Papal Benemerenti Medal awarded to Ballyconnell woman

Local woman Bridie Murphy was recently awarded a Papal Benemerenti Medal for her years of service to Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Ballyconnell.

Bridie, who in the words of parish priest, Monsignor Liam Kelly, will turn “89 years young” in the coming weeks, received the medal for her six decades of service to the Church, which opened in 1968, at a ceremony in Ballyconnell last Thursday, March 19.

A Papal Benemerenti Medal is awarded by Pope Leo XIV to members of the clergy and laity for long and exceptional service to the Catholic Church.

The choir opened the ceremonial mass with a rendition of ‘Our Lady of Knock’, a decision which Monsignor Kelly told the large crowd in attendance was “very appropriate” for Bridie’s “great devotion” to Our Lady.

“Any of you who know Bridie know that she is a remarkable woman,” Monsignor Kelly announced from the pulpit, expressing his gratitude to her on behalf of the parish.

He has particular praise for her floral arrangements in the church and described her own garden as being like “the Garden of Eden”.

“She has the eye of an artist, and her whole garden and these beautiful flower arrangements that you see here this evening, testify to that fact.”

Monsignor Kelly also thanked all the volunteers who help out with the Church, the many people who “work away quietly, week in, week out”.

“Tonight is a celebration, not just for Bridie herself and all the volunteers who keep our parish going, it’s also a celebration for her family, her extended family, her many friends from here and neighbouring parishes, and for the whole parish community. I think the number of people who have turned up here tonight is a tribute to Bridie,” Monsignor Kelly concluded.