Fr Neil O’Driscoll SJ died peacefully in St. Vincent’s Hospital on Tuesday 27th January, aged 81.

The eldest of five chidren, he was born in Wexford but moved as a child to Kilkenny, the county that commanded his loyalty from then on. He was a fine figure of a man who never lost the military bearing that reflected his three years in the army, moving from cadetship to commission.

Was it the example of the soldierly Ignatius Loyola that moved him to the next stage, entering the Jesuit noviciate at Emo? Or the fact that Neil, like his father, was born on St Ignatius’ feast, 31 July? As with Ignatius, what met the eye was impressive, but less important than the depth and gentleness that lit up his face when he smiled.

He was a dear and delightful companion.

Of his fifty years of priesthood, he spent half in Zambia, first learning the language, then schoolmastering and parish work in Chikuni and Namwala. He was 61 when he returned to Ireland for a new ministry of giving retreats and running the parish in Galway, a good time for Neil. He always spoke of Galway with special affection.

Meeting Neil, you sensed a priest and Jesuit who was profoundly happy in his vocation, right up to his last years in Cherryfield Lodge. He was a man of strong loyalties: to his family, his county, his Alma Mater St Kieran’s College, and to the Jesuits, his comrades and spiritual home for sixty years of his life. May the Lord reward him.

Articles by courtesy of jesuit.ie