The Solemn Novena Directors profiled here are:
Michael Cusack CSsR (Western Novenas Director)
I was born in Monaghan Town and brought up in Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan. I was ordained in Dublin in 1990. I worked on the Esker Novena and Mission Team for two years after ordination and then spent another two years in Brazil. Returning to Ireland in 1994. I rejoined the Esker novena and mission team spending the next five years travelling the western seaboard. I was appointed superior in Saint Joseph’s monastery in Dundalk in 1999 and had six very memorable years in that community. I moved to Marianella, Dublin in 2007 and while there was appointed Director of Vocations. 2008 brought another move for me when I was appointed once again to the Esker Redemptorist Community. It seems that I am destined to be in the West but that’s fine by me since my family are now living nearby in Williamstown, Co. Galway! I am now responsible for the Novenas in this part of the country and that means quite a bit of work since we have the great Galway Cathedral Novena in February and then in June the novena is held in three locations - Esker Monastery, Athenry Parish Church and Ballinasloe. Our Mother of Perpetual Help Novena is hugely popular in the west of Ireland and the crowds attending are testimony to this fact. The Galway City Novena had been running for over twenty-five years now and still manages to get its annual mention on RTÉ’s AA Roadwatch! For whatever reason there seems to be a great draw for people to make the nine-day commitment to attending. Some of those who attend have it as an annual retreat, a time of recollection and a time for recharging the batteries. Others who attend are not regular church-goers but somehow feel supported by the community singing and prayer, the topical preaching, the petitions and thanksgivings and I suppose in general it could be said that ‘crowds draw crowds’. The communal celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation is another very popular part of the novena and again for many it is the annual celebration of this sacrament. You can see some great photography of the Galway Novena taken by Matt Kavanagh of the Irish Times by clicking here.
Contact Information:
Phone: +353 91 844 007
Mobile: +353 87 238 5075
Email: Michael Cusack CSsR
Richard Delahunty CSsR (Saint Gerard's Novena Director)
I come from Mooncoin in County Kilkenny. was ordained a Redemptorist priest in 1966. For most of my life as a priest I have worked as a missionary in the north-east of Brazil. In 2005 I was appointed Rector of St. Joseph's Redemptorist Community and I am also currently Admiistrator of Saint Joseph's parish. For me the major religious event in Dundalk is the annual Solemn Novena in honour of Saint Gerard which takes place at the Redemptorist Church of St Joseph’s. For each of these nine days, 08th – 16th October, every year, huge crowds, from near and far, converge on the lovely shrine of Saint Gerard. I have met people from the town of Dundalk itself, Newry, Drogheda, neighbouring towns and villages at the novena. The people come to pray together, sing together, socialise together, in a truly remarkable demonstration of faith and devotion. They participate in the Eucharist and go to Confession. They sing the novena hymns and say the novena prayers with enormous enthusiasm and they bring their children to be blessed. All of this involves much work on the part of the Redemptorist Community and an arm of truly dedicated lay workers.
Contact Information:
Phone: +353 42 933 4042
Email: Richard Delahunty CSsR
Adrian Egan CSsR (Limerick Novena Director)
I am a native of Limerick City and a past pupil of Saint Clement’s Redemptorist College. The second eldest of three sisters and one brother, I took my perpetual vows as a Redemptorist, and was ordained, in 1989. I spent my first four years as a Redemptorist giving parish missions and novenas, initially in Dublin, and then in the West of Ireland as a member of the Esker Community. Following that, I returned to my home city where I spent six years as Prefect of Mount Saint Alphonsus Church. In 1999 I returned to full-time study and spent two years in London where I qualified as a psychodynamic counsellor. Before returning to Limerick in 2008 as Rector at Mount Saint Alphonsus, I spent seven years at Clonard Monastery, Belfast where I was Prefect of Clonard church, and was co-ordinator of the Clonard Solemn Novena for the years I spent there. I am especially known as a cantor and preacher, and for attempting to bring creativity and innovation to the liturgical life in our churches. For me, the annual Solemn Novenas is a gift that the Redemptorists need to treasure, nourish, and protect. The platform these novenas provide us with, for the proclamation of the Good News, especially to those on the fringes of society, is incredibly valuable and unique. It’s certainly a gift we Redemptorists should never take for granted!
Contact Information:
Phone: +353 61 315 099
Email: Adrian Egan CSsR
Michael Murtagh (Clonard Novena Director)
I come from Newtowncashel, Co Longford. I joined the Redemptorists in 1989 having pursued an accountancy qualification over a number of years. Ordained in 1997, I have been based mainly in Belfast and Dublin working in the ministries of parish missions, solemn novenas and retreats as well as spending a number of years in training young men to be Redemptorist priests. I came back to Belfast as Rector of Clonard in 2008. Having worked over many years on the Clonard Solemn Novena I have become acutely aware of its importance in the faith lives of the people of Belfast and beyond. From 6.30 AM until midnight, people come in their thousands to pray and to offer their petitions. What it means to people is probably very personal in one way but most communal in another way, as the sense of celebration of one’s faith is palpable throughout the nine days. Many people have found refuge and solace here over the many troubled years in our recent history and, if anything, the sense of devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help has increased. Our Lady’s Shrine is a very special place in Clonard Church and is most lively to remain so in the faith life of the people of Belfast and beyond for many years to come. Hence it is with much anticipation that I look forward to the forthcoming solemn novena of 2009.
Contact Information:
Phone: +44 28 9044 5950
Email: Michael Murtagh CSsR