Two Offaly brothers celebrate Golden Jubilee of joint ordination to priesthood

IT WAS a special day in Lusmagh on Sunday when two brothers from the parish celebrated the Golden Jubilee of their joint ordination.
A celebration mass was held in St Cronan's Church to mark the 50th anniversary of the ordination of Fr Kieran and Fr Joe Birmingham into the priesthood.
At the beginning of the mass Fr Kieran welcomed everyone including the many priests and nuns who had travelled for the celebration. Fr Kieran spent many years of his working life in the Missions and he praised the priests and sisters he worked with in Kenya and South Africa.
He pointed out that the mass was coinciding with the celebration of the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, “two great leaders, whose courage is always inspirational.
“As Joe and myself reflect on our Jubilee there are two lines of thought which naturally arise. Firstly, we look back on what has happened and, secondly, we look forward, wondering what is the future going to bring?”
He asked how many in the congregation were present at the ordination 50 years ago? A lot of hands went up. Fr Kieran recalled the joint ordination on June 29th, 1975 happened on a very hot day. “The Bishop was late. Coming over the bridge in Banagher he took the first instead of the second turn and was an hour late.
“It was a day which changed the lives of Joe and myself.
“Afterwards we went to the Missions, I to Africa and Joe to the Philippines.
“Why did we become priests? Because God called us. Not in the dramatic way that Paul was called on the road to Damascus! But through the prayers, good deeds and kindnesses of many people in this parish. In our home growing up we had a focus on prayer; on regularly saying the Rosary; and we always attended Mass on Sunday.”
Fr Kieran mentioned four Carmelite priests who came from the Lusmagh area, as well as a number of Sisters of Charity. “They all had an influence on us when we were growing up. They talked about their lives in a humble way. We also had great teachers in the local Primary School, a tradition which I am glad to see is continuing.”
He learned good things from his mother as well. “For example, one Christmas Day when I was seven or eight a travelling woman and her child called to our door, looking for food. My mother gave her food. Then my mother told me to give the boy one of my tractors. I was not happy about this at all! I was very attached to my tractor, which I had just opened as one of my Christmas presents. But it taught me an invaluable lesson about recognising the needs of the poor.”
He pointed out that the GAA is very active in the parish and when they were children they spent a lot of time playing hurling and football. It was a good way of meeting others, and the pitch beside St Cronan's nourished many future All Ireland medals.
After Primary School Kieran went to the Presentation Brothers in Birr, and Joe went to Castlemartyr, a Carmelite boarding school in east Cork.
When studying for the priesthood, they were both sent to Rome to study Theology. They also studied Greek. It wasn't all study and both men enjoyed playing soccer for their respective colleges. Fr Kieran said Fr Joe was considerably better than he was, at both Greek and soccer!
When, on the 29th of June 1975 the two men were ordained they blessed their mother Bridget, their First Blessing as priests.
Having become priests Kieran went to Turkana in northern Kenya, Joe to the Philippines. In both places they performed parish and seminary work. After the Philippines Joe came back to Dublin and did very good work there.
“The work of a priest is very satisfying,” commented Fr Kieran, “and I am glad I became a priest. It is very moving to see how the Word of God can console people and lift them up. In South Africa getting blacks and whites to work together was also very rewarding.
“I met Sr Mary Moran in Rwanda. I was in Rwanda in 1994 when the genocide happened, killing 800,000 people. It was a terrifying and terrible time. Sr Mary kept her convent running right throughout this awful time, despite huge pressure to close. She kept it open, an important source of light in the darkness all around." Fr Kieran asked Sr Mary, who attended Sunday's celebration, to stand up and he told everyone, “She is a hero. What she did was incredibly brave."
Another dangerous place Fr Kieran worked in was South Sudan. “One year I was in South Sudan, where the situation was very difficult and tense. We were in a large military and refugee camp. I was with another priest. One day we were walking across the camp's compound when we were approached very aggressively by two young soldiers and threatened with their rifles. They wanted to know what we were doing there. They were very aggressive and the situation was very tense. I thought, they could shoot us. I was amazed therefore when I saw my fellow priest angrily shove one of the guns away and demand that we be allowed to continue on our way! I was sure we were going to be shot. But they backed down and let us pass.”
Fr Kieran added that both he and Fr Joe have health issues at the moment, but they will continue to do their best and go forward with hope.
He pointed out that the parish of Lusmagh is a very special place for both of them.
He reflected that big changes are happening around the world, and there are new ways of looking at things; and that is affecting the church.
“Sadly there will no longer be a priest living in this parish. It will be a huge change. You are no doubt wondering how can you cope with it? You, the parishioners in this parish, are being given a Mission-like task now, which is to take this challenge and not be overwhelmed by it. If you look at the Gospel you will see some hope. If there is faith then the church will live; as long as faith continues then nothing will destroy the church. In the years to come the faith of lay people will be like a rock. The Lord is building his Church on the rock of the faithful people. My message is keep prayer alive in the parish. Regular prayer will unlock obstacles and problems. The good your prayers are doing will often be unseen. We must all work together in faith and love. In this new time let us not be discouraged. We are pilgrims of hope and we must carry hope into the world."
Fr Kieran praised the outgoing PP Fr Michael Kennedy. Fr Michael is originally from Rathcabbin and Fr Kieran said he had done an excellent job in Lusmagh. Clergy from Portumna will look after Lusmagh in the future.
Fr Kieran praised Lusmagh's wonderful community spirit and its excellent church choir, led for the last fifty years by Marian Broderick.
Fr Michael thanked Fr Kieran for his kind words. Fr Michael said the Golden Jubilee is a very special milestone. "It's a very special thing; two brothers from the one family, being ordained on the one day."
After Mass everyone then proceeded over to the Parish Hall for refreshments and an amiable chat.