Funeral of missionary priest and author to take place in Cork tomorrow

A MISSIONARY priest and author who loved travelling around Ireland’s Gaeltacht regions and who worked in Nigeria and Tanzania on the missions is how many will recollect Fr. Fionnbarra Ó Cuilleanáin of the Society of African Missions (SMA) whose funeral takes place in Cork on Wednesday.

Fr. Ó Cuilleanáin, a fluent Irish speaker and a competent linguist in a number of languages, died on May 26 at the age of 83 in St. Theresa’s Nursing Unit on the Blackrock Road.

He was a frequent visitor to Gaeltacht areas such as Cúil Aodha in County Cork and Tory Island off the coast of Donegal and spent a period of his priesthood as the Parish Priest on the island of Arainn Mhór (Arranmore).

He worked as a missionary in the Archdiocese of Jos in Nigeria and in the Archdiocese of Shinyanga in Tanzania and also spent time doing missionary work in Rwanda and Burundi.

In 1990, his book ‘An Bóthar Fada go Tamanrasset/The Long Road to Tamanrasset was published and his articles were also frequently published in Irish language magazines.

His funeral is due to take place on Wednesday after Requiem Mass in St. Joseph’s Church in Wilton, a church associated with the Society of African Missions, and he will be buried afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.