I was born in Athenry, Co. Galway, in 1967, to Nellie Donlon, a proud Roscommon woman, and Tom Mc Namara, a local, now both gone home to God, along with my younger brother Conor. I have three sisters who keep tabs on me! One of my earliest memories is that of my mother, like the mother hen Jesus speaks about in Matthew 23, gathering us children to read to us from the New Testament about Jesus’ life. It set the fire of love for God’s Word alight in me. We would also have our nightly Rosary, and I honestly believe that I would not be a priest today, and could not continue as one, without the help of our Blessed Mother. Again as a little child, I once came upon my dad kneeling at his bed and asked him what he was doing. He replied very simply: “I’m talking to God.”
I attended the Presentation College Athenry, under the inspirational leadership of Srs. Brid Brennan, RIP, and Ann-Marie Codd, after which I joined the Redemptorist Order, who had a monastery in nearby Esker. Br. Gall was an inspiration and is surely a saint. I studied philosophy at NUIG, and then earned a BA in Theology and Anthropology from the Kimmage Mission institute, sadly closed now. After ordination in 1995, I spent several years giving parish missions in Ireland, England, and the USA. Some time later, I was sent to Fordham University, New York City, to pursue graduate studies in Biblical Theology. I have also been on mission in the Philippines, where I earned a diploma in Oriental Languages from the Maryknoll Institute in Davao.
In 2008, having discerned with the help of our late beloved Bishop Martin Drennan that Irish diocesan priesthood is now a missionary challenge too and wanting to be nearer to my elderly and ill parents, I joined the diocese of Galway-kilfenora, serving as curate in a number of parishes, and as a hospital chaplain in UCHG. I have also taught Bible courses on-line and in various parishes and other settings, and accompanied many pilgrimages and study-trips to the Holy Land.
In the summer of 2021, Bishop Brendan Kelly appointed me Parish Priest here. God bless the wonderful people here, especially all our volunteers, school staffs of our four schools, and members of the Parish Council and Finance committees.
BA Theology & Anthropology; Kimmage Mission Institute, Dublin
MA Religious Education & Biblical Theology; Fordham University, NYC, NY, USA
Diploma Oriental Languages; Maryknoll Language School, Davao, Philippines
Father Robert was interviewed by The Clare Champion, soon after his arrival in fall of 2021. To read, click
here.Click
here to view readings for funeral services.
