Investiture

The 2021 admissions ceremony was held in Maynooth and our Grand Prior Seán Cardinal Brady GCHS welcomed eight new Dames and Knights to the Order. Held under covid guidelines it was a hugely successful day with Archbishop Dermot Farrell KC*HS celebrating Mass and delivering the homily. In attendance also was His Excellency Jude Thaddeus Okolo KC*HS, the Papal Nuncio. Vy. Rev. Francis Mitchell the Ecclesiastical Master of Ceremonies was aided by Vy. Rev. Derek Darby. There was a great feeling of reconnection among members post covid. In particular for one new Knight, Richard Hearns, who has a special affinity to the Holy Land; it was a very special day to re-connect and be a part of history for the Lieutenancy.

The Silver Palm of Jerusalem, the Order’s most prestigious award, was bestowed upon John Patrick Dickson GCHS by Cardinal Brady. John is one of our most engaging, enthusiastic and widely travelled Order members and we whole heartedly congratulate him.

Our new members received were Vy. Rev. Gerard MacCormack, Rev. Bill O’Shaughnessy, Dame Lynda McGivney-Nolan, John Smith, Fredrick O’Brien, James Hanly, Colm O’Farrell and Richard Hearns. The reception team are to be commended as usual and we also thank the musicians, catering staff and all the staff at Maynooth for making it such a special day.

In an extract from Archbishop Farrell’s homily he says… “The Jerusalem cross is emblazoned on the cloaks and insignia worn by our members of the Order. The cross is neither an honorific nor a sign of religious and social status. It is not simply an emblem we wear, but a new way of living. The cross which is central to the Christian gospel and gives direction to our way of life, and therefore to the way of life of the Dames and Knights, is God’s word of life to the world. Jesus is blessed, broken and given for others. We are an Order which is taken, blessed, broken and given, just as our Saviour was. We new being asked by the Lord: do you want to be my witnesses? That is at the heart of our calling as Church, and as members of the Order.”

Left: Treasurer Anthony Harbinson, Mairead Walls, Nora Durnin, Greta McKenna and Joe Tiernan BLeft & Below: The Grand Prior invests Richard Hearns & Lynda McGivneyNolan as members Right: Mairead Walls & John Paul McKenna Presentation of diploma to John Dickson