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Liam Ganly 3rd October 2002
William Anthony
Ganly, one of the seven children of Thomas and Eileen
(Ryan) Ganly, was born on the 31st of May 1960 in Lanesboro,
County Longford.
At the age of thirteen
Liam joined the Mill Hill minor seminary at Freshford
in County Kilkenny where he studied until 1978. He excelled
at gaelic football and soccer and represented his county
at all under age levels.
He then studied Philosophy
at the major seminary in Roosendaal, the Netherlands,
and in 1980 came to Mill Hill for the study of Theology.
Between 1982 and 1984 he completed a mission-experience
programme in Kenya, after which he returned to Mill
Hill for the completion of his studies.
Liam was ordained Priest
on the 11th of August 1985 by Bishop Colm O'Reilly at
St. Me1's Cathedral in County Longford. After ordination
Liam was sent to the Mill Hill mission in the Sindh
Province of Pakistan to share in the Tribal Apostolate
among the Kuttchikoli people who are generally landless
labourers. In 1989 he was elected Society Representative
in Sindh, and re-elected in 1992.
After the completion
of his second 'tour' in Pakistan he followed the Religious
Formation Ministry Programme course at Loreto House
in Dublin, and was able to be present for the ordination
of his brother Declan as a Mill Hill Missionary Priest.
At the end of his sabbatical
in Dublin Liam was withdrawn from Sindh Province and
appointed as a member of the Formation team at St. Joseph's
College, Mill Hill, where he directed the pastoral formation
of the candidates, those involved in pastoral work in
London and those engaged in the Mission Experience Programme
overseas.
In July 2000, at the
General Chapter, Liam was elected to the General Council
of the Society, with particular responsibility for Recruitment
and Formation and the Society's apostolate in Asia.
It was remarked by a
visitor to Sindh Province in 1995 that Liam had an "admirable
and surprising" knowledge of and affection for
Cardinal Vaughan and his apostolic spirituality.
He was said to be a gentle
leader, prayerful, discerning, compassionate, patient
and hopeful.
Liam was with the rest
of the General Council at Ammerdown Centre, near Bath,
for three days of reflection and sharing, from the 29th
September until 2nd October. He was in very good form
and enjoyed the time away together. The first day of
the General Council meeting, Thursday 3rd October, was
very busy for him, with Council meetings in the morning
and a meeting of the Review Body on Formation in the
afternoon. That night he sat and chatted in the Council
sitting room, and seemed fine. When Liam failed to arrive
for the General Council meeting on Friday morning, he
was found to have died in his room during the night.
A post mortem revealed
that he had died from an asthma attack. May
He Rest in Peace
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0502
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