This Clare priest offered confession in the middle of a busy shopping centre

Clare priest Fr Pat Larkin had to compete with Rod Stewart bellowing out ‘Baby Jane’ while hearing confession yesterday at the Shannon Skycourt shopping centre.

With his confessional made up of a small table and two chairs located feet away from a €2 ride featuring Barney the Dinosaur in the shopping mall outside Dunnes Stores, Fr Larkin admitted the environment for hearing confessions was “unusual”.

“But this is all about what Pope Francis said about going out into the marketplace and meeting the people,” said Fr Larkin. He heard confessions and listened to people’s stories between 2pm and 3pm in what he described as a constant queue.