Brandon Scott
Fr Raymond Husband The outgoing Regional Director of the Columbans in Ireland, Fr Raymond Husband, has said that he is grateful after six years of numerous achievements in the role but that the pain of losing 62 Columbans mostly during the Covid pandemic has left “a sadness”.
Fr Husband, who was succeeded in the post by Fr David Kenneally last Saturday, said to columbans.ie that he saw his “number one priority” as “care of the elderly priests” in St Columban’s and particularly the elderly missionaries in the nursing home in Dalgan.
“Because we are such an elderly group of men, the role of director is to support them and care for them,” he said. “I would have seen that as a priority.
“The nursing home was under threat and we as a region worked hard to ensure the continuation of the nursing home. There have been challenges and even the possibility of closing it down. We had to work through that.
“I think as Columbans we are blessed that we have such a good and loyal staff in the nursing home, in the offices and in the house. I have always been happy with the staff and working alongside the staff – I am very grateful to them.”
He acknowledged that “one of the sadnesses in my six years was that 62 Columbans went to the Lord. There is a sadness. These are men that I would have known and worked with in various stages. It is part of our history” but that the Columbans “achieved a lot in the six years. One of the things that stands out for me is that when I came into the office the sale of Dowdstown House was an issue, its transition from Columban property to sale. Another headache at the time was the farm. We were going through a series of managers. So the Regional Council decided to lease the farm and that was a very positive thing. I am very proud and happy with that.”