Death of popular priest on pilgrimage to Rome

POPULAR Skibbereen priest Fr Criostóir MacDonald has died while on pilgrimage in Rome.

The diocesan office confirmed that Fr Criostóir (62) died suddenly on the morning of Wednesday October 18th while in Italy.

Fr Criostóir – the co-parish priest in the Mayfield family of parishes – was with a group when he passed away.

Fr Tom Hayes, who attended St Patrick’s College in Maynooth with Fr Mac- Donald, and was ordained on the same day, said his passing has come as a shock to everyone because he was so young.

‘It was so sudden. He was a character we associated with being so full of life,’ Fr Hayes told The Southern Star.

‘He was very happy and content and had been on a retreat with priests in the diocese just the week before he died. He was full of life and energy at that.’

Fr MacDonald was from Mill Road in Skibbereen, and served in parishes including Bantry, Dunmanway and Crosshaven.

‘He was a very sociable person,’ according to Fr Hayes. ‘He loved people and loved people’s company. And he was a very talented musician.

‘When we were in college together, he played the organ for the choir. He continued to have a very keen interest in music, especially in classical music and would have been very good friends with a lot of people who make a living from music in the Cork area and beyond.’

Bishop of Cork and Ross Dr Fintan Gavin extended his prayerful support to Fr Criostóir’s sister Ann and her family.