Oblate News

Fr Tom O’Shea OMI

1938-2023

Thomas Enda (Tom) O’Shea was born in Dublin on 29 December 1938 to parents who were both teachers from West Kerry. Tom grew up in an Irish-speaking home, first in Sutton and then in Clontarf, closer to his parents’ work in City centre schools. He was six when the family moved to Clontarf. A long lifetime later he still spoke of his love for Sutton and the sea, the wading birds, the magic of being a child attuned to nature in that rich and endlessly surprising environment.

His primary and secondary schools, Scoil Colmcille and Colaiste Mhuire, taught all subjects through Irish. By his mid-teens he had begun to think of becoming a priest. However, even though he liked the priests in his parish, he felt no calling to be a priest in Ireland. He was clear that he wanted to join a religious order and become a missionary. His first contact with the Oblates was when the Oblate vocations director visited his school.

Tom entered the OMI novitiate in Ardagh, Co. Limerick in September 1958; one year later, he returned to Dublin for studies in philosophy at Belmont House (Stillorgan) and UCD. In 1962, BA secured and now in Final Vows, it was time to move to Piltown, Co. Kilkenny, for theological studies. He was ordained there in 1965 by Bishop Peter Birch.

A few months later, after a 2-week voyage from Tilbury Docks in London, Tom and Peadar McGrane landed in Brazil. Neither had a word of Portuguese. Even after the language course, it still felt like being thrown in at the deep end. Tom had just arrived in Uberlândia when he discovered that the other members of the community had to take their overdue breaks and he would be on his own for over a month. The people were his advisers on where to go or not go. He came to see this as a good, possibly necessary, learning experience. It helped that the people were friendly.

Shortly afterwards when he moved to São Simão, the town that would become the focus of his mission for almost 50 years, he found the town in crisis, riven by conflict; nothing was working and this was reflected, too, in the Church. Political turmoil and corruption were in the mix. ‘Our key asset was our Oblate community and the community of the Sisters who worked with us; we could depend absolutely on one another.’

The story of this small frontier town and its people is entwined with the story of Tom’s wonderfully effective missionary life. He lived his life close to God and to the people to whom he was sent. He learned through working with Bible reflection groups the power of God’s Word to awaken people, all of us, to what it means to be a Christian.

His own calm and intelligent approach to life, his respect for everyone, his deep gratitude for his missionary experience and the gifts of faith and hope that he learned from the people, and the evident joy he found in the ordinary marvels of nature are among the qualities that made Tom the delightful companion in community that we have come to know over the last few years.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal.