Colm Fitzpatrick
Personal Profile
Students can be a source of hope and encouragement, Colm Fitzpatrick learns
It’s tough being a chaplain, especially when it involves providing pastoral support to students in one of Northern Ireland’s most popular universities.
Fr Dominic McGrattan has recently been appointed as chaplain in Queen’s University, Belfast, replacing Fr Gerard Magee. He describes it as a “new and exciting chapter” and although still has a lot to learn about student life, he’s eager to offer them a space where they can deepen their faith.
Belfast isn’t a wholly new area to Fr Dominic – his home town is just an hour’s drive away in the small seaside village of Portaferry. Born in the 1980’s, it common to associate this time period in the North with political and religious upheaval. However, Fr Dominic explains that’s not how he remembers his childhood.
“My growing up was happy and secure. Although the Troubles were still raging in Northern Ireland, Portaferry was the kind of place people escaped to. It was a close-knit community where people looked out for each other,” he says.
“Thankfully it was preserved from the worst of the violence and relations between Catholics and Protestants were, and remain, very neighbourly.”
Fr Dominic is the last of seven children, and his mother was a seamstress before she married and his father was an engineer with the Merchant Navy. His career was cut short when Fr Dominic’s sister was born with Down syndrome and he was needed at home.
Describing his family as “quite ordinary”, Fr Dominic says that faith played a big part in his upbringing.
“We went to Mass every Sunday, and sometimes weekday Mass and devotions too. Mum knelt and prayed with us before she put us to bed at night. My illustrated Bible was among my favourite story books.
“We visited the local Passionist Monastery in Crossgar every month for Confessions, which was followed by a treat from the chip shop or bakery. Faith always had positive associations for me growing up,” he says.
The notion of becoming a priest was present with Fr Dominic from a young age, but intensified when he was making the transition from second level education to university. It was a “big” step to make as a teenager, so he decided to get a degree first. No doubt his desire to make this vocational leap was formed during his childhood.
“Our parish was blessed with good priests. They were each very different characters but common to them was strong faith, dedication to service and love for people. Those values carried through to our local schools, staffed by women and men who had a real sense of their vocation as Christian educators,” he explains.
“Looking back, my relationship with Jesus and my love for the Church and desire to serve were nurtured in the context of that traditional home-school-parish partnership.”
He pursued undergraduate studies in Law at Trinity College, Dublin, followed by postgraduate studies specialising with a Masters in Commercial Law at St Edmund’s College, Cambridge. After formation in St Malachy’s seminary, Fr Dominic was ordained in 2014 in St Patrick’s Church where he was baptised.
Five years on, he is now Queen’s chaplain and also assists nearby in St Brigid’s Parish.
“I am learning on the job and trying to profile what the typical student is these days so that hopefully I can serve them better. I am beginning to wonder if there is such a thing as a typical student though!” he says.
At a time in Ireland where young people seem to be apathetic and even hostile to the faith, Fr Dominic explains that there are many young, inspiring students who share their convictions proudly with others. Although not everyone who enters the chaplaincy is a devout Christian, at the very least it offers them a place where they can reflect on the deeper questions of life.
“Whilst it has been a steep learning curve since taking up post this autumn, already I am encouraged and energised by our students. Many are committed to their faith and enthusiastic about sharing it with their peers. Others are not necessarily ‘Gospel greedy’ but they are asking the big questions in life and they know the chaplaincy is a safe space for them to do that. They give me great hope.”
It’s unclear what the future holds for Fr Dominic, but with no regrets about his decision to become a priest and a strong support network around him, it wouldn’t take a clairvoyant to know that the students are in safe and knowledgeable hands.
“I am into my sixth year of priesthood now. I am sustained by the friendship and support of brother priests, colleagues and parishioners, as well as my old university friends.
“I am blessed too that Mum and Dad are still around, keeping me in check. Whilst there have been ups and downs, I have loved every minute and couldn’t imagine being anything other than a priest, thank God.”