By Charles Lavery
Sunday Mail
February 24, 2008
http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/newsfeed/2008/02/24/ill-priest-and-secret-partner-run-pub-in-spain-78057-20329220/
A PRIEST who left his Scottish parish on health grounds is running an Irish bar in Spain with his secret partner.
Father Eugene O'Sullivan, 61, hopes to wed Fiona Aitken, 41, who he met as a young bride when he conducted her wedding in 1985.
O'Sullivan's former parishioners will be stunned by the truth about where their priest has gone. They thought he was terminally ill and planning to spend his remaining time in Ireland.
Bishop Vincent Logan had announced O'Sullivan's retiral on health grounds and wished him all the best for the future in a parish newsletter.
Parishioners even raised £3000 as a farewell present and have been saying prayers for O'Sullivan every Sunday.
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Today the Sunday Mail can reveal that O'Sullivan went to Benalmadena Pueblo, a quaint village close to the resorts of Fuengirola and Torremolinos, with Forfar-born Fiona.
He has opened a bar there called Failte, Gaelic for welcome, and lives with Fiona in a £300,000 villa.
Last night O'Sullivan claimed Fiona was "just a good friend" but admitted: "If I decide to get married, I'll get married. I am free to do these things. If it happens, it happens."
O'Sullivan, who claims he has no children but helps Fiona look after her two, says he wants to marry and claims there should be no barrier now that he has stepped down.
This is the second scandal to hit the Diocese of Dunkeld in a month. The church sacked O'Sullivan's boss, Monsignor Joseph Creegan, over his 18-year affair with a parishioner.
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O'Sullivan told the Sunday Mail he retired because he was "burned out".
And in an exclusive interview he spoke of his inner struggle with the Catholic Church's line on priests being celibate. O'Sullivan is one of the best known priests in Scotland.
He is friendly with all the surviving members of the 1967 Lisbon Lions Celtic team and counts Irish music legends The Dubliners as best pals. They played at his mother's funeral.
O'Sullivan has worked in Forfar, Dundee and Ireland.
He ran the hurling team at Abertay University and has raised millions for the church in a 33-year career.
O'Sullivan describes Fiona as his "very good friend" who he asked to help him run his new business in the sun.
The Kilkenny-born priest say he is not having a sexual relationship with Fiona.
But locals in Spain say they have seen them holding hands and cuddling.
O'Sullivan claimed he turned down a pension from the Diocese of Dunkeld because his mother left him an 85-acre farm in Ireland which he sold for 400,000 Euros to finance his new life.
He conducted Fiona's wedding to Jeffrey McIntosh at St Fergus RC Church in Forfar in November 1985. The couple divorced in 1992.
The ex-priest said: "We are not in a sexual relationship but we are living under the same roof and I aman eligible person.
"The future's ahead of me. I am not leading a double life, I am just trying to be a normal person.
"The bishop accepted my resignation and wished me all the best for a new chapter in my life. There has been a big upheaval in my life and I need time to reflect and take stock.
"I met Fiona when she got married. She moved down to England to bring up her family. But we kept in touch.
"She and her husband would drop in to see me when they came back up to Scotland. She is a good friend but I have many good friends.
"Things didn't go well for her in England and she was a friend in need.
"At the same time I needed help running the business in Spain.
One local in Benalmadena Pueblo said: "Eugene is almost never there. The only time I see him is when he is sitting outside having a beer or a coffee with his girlfriend.
"He came here about a year ago and bought his house then opened up this bar.
"When I first saw the woman I thought she had to be his daughter. She is very pretty and always very well dressed. She could almost pass for being Spanish.
"But I would see them holding hands and hugging and I realised they were together which really surprised me. Everyone in the village was soon talking about them.
"I cannot understand why a woman like her would be with a man like him. He always says 'hola' when you see him and seems cheerful.
"He must have some money because there is no other explanation."
Fiona, who is popular in the area and known as "Scottie" had little to say about the relationship.
When we approached her in Spain and asked her to comment, the slim brunette just stared ahead and did not speak.
Speaking later, O'Sullivan admitted he was against the church's rules against priests having sex.
He said: "I think celibacy in the Catholic church should be optional.
"The church is 2000 years old and for the first 1000 years there was a no celibacy rule.
"It was a man-made rule and should be optional.
"I don't regret my years of service to the church but looking back I think I was programmed from the age of 11 to become a priest.
"In church boarding schools we were taught not to question and to obey. It's different nowadays.
"I never caused the church any trouble and I hope I made a worthwhile contribution.
"Maybe I wasn't cut out for it. I have been very touched by the concerns of my former parishioners and friends in Dundee and thank them for their best wishes and prayers."
A church insider said: "He went really suddenly and the newsletter announced he was retiring on health grounds. "They even wished him all the best.
"If they knew he was using his retirement funds to buy a pub and move to Spain with a parishioner they may have thought he had some explaining to do.
"Everyone thought he was at home in Ireland and prayers were even said for his health.
"All the while he was living it up with a woman in the sun and running a pub.
"He was always a colourful character.
"His party piece was to sit astride a chair and ride it like a horse while singing The Wild Colonial Boy."
O'Sullivan ran The Friary, a large church complex in Dundee, for 17 years. It now faces closure.
On his decision to go, he added: "I told the bishop that I wanted to retire.
"He was very understanding and supportive.
"I was offered a pension but I rejected it. I wanted to retire from the priesthood.
"I no longer wanted to be in the church's grip. And I was no longer physically able to continue as a priest.
"My mother died six years ago and as I have no brothers or sisters, I was left the family home and a farm of 85 acres.
"That gave me the power to make the decision and there was a lot of soul searching.
"When I left I did leave suddenly and I feel terrible about that. People wanted me to come back to Dundee for a presentation.
"I was touched when people collected £3000 as a retirement gift for me but I just couldn't face going back.
"Leaving the priesthood had been very traumatic and I wasn't well."
A friend of Fiona's former husband claimed she had been unfaithful during their marriage.
He said: "He suspected something was going on with her and the priest all those years ago.
"She ran away with Jeffrey's friend from school and also had an affair with a local doctor. He divorced her after she ran away with his friend.
"He hasn't seen her since the late 80s and it's a chapter of his life he wants to keep closed.
"He hasn't seen his daughter Maura in the best part of 20 years. He confronted O'Sullivan over how close he was to his wife but he denied it at the time."
A Diocese of Dunkeld spokesman said: "Bishop Logan was made aware of Father O'Sullivan's concerns about continuing in the priesthood almost three years ago.
"He intimated that he felt he had burned out, that his health was suffering, and that he could no longer continue in parish ministry.
"Bishop Logan accepted his resignation on health grounds and Father Eugene retired.
"After a period of reflection, he decided he no longer wished to continue as a priest and formally asked to leave the priesthood and requested the process of laicisation be initiated.
"Bishop Logan agreed to his request. This process is underway.
"Bishop Logan was not aware until very recently that Eugene owned property in Spain and divided his time between Spain and Ireland or that he was involved in any relationship.
"Eugene expressed his thanks to Bishop Logan for the understanding and compassion that was shown to him during a very difficult time in his life."
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