Funeral Homily of Bishop Fintan Monahan for Requiem Mass for Bishop Emeritus, Willie Walsh, Monday, February 24th, 2025, Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, Ennis
‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate.’
The quality of Jesus and God the Father that was echoed and reflected in the life and ministry of Bishop Emeritus Willie Walsh. His Episcopal motto was Cineáltas Chríost, the Gentleness of Christ.
During the week we were busy praying for the health and recovery of Pope Francis. While we were doing that a pastor cut out of the same cloth as the Holy Father stole away with no warning and less fuss. Willie Walsh died as he lived, getting on with the business of things, not hanging around, just moving on with intent and clear direction.
No Crusader
The title of his acclaimed autobiography is No Crusader. Yet in his typical, understated, yet very effective, way he was a profound and effective crusader, winning people over to genuine Christian values through kindness, understanding, listening, generosity, care for the poor, the marginalised, people struggling and suffering in life.
He did this through his unstinting work with the traveling community, his pastoral outreach to survivors of abuse, the sick, the vulnerable, so many who availed of his spiritual outreach as a true pastor of Jesus Christ.
I just got to know Bishop Willie personally eight and a half years ago on coming here to Ennis. His warmth, kindness and ever available wisdom was such an asset to help settle in. Even though he immersed himself in enjoying a richly deserved retirement with so many hobbies, interests and such a wide circle of friends and his most beloved family – he was always available to help out and offer a word of advice if requested.
Listen, anyone who has ears to hear…
The fact that Willie and I were both struggling with the challenges of hearing loss – he often joked of the advantages of not being able to hear certain things being an actual advantage and a plus in the life of being a bishop…
On a recent trip in the car – we had an interesting experience, with me driving, obviously on the right and Willie being on my left. He was deaf in the right ear and me in the left. Nonetheless, we had a delightful journey, with much talk and neither of us having much of a clue what the other was saying….
Pastoral and Human Outreach
Whether as a teacher in St. Flannan’s College, Parish Priest in Ennis or Bishop of Killaloe, Willie immersed himself wholeheartedly in getting to know people, their interests, their needs, sharing their ups and downs and bringing the Gospel values to them in a warm and attractive manner.
Polyglot
Being a natural communicator, and a keen linguist he liked to exercise his mind with his interest in languages, mainly Italian agus An Ghaeilge. On the day before he died he was polishing up one of his party pieces for an occasion he was invited to on Friday, his Latin version of the song Molly Malone!
One of the beautiful tributes as Gaeilge on line the day he died runs:
Múinteoir, sagart, scoláire diagachta, easpag, cóitseálaí iomána agus comhairleoir a lean briathar Dé i rith a shaoil le cineáltas Chríost agus tuiscint á léiriú aige i gcónaí do dhaoine ar an imeall. Beidh an saol seo níos boichte dá uireasa. Guím beatha shíoraí dá anam uasal séimh.
Pastoral Leadership
As a bishop he led with vision and clarity encouraging pastoral planning to address urgent needs establishing the cluster system, empowering lay people, adult faith development, scripture exploration, support for marriage through his work with Accord, improving the role of women in the Church, youth ministry, pilgrimages, outreach to the poor in the developing world in Africa, South Africa and of course at home.
Generosity and Giving
“Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap.”
The words of yesterday and today’s Gospel, very much taken to heart by Willie. On a number of occasions I went to see Ennis native Diarmuid de Faoite’s one man show on Sean-Phádraic Ó Conaire; Pádraig, an Fear. Sean-Phádraig died with two items or possessions to his name, his clay pipe and an apple. Such was the generous life of charitable giving that Bishop Willie was not far behind. He literally gave away everything he had.
“because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.”
Challenging the System
Willie was a radical in the true sense of the word. He challenged unquestioned beliefs, the accepted mores of society and in doing so stripped them back to their origin, measuring them up against what he believed was the core of the Gospel, Cineáltas Chríost, the Gentleness of Christ. Being frequently out-spoken, he stirred things up. This sometimes ruffled feathers, was occasionally misunderstood, upset a few and others saw it as an effort to overturn hard earned orthodoxy. However Willie, often in thinking out loud – did this with raw honesty, integrity, conviction and belief that his exploration, questioning was a legitimate response to arriving at the divinely revealed truth using the gifts that God generously bestowed upon us.
Christian Hope
The day before he returned to God I had made arrangements with him to meet on Saturday morning at 9.30 am and record a video message of Hope, part of the series of Lenten videos for the Jubilee Year of Hope. He was very enthusiastic and looking forward to doing that. I had suspected, considering his passion for hurling that his hopes would be around retaining the All-Ireland crown and prolonging the joy and delight of being victors. However, on Wednesday evening last beside his armchair a copy of his own book was opened with a marker in the chapter on Christian Hope. In that short chapter we read:
“I feel in a different place at this stage of life – more happy to leave things in the Lord’s hands… And even if I have no way of knowing what it will be like in life after death, I am still happy to leave it in his hands… I can’t say that I am always waiting in joyful hope, but I do believe that the joy of new life in God’s love will be beyond any joy we have experienced in life.”
Thank God for the life and times of this outstanding human being, this man with such a gift for friendship, who for so many made this world a better place. Sympathies and condolences to family and friends who mourn his passing and the great loss.
May he experience the joy of heaven in which he believed and see in the face of God a mirror of the Gentleness of Christ, Cineáltas Chríost.
Suaimhneas síoraí don duine uasal, an tEaspag Willie agus go lonraí solas na bhflaitheas air.
Amen!