Eamon Casey
| Styles of Eamon Casey |
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| Reference style | The Most Reverend |
| Spoken style | Your Grace |
| Religious style | Bishop |
| Posthumous style | none |
Eamon Casey (born 24 April 1927 in Firies, County Kerry) is Roman Catholic Bishop Emeritus of Galway and Kilmacduagh, Ireland.
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[edit] Priest and bishop
Casey was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Kerry on 17 June 1951 and appointed Bishop of Kerry on 17 July 1969.[1]
He held this position until 1976, when he was appointed Bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh and apostolic administrator of Kilfenora. While in Galway, Casey was seen as a progressive. It was a significant change in a diocese that had been led for nearly forty years by the very conservative Michael Browne (Bishop from 1937 to 1976).
Casey was highly influential in the Irish Catholic hierarchy, and served as bishop until his resignation in 1992. He was friends and colleague of another highly prominent Irish priest, Father Michael Cleary. Although they both represented a liberal trend in the Church, they continued to support doctrine for priestly celibacy, and against pre-marital sex, abortion, and similar issues.
[edit] Views
[edit] Irish emigrants
Casey was well-known for his work to aid Irish emigrants in Britain. In addition, he supported the Dunnes Stores' staff, who were locked out from 1982 to 1986 for refusing to sell goods from apartheid South Africa.
[edit] US foreign policy
Casey attended the funeral of the murdered Archbishop of San Salvador, Monsignor Oscar Romero. He witnessed first hand the massacre of those attending the funeral by government forces. He then became a vocal opponent of United States foreign policy in Central America, and, as a result, opposed the 1984 visit of President Ronald Reagan to Ireland, refusing to meet him when he came to Galway.
[edit] Disgrace
In 1992 newspapers discovered that Casey had had a sexual relationship with Annie Murphy, an American divorcée. Together they had a son, Peter, born in 1974 in Dublin. Murphy later claimed that, during the pregnancy, Casey had attempted to persuade her to give the child up for adoption at birth. She chose not to do so and raised him with the help of her parents. When Murphy decided to go public about the relationship and informed The Irish Times, Casey tendered his resignation and left the country. She later published a book, Forbidden Fruit, in 1993 revealing details of their relationship.
Casey then chose to embrace the life of a foreign missionary in South America. He worked with members of the Missionary Society of St. James to work in a rural parish in Ecuador, despite his lack of knowledge of the Spanish language. During this time, he would travel long distances to reach the widely scattered members of his parish. After his missionary stint was up, instead of returning to Ireland, Casey chose to work in a parish in England.[2]
Casey's resignation is widely regarded as a pivotal moment when the Roman Catholic hierarchy began to lose its considerable influence over the society and politics of the Republic of Ireland. Casey was succeeded by his Secretary Bishop James McLoughlin, who served in the post until his own retirement on 3 July 2005. The following year, weeks after the death of Irish priest Father Michael Cleary, The Phoenix broke a story about his nearly 30-year-relationship with Phyllis Hamilton, with whom he had two sons. They allowed their first son to be adopted, but raised the second together in their household. Hamilton ostensibly was Cleary's housekeeper during the years of their relationship.
In subsequent years, serious sexual crimes involving other Irish priests have become known. Because they involved the sexual abuse of children, the scandal around these exceeded that around Casey's and Cleary's cases.
He is the subject of Martin Egan's song "Casey", sung by Christy Moore. He is also the subject of the Saw Doctors song "Howya Julia". On 20 January 2006, newspapers announced that Casey would be returning to Ireland.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- Annie Murphy, Peter de Rosa; Forbidden Fruit: the true story of my secret love for the Bishop of Galway (1993); ISBN 978-0-316-90573-2
