St Colman’s Parish, Milltown, Listry held a Mass of Thanksgiving, on the occasion of the presentation of the Bene Merenti Medal to Mary (Hayes) O Sullivan by Bishop Murphy, at the Sacred Heart Church, on Saturday October 24th.
Fr. Pat O Donnell tells us a little about Mary O Sullivan:
Like many Irish of her generation Mary emigrated to England at a young age and settled in North London. She was always involved in community affairs and played an active role in the parish of Willesden Green. Following her retirement and the death of her husband she came back to live in Milltown in the mid 80’s and since then has given sterling service to the community and the church.
• She played an important role in the establishment of Milltown Community Council.
• For many years she was involved in Bingo, which help raise important funds for the Parish. In recent years she has been vital member of the Parish Draw committee where her contribution to the gathering of prizes and distribution of tickets was nothing shore to ‘Herculean’
• All priests who have served in Milltown /Listry over the years will testify to her loyalty and ongoing commitment to church matters.
• She was one of the First Eucharistic Ministers in the parish and has since then been part of the regular church rota, as well as bringing communion to Ashborough Lodge Nursing Home, and to the sick who are housebound.
• Mary is a very active member of the Church Cleaning Group and her personal dedication to this task knows no bounds. As welll as being part of the cleaning rota, Mary ensures that there is a constant supply of holy water, that the floor is polished, and attends to even that smallest detail. Only recently on entering the Church, I found Mary sitting on the floor of the Sanctuary , and with an iron and brown paper carefully removing all specks of wax:: surely a witness of ultimate dedication to a person of 88 years..
Fr Pat O Donnell PP
St. Colman’s Parish Miltown Listry