Nerves were frayed amongst the 80,000 crowd in Croke Park last Sunday as the All Ireland Hurling final between Cork and Clare resulted in a tense draw during injury time, and no more so than for Bishop Kieran O’Reilly, a Corkman based in Clare.
“Coming from Cork and living in Clare I had a dual mandate,” said Bishop O’Reilly of his trip to Croker for the final. After a lot of gentle banter around the diocesan offices in Ennis in the lead-up to the showdown, the Bishop of Killaloe found it difficult to control his cheers for Cork in the company of Clare supporters, but says he is happy that both sides live to fight again at the replay on September 28.
Meanwhile, preparations in Ennis are underway for the first Killaloe Diocesan Faith Gathering which takes place next weekend between the cathedral and St Flannan’s College, and will include the launch of the Diocesan Pastoral Plan.
“The launch of the diocesan plan is the fruits of two years of a listening process, travelling around the diocese engaging with groups and a very interesting online survey to draw in people who might not go to church,” Bishop O’Reilly said.
“We are defining the Church of the future and what struck me most is the engagement and commitment of people who wish to be involved, and this gives me great hope for the future.”