Easter Ceremonies 2025

Saggart
Good Friday 12pm Stations of the Cross. 3pm The Lord’s Passion and veneration of the cross. Holy Saturday 9pm Easter Vigil. Easter Sunday 9am Mass of the Resurrection.

Rathcoole
Holy Thursday 7pm Mass of the Lord's Supper. Good Friday 12pm Outdoor Stations. 3pm The Lord’s Passion and veneration of the cross. Holy Saturday 2pm Swieconka – Polish Blessing of the Baskets. 8pm Easter Vigil. Easter Sunday 12pm Mass of the Resurrection.

Newcastle
Holy Thursday 7pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Good Friday 12pm Outdoor Stations. 3pm The Lord’s Passion and veneration of the cross. Easter Sunday 10am Mass of the Resurrection.

Fr John Jacob, 1939-2025

Fr John Jacob must surely be accorded a special place in the history of our parish (click on photos to enlarge them and see here for his death notice). His association with us stretches over a whole lifetime, from his childhood in the family business on Main Street, Saggart, to his long years of service as a priest in the Dublin diocese. And now he has taken up final residence in the cemetery just a stone's throw down the road from his home. There, along with generations of local people, including some priests who served here in former days (the most recent being Fr Laurence O'Sullivan, P.P. 1984-2004, d.2007), he waits in spe resurrectionis (in hope of the Resurrection). 

Fr Michael McGowan 1929-2025

Click to enlarge. To return here, click the black surround

Fr Michael died on Tuesday, 11th February, in Lisheen Nursing Home, Rathcoole, in his 96th year (see rip.ie).  His remains were received in the Church of the Holy Family at 6 p.m. on the 13th and the funeral Mass was held on Friday 14th at 12 p.m. He was then taken for burial in Mohill, Co. Leitrim, where he was from. (The removal may be viewed here and the funeral here.)  

Above is a photo of what was placed on or beside the memorial (or remembrance) table. On it are a liturgical vestment, prayer book and the Missal. Beside it we see two 'class pieces', the 1953-'54 group photo of the Third Divinity Class in St Patrick's College, Maynooth (left), and the 1955 photo of the ordination class of Holy Cross College, Clonliffe. Michael is first left, second row from the bottom, in the Maynooth piece, and third left, top row, in the Clonliffe one. As do wedding photos, these photos illustrate a turning point in a life. As can be seen, the priestly life was a very real option in the Ireland of the 40s, to such an extent, indeed, that there was no room for young Michael in his native diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, obliging him to look further afield. Fr Michael then chose Dublin and lived out his vocation to the full for nearly seventy years, his final parish after Ballymore Eustace (1992-2004) being our own. (We reported on his 90th birthday in 2019 here.)