First priest in two years to be ordained in Archdiocese of Tuam

First priest in two years to be ordained in Archdiocese of Tuam


Ciara Moynihan

The Archdiocese of Tuam will celebrate the ordination of Rev SeΡn Flynn (40) to the priesthood on Sunday, June 8, at 2.30pm in Castlebar Church.
A native of Carrowkeel, Turlough, in Keelogues Parish, Rev Flynn went to school in Parke, Castlebar. He studied in Valladolid, Spain, for one year before going to St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, to study theology and philosophy.
He worked for about ten years in Castlebar in Rocky’s Bar and as an undertaker for Michael ‘Rocky’ Moran before entering the seminary.
Rev Flynn’s first Mass will be on Monday, June 9, in Castlebar Church at 7pm. On Wednesday, June 11, he will celebrate Mass in Parke Church at 7.30pm, and on Friday, June 13, he will again celebrate Mass at Keelogues Church.
Rev Flynn’s ordination to the Tuam Presbyterate has been warmly welcomed by the Archbishop of Tuam, Dr Michael Neary.  
Speaking to The Mayo News yesterday, Rev Flynn said he was looking forward to serving as a priest, and that he had not yet been told which parish he would ultimately be sent to. “I have no idea where I’ll be appointed to. The guesswork and speculation has started,” he laughed, “but I don’t have any idea.”
When asked which aspect of the ministry is he most looking forward to, Rev Flynn said he would welcome all dimensions. “Hospital ministry, or youth maybe – I don’t know really. Whatever comes my way, I’ll take whatever comes. Ultimately, I’m ordained to serve the people. That’s what it’s all about, serving the people,” he said.  
This latest ordination is the first since the double ordination in 2012 of Frs Eugene O’Boyle and Shane Sullivan, who now minister in Castlebar and Tuam respectively.
Tuam Archdiocese has two other students studying for the priesthood, and a number have applied to go for the diocese for autumn 2014.
Rev Flynn said he believes there is a resurgence in interest in the priesthood at the moment. “There certainly is an increase, and I’d welcome that,” he said. “More people seem to be searching, more than was the case five or six years ago.”
Fifteen from various dioceses around the country were ordained deacons yesterday [Sunday] by Cardinal SeΡn Brady. Rev Flynn explained that the term deacon can cause some confusion among the laity, as there are two kinds of deacon – transitional and permanent.
“I’m currently known as a ‘transitional deacon’ – in other words I was ordained a deacon last year, and this week I’ll be ordained a priest. There is another diaconate – a permanent diaconate – married men who will always be deacons. They’re married with families, they might be retired from teaching or something like that. So there are two different ministries really within the diaconate, transitional and permanent. The permanent diaconate seems to be growing also.
“The 15 who were ordained to the [transitional] diaconate, this time next year, they’ll be ordained priests.
“It can be confusing for people. People say to me, ‘Sure I thought you were going to be a deacon?’ and I say ‘I am a deacon, but I will be a priest on Monday!’”   
The Tuam Archdiocese includes 55 parishes and covers a large portion of the West of Ireland, including Galway, Mayo, parts of Roscommon and many of the islands of the West coast, as well as Knock Shrine and Croagh Patrick. Over 100 priests are in the diocese, with about 70 in active ministry.