There was sadness in Castletown at the end of February following the passing of the much loved Brother Michael Mackey.
Originally from Freshford in Kilkenny, he was buried in the community cemetery at the age of 92.
Brother Michael lived life to the full in different parts of Ireland as well as different parts of Africa.
He spent his final sixteen years with the community of De La Salle Brothers in Castletown.
Brother Kevin McEvoy paid a wonderful tribute to Brother Michael at his funeral mass which we have replicated below:
Michael was the second youngest of ten children born to William Mackey and Margaret Deevey from Castlecomer in Graigueswood, Freshford, Co Kilkenny on the 8th September 1929.
Baptised in St Fiachra’s Church, Clontubrid and confirmed in St Brigid’s Church, Lisdowney, he went to the local national school, Scoil Naomh Fiachra in Clontubrid.
Here, he was taught by two excellent teachers, Mrs Holland and Mr Tom Waldron before proceeding to St Kieran’s College, Kilkenny where he received his secondary education.
Coincidentally, he was in the same class as Fr Pat Cooke (a brother of Fr Walter here) who was also a resident here in Miguel House until 2018.
Following his Leaving Certificate, Mike came here to Castletown to make his novitiate in 1947 where he received the habit of the De La Salle Brothers on 7 September, the day before his eighteenth birthday; he was given the name Aloysius by which he was known for many years before he reverted to using his own baptismal name.
Following two years of studies in our scholasticate in Faithlegg, Michael went to Waterford Training College in 1950 where he prepared to become a primary or national school teacher.
He spent a short while teaching in Mallow before being transferred to Ballyfermot where he taught in the primary school there while also attending evening classes in UCD where he graduated in 1956.
He returned to Mallow in 1958 for the next five years where both Brothers Damien Kellegher and Tom Lavin (now in Hong Kong) remember Mike as a very highly effective mathematics and science teacher.
Brother Tom writes: “Mike was an excellent teacher, enthusiastic, demanding but always patient and encouraging. He helped me discover I had ability in Maths, gave me confidence and I was always grateful for that.”
Of course, coming from Kilkenny, Mike was known for his hurling skills and Brother Damien Kellegher remembers, “On certain days we would have games and whenever we had hurling games Br Mike always togged out and joined us. He was a stylish hurler and we were very impressed with his skills.”
While Patrick O’Donoghue recalls Mike as “an encouraging and sound teacher but he also played hurling in a ferocious way even as an adult among teenagers!”
Former past pupil of St Gerald’s Castlebar and former Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, wrote: “Brother Aloysius, arrived in Castlebar in August 1963, to take over as Principal of St. Gerald’s College from Brother George Sheridan, who held the position of Principal for the previous six years.
“This was only his second visit to County Mayo, where, on the first occasion, he had climbed Croagh Patrick on Reek Sunday.
“Obviously, a man of vision, where he did some altitude training in advance of being posted to Castlebar and having to deal with the native sons!
“The training stood him in good stead as he proved himself to be a tough Principal with a sharp intellect, a good listener with an integrity to match, treating pupils with a firm but fair outlook whether in the classroom or during extra-curricular activities.
“The pupils of St Gerald’s, Castlebar, are indebted to Bro Aloysius for his leadership from 1963-1969 and to his De La Salle Confreres and lay teachers over the past 113 years.”
In 1969, Mike was asked to go to Rose Hill in Mauritius as headmaster of our school there.
Br Tom O’Donoghue remembers, “He was a dynamic and energising Headmaster and, alongside an outwardly authoritarian approach, he treated all with great courtesy and proved a strong leader of both staff and boys, improving many aspects of the school, both socially and scholastically.”
In his six years as headmaster of St Mary’s, he inaugurated several innovative development schemes, notably introducing Economics which he taught himself at A level with considerable success and renovating the sports facilities, laying the groundwork for St Mary’s success in the sports arena.
He loved the sunnier climate of Mauritius (and who wouldn’t on a day like today!) and easily transferred his hurley for a tennis racquet on the narrower confines of the tennis court.
On returning to Ireland in 1975 he took a time-out in Mount Oliver just outside Dundalk – a catechetical and religious formation centre established in 1969 by Cardinal Conway with the aim of bringing renewed life to the whole area of catechesis in the post-Vatican II world.
He had an opportunity to put his new skills into practice the following year when he was transferred to to our novitiate in Kilmacud where he was to spend the next two years.
In 1978, he answered the call to transfer to our school in Skerries, North Dublin, where he was to spend the next five years as Director of the community and Headmaster of the secondary school.
Brother Finbarr Murphy told me that he remembers Mike telling him that it was in Skerries that Mike faced his greatest challenge in all his years of teaching in the classroom and that was trying to teach the Irish book Peig to teenagers whose life-experiences were planets apart from the world of Peig Sayers.
In 1983 he moved to the House of Studies in Ballyfermot where he loved to energy and the banter of life lived with younger Brothers in training.
This was followed by another two years as Director of the community in St Laurence’s in Finglas West which was a new kind of school offering support to young teenagers who often came from difficult and challenging backgrounds.
Brother Stephen shared with me something Mike himself had written about his time in Finglas West: “Early on in my religious life I realised that the only way the poor could advance was through education and so I promised myself that I’d do my best to ensure that I would never be the cause of any of my students falling behind or failing and while I had no special training in dealing with this new cohort.
