Dear Parishioners,

My family reunion visit to Ireland was delightful and also quite an eye opener. It was my first time back in 40 years and things have changed! Of course 40 years ago I spent a full month visiting aunts and uncles; this time it was a ten day visit with their children, grandchildren and to the gravesites of friends and relatives now gone. Forty years ago I could reach my father’s island, Inisheer, only by steamer (available twice a week) and then by tiny Irish curraghs (“canoes”) to be rowed ashore and through the waves; today, ferries actually dock on the island several times a day, while a six seater plane sets down on a tiny air strip three times a day. Forty years ago I visited a poor country with a struggling economy deep in the shadow of the far more affluent Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Today Ireland is easily “the richest little country in the world” with an economy universally described as “the Celtic tiger.” It is now the number one exporter of computer software in the world. With the recent completion of a transatlantic fiber optic cable that links Ireland to the U.S. and thirty-five major European cities, it is poised to become a world master in e-commerce. Among its other major exports is Viagra (!) from the Pfizer plant in Cork where it was developed. Once upon a time Ireland’s major export was Catholic priests and nuns to every corner of the world; today return missionaries and native clergy from Africa and India supplement Ireland’s own pastoral needs. Church attendance is significantly down and criticism of Church leadership is public and common. The scenery remains spectacular, the hospitality unparalleled and the people delightful. Among those delightful folk I visited were Msgr. Wade’s sister (Alice Costello) and niece (Rose Devaney) and Fr. Iomar Daniels who promises to rejoin us next summer. Our celebrations of Eucharist were moving, one with immediate family members on the little island of Inisheer; another with the parish congregation in a small chapel in Donegal. Irish music, storytelling, humor and conversation continue to be among the best in the world. Thanks to you and the staff for allowing me the time away. It’s good to be back.

Your Pastor,
Brian T. Joyce