Last-ditch effort to be made to retain popular Drum priest

A last-ditch effort to retain a much-loved priest in the rural South Roscommon parish of Drum/Clonown is to be made later today (Wednesday).

It is understood that Fr. Michael Hickey, who has ministered in the parish for the past seven years, is due to return to his religious order, the Holy Ghost Missionaries, in Dublin at the end of this month, following the latest round of Diocesan changes announced by Bishop of Elphin, Kevin Doran in July.

Parishioners in the close-knit community have been engaged in a vigorous campaign of opposition to the planned move of Fr. Hickey, which culminated with over 2,300 signatures being personally delivered to the Diocesan office in Sligo in recent weeks, along with a letter seeking a meeting with Bishop Doran.

Members of the five-member committee set up to coordinate the campaign of opposition to the planned move of Fr. Hickey are due to meet with him tonight (Wednesday) to see if he would consider remaining on in the parish.

While a spokesperson for the committee told the Westmeath Independent that it is “unlikely” that the much-loved curate can be persuaded to remain on in the parish at this stage, they are going to make one “last-ditch effort” to see if some compromise can be reached.

Over 200 parishioners attended a meeting in Drum parish hall on Monday night last, at which a number of suggestions were put forward, including purchasing a house in the parish for Fr. Hickey. “There was a lot of anger expressed at the meeting, and a real determination to try to keep Fr. Michael in the parish” said the committee spokesperson “but at the end of the day it is entirely up to him and we will abide by whatever decision he makes.”

Bishop Kevin Doran celebrated Saturday evening Mass and Sunday morning Mass in Drum Church on the August bank holiday weekend, August 3 and 4 last, but members of the committee set up to try to retain Fr. Hickey in the parish were unsuccessful in their attempts to get the Bishop to change his mind when they met him in the Church grounds after both Masses.

“We pleaded with Bishop Doran to allow Fr. Michael to remain on in the parish for another year, but we were unsuccessful” said the spokesperson, who added that there is “a strong sense of anger in the local community” at the way the whole issue has been handled by the Diocesan office.

Fr. Michael Hickey has been renowned for his work in the parish of Drum/Clonown over the past seven years and, in particular, for visiting the elderly, sick and housebound parishioners on a regular basis. He was also a popular figure among residents at nursing homes in Roscommon, Athlone and Ballinasloe which he visited on a regular basis.

While parishioners are still holding out hope that Fr. Hickey can be persuaded to remain on in the parish, it is understood they have already made provisional plans to host a farewell party for the hugely-popular priest later this month in the Shamrock Lodge Hotel in Athlone.