'Larger-than-life' Fr Kevin McNamara and Fr Con Cronin brought laughter to the Masses

The Catholic Church, under severe pressure due to a shortage of priests, was dealt a further blow last year when it lost two of its best-loved and larger-than-life characters, Fr Kevin McNamara and Fr Con Cronin. Neil Michael reflects on the careers of two men who brought laughter to the masses.

Fr Kevin McNamara outside a local parish church during Lent in 2015. Picture: Eamonn Keogh

Fr Kevin McNamara and Fr Con Cronin were no ‘ordinary’ priests. Described as "larger-than-life" characters by all who knew them, they eschewed the normal conventions of the Catholic Church. 

Flossing on the altar, conducting drive-in Masses, holding confessions in the pub. Their sudden deaths last year dealt another blow to a Church already struggling to man its dioceses.