Tributes have been paid to a late priest-philosopher who helped form generations of both priests and lay students at Maynoooth.
Fr Donal Daly SVD – who was 84 – died “peacefully and patiently” after what confrères described as a long illness.
Born in Fermoy in Co. Cork in 1936, he entered the noviciate of the Divine Word missionaries (SVD) in 1954 and was ordained in 1962. After postgraduate studies in Rome, Dr Daly taught at the society’s seminary in Donamon and was appointed a permanent member of staff of St Patrick’s College, Maynooth in 1971. It was just at the time when the hierarchy had decided to open the college to lay students as well as aspirants to the priesthood. He remained at Maynooth until his retirement in 2002.
Pillar
A statement from his missionary society said that Fr Daly was “first and foremost a committed Divine Word Missionary priest and a pillar of his community”.
“At Provincial Assemblies and Chapters, his skill as impartial chairman was put to great use. A member of the SVD community, Maynooth for almost half a century, he was regularly elected to the House Council. During the summer vacation, he regularly did pastoral work in various English parishes where supply was needed.
“He is survived by his nieces and nephews and their families. He will be greatly missed by his family, former students, and his confrères in the Society of the Divine Word.”