I will arise and go now…

“You wouldn’t get the like of it about a blessing of the graves,” the elderly man said to his companion in a hoarse whisper.

Standing at the back of St Patrick’s Church, Langfield the elderly gent was referring to the huge crowd which had gathered on Monday evening for the Ecumenical Evening Prayer Service in memory of the late Fr Kevin Mullan. With hundreds having descended on the small Drumquin chapel, free seats were in short supply and as such, the aisles were packed, the baptismal font surrounded and almost as many people cloistered in the vestibules and around the exterior of the church. Everyone was there for the same reason but unlike a blessing of the graves, they had attended to pay tribute to, remember and celebrate the life of just one person: Fr Kevin.

Following the Omagh man’s death last weekend, there has been a definite air of grieving in Drumquin. Hundreds had lined the village’s main street on Saturday evening in silent solidarity as the remains passed by on the way to the parochial house. And hundreds more attended the wake over subsequent days. The popular priest’s passing was on everyone’s lips, partly because he had been in ill-health in recent times and yet more so because of the shock that such a vital force of nature would, in the end, succumb to mortality.

Fr Kevin had ministered in Drumquin for over two decades, christening a generation of children and on a daily basis extolling the virtues of the sacraments whilst leading his charges with a soft-spoken subtlety which defied comprehension. In fuller health he had liked nothing more than the post-wedding celebrations and as recently as last summer had enjoyed celebratory events in the village.

Then there were the out-of-the-blue house calls of a weekend evening when Fr Kevin would arrive at a local home for a chat, a listen and the obligatory cups of tea.

His understated support became part and parcel of the community he served.

Then there was his wit: Wry, dry and self-effacing; best in-person but weekly broadcast through the parish bulletin, an item itself – a testament to the writer’s comic ability to dissect both local and international affairs –was even stocked in local shops.

And so Monday’s Ecumenical Evening Prayer Service at St Patrick’s balanced a feeling of grieving with one of celebration.

Fr Eugene Hassan, Bishop Donal McKeown and a host of representatives from the Omagh Churches Forum led mourners in a succession of prayers, hymns and poetry all of which presented as an unassuming farewell to someone who never saw past the value of personal humility.

Some people openly wept but by the end and after the congregation had found its fullest singing voice (something of which Fr Kevin would undoubtedly have been proud), those same faces played host to small knowing smiles.

There were even smatterings of laughter as the speakers recalled and referenced a man whose life touched so many and yet, who asked for nothing in return.

At the end of Monday night’s service, Fr Hassan warmly invited all present to repair to the hall for refreshments.

He suggested – in a manner not dissimilar to his late brother priest – that people had better come along otherwise Fr Kevin would come back and haunt us.

This raised a good chuckle and yet, most will have already been hoping that Fr Kevin’s spirit would always continue to work as a guiding light for us all.