Bishop Fintan Gavin has announced that two priests will take a sabbatical in the new year and will be replaced by priests who are on load to the diocese.
Sabbatical leave is ongoing formation for a priest and often involves an experience of ministry in a different environment.
Fr Pat McCarthy will complete his time as Chaplain at the Mercy University Hospital on the 1st January. He will be replaced by Fr Vineesh Ulahannan who will begin his appointment on the same day. Fr McCarthy will begin a period of sabbatical leave taking up a new appointment this summer.
Fr Bernard Cotter, Co-Parish Priest in Aughadown, Castlehaven and Myross, Kilmacabea, Rath and the Islands and Skibbereen Family of Parishes will be on sabbatical leave from early January for a six-month period. Fr Kevin Hanley OFM Conv. will serve as a curate pro-tem in the Aughadown, Castlehaven and Myross, Kilmacabea, Rath and the Islands and Skibbereen Family of Parishes from early January 2026 for a six-month period.
Bishop Fintan is grateful to Fr Vineesh and Fr Kevin for their generosity in taking up these new appointments.
