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Catholic parish priest for Newark Father Michael O'Donoghue, celebrates Emerald Jubilee — marking 55 years of priesthood since his first appointment in Rutland




A catholic priest has marked a major 55-year milestone in his religious service.

Reverend Canon Michael Joseph O'Donoghue has over the past weekend celebrated his Emerald Jubilee, which marks five and a half decades since he was ordained.

Father Michael pictured with Holy Trinity school pupils Kamil Chrusik, 10, Nikolas Janus, 10, Diya Sudeep, 9, Konrad Majkad, 9, Alex Kniaz and Martha Sweeney, 9.
Father Michael pictured with Holy Trinity school pupils Kamil Chrusik, 10, Nikolas Janus, 10, Diya Sudeep, 9, Konrad Majkad, 9, Alex Kniaz and Martha Sweeney, 9.

Father Michael was ordained a priest on June 14, 1970 — by Bishop Myles McKeown, Bishop of Bunbury, Australia — following six years of study in theology, philosophy, scripture, and more at the missionary college All Hallows, in Dublin.

After his ordination, the proud Kerryman took a one-way flight to East Midlands airport and has served the communities of the Diocese of Nottingham ever since.

His first appointment was to the parish of St Joseph and St Edith, in Oakham, where he spent four years.

Fr Michael's ordination day.
Fr Michael's ordination day.

The freshly ordained priest was met by the then-Parish Priest of St Joseph and St Edith Church Father Michael Lynch, and the market town proved to be a “valuable environment” for the start of his religious service.

The parish priest and his new assistant worked to provide a “welcome, social hub and sense of belonging” within Rutland, which was in a period of change as the huge civil engineering project to construct Rutland Water was getting underway, and so a transient workforce found itself within the parish.

The two priests also formed a fast friendship, which lasted from the 70s, all the way to Father Michael Lynch’s death in 2017.

Fr Michael in the 1970 class of All Hallows, Dublin.
Fr Michael in the 1970 class of All Hallows, Dublin.

Father Michael O'Donoghue is now the parish priest of Newark — as well as Ollerton and Southwell which have been combined to create the Parish of St Francis of Assisi, Sherwood.

He has served there since 2008, having had other appointments along the way at St Alban’s, Derby; as the director of youth services for the diocese, based in Crich; at St Thomas More, Leicester; and at St Peter and St Paul, Lincoln.

“I find the people of Newark very amenable,” Father Michael said.

“I enjoy being parish priest here — there’s a lovely town centre and we have a multi-cultural parish.

“As well as English, Irish, and Italian, the congregation has people from Eastern Europe, Africa, and India.”

Born in 1946 and raised in Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland, he was the youngest of three children and has ‘always harboured a deep sense of Celtic spirituality’.

Father Michael’s old friend and fellow Kerryman, Canon Tim O’Sullivan, has described the priest’s early years as being ‘happy and carefree…in a home which exuded happiness and spirituality’.

Newark’s Roman Catholic priest, Father Michael O'Donoghue.
Newark’s Roman Catholic priest, Father Michael O'Donoghue.

It was while in school at St Brendan’s College, Killarney, that he realised his path to priesthood, when asked by the college president what he would like to be.

Young people and pastoral care have always been front and centre of Father Michael’s work as a priest, who for the Catholic schools in his parish is “a supportive and encouraging pastor” who has overseen a period of renewal for them.

Celebrations for the priest’s Emerald Jubilee included services with children at St Joseph’s R C School, Ollerton, and Holy Trinity Catholic Academy, Newark, as well as a service of thanksgiving and afternoon tea in Newark, and services at Southwell and Ollerton.



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