By Paul McElwee
THE incoming parish priest of St Mary’s Melmount, Fr Sean O’Donnell, has spoken of his ‘great privilege’ at being appointed to the role, as he prepares to succeed Fr Michael Doherty, who is set to retire after years of dedicated service.
A native of Muff, county Donegal, Fr O’Donnell was ordained in 2008 after what he described as a ‘late vocation’, having previously worked as a bus driver and in a bowling alley in Derry.
“As a seven-year-old, I had two career choices in mind – one was to be a bus driver and the other was to be a priest,” he said. “I never thought I would actually end up doing both of them! Due to personal circumstances, I had to let bus-driving go, so then worked in the bowling alley in Derry for a number of years before finally giving God a go and fulfilling my other ambition of being a priest.”
Following his ordination, Fr Sean served in the Waterside area, ministering in a local parish and working as a hospital chaplain at Altnagelvin. He later moved to the Three Patrons Parish on Derry’s cityside, where he served alongside Fr Michael McCaughey – who himself moved to Strabane last year to become parish priest at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, replacing Fr Declan Boland.
Fr O’Donnell, who is a good friend of Melmount curate Fr Malachy Gallagher, is already familiar with the area and says he’s looking forward to beginning this new chapter.
When asked how it feels to take the step up from curate to parish priest, he admitted the news came as something of a surprise.
“It’s something that’s always ahead of you – it’s coming at some time,” he said. “To be honest, when I first got the call from the Bishop to see him at 4pm, it was a surreal couple of hours, wondering exactly what he was going to say and where I would be going.”
“It’s a great privilege that Bishop McKeown has put his trust in me to take up this position – not one I take lightly – and I will give it my very, very best with God’s grace.”
“I hope that I can be all I need to be for the people of the parish as we travel that journey in faith together.”
Though excited for the move, Fr Sean admitted he will miss his current parish community.
“I will miss Three Patrons and I’m currently wading through a mountain of good wishes messages from parishioners who texted once the news broke,” he said.
Looking ahead to his new role, he said simply, “I’m looking forward to my new posting from next month and serving the people of Melmount.”
