Large numbers turned out at St. John’s Cathedral and afterwards at his burial at Mount St. Lawrence Cemetery to pay tribute to a bishop who will be fondly remembered by the people of Limerick as a pastor who was forward-thinking and saw enormous potential in others.
Among those in attendance were his Bishop Murray’s sister Una, brothers Diarmuid and John, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews and extended family.
Others from church and public life included Primate of Ireland Archbishop Dermot Farrell, Archbishop of Cashel & Emly Kieran O’Reilly, Chargé D'affaires at the Papal Nunciature Monsignor Patrick Sawzayhan, Church of Ireland Bishops Michael Burrows, Trevor Williams and Dean Niall Sloane, while government was represented by Ministers Patrick O’Donovan, Kieran O’Donnell, and Senator Maria Byrne.
Others from civic life to attend were Director General of Limerick City and County Council Pat Daly, Acting President of Mary Immaculate College Niamh Hourigan and CEO of St. John’s Hospital Emer Martin.
In an introduction read out at the beginning of the Funeral Mass by Nessa Breen, formerly of Mary Immaculate College, where Bishop Donal was chair of the Trustees and Governing Authority for many years, the congregation was reminded of just how forward-thinking Bishop Donal was. He was, the ceremony heard, very mindful of the rapid changes in culture, society and Church and the need to rebuild the community of faith for new times.
He addressed these questions in two significant pastorals, ‘We are God’s Temple’ and ‘How can we Know the Way?’ in which he wrote ‘none of the previous generations of Christians in Limerick would ever have looked on the challenge of passing on the message of Jesus as a lost cause; none of them saw their many difficulties as signs of inevitable decline. They saw their moment in history, and we should see ours, as ‘time to build up’.
Through the listening process he launched at the turn of the millennium, as well as his pastoral councils and pastoral visits, Bishop Donal desired that lay people would appreciate to the full the dignity and the vocation that is theirs as lay people. In this he was an ardent promoter of the vision provided by the Second Vatican Council.
The Mass heard that Bishop Donal’s building up of the Church was not just limited to the Diocese of Limerick or the Archdiocese of Dublin. He was appointed by Saint Pope John Paul II a member of the Vatican’s Council for Culture and his contribution was greatly appreciated, particularly his analysis of contemporary cultural trends and the growing secularisation in Europe. As Archbishop Eamon Martin, President of the Irish Bishops Conference has noted, Bishop Murray was fascinated reflecting on the interface and overlap between faith and culture; between the sacred and the secular.
Bishop Donal’s last book, ‘What are we waiting for?’ bore a title which he wanted to appeal to the Irish of today, in imitation of the missionaries of the past. He wanted, the congregation heard, people here today to take up the calling to become missionary disciples, not wilting in passive paralysis, waiting for some external permission to take initiative, but rather following the push of the Holy Spirit to go forth in mission in one’s family life, in education, in social justice, in politics, in media, in the world of the arts and culture.
In his homily, Bishop Leahy said that Bishop Donal’s unassuming gentle presence was a gift. “He was always reassuring, encouraging and a fatherly figure of wisdom, offering insights and perspectives from the deep well of his soul,” said Bishop Leahy.
Describing him as a “brilliant intellect”, gifted with keen speculative powers and attentiveness to the needy, he said, “What mattered most for Bishop Donal, however, was to live and help others live the wonder of being a Christian with the vision of hope that it offers. Indeed, we could say that his ability to wonder, to think, to ask deep questions and to speculate made of him something of a contemplative in action.”
However, the dignity and wonder of what it is to be human was a constant theme in his thought and words. “He encouraged us to ask the deeper questions about what it means to be human and what that then means for our approach to education, to ethics and to the environment. Highlighting the wonder that resides in the heart of every human being, he often repeated to me his conviction that deep down we are always on the look-out for those sparks of truth and love.”
He added, “It comes as no surprise that his episcopal motto was “veritas in caritate”, truth in love, the motto also of St. Munchin’s Diocesan College of which he was rightly proud.”
He saw potential in everyone. “Many past students speak fondly of how they were encouraged by him. Priests found in him a caring father figure. The Religious of the Diocese and the Diocesan staff found in him a kindly presence. The pilgrims on the Lourdes pilgrimage enjoyed getting to know the humour and simplicity and creativity of their Bishop who at first glance was somewhat reserved in character, said Bishop Leahy.
In recent years Bishop Donal gave much thought to the journey to the next life, Bishop Leahy said. “Bishop Donal really believed that in death it is Christ who comes to take us with him. He has promised he will prepare a place for us. And so, Bishop Donal would say to me: 'When we meet God, we won’t be listing all we did for God but rather we’ll be discovering all God has done for us in our life.
He said that Bishop Donal never lost sight of the wonder of creation, of life’s marvels and human dignity. “This was the source of his humble spirit. We are not in charge of life. God is. This world is not the final goal. The next life is.”