Bishop Myles McKeon

Bishop Myles McKeon, who died in Perth, Western Australia on May 2, was always a proud Irishman. He was born in Drummin, Westport on April 3, 1919. His widowed mother Bridget Toole returned to Drummin with her three young children to help run the family public house. There she met and married retired RIC Sgt John McKeon from Leitrim. They had four sons and two daughters, one of whom was Bishop Myles.
He attended Drummin National School before going to St Jarlath’s College, Tuam, to complete his secondary education. He studied for the priesthood in All Hallows Seminary, Dublin and was ordained for the Archdiocese of Perth on 22nd June 1947. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Perth in 1962 and Bishop of Bunbury in 1969, a position he retained until he retired in 1982.
Bishop Myles will be fondly remembered for his pioneering work in spirituality and education (co-founder of the Catholic Education Commission and the Catholic Institution of Western Australia). “He is acknowledged as a person of great faith and wisdom and recognised by all as a fundamentally good person,” said Dr Tim McDonald, Executive Director, Catholic Education Western Australia.
“A man of faith, goodness and servant of Jesus, he touched the hearts of so many, particularly the Catholic school communities and parishioners in the Bunbury diocese,” said Bishop Gerard Holohan of Bunbury.
The priests who served with him described him as warm and gracious but “you wouldn’t want to crack an Irish joke in front of him!” He was one of the last surviving Bishops who attended the Second Vatican Council and was the only Irish Bishop at the 50th anniversary Mass commemorating Vatican II in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome in 2012.
At the Golden Jubilee of his Episcopal Ordination four years ago retired priest Fr Noel Fitzsimons said, “Myles furnished the diocese … we had the Brothers looking after school leavers and the senior schools; we had the Blessed Sacraments in the marketplace; we had the Carmelites praying for the diocese and with Myles as Bishop, the Irish priests were really happy.”
Dawesville priest, Fr Leon Russell, said Bishop McKeon immediately made an impression with his warmth and graciousness from the start and was very popular amongst parishioners. St John of God Hospital Murdoch Catholic chaplain, Fr Hugh Galloway, the first priest to be ordained by Bishop McKeon, said if there was a meeting Bishop McKeon could avoid, he would; he loved to be with people.
The Bishop’s anthem, his friends recall, was ‘Sippin’ Soda’ and he would often sing the song at the request of others, who were happy to join in at the chorus.
He kept in regular contact with friends and family - Mrs Sheila Conway (his only surviving sibling) and her family in Westport; and nieces and nephews, the McKeons, Sheerins, Reidys and Tallons, all over the world.
Following the death of our brother Rory in Perth in March, my sister Daire, brother Seosamh and I were graced with a visit to Bishop Myles. He was alert and attentive, assuring us of his prayers in our grief and especially for our parents, Joe and Peigí (his childhood neighbour). The visit was inspiring and comforting to us all. His parting words were “Tell everyone at home I love them.” The Irishman who never forgot his ‘áit dúchas’ is now in his heavenly home, after being laid to rest in his beloved Perth. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.  

- Liamy Mac Nally.