and sadly the last ordination in the parish. In October, 1970 he went to the Philippines and having spent six months studying the language and local customs he was assigned to Mindanao Island.
For the next 10 years he worked among the poor, mainly Catholic population in different parishes which he described as a very enriching and influential experience. For him the whole purpose of Church and mission was to be involved in various social issues with a view to improving the quality of life in deprived communities. This was not an easy experience in a country suffering under the repressive and corrupt Marcos regime.
In 1980 he took a sabbatical and studied Islam before he went to Pakistan, a country with a large, mainly Muslim, population. He was posted to Lahore, Pakistan's second city, where he spent 15 months studying the language and the culture. He was assigned to other parishes and his main emphasis was on justice and peace projects which are a Columban priority.
He returned to Ireland in 2002 and worked in Mission Awareness and promotion work for Columban Fathers up until 2006. Teachers recalled the Kerry priest with the grinning boyish looks who brought his experiences into their classrooms as the explained the work of mission.
Returning to Pakistan in November 2006 he updated himself on the changes and developments which had taken place in the country and the local Church. Tommy or Tanvir ('inner light') was tasked by the Columban group to work on two priorities which were close to his heart - ecology and fostering in the local Church.
He returned to Tarbert for a short visit before Christmas and shortly after his return to Pakistan in January he learned of the sudden death of his elder brother Johnny.
Following a brief illness Fr Tommy passed out of life on June 6 and was buried in the Columban cemetery, Lahore on June 10.
He will be sadly missed by family and friends at home and abroad and most assuredly by a Church desperately in need of real heroes and role models.
Leaba i measc na naomh da anam uasal dilis.
Memorial Mass in St Mary's Church, Tarbert on Saturday June 26 at 11am.
Courtesy of The Kerryman
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