The Parish Pastoral Council – Council Members
Current Council Members (2016)
The names of the current council members are:
| Rt Rev Msgr Nicholas O’Mahony PP Martin Middleton (Chairperson) Stan Flynn (Secretary) Brendan Gallagher |
Carmel Dunphy Sharon Hogan Rita Byrne Kitty Murphy |
Dan Cowman Donal Lehane Helena Harrington Kathleen Murphy |
Previous Council Members (2007 – 2015)
Founding Members – December 2007
The names of the fifteen founding members are:
| Dan Cowman Marie Crowley Terry Cunningham (asst. secretary) Fr. Garrett Desmond (president) Julianna Dunne (vice-chairperson) |
Stan Flynn Brendan Gallagher Pat Greene Mary Harney Anne Kavanagh |
Donal Lehane (chairperson) Kathleen Murphy (secretary) Mary Murphy Ita O’Reilly David Raher |
Of these founding members, Anne Kavanagh resigned for personal reasons and was replaced by Gillian Connolly.
Fr. Desmond was transferred to become the parish priest of Newcastle and Fourmilewater Parish and was replaced by our then parish administrator, Fr. Paul F. Murphy.
At the council meeting of 8th September 2009 the chairperson and secretary left office as their terms had ended. Marie Crowley and Mary Murphy were elected as the new chairperson and secretary, respectively.
November 2010
As of 1st November 2010, the names of the fifteen members were:
| Gillian Connolly Dan Cowman Marie Crowley (chairperson) Terry Cunningham (asst. secretary) Julianna Dunne (vice-chairperson) |
Stan Flynn Brendan Gallagher Pat Greene Mary Harney Donal Lehane |
Kathleen Murphy Mary Murphy (secretary) Fr. Paul F. Murphy (president) Ita O’Reilly David Raher |
According to the pastoral council’s constitution, one third of the members of the council must be replaced every year, after the first three years.
An Information Leaflet and Nomination Form were prepared for distribution to parishioners after Mass on three consecutive weekends. Parishioners were requested to complete the Nomination Form attached to the leaflet and return it.
A parish meeting was held on Tuesday 2nd November to explain the purpose of the pastoral council and the role of its members. After the general meeting, those interested in membership were invited to attend a “discernment†process to help them to make a final decision.
As a result of the discernment, eight nominees were accepted as members of the pastoral council. They were commissioned as members at the pastoral council meeting on Tuesday 9th November 2010.
As of 2nd November 2010, the names of the council members were:
| Finola Cooke Gillian Connolly Dan Cowman Marie Crowley (chairperson) Wendy Cullinane Terry Cunningham (asst. secretary) |
Ann Marie Curran Julianna Dunne (vice-chairperson) Helena Fitzgerald Stan Flynn Laois Gavin Pat Greene |
Donal Lehane Paul Lynch Ned Morrissey Mary Murphy (secretary) Fr. Paul F. Murphy (president) Cait O’Donovan |
November 2011
The process of replacing approximately one third of the members each year was adopted again in October/November 2011. At that time six members resigned, namely, Dan Cowman, Maria Crowley, Terry Cunningham, Stan Flynn, Pat Greene, and Mary Murphy. All of these members had served on the council for four years as they were founder members. One new member, Peg Curran, joined the council making thirteen members in all.
Shortly before the change of membership, a new process for electing the four officers was adopted. Henceforth, each officer is to be elected for a term of one year. The vice-chairperson and assistant secretary will automatically assume the roles of chairperson and secretary when the latter come to the end of their term of office. The new officers elected at this time were Ned Morrissey (chairperson), Finola Cooke (secretary), Paul Lynch (vice-chairperson), and Ann Marie Curran (assistant secretary).
As of November 2011, the names of the council members were:
| Finola Cooke (secretary) Gillian Connolly Wendy Cullinane Ann Marie Curran (asst. secretary) Peg Curran |
Julianna Dunne Helena Fitzgerald Laois Gavin Donal Lehane Paul Lynch (vice-chairperson) |
Ned Morrissey (chairperson) Fr. Paul F. Murphy (president) Cait O’Donovan |
November 2012
On this occasion, two members resigned, namely, Donal Lehane and Julianna Dunne. Both of these members had served on the council for five years as they were founder members. Three new members, Helen Cooke, Brendan Gallagher, and Brian McMahon, joined the council making fourteen members in all. Brendan had already served a term on the council as one of the founding members.
The new officers elected at this time were Paul Lynch (chairperson), Ann Marie Curran (secretary), ?? (vice-chairperson), and ?? (assistant secretary).
As of November 2012, the names of the council members were:
| Finola Cooke Helen Cooke Gillian Connolly Wendy Cullinane Ann Marie Curran (secretary) |
Peg Curran Helena Fitzgerald Brendan Gallagher Laois Gavin Paul Lynch (chairperson) |
Brian McHatton Ned Morrissey Fr. Paul F. Murphy (president) Cait O’Donovan |
November 2013
In November 2013 Brian McHatton was elected chairperson and Helen Cooke was elected secretary.
The names of the council members were:
| Rt Rev Msgr Nicholas O’Mahony PP Brian McHatton (Chairperson) Helen Cooke (Secretary) Ann-Marie Curran Cait O’Donovan |
Ned Morrissey Brendan Gallagher Paul Lynch Carmel Dunphy Sharon Hogan |
Mary Murphy Rita Byrne Tom Drohan Martin Middleton Stan Flynn |
November 2014
In November 2014 Martin Middleton was elected chairperson and Stan Flynn was elected secretary.
The names of the council members were:
| Rt Rev Msgr Nicholas O’Mahony PP Martin Middleton (Chairperson) Stan Flynn (Secretary) Brian McHatton Helen Cooke |
Brendan Gallagher Carmel Dunphy Sharon Hogan Mary Murphy Rita Byrne |
Kitty Murphy Dan Cowman Donal Lehane Joe Burns |