Ex-priest marries near former parish

A priest who resigned eight months ago has married in a hotel not far from the church where he ministered.

Ian Gerard Kennedy and Maria Cunningham, a civil servant, married on Aug 22 in the Cromleach Lodge Hotel near Castlebaldwin, Co Sligo.

The wedding was so quiet that inquiries at the Marriage Registrar’s office in Sligo in the weeks before failed to obtain confirmation that it was happening.

The Yeats-loving ex-priest — an invigilator at the WB Yeats Summer festival in Sligo — kept his wedding plans quiet even from guests at the event.

The guestlist included poet Seamus Heaney, with whom Mr Kennedy had a deep discussion about Yeats.

The 42-year-old ex-priest, who now describes himself as a teacher, and 41-year-old Ms Cunningham were wed in a civil ceremony at the four-star hotel by registrar Louise Mulcahy.

Both gave the same address at Temple Manor, Ballinacarrow, Co Sligo, where they have been living together for several months.

When Mr Kennedy told his congregation at Aughanagh, which includes Ballinafad — where he was acting parish priest — on Jan 15 that he was resigning “for personal reasons”, Mass-goers were stunned.

The parish priest from Boyle, Canon Gerard Hanley, celebrated the Mass on Jan 15 at which Mr Kennedy addressed the congregation.

Canon Hanley said at the time: “I understood it is something he has thought about on and off for some time, and he spoke to the bishop recently and came to this agreement.”

The canon stressed at the time that Fr Kennedy had not been asked by Bishop Christopher Jones of Elphin to step down, but that it was something he had decided of his own free will.

He added that there was “nothing sinister” behind Fr Kennedy’s decision to resign from the ministry.

Shortly after the announcement, Mr Kennedy moved out of the area, briefly to avoid controversy and he is believed to have lived in Galway before returning to the area and moving in with Ms Cunningham at Ballinacarrow.

Mr Kennedy trained in the University of Wales, Swansea; Maynooth University; and NUIG. He is the first cousin of Sligo priest Fr Alan Conway.

The bride’s sister, Noelle O’Carroll, who lives near the couple, and Sean Tansey, a school headmaster and a friend of the groom, were witnesses to the ceremony.