Bishop Larry Duffy and The Most Revd John McDowell, Archbishop of Armagh
The Diocese of Clogher has announced the death of Monsignor Sean Cahill, the retired Parish Priest of Enniskillen, a Vicar-General of the Diocese of Clogher for many years and also a former President of St Macartan’s College, Monaghan.
Monsignor Cahill died peacefully at the South West Acute Hospital Enniskillen Monday evening, following a long illness which he bore with great dignity and an acceptance of God’s will. Monsignor Cahill was a priest of the diocese for sixty years. In fact, his Funeral Mass on Friday next, 24 July, will be on the actual sixtieth anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.
Upon learning of Monsignor Cahill’s death, the Bishop of Clogher, Bishop Larry Duffy, said that the entire diocese has lost a great servant, a priest who had given that service to the Lord through his priesthood and through leadership in both education and parish life.
‘Monsignor Sean was one of the giants of the diocese in his time. Throughout his sixty years of priestly ministry he gave generous service to God’s people through teaching, education leadership, parish ministry and assistance at diocesan level. He began his ministry just a the Church prepared for Vatican II. He witnessed many changes in the Church and in wider society and he negotiated all these in his own inimitable way – always prayerfully and with great energy.’
‘Monsignor Sean had high standards and he expected those who worked with him to do their very best to attain those same standards of service to the people of God. He always saw this as a response to the call that he and all of us receive through our baptism. It was that same sense of vocation that enabled him to contribute immensely to important developments in the fields of education, marriage and the family, vocations to the priesthood and also in the area of inter-Church dialogue. Indeed, his ministry in Enniskillen was during some of the most difficult days of the troubles, and especially at the time of the Remembrance Day bombing in Enniskillen in 1987. His faith-filled compassion and leadership, together with his outgoing and gentle personality, touched the hearts of many people, regardless of religious background. He walked with people in “the joys and hopes, the sorrows and anxieties” of life.
‘On behalf of Bishops-emeritus Duffy and MacDaid, with whom he worked closely in many ways, on my own behalf and on behalf of the clergy and all the people of our diocese, I express sincere and prayer-filled sympathy to his family and to all of the communities in Enniskillen, Lisbellaw and Maguiresbridge where he ministered so generously.
## The Most Revd John McDowell, Archbishop of Armagh, yesterday said he was very sad to learn of the death of Monsignor Sean Cahill.
Paying tribute, he said; ‘Monsignor Cahill has been a friend of the Church of Ireland clergy and people in Enniskillen and wider Diocese of Clogher for many years and was an extraordinary diligent parish priest and counsellor in the Diocese.
‘And many people from the Church of Ireland community will have experienced the depth of his friendship and will have benefited from his wisdom and astute judgement.
‘We wish to express sympathy to his family and friends on the sad bereavement.’