A native of Dingle town, this "fear glic on Daingean" - as he humorously referred to Dingle natives - had a long and fruitful life in the priesthood and was held in high esteem by his colleagues and superiors.

Ordained in Maynooth in 1943, Fr. Jim was very proud of the part he played in renovating and building churches in the parishes in which he served and often spoke of the days in Caherdaniel, Glen-flesk, Dromtarriffe, Moyvane and Rath-more. His crowning glory was of course in 1977 when he supervised the building of our beautiful new Church of Christ, The Prince of Peace at Fossa, set close to the heavenly woodland shores of Lough Lein.

The Diocese of Kerry generally - and Fossa Parish in particular - were singularly blessed to have had the guiding genius of a man of the calibre of Fr. Jim.

To those of us who knew him since his appointment as Parish Priest of Fossa on 11th August 1972, he was the caring compassionate shepherd who advised and guided us with a firm but loving hand until his retirement on 8 July 1997.

But his world of interest and concern went beyond his parochial and diocesan work in his love of all sporting and recreational activities - especially in his great love of the GAA.

In his student days he played football with St. Brendan's College, Killarney and with the Kerry Minors.

Up to the time of his death, he was President of Fossa GAA.Club and President of the East Kerry Board as well as being involved as patron or in other ways with all sporting and recreational bodies in the parish.

At meetings and functions he could always be relied on for the "cupla focal" which he delivered with succinct humour.

His humorous anecdotes were legendary. In latter years, when Fr. Jim's health began to fail, some of us who acted as his 'carers' at football matches or on his occasional check-up in hospital, were constantly reminded of his great popularity when people from all parts of the Diocese flocked to greet him.

It was fitting, that for his last match, last Autumn, when we lifted him high in his wheelchair to the old press box at the back of the stand at Fitzgerald Stadium, that Fr. Jim witnessed the victory of his beloved Corcu Duibhne's Gaeltacht in the Kerry Senior Football Championship Final. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis. "Grow strongly my friends that you may stand unshaken when I fall, that I may know at last the shattered fragments of my song will come to finer melody in you, that I may tell my heart that you take on where I leave off - and fathom more."

 

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