Fr Tom Fogarty – A Sower of Gospel Seeds

Two-Mile-Borris, Press Correspondent Mr Gerry Bowe Reports:-

As news of the transfer of Fr. Tom Fogerty to Loughmore and Castleiney spread throughout the parish of Moycarkey-Borris-Littleton, a huge sense of surprise and a feeling of loss was felt especially by the many who had been helped and blessed by his dedicated ministry over the past ten years.
Due to the severe shortage of priests he had told us, on several occasions, that he might be the last resident parish priest in what is one of the largest parishes in the Cashel and Emly diocese.

The Gospel of Mark 4:2-3 helps us understand one of the main pillars of his parish ministry. “Jesus taught them many things in parables….Listen, imagine a sower going out to sow. Now it happened that as he sowed some seeds fell…..”

Fr. Tom is well known for his well prepared and clearly delivered sermons, that always begin with a short story. Those in attendance listen with attention and his words greatly helps to equate the Gospel story to their everyday living.

Our parishioners will long remember, with heartfelt gratitude, his generous service and invaluable contribution to our parish community :-

• Weekly visitation of the sick in hospitals and nursing homes, as well as the monthly visitation to those at home has been much appreciated by family members, as was his celebration of funeral Masses, both within and outside the parish.
• His example, dedication and work with our teachers and pupils in our four Primary Schools and the always joyful celebrations of First Communions and Confirmations are Gospel seeds that will bear fruit in years to come.
• Each year a new group of Transition Year students were introduced to the Pope John Paul 2 Programme and many helped as readers and raised funds for the poor at local and international levels.
• Mass servers were active in each of our three churches.
• The yearly GAA camp for children introduced in Littleton was much appreciated by children and parents.
• The introduction of the ‘Parish Webcam’ during the Covid pandemic, as well as the online ‘Weekly Parish News’ meant that people both near and far could pray from home.
• Over the last ten years the Good News of the Gospel has been spread to an uncountable number of people.
• The preparation of a wide range of Lay Ministers – Word, Communion, Funeral, which also include Sacristans, Singers, Baptism preparation and more recently Lay Led Liturgies are laying the foundations of a new way of being within the Church.
• The Holy Face Prayer Group who meetd every Tuesday and Thursday.
• A Pray and Play group for small children was introduced during Sunday morning Mass in Two Mile Borris.
• The formation of a Financial Committee has kept the Parish in a healthy financial position. Recent figures show that it now costs on average four thousand euros weekly to cover a wide range of parish and diocesan expenses.
• Major extensions have taken place in the Two Mile Borris and Moycarkey graveyards.
• St Brigid’s Day and Stations of the Cross, yearly events at Liathmore monastic site.
• A monthly meeting of the Parish Pastoral Team helps with the planning of new activities such as the recent Mission and Questionnaire.

His dedication and hard work remained endless:-

• The sale of the Legion Hall and curate’s house in Two Mile Borris made funds available for the building of a new parish office with meeting room as well as the transfer of the sacristy from the front to the rear of Our Lady and Saint Kevin’s Church in Littleton. (Our parish secretary allows for the efficient running of parish events as well as good communication among the many parish committees.)
• Parish churches and grounds have been maintained to a high standard.
• Statutes of Our Lady have been put in place in Saint James Church Two Mile Borris and Saint Peter in Chains Church Moycarkey.
• A plaque to commemorate the ordination of Fr Martin Hayes as Bishop of Kilmore is in place in Littleton.
• Major extensions have taken place in the Two Mile Borris and Moycarkey graveyards.
• St Brigid’s Day and Stations of the Cross are yearly events at Liathmore monastic site.
• A monthly meeting of the Parish Pastoral Team helps with the planning of new activities such as the recent Mission and Questionnaire.
• Weddings of former students at Saint Patrick’s College Thurles are celebrated nationwide.

As well as the above workload; Fr Tom participated in several committees at wider diocesan and national levels.

Words from a song by the late Glen Hansard with touches of Leonard Cohen “There’s things to do and it’s getting late, There’s so little time and we are only passing through, Sometimes happy sometimes blue, Glad that I ran into you”

Our thanks for “having run into to Fr Tom” might best be shown by together taking on board and sharing the workload of keeping the Gospel seeds alive and growing in the years ahead.

We wish Fr Tom every health and happiness in his new parish of Loughmore – Castleiney, Co. Tipperary.