PHOTOS: Fr Patsy Says Farewell To St Brendan’s Parish At Special Celebration

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Fr Patsy Lynch (centre with Gerard Casey and Paul Burke at his farewell get-together at The Meadowlands Hotel on Thursday night. Photo by Dermot Crean

A WONDERFUL farewell get-together was held in The Meadowlands Hotel on Thursday for a much loved priest, who left St Brendan’s parish last month for pastures new.

Castleisland native, Fr Patsy Lynch, was transferred from the parish to Portmagee this summer, but last night was a chance for parishioners to say a proper farewell.

“I’d like to thank the people for the time I spent in St Brendan’s Parish,” Fr Patsy told us before entering the packed function room for the celebration. “I was ordained in St Brendan’s in 1974 and I went off on the missions to Ghana. I came back to Ireland in 2005 and did a bit of work for the society before coming back to the Kerry diocese.

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Bishop Bill Murphy then appointed me to St Brendan’s, the church where I was ordained. I was there for 10 years and I’m eternally grateful to the people for my time spent there. The time with them has been an enriching and wonderful experience. I feel privileged to have been there with the people,” said Fr Patsy.

He left for Portmagee in mid-July and is looking forward to the challenge of starting again in a new parish in such a beautiful part of the county.

“I love photography, I love the landscape and I love cycling. In past summers I would have driven to Portmagee, got on a bike and cycled the roads there and all over the Skellig Ring and Valentia Island, so I know the place like the back of my hand. The people there are lovely too,” he said.

He also had great praise for St Brendan’s Parish Priest Fr Padraig Walsh and enjoyed working with him over the years. Fr Padraig said he would be missed in Tralee.

“He was ten years in the parish and a lot has happened in Ireland in those ten years,” said Fr Padraig. “Pat was ordained in 1974 so ten years out of 43 as a priest is huge amount of time spent here. He made quite an impression on people’s lives while he was here in so many different ways. It’s great that people, young and old, are coming together here tonight, from all parts of the parish, to say ‘thank you and we appreciate what you did’ to Fr Patsy.”

There were two presentations made to Fr Patsy, one by the Oakview Cemetery Committee and then by the people of the parish, which was a lovely piece of stained glass created by artist Mary J Leen. It was a  great night and no more than Fr Patsy deserved after the service he has given to the community. Scroll down for photos…

At back; Mary Roche and Ciara Sheehan and in front, Joan and Norma Lenihan at Fr Patsy Lynch’s farewell get-together at The Meadowlands Hotel on Thursday night. Photo by Dermot Crean

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Danny Healy, Sr de Lourdes, Jackie McCull, Marie Williams and Pat O’Connor at Fr Patsy Lynch’s farewell get-together at The Meadowlands Hotel on Thursday night. Photo by Dermot Crean

Geraldine and Jim O’Donoghue with Fr Padraig Walsh at Fr Patsy Lynch’s farewell get-together at The Meadowlands Hotel on Thursday night. Photo by Dermot Crean

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Mary O’Sullivan, Anne Kearney and Margaret Canty at Fr Patsy Lynch’s farewell get-together at The Meadowlands Hotel on Thursday night. Photo by Dermot Crean

Sr Dora, Sr Laboure, John Lynch, Margaret Lynch and Pat Griffin at Fr Patsy Lynch’s farewell get-together at The Meadowlands Hotel on Thursday night. Photo by Dermot Crean

Michael Quinn and Catherine Ryan at Fr Patsy Lynch’s farewell get-together at The Meadowlands Hotel on Thursday night. Photo by Dermot Crean

Tom Cantillon, Fr Pat Ahern, Pat and Margaret Lynch at Fr Patsy Lynch’s farewell get-together at The Meadowlands Hotel on Thursday night. Photo by Dermot Crean

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Anne Marie and PJ Herlihy, Jeremiah Greaney and Gary Moore at Fr Patsy Lynch’s farewell get-together at The Meadowlands Hotel on Thursday night. Photo by Dermot Crean

Fr Patsy Lynch gets a standing ovation as he enters the room at his farewell get-together at The Meadowlands Hotel on Thursday night. Photo by Dermot Crean

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The large crowd at Fr Patsy Lynch’s farewell get-together at The Meadowlands Hotel on Thursday night. Photo by Dermot Crean