A man apart: Fr Paddy O’Kane - An Appreciation

From the north shores of his native Inishowen to Strabane and across Derry, he was someone who inspired devotion, honesty, love and compassion in his parishioners because he had all of those in abundance for them.

Like many journalists in Derry I met Fr Paddy several times down the years.

I remember him acting swiftly when the Holy Family Church was flooded in 2014 and organising the clean up. Not a man quick to condemn or judge, a few years back in 2019 he led prayers for those who carried out an arson attack there. And in times of tragedy and sadness he was a hand in the dark to many.

I remember a man of dignity, warmth, humanity, a quirky individual who found new ways to connect with people of all ages and who was concerned for everyone’s welfare. He cared deeply about everyone and he led by example. No-one was to be left out in the cold.

The Culdaff native forged a special and unbreakable bond with the people of Moville, Melmount, St Eugene’s and Ballymagroarty parishes. It was in the latter that he spent his last decades and he very much left his mark. He revolutionised the Homily and I definitely recall many years ago writing a story about the choir there at Holy Family Church reinventing pop songs for services as a special and innovative way to connect young people to faith.

He was a man of ideas and never afraid to innovate, Long before COVID, after an anonymous complaint in the Diocese over a decade ago about the potential for catching germs during Mass through the shaking of hands - the sign of fellowship and friendship - he suggested people could nod their heads instead if they wanted to.

Fr Paddy was never one for seeking plaudits and yet he never shied away from giving his honest views on matters at hand.

It is only with his passing and the outpouring of tributes and sorrow from the community that we can truly assess his impact.

The best legacy any of us can leave is that we enrich the lives of others and live on in them.

Fr Paddy was instrumental in forging the strong sense of community that exists in Ballymagroarty and Hazelbank today. And they, like all those others whose lives he enhanced, in turn will never forget him.