US priest delighted to return to his Mayo roots

Monsignor Patrick Hambrough, parish priest of Ascension Parish in Chesterfield, a suburb of St Louis in the United States, recently returned to Ireland for a special visit that combined family reunions with a celebration of faith. His mother hailed from Ballydaff, Taugheen, Claremorris, giving Mgr Hambrough deep roots in the area, and he led a coach group to the village and on to St Michael’s Church in Taugheen for a special Mass last week.

“A number of people wanted to come to Ireland and they knew I had family here,” Mgr Hambrough told the Western People. “They asked me, ‘Will you take us over there?’ Then they decided we’d have Mass every day at different places and experience the faith. So I said, okay, and a bunch of them signed up. And here we are.” 

After arriving in Shannon Airport, Mgr Hambrough and his group spent a day exploring the area, visiting Bunratty and Durty Nelly's pub and reconnecting with relatives. 

“We intermingled at the tables. It was a great craic, as they say,” he said, describing a dinner shared with his parishioners and cousins from Ennis and the Sixmilebridge area. “We’re doing the same thing in Killarney where I have more relatives before we go back.” 

Among the travellers were two of Mgr Hambrough’s second cousins, whose grandmother had roots in the Taugheen parish, along with his elder sister and her husband. The Monsignor, who has visited the Claremorris area regularly since his youth, demonstrated a remarkable familiarity with the local area during his homily. 

“I’ve been able to come back many times,” he said. “My grandmother died in 1985, but my aunt down the road, Jo Hambrough, is still here, so we always come to visit the graves and to see the people we got to know through the years.” 

Mgr Hambrough’s first trip to Ireland was in 1958 as a two-year-old, followed by a return as a 20-year-old in 1976, when he met his family for the first time. 

“There’s something special about family,” he reflected. 

After his ordination in 1985, he often returned to the area to officiate at cousins’ weddings and to participate in important family milestones, including his grandmother’s funeral.

Observing the changes in Ireland over the decades, Mgr Hambrough remarked: “The changes I’ve seen are unbelievable. Travel is so much easier. In 1976, it was rare to find a takeaway or a can of Coke off the shelf. Now, you’ve got fancy places and convenience stores. It’s changed dramatically.” 

Comparing Ireland to the United States, he commented: “I used to tell people, you can tell there’s a difference in these two countries. Now there’s no difference. Everyone’s modern.” 

Mgr Hambrough said that the lack of participation in the Catholic faith is something that strikes him. 

“It’s the same problem we have, trying to get people back to church. Some people will go no matter what, some won’t, and the middle ground… we’re trying to get them in. The people that do go are wonderful to work with, to serve, to live with. I feel very blessed in my priesthood, both at home and here in Ireland.” 

The travelling party were welcomed to Taugheen by Ger McHugh, a community activist and former principal teacher. In a warm address, he outlined the history of the village of Ballydaff, where Mgr Hambrough’s ancestors came from.

“It was a small village to start with,” he told the congregation at the special Mass in Taugheen Church celebrated by Mgr Hambrough. 

“But the arrival of the Claremorris to Ballinrobe railway divided the village and used up some of the precious land. Then the new road was built about a hundred years ago, taking up more land. The farms were small and emigration was an inevitable factor,” he said.

The visitors enjoyed the trip and boarded the coach for Westport and on to Croagh Patrick before heading south again.