Parish of Moore pays tribute to retiring local priest

Large crowds turned out in Moore and Clonfad on Monday last to pay tribute to local curate Fr Sean Kilbane on the occasion of his retirement and the year of his Golden Jubilee as a cleric. A popular figure in the parish of Moore, where he has been based for the last four years, Fr Sean, a native of Mountbellew in Co Galway, was first ordained back in 1960 as an SMA priest. He was one of 24 ordained SMA priests during that year, the highest ever for the order. He later spent 13 years working in various parts of Nigeria prior to returning to Ireland in 1974. After a number of years studying in NUIG Maynooth, Fr Sean returned to serve in the Archdiocese of Tuam. He was later posted in Tullycross from 1976 to 1989 and then worked in Kilmeena and Menlough in Galway for some years before he arrived in Moore in 2007, where he is set to continue to living during his retirement at the curate's residence at Rooty. On Monday last, retired Archbishop Dr Joseph Cassidy presided at a celebration Mass in Our Lady of Rosary Church in Clonfad before a large attendance of local people. Afterwards, the crowds adjourned to the nearby hall for refreshments, where Chairman of the Pastoral Council John Mulvey acted as MC for the event. Fr Sean Kilbane received a large number of presentations on the night, a sign of the esteem he is held in the community. On behalf of the people of the parish, Padraig Kilduff, sacristan in Clonfad presented the priest with a piece of cut glass, while Mary Kelly, sacristan in Moore, along with Padraig Egan, Chairperson of Moore Community Council and Mai Greene, a member of the Pastoral Council also gave him tokens on the night to mark the occasion. All in Moore parish wish Fr Sean a long and a happy retirement in the area.