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Iskaheen man to become priest
03.07.08
Daniel McFaul to be
ordained in St Eugene’s Cathedral on Sunday
A Iskaheen man will on Sunday become the only priest
to be ordained in the Derry diocese this year.
“A great blessing,” was how one parishioner
described this weekend’s ordination of Deacon Daniel
McFaul in St Eugene’s Cathedral in Derry.
“It’s a great blessing for the parish and we’ve been
praying for him all throughout his studies,” said
Mary Newport, a member of the committee that’s
organising events and decorations throughout the
Iskaheen Parish. “Many of us have known him since he
was a young boy and there’s a great atmosphere and
sense of excitement throughout the parish.” |
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Daniel’s will be the
only ordination in the Derry diocese this year, and
one of just 13 across Ireland. He was educated at
Crana College and St Patrick’s College, Maynooth.
Events start with the ordination ceremony at 3pm on
Sunday and the whole parish is invited to St
Eugene’s Cathedral. Afterwards invited guests will
attend a reception at St Columb’s College before the
new Fr McFaul makes his way to his family home in
Iskaheen.
Weather permitting, Fr McFaul will return to his
native parish in an open top car driven by Jim
McLaughlin. |
“Bunting will line the
road all the way from the Red Cross centre at the
Border up to Iskaheen,” Mrs Newport said. “Everyone
in the parish that could sew volunteered to help,
and the work done in recent weeks has been
tremendous. I just hope the weather holds up.”
Fr McFaul will celebrate his first Mass in Sacred
Heart Church, Muff on Monday night at 7.30pm. He
will also celebrate Mass at Iskaheen chapel on
Tuesday night and at the Quigley’s Point Community
Centre on Saturday evening.
The organising committee assembled by Parish Priest
Fr John Farren includes Mrs Newport, Gabriel
McCarron, Marie Lindsay and Margaret Reddin. “From
putting up bunting and Papal flags to clearing ivy
from the chapel at Iskaheen, there’s a huge
enthusiasm in the parish. Everyone is very proud,”
Mrs Newport said.
It’s all very different to 1956 when Mrs Newport’s
brother, Fr John Ryder, was ordained in Maynooth.
“It was a different era. Because Maynooth was so far
away and times were tougher, not too many people
from Iskaheen could attend the ordination,” she
said. “But because it’s so local, Daniel’s
ordination has caught the imagination of the whole
parish and we’re all really looking forward to it.”
(Story: Inishowen Independent) |
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