New parish administrator settling in despite challenges of pandemic

For the new administrator of St Mary's parish, who up until his appointment on September 1 had no previous dealings with Athlone, the transition to the town has proven to be a busy period.

Speaking to the Westmeath Independent, Fr Patrick Murphy said he is spending his time trying to absorb as much as he can about the town and its people, despite the challenges that are being posed by the pandemic.

"Athlone is a town that I would have visited before, but I never really had much dealings here before now," he said.

"One difference that I found when I moved here is that in other areas, there are a huge amount of townlands that you need to get to know, and you need to learn the geography and the addresses in those areas. Here, it's more housing estates and streets, and terraces in those estates."

One of a family of eight and originally form Longford town, Fr Murphy had been parish priest in Mohill, Co Leitrim for ten years before coming to Athlone.

He was ordained for the Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise in 1985, having studied in St Patrick's College in Maynooth, and all of his appointments up until now have been in either Longford or Leitrim.

"This is my first time in the Clonmacnoise end of the Diocese. In Mohill, it was small enough that you would get to know people and their families and who is related to who.

"You would come in contact with a large percentage of the population, whereas here in Athlone the population is so big that it would be difficult to get to know large numbers of people. I'm realistic so I know that the dynamic will be different."

In his final year in Mohill, Fr Murphy said things became quiet as result of the pandemic, but it also provided him with time to slow down.

"Things became very quiet and I was fortunate that I was well-established in the place and that I knew people, but everything became less busy.

"It was the first time in my life as a priest that I wasn't running and racing, and I found that for days or weeks on end the doorbell or the phone wouldn't ring."

Fr Murphy used that time to read, pray and walk, and he also began to cook.

"Until then I would have went out for food every day, so cooking became a part of my routine because I couldn't go out," he said. "It was a very strange time in so many ways, but I think I made the most of it in others."

Coming to Athlone, he is still conscious of the virus and the difficulties that poses.

"We're not yet at the stage where we can freely call to houses and drop in casually," he explained.

"We are doing the First Friday calls, but I still don't think its quite the appropriate thing to go beyond that quite yet.

"Also, when you're meeting people with masks on it's difficult to remember faces or the context in which you've met them, but that's just the way it is for the time being."

When Bishop Francis Duffy announced the reshuffling of priests for the diocese in August, he noted how Athlone and Longford, two of the largest parishes, were going to face a reduction in clergy.

"That will be a huge challenge for all parishes going forward," Fr Murphy elaborated. "When I was ordained at the end of 1985, there were approximately 100 priests working in the diocese, and we might have had seven or eight more working abroad.

"By 2030, if you take the priests that will reach 75 years of age out of the equation, there will be about 25 diocesan priests, although we will have a small number of priests coming from abroad to join the diocese as well.

"In the space of my lifetime you're talking about going from 100 priests to around 25, so it's easy to do the maths with 41 parishes."

Fr Murphy looked to previous years and says that in a broader context, Athlone has gone from six to three priests in about eight years which has implications for the services that can be provided.

"We each only have a certain amount of time and energy, so we can't do everything that was done in the past.

"We have no students for the diocese, so we're not going to have any ordinations for at least the next seven years. That is a worrying situation, and as parish priests retire they likely won't be replaced."

Fr Murphy said that the "alignment" of parishes that can work together, as opposed to their "amalgamation" will likely form somewhat of a solution to the problem.

This could potentially see sacramental services be provided by a priest who is resident in a neighbouring parish, or two priests may be required to cover three parishes between them.

Fr Murphy also said that while pandemic restrictions are easing, he and the parish are still proceeding with caution and so some rows in the churches are still to remain empty for social distancing.

"We can do that at the moment because of the amount of masses that are on. That will probably be different over Christmas, and how we cater for larger numbers will have to be thought about."

His introduction to the people of Athlone has been limited, but he finished by saying that he is "very heartened" by the welcome he has received.

"The people that I have met have been very welcoming, and they have gone out of their way to say hello and wish me well, which is very encouraging.

"I really do look forward to whatever number of years I have here and becoming part of the community of Athlone."