Rossnowlagh Franciscan Guardian Fr Feargus reflects on his Diamond Jubilee

Guardian of the Franciscan Friary in Rossnowlagh Fr. Feargus Mc Eveney O.F.M. at the sprightly age of 88 years celebrated his Diamond Jubilee last Thursday with a later special celebratory Mass on St Patrick’s Day.

And anyone who has ever visited the friary there will know that it is a very special place.

This is his second tenure to act in the role of Guardian of the south Donegal Franciscan Friary.

After he had served his time as Guardian from 2014 to 2020, he was replaced by Fr. Florian Farrelly in 2020, returning to Athlone when his term was up.

Tragically, Fr Florian lost his life in a road traffic accident in September 2022 and this saw Fr Feargus return to his former role at Rossnowlagh in October of that year.

A well travelled curriculum vitae at this juncture, Fr Feargus started his life path and devotion to his calling in 1964.

After his ordination in Rome, he was initially assigned to Gormanston College in Co Meath.

He did his H.Dip in Galway University and then began teaching back in Gormanston in 1965, where he taught English and French.

He later became acquainted with many Donegal students and their families who studied there including the Tunney’s, Rainey’s and McGettigan’s from Letterkenny and the likes of Cormac Meehan, Conor McDonnell and some of the McEniff family from Bundoran.

“There was also Liam McFadden from the Pier Bar Killybegs and many many more,” he recalled.

He left Gormanston in 1992 and served in friaries in Clonmel, Carrick-on-Suir, Multyfarnham and Ennis before being appointed Guardian of the Franciscan Friary at Rossnowlagh in 2014.

“When Fr Florian passed away in a road traffic accident in 2022, I was asked to come back up here”.

Asked to reflect on his 60 years since his ordination, his first reflection was that “they were short on numbers”.

Things were “very tight on the ground”, and the likes of Fr Vincent Finnegan was “on loan” from the Friars to the Diocese for three years.

“There are five of us here now in Rossnowlagh”, he added.

“One of the things that is very noticeable is the societal support for religion is a lot weaker than it was. The peer pressure and anti church atmosphere that you have because of the scandals that were there has been a big factor.

“And to a great extent it has tarnished everyone with the same brush, so you are under a certain amount of pressure, but if you are honest and sincere enough in yourself, people will realise that not everyone's the same.

“You had it very much there with the reaction after the disaster up in Creeslough with the way the parish priest came across and his compassion for all the people. That is the basic priestly vocation. But people were going anti church and anti priest because of the number that did scandalise the church.

“The friary itself here in Rossnowlagh is a huge centre and attraction. It has a great drawing quality and to a great extent, the community here and the whole atmosphere is one of welcome and pace. It is an amazing place.”

ABOVE: Fr Feargus McEveney in Rossnowlagh 

He believes that the attraction of the Franciscans is that in some ways they are freer from the administration of priests that work in parishes.

“We might be looked upon as a lot less judgemental and to a certain extent we are more approachable in that we are there; we are not pulled here, there and everywhere like a parish priest or curate may be.

“And when people come to Rossnowlagh they know they are going to a priest, whereas in a busy parish the priest may simply be out or attending to some other duty. They have lots of administration and the loss of people, we have five people here and a roster of presence. That’s a huge thing.”

He said that there was a lot of courage in people heading towards a religious life today, compared to times past when many families wished to have the blessing of a priest from their own families.

ABOVE: The Franciscan Friary in Rossnowlagh

“Most of us in our time joined after the Leaving Cert, but now it’s late 20s, early 30s that people are joining us now and it is quite a change for people that have been working etc., to decide to go onto the priesthood”.

He also alluded to the special place that the Franciscans have in the minds and hearts of Donegal people, going back to the Annals of the Four Master and Brother Micheal O’Clereigh, who was from just down the road from them at Rossnowlagh.