Tributes paid to 'much-loved' Mayo priest following passing
"His legacy is etched into every stone of Ballintubber Abbey and carried in the hearts of all who knew him. Mayo has lost a towering figure, and Ballintubber has lost its greatest champion."
Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary, has expressed his sympathy to the family, parishioners and friends of Fr. Frank Fahey following his passing.
Minister Calleary said: “I am very saddened to learn of the passing of Fr. Fahey and extend my condolences to his family, to his parishioners and to all his many colleagues and friends associated with Ballintubber Abbey.
“Fr. Fahey was deeply dedicated and faithful to his vocation. His kindness, compassion and unwavering faith touched so many lives, and his devotion to the Ballintubber Abbey Project was inspirational – it leaves a legacy that will last forever. It was fitting that Fr. Fahey should gain his eternal reward on the very day that works commenced onsite for the new Cultural and Visitor Centre at the Abbey, a project that he advocated for so passionately and with such energy and ambition.
“May his legacy of service and commitment continue to live on in the hearts and minds of those he served so diligently – may he rest in peace.”
Minister Alan Dillon also paid tribute to Fr. Fahey.
“I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Fr Frank Fahey, a man I was privileged to know for decades and whose extraordinary vision and devotion to Ballintubber will echo for generations.
"He was much loved in the village and further afield, but it is for his tireless and unwavering work on the 800-year-old abbey which will be his lasting legacy.
"Fr Frank was a remarkable figure. A priest, historian, guardian of heritage, and above all, a man of profound faith and imagination. His life’s work was inseparable from Ballintubber Abbey. He dedicated more than forty years to restoring, protecting, and re-energising one of Ireland’s most sacred and historic places. From the revival of the Abbey in the 1980’s, to the Passion Play, to the renewal of Tochar Phádraig, his achievements shaped not only the parish but the cultural and spiritual identity of Mayo.
"It is deeply fitting, and symbolic, that Fr Frank passed away on the very day work began on the new Cultural and Heritage Centre in Ballintubber. This project was part of his enduring vision, a continuation of the story he spent a lifetime writing. That the new centre commenced on the day he passed feels like a final blessing, a moment of perfect continuity between his life’s mission and the future he imagined for the Abbey and its community.
"His legacy is etched into every stone of Ballintubber Abbey and carried in the hearts of all who knew him. Mayo has lost a towering figure, and Ballintubber has lost its greatest champion.
"My thoughts are with his family, the Ballintubber Abbey community, and all who mourn him.
"Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.”
