top of page

CK45 Athlone Presentations with Bishop Paul Connell

Council 45

5 September 2026

​

The domed Church of Saints Peter and Paul above the River Shannon at Athlone, with a pleasure boat moored at the marina in the foreground, under a clear blue sky.

Athlone and the Church of Saints Peter and Paul. Photograph: Ardfern, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

On Saturday 5 September 2026 the Brothers of CK45 Athlone held their annual presentations, with Bishop Paul Connell, Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, as their guest. Fr Pat Murphy, Adm., St Mary’s parish, Athlone, and Deacon Tony Larkin joined them for the evening, which was led by the council’s Grand Knight, Brother Ignatius Lynam.

 

Bishop Paul Connell seated with Fr Pat Murphy, Sarah Seoige and Grand Knight Ignatius Lynam, with ten men of the council and its guests standing behind them in a courtyard.
Bishop Paul Connell with Fr Pat Murphy, Deacon Tony Larkin, Sarah Seoige and the Brothers of CK45 Athlone

 

Five donations

The council made five donations. Bishop Connell presented four of them, each with a Brother of the council:

  • to Anne McGrath, for the Athlone and Midlands Samaritans

  • to Mags O’Donnell, for Athlone Meals on Wheels

  • to Michael Collins and Theresa O’Reilly, for the Midland Irish Guide Dogs, who brought Bumble, Pixie and Twinkle with them

  • to Pauline Cahillane, for the Athlone Rape Crisis Centre

 

The fifth went the other way. Sean Leydon and Liam Hughes presented Bishop Connell with the council’s donation towards the diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes.

 

Bishop Paul Connell and Grand Knight Ignatius Lynam present the donation to Michael Collins and Theresa O'Reilly of the Midland Irish Guide Dogs, with three guide dogs in green coats in front of them.
The Midland Irish Guide Dogs, with Bumble, Pixie and Twinkle

 

Awards and life membership

Bishop Connell presented achievement awards to Ray Joyce and Sean Leydon. Honorary life membership was conferred on Eamon Cassells and Mark Doyle, each of whom was pictured with the Bishop and the Grand Knight.

 

Bishop Paul Connell presents Ray Joyce with a framed achievement award, in front of a statue of Our Lady.
Ray Joyce receives his achievement award from Bishop Paul Connell

 

The talk

The guest speaker was Sarah Seoige, a teacher, who spoke on “The Influence of the Gospel on the Role of Women in Society”. She drew on Our Lady, on Martha, on the wedding feast at Cana, on the woman at the well and on Veronica, and showed that women stood by the Lord’s ministry from its beginning.

 

A council at work

Four local causes, a diocesan pilgrimage, two awards and two life memberships: that is a council of the Order at work in its own town, and CK45 does it every year.

 

In his message to the Order this autumn, Archbishop Eamon Martin wrote that the Order “must continue to be known for its works of charity”. In Athlone, it is. His message is here in full.

 

Our thanks to Bishop Connell, to Fr Murphy and Deacon Larkin, to Sarah Seoige, and to the Brothers of CK45 under their Grand Knight. The evening was reported in The Topic and the Westmeath Independent.

 

Photographs of the evening: Paul Molloy, Athlone.

 

bottom of page