A PARISH LIFE LESS ORDINARY FOR FR KEVIN
A parish life less ordinary for Fr Kevin
The popular local priest talks to Ryan McAleer about the highs and lows of 40 years in the Catholic ministry
June 20 will mark 40 years since a 25-year-old Kevin Mullan was formally ordained into the Catholic Church On the brink of that milestone, the parish priest shares some of his most poignant memories of the past four decades with the Ulster Herald.
Born and bred in the heart of Omagh. close to where the Drumragh Avenue Bridge stands, it would not be until his final year at the Christian Brothers that Kevin would begin to seriously consider the priesthood. His father, a chemist and his mother, a science teacher in the Convent. both had brothers who joined the priesthood.
"I had never really given it too much thought, everybody else was moving on to work or college," recalls Fr Kevin.
"Looking back it was some kind of call really from God, nobody was forcing me, 1 just grew into the notion."
He would leave home for the first time shortly after, aged just 17 to board at St Columb's College in Derry before beginning his training in Maynooth in 1964. "I hadn't a notion what I was joining, not a clue." he laughs.
After his ordination in 1971 in the same year two of his sisters got married, he would return to Derry to serve his .apprenticeship. remaining there for some 12 years through a period of immense political and social upheaval. The Church was changing with the times as well. "You weren't just locked up in the chapel, you were connecting with people. It really was energising."
After four years in Pennyburn, he moved to the entirely new parish of Galliagh. "It was a totally new parish just formed. It was great to be there, there were no traditions. Myself and Fr Michael Keaveney were there as pioneers.You really could create the parish you wanted, it was an amazing opportunity "
A controversial inter-church relationship between Fr Kevin's Christ the King Church and the neighbouring P'resbyterian Church in Limavady would come to define his years in his next parish between 1983 and 1988. He would move on to the quieter parish of C'astlefin, just over the border in Donegal for three years in 1988, before returning to his native Tyrone in 1991 to work in the Cappagh parish.
The town so close to his heart would be ripped open in 1998, marking the darkest period of his career. However out of tragedy would grow new bonds of friendship, through bodies such as the Omagh Churches Forum, facicitating a new period of healing and growth in Omagh between the churches and communities
His first role as parish priest eventually came in 2002 in Drumquin, where Fr Mullan currently resides. Musing on four decades of service to the Church, he said he wished to take the opportunity to pay tribute to friends, family, colleagues and parishioners, "They give me hope and I'd like to give them hope as well that there is a way through," he said.
The popular local priest talks to Ryan McAleer about the highs and lows of 40 years in the Catholic ministry
June 20 will mark 40 years since a 25-year-old Kevin Mullan was formally ordained into the Catholic Church On the brink of that milestone, the parish priest shares some of his most poignant memories of the past four decades with the Ulster Herald.
Born and bred in the heart of Omagh. close to where the Drumragh Avenue Bridge stands, it would not be until his final year at the Christian Brothers that Kevin would begin to seriously consider the priesthood. His father, a chemist and his mother, a science teacher in the Convent. both had brothers who joined the priesthood.
"I had never really given it too much thought, everybody else was moving on to work or college," recalls Fr Kevin.
"Looking back it was some kind of call really from God, nobody was forcing me, 1 just grew into the notion."
He would leave home for the first time shortly after, aged just 17 to board at St Columb's College in Derry before beginning his training in Maynooth in 1964. "I hadn't a notion what I was joining, not a clue." he laughs.
After his ordination in 1971 in the same year two of his sisters got married, he would return to Derry to serve his .apprenticeship. remaining there for some 12 years through a period of immense political and social upheaval. The Church was changing with the times as well. "You weren't just locked up in the chapel, you were connecting with people. It really was energising."
After four years in Pennyburn, he moved to the entirely new parish of Galliagh. "It was a totally new parish just formed. It was great to be there, there were no traditions. Myself and Fr Michael Keaveney were there as pioneers.You really could create the parish you wanted, it was an amazing opportunity "
A controversial inter-church relationship between Fr Kevin's Christ the King Church and the neighbouring P'resbyterian Church in Limavady would come to define his years in his next parish between 1983 and 1988. He would move on to the quieter parish of C'astlefin, just over the border in Donegal for three years in 1988, before returning to his native Tyrone in 1991 to work in the Cappagh parish.
The town so close to his heart would be ripped open in 1998, marking the darkest period of his career. However out of tragedy would grow new bonds of friendship, through bodies such as the Omagh Churches Forum, facicitating a new period of healing and growth in Omagh between the churches and communities
His first role as parish priest eventually came in 2002 in Drumquin, where Fr Mullan currently resides. Musing on four decades of service to the Church, he said he wished to take the opportunity to pay tribute to friends, family, colleagues and parishioners, "They give me hope and I'd like to give them hope as well that there is a way through," he said.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/2027
Published Date: 26-May-11
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