Fr Niall Coll appointed as new Bishop of Ossory

Fr Niall Coll took a phonecall on Sunday evening and his world changed utterly.

The Apostolic Nunciature invited him to a meeting in Dublin that began the process of his becoming the next Bishop of Ossory.

Fr Niall has been chosen by Pope Francis to be the next bishop of the Ossory diocese in Leinster.

Monsignor Julien Kabore, Charge d'Affaires, delivered the news on behalf of the Pope.

“Truly, I am feeling daunted by the prospect and know that it will only be by God’s grace and your welcome and ongoing support that I will be able to minister fruitfully here,” Fr Niall said.

A native of St Johnston, Fr Niall has most recently been the Parish Priest of Tawnawilly having previously served as the Parish Priest of Drumholm.

A skilled theologian, he has served at third level in both St Patrick’s College, Carlow and St Mary’s University College, Belfast.

He worked with young people at second level in St Eunan’s College, Letterkenny and Pobalscoil na Rosann. As a young priest he served as a curate in Dungloe.

“Fr Niall has always put his many skills and talents at the service of the Church wherever he has been asked and needed,” the Bishop of Raphoe, Alan McGuckian SJ, said.

“On my own behalf and on behalf of the priests and people of the Diocese of Raphoe I offer Fr Coll sincere congratulations. I can say honestly that Ossory’s gain will be our loss.

“He will be a great loss to the Diocese and to the Parish of Tawnawilly."

Since his return to Donegal he has served on the Diocesan Pastoral Council in the Raphoe Diocese.

Fr Niall is a son of Willie and Kathleen Coll from the Hillhead Brae in St Johnston.

The Bishop-elect said: “Coming as I do from the mainly soccer culture of east Donegal, my knowledge of hurling, that game so close to Kilkenny and Laois hearts, will test very few.

“But I have always been fascinated by the skill and dance of the game. My knowledge of this part of the world, of Ossory, comes mostly in the shape of the sons and daughter of the diocese whom I have encountered over the years.”

Bishop McGuckian said: “His home parish of St Johnston will take pride in the choice of one of their own to serve as a bishop.

“As well as an honour, service as a bishop is a heavy burden and so I ask everyone in the diocese to pray very specially for Fr Niall that he will have all the grace he needs to serve the people of Ossory with generosity and zeal.”

Fr Niall recalled Sr Canice (Maura Drea), who was principal of Loreto Convent School in Letterkenny when he was a student at Sr Eunan’s College.

Fr Tom Norris and Fr Willie Dalton, priests of the Ossory diocese, who he describes as ‘passionate and insightful lecturers’, taught him theology and canon law during his time Maynooth College.

In the 1990s, Fr Niall spent three years teaching in Carlow College.

He said: “It’s a relief for me to know that I arrive here not a total stranger to all.

“Arriving as something of a stranger in new places to work and minister has been, I must admit, a sustained pattern in my life.

“I am heartbroken to be leaving the parish of Donegal and Clar and want to thank the people there for the welcome and support they offered me over my brief sojourn of less than a year and a half among them.

“I would also like to thank Bishop Alan McGuckian, the priests and so many other lay faithful of the Raphoe diocese for their support and kindness.”