Celbridge

Arrived in Dublin yesterday afternoon. The trip from San Francisco was filled with delays; both flights had late take-offs, the first due to maintenance issues on the 747 itself, and the second because of a breakdown in the radar system at Dublin, which meant that flights were delayed taking off. However, it was not an unpleasant journey, all things considered.

Bro. Padraig McDonald, chaplain at the Salesian school in Celbridge, met me as I came out of immigration and customs, and brought me to the Salesian community. After a shave and a bit of a cleanup, I joined the community for dinner at 18.00, and then for evening prayer.

Members of the community include Pat Egan, whom I have known for many years since the days when I used to help those in the office of social communications in Rome (early 1990s) and who edits the Irish Salesian Bulletin. Padraig McDonald had joined us last year for the Da mihi animas seminar at Berkeley, and he is school chaplain. The rector Paddy Hennessy lectures in religious education at Maynooth and who is now vice-provincial since the death of Joe Lucey earlier this year. But not everyone is called Patrick in this house. There are Michael Brown, chaplain in a local hospital, Dan Carroll, celebrating his silver jubilee of ordination and teacher at Salesian College, PJ Nyland also teaches at Salesian College (although he may well be a Patrick Joseph, now that I think of it) … and two polish clerics, Szymon and Dominik, who have spent one year here for some experience in teaching; they return to Poland next week.

By 20.00 I was in bed … and woke up today at 12.30… Wow, a 16 hour sleep!

So just catching up in this afternoon, getting some things ready for the retreat that I'll facilitate with the Salesians in Milford come Sunday evening.