It was announced at Masses in the Parish of Carrickmacross (Machaire Rois) this past weekend that Fr Brendan McCague, the resident priest in the Corduff-Raferagh part of the parish, is to retire from active ministry after almost 46 years of service in different parts of the diocese and in various roles. Despite ill-health in recent years he continued faithfully in his ministry to the people of the Corduff-Raferagh part of Carrickmacross parish, an area which will now be without a priest of its own for the first time in over one hundred years, and as the number of priests in Carrickmacross parish reduces from 3 to just 2.
The Bishop of Clogher, Bishop Larry Duffy, paid tribute to Fr McCague. ‘Until my ordination as bishop I worked with Fr Brendan in Carrickmacross parish and I know how much his ministry meant to the people of Corduff and Raferagh. I witnessed the great personal sacrifices he made and the inspiration he gave in generously serving the people of that part of the parish. Fr Brendan has served the Diocese of Clogher exceptionally well, as a priest, teacher and as a leader in the field education. I thank him for that service and I pray that the Lord will bless him in his well-deserved retirement’, he said.
Monsignor Joseph McGuinness, the recently-appointed Parish Priest of Carrickmacross, thanked Fr McCague for his ministry in the south-Monaghan parish. ‘We are immensely grateful for the generous ministry of Fr Mc Cague in Corduff and Raferagh. We all thank him most sincerely for his dedication and wish him every happiness and blessing in his retirement’, he said.
The Parish of Carrickmacross has announced a number of arrangements to take account of the new situation that arises in Corduff-Raferagh.
- All Weddings and Baptisms for Corduff and Raferagh should now be booked through the Parish Office in Carrickmacross. The Parish secretary is Yvonne, and the Parish Office opening hours are: Monday-Friday 10am-12.30pm. Contact number 042 9661231.
- Baptisms will be celebrated once a month alternating between Corduff and Raferagh, on a Sunday, at 12 Noon after Mass. Four Weeks noticed is required. Please contact Parish office for availability and bookings. Baptisms already booked with Fr McCague will be celebrated as arranged.
- Dates of Baptisms are as follows:
Corduff:
Sunday 7th April 2019
Sunday 2nd June 2019
Sunday 11th August 2019
Sunday 6th October 2019
Sunday 1st December 2019
Raferagh:
Sunday 12th May 2019
Sunday 7th July 2019
Sunday 1st Sept 2019
Sunday 10th November 2019
* Please note these dates may be subject to change*
- Anniversary Masses are also to be booked through the Carrickmacross Office. Anniversaries will be celebrated at the Sunday Mass. This can be done in person during Parish Office opening hours or please email stjosephscarrickmacross@eircom.net. Although there will not be scheduled Masses on week days, anniversaries already booked with Fr Mc Cague will be celebrated as arranged.
Fr McCague is a native of Scotstown and comes from a well-known family steeped in the GAA – his brother Seán being a former President of the GAA. Fr Brendan was ordained a priest in 1973 and was subsequently a member of the teaching staff of St Macartan’s College, Monaghan before becoming President of the college in 1989. From 1997, he ministered in various parishes including Belleek and Bundoran, before his appointment to Corduff-Raferagh in 2004.
Notes for Editors
- Bishop Larry Duffy is the Bishop of Clogher. He was ordained bishop on 10 February 2019. The Diocese of Clogher encompasses all of Co Monaghan, most of Fermanagh and portions of Tyrone, Donegal, Louth and Cavan. It has a Catholic population of 88,000, across 37 parishes, which are served by 57 priests and 2 deacons. There are 85 churches in the diocese. The patron saint of the diocese is St Macartan.
- The Parish of Carrickmacross (Machaire Rois) comprises of the town of Carrickmacross and its rural hinterland, together with the Corduff-Raferagh area, which stretches to the Co Cavan border. The priests of the parish are Monsignor Joseph McGuinness PP VG and Fr Seán Mulligan CC. The parish has a population of almost 6,000 Catholics and over 2,500 Catholic families.