“I never stopped studying the most modern methods of motivating these students from wayward backgrounds.”
This, too, may have been his motivation to volunteer for places like Nigeria, Mauritius and Discovery during the course of his life.
In 1987, at the age of 58, Mike was on his way to Yola, in Nigeria, where Brother Tom Lavin picks up the narrative: “After 27 years (a reference to his time in Mallow) I was delighted when Mike came to St Peter’s Minor Seminary in Yola which was in poor shape mainly because it lacked a permanent committed and qualified staff.
“Mike worked hard to improve standards. He inspired the younger staff by example of dedicated teaching in an orderly disciplined classroom. He was a wise advisor when issues arose. I had of course to listen to stories of Kilkenny exploits but that was a small price to pay!”
As leader of that sector in Nigeria, Brother Tom saw that there was even a greater need for Mike’s expertise as Director of Formation further south in Ondo, and he continues: “I knew that personally he would find it challenging.
“He was going into an all-Nigerian community for the first time. But he was courageous, generous and excited to be involved again in the promotion of the Brothers vocation.
“He put all his efforts into preparing the postulants to join the English-speaking Novitiate in Nairobi, Kenya. He worked very hard to re-organise the formation program.
“He was a Brother who believed in the Rule and the regular life. However not everyone saw it in the same way and he had some convincing to do. I remember General Councillors from Rome visiting Ondo on one occasion.
“Later they reported how impressed they were and praised the high quality of the postulancy program. They commended the Director for his dedication and clarity of vision.
“Mike deserved this and more. He helped to establish the foundation for the indigenous sector of Nigeria we have today. Mike left Nigeria in July 1993. We kept in touch and I always looked forward to visiting him on my holidays home.”
In 1993, Mike took time out for a refresher programme in Milltown in Dublin but it wasn’t long before he was back in Africa, in our community in Discovery, Johannesburg, South Africa where he was to spend the next eight years as Headmaster.
Both Brothers Finbarr Murphy and Tim McLoughlin remember him as one who had a passion for school life and interacted with students, teachers and parents with great tact and understanding.
Brother Finbarr observed, “knowing Brother Michael, and working with him in Discovery, South Africa was indeed an honour; he was a man of wisdom and strength who lived his life for the betterment of all.”
Mike was 73 when he returned to the Beneavin community in Dublin in early 2003 but he moved to the Kilmacud community in September of that year which coincided with beginning of a new venture, Benildus Pastoral or Retreat Centre in that place.
Michele Sinnott, the first Director of the Centre remembers: “My first encounter with him was across an interview table! I have lovely memories of him from the infancy days of Benildus Pastoral Centre, where he kept us on the straight and narrow path through his involvement in the venture.
“He was very involved in the whole experience and as change came in, gradually surrendered his office so that it could be turned into one of the group rooms!
“He helped birth the flow of new life in the building; it couldn’t have been easy for him or the Brothers as it meant a lot of compromising on their way of living so that the new project could take wings.”
Two years later, he was on the move again; in 2005 he was transferred to Castletown where he was to spend the next sixteen years – with most of those years being spent in the Central Community.
Brother Stephen Deignan wrote: “He became the community bursar and in a place like Castletown, with so many different areas of interest, he mastered the responsibility in spite of the fact that he deliberately decided not to get involved with computers.
“Everything was presented in long hand and never a query from the Accountants. If he were asked to prioritise his interests other than those associated with his educational pursuits or the requirements of his religious life, you could be certain that the state of Kilkenny hurling or how Fine Gael was doing in the latest week-end poll would figure prominently.”
Castletown was a great base for Mike to stay connected with his roots down around Freshford in Kilkenny and Judy his niece here remembers him as a hale and hearty presence whenever he came home for visits or for some family occasion.
She said they loved his stories about his experiences in faraway places. He was a great writer of letters and he went into great detail in trying to describe the different environments that he was privileged to experience. Just by looking through his photo albums in his room, you get to realise how varied and colourful his life-journey actually was.
He made the short journey across the yard here in Castletown to Miguel House when it was felt he was in need of care – and how privileged we are to have such a facility for the men like Mike who live out their lives in the service of others.
Reading through the Condolences section of the online rip.ie website I read these few lines by Ann Dollard who has been working in Miguel House for many years and they sum up Mike very well – in so far as that’s possible!
“Michael loved the simple routine of life. He was deeply-rooted in his beloved Kilkenny, always keeping in touch with & visiting family; sports were his passion mainly GAA & golf.
“He had a remarkable memory and loved to recall his missionary years in Mauritius & Africa. He had an endearing and pleasant welcoming manner and a hearty laugh. Now, after a long life of service & good health, may he enjoy heavenly peace.”
I would like to thank Teresa, Br Martin, Fr Joe and all the staff in Miguel House and Doctors Paddy and Robbie for their love and care of Mike in his latter years.
I would also like to thank the countless number of Brothers colleagues and past pupils, Mike’s family and neighbours for their condolences and for sharing their memories of Mike – which has made my task here this afternoon possible.
In chapter twelve of the Book of Daniel we read the following lines which I think are particularly appropriate for the way Mike lived the 92 years of his life: “They that are learned shall shine as the brightness of the firmament: and they that instruct many in the ways of right shall shine as stars for all eternity.”
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