BISHOP Eamonn Casey, a highly-prominent figure in 20th century Irish life, has died in a Co. Clare nursing home at the age of 89. His death followed a long illness.
Born in Co. Kerry in 1927, Eamonn Casey was one of the most dynamic and prominent clerics of his age. He was in equal measure charismatic, compassionate and colourful.
He began many charitable schemes in parishes from England to Ecuador, but he was also a noted bon vivant, with a taste for fine wines and fast cars.
His legacy, like his life, is mixed.
Eamonn Casey will be particularly remembered for his work helping to provide housing in London, for his missionary and aid work in the Third World, and for his espousal of political causes such as opposing apartheid in South Africa.
But in the public consciousness he will probably best be remembered for having fathered a son to an American divorcée, Annie Murphy. His subsequent resignation is seen as a pivotal moment in the affairs of Ireland — the point at which the Catholic Church began to lose its considerable influence in the country.
Bishop Eamonn Casey eventually returned to England before retiring to Galway (Picture: RTÉ)Bishop Casey's work abroad
Despite the Annie Murphy affair, Bishop Casey’s reputation as a humanitarian remains undiminished. As a curate in Limerick in the late 1950s, he became aware of the plight of emigrants forced to leave the parish for England.
After becoming involved in the welfare of the emigrants and their families, he was appointed Chaplain to St Ethelbert’s Parish in Slough in 1960. Here, as a priest, he saw the plight of many of the Irish at first hand.
Inadequate housing was the main challenge, and through financial intercession via banks and charitable institutions, he helped alleviate some of the worst conditions that Irish workers faced in England.
In 1963, Father Casey moved to London as National Director of the Catholic Housing Aid Society (CHAS), and developed branches throughout Britain.
After working tirelessly building up schemes to help the homeless, he was appointed chairman of Shelter.
Eamonn Casey spent more than two decades working with Irish emigrants, during some of the worst times for the Irish community in Britain — from the savage era of the “no Blacks, no dogs, no Irish”, to the extremely difficult years of virulent anti-Irish feelings fomented by IRA attacks in Britain.
He faced all these challenges with fortitude, and is seen as someone who provided leadership during these very difficult times.
After his appointment as Bishop of Kerry, Eamonn Casey became the first chairman of Trócaire, the Irish Church's Third World development agency.
Bishop Casey’s downfall
The bishop's reputation continued to grow — some even predicted a cardinal’s hat before long. But in 1992 Bishop Casey’s reputation and career suffered a severe blow.
Newspapers discovered that Casey, while Bishop of Kerry, had become involved in a sexual relationship with Annie Murphy, an American divorcée. Together they had a son, Peter, born in 1974 in Dublin.
With the affair public, Casey tendered his resignation as Bishop of Galway and left the country.
Many regard this moment — when a much-loved and well-respected cleric in effect fled the country — as the moment when the Catholic Church lost its iron grip on the people of Ireland.
Not only had Bishop Casey fathered a son, he had also used funds from the parish during the affair. Catholic Ireland was rocked to its foundations.
On receiving news of the death of Bishop Casey, President Higgins, while praising his humanitarian efforts, alluded to the Annie Murphy affair, saying: "Aspects of his life were the source of pain to others, for which Bishop Casey has apologised and expressed his deep regret, and he himself had the experience of pain visited on him in later life.”
The aftermath
On leaving Ireland, Bishop Casey became a priest in Ecuador, working tirelessly there in rural parishes. At the end of his missionary work there, he served in the parish of St Paul's in Haywards Heath, England.
He returned to Ireland in 2006 where he lived in the parish of Shanaglish near Gort in Co. Galway. Predictably, he became a very popular figure there.
In 2011 he went to live at the Carrigoran Nursing Home in Co. Clare.
A statement from Canon Michael McLoughlin, Diocesan Administrator of the Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora said: “When we witness homelessness, poverty and inequality in our society we remember with renewed respect his initiative, his tremendous work and his tenacious spirit among Irish emigrants in England, which ensured for so many the dignity of shelter and a place they could call home.”
Bishop Eamonn Martin, paying tribute to his colleague, said: “Bishop Casey led Trócaire as its chairman until his resignation in 1992. He also contributed to the planning of the successful 1979 apostolic pilgrimage to Ireland of Pope Saint John Paul II.
"Both as priest and bishop, Bishop Casey’s ministry on behalf of Irish emigrants is well known and was of immense significance in particular to the Irish in Britain.”
