The announcement this week of the retirement of Bishop Liam MacDaid, Bishop of the Clogher Diocese, is a cause of great regret and sadness. For him, I suppose it is a mixture of regret and relief. Bishop Liam has been bishop of Clogher for only six years. He has been a wonderful bishop – a caring and compassionate shepherd/leader. However, he has been suffering from Parkinson’s disease all during this time and it has become so debilitating that, on medical advice, he has been forced to take early retirement.
It is not often that I get the opportunity to say nice things about a real live bishop but I am happy to take this opportunity to speak about the man I knew and admired.
I first met Liam when I went to Maynooth in 1964. He was a student there a few years before me. He was a native of Bundoran where his mother ran a successful hotel. Liam was a sturdy young man and had a reputation for being a good Gaelic footballer. He had played for his native Bundoran and for the Donegal county minor team. He featured on class teams in the college and was solid as a rock playing in the fullback position. His great quality even then was his cool temperament. He approached the game calmly without nerves or fear of any opponent. He sized up his team opponent early on in the game, identified his weak points and usually played him out of the game, getting to the ball first or deflecting the ball away from his marker. He was a tight man marker.
There was only one opponent that, by his own admission, he found it difficult to mark. That was a priest in the neighbouring parish of Garrison who played on the Devenish team, a man by the name of Fr Pat Lonergan, who is now long retired from both ministry and football though he still talks about the many goals he scored in his football career. Pat’s tactic was to distract his marker by endless conversation. Liam fell for this tactic and allowed him in to score a goal and a few points. In spite of Pat’s best efforts Bundoran still beat Devenish. Liam was shrewd and tactical on the field making sure that no ball was wasted, placing his passes accurately. He was usually on the winning team. When he played with Bundoran-Ballyshannon, a combination known as Saint Josephs, he played alongside such Gaelic football greats as Brian McEniff, Michael McLoone, Seamie Granaghan, and Brendan Brady who were all Donegal county stalwarts. That club team won many awards and Liam played a leader’s part in those successes.
As well as his prowess on the football field he was also successful in his studies. He was a conscientious student, pursued a BA in Celtic Studies and again, it was no bother to him. He took it all in his stride. It was the same with theology. He followed the courses successfully without losing any sleep.
After he was ordained to the priesthood in 1969 by Archbishop John Charles McQuaid, Liam was sent to teach in his old Alma Mater, St Macartan’s Monaghan and to continue his studies in education in Maynooth. He remained teaching in St Macartan’s for 20 years. He then served as curate in Fivemiletown and Brookeboro and then in the parish of Tyholland, on the outskirts of Monaghan town, where he also assisted Bishop Joe Duffy as secretary and Chancellor of the Diocese. He learned how to be a bishop during that period and in 2010, when Bishop Joe retired, he slipped into the job as bishop of Clogher, quite effortlessly. He said to me at the time that he was not expecting the job and he added in our native language; ’Ní mar a shíltear a bítear.’ (Not always what you expect, happens.)
These last six years it has been a joy and a privilege to work with Liam as bishop and leader of our diocese. He has always shown compassion and concern for each of the priests in the diocese. His homilies at priests’ funerals and at their installations as parish priests were a treat to hear or read – showing again his remarkable ability to know the whole person. His remarks were succinct and often humorous, always seeing the good in people. It is no secret that Liam is one of the best judges of horses in Ireland if not in these islands. He has not been able to pursue this interest since being made bishop but I am sure he could still judge the form and make life difficult for a few more bookmakers.
Liam MacDaid is a gentleman, a humble man with a great sense of humour. We hope his health will improve now that he does not have the stresses and strains of being a bishop. It is never an easy job but during the last few years in Ireland it must be among the most stressful jobs with all the problems and challenges that have arisen in the Church in recent years. Liam has always been open-minded and down-to -earth. He provided many opportunities for us priests to be better prepared for the ministry and mission of preaching the good news.
Liam faced the challenges courageously and with great skill and understanding. He was an excellent listener. People who went for advice were amazed at how quickly he understood their issues and offered different ways of dealing with them.
I hope he enjoys his retirement. He deserves a good rest. Ad Multos Annos.
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