By Paula McMahon
South Florida Sun-Sentinel [Ireland]
October 2, 2006
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-ppoffaly02oct02,0,5521506.story?coll=sfla-news-palm
Mounthenry, County Offaly, Ireland· Until the last few days, the Rev. Francis Guinan was best known in the area where he grew up as a skilled junior sportsman who went to the seminary and made his community proud when he was ordained in 1966.
The news that he is wanted in Delray Beach, along with a retired priest, on charges of stealing thousands of dollars from parish funds did not appear to surprise locals, who remembered him as "a bit of a wild child" who pushed the boundaries as a teenager.
"He was known for saying things that shocked people a bit, but we thought he had calmed down when he entered the priesthood," said one businessman who knew Guinan in his sporting days. The man declined to give his name because he said he did not want to upset Guinan's family.
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| Francis Guinan |
Guinan, 63, grew up in a village called Eglish and played hurley, a Gaelic sport that is like a tough version of field hockey, for the neighboring parish of Drumcullen.
His brother, Sean, still lives in the area, in Mounthenry, a place so small there are no road signs announcing its existence and it does not appear on most maps. The biggest town in the region is Tullamore, where the famous Irish whiskey Tullamore Dew is made. The area is about two hours west of Dublin, in the region known as the Midlands.
Sean Guinan was not home Sunday and could not be reached for comment, but Guinan's nephew, who would not give his first name, said the news that his uncle is wanted on grand theft charges came "completely out of the blue."
"We never saw anything that made us think this was even a possibility," the younger Guinan said. "He came home from time to time but I don't know him all that well. He would watch the Ryder Cup on TV. He wasn't a golf fanatic but he liked to watch golf."
Guinan's nephew said he did not know exactly where his uncle is, but has been told he was vacationing in Australia. Irish police said they think he is traveling on an Irish passport.
"For me, I would say to people -- just wait until the truth unfolds," Guinan said. "We knew nothing about this until we read it in the paper."
"He was known for saying things that shocked people a bit, but we thought he had calmed down when he entered the priesthood," said one businessman who knew Guinan in his sporting days. The man declined to give his name because he said he did not want to upset Guinan's family.
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John Skehan Photo by The PBSO Sep 28, 2006 |
The retired priest in the Delray Beach case, Father John Skehan, 79, grew up in Johnstown, about 50 miles southeast of Mounthenry via winding, single-lane roads. Skehan, officially charged with misappropriating $400,000 in church funds, posted bond Friday night at the Palm Beach County Jail.
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Large parish The church moved to 840 George Bush Blvd., Delray Beach, in 1970 because it outgrew its location at 42 S. Federal Highway. St. Vincent has about 3,000 parishioners and is one of the largest parishes in the county Photo by The Sun-Sentinel/Nicholas R. Von Staden |
A hundred yards down the road from Guinan's brother's house is St. James, the church that serves the parishes of Eglish and Drumcullen. Outside the stone church, a memorial pays tribute to the local victims of the Great Famine, which claimed an estimated 1 million lives in Ireland between 1845 and 1849. Another 1 million people emigrated to escape the hunger and poverty.
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| Property Oceanfront Connemara condominium on Singer Island, one of the properties that police say are owned by Skehan. Photo by The Sun-Sentinel/Mark Randall |
In Eglish and Drumcullen the population dropped from 6,644 in 1841 to 4,841 in 1851, the memorial notes.
Guinan celebrated Mass at St. James after his 1966 ordination and sometimes officiated at Masses there during visits home, locals said. He attended All Hallows College, a seminary in Dublin that trained many of the priests who serve in the Dublin Archdiocese.
But many of the seminarians also went overseas. Guinan was dispatched to Lantana after he was ordained.
"They live a tough, lonely life," said an elderly female neighbor. "At least some of them do. Now we hear that he had a girlfriend, maybe life wasn't so tough or so lonely."
The woman said she also did not want to give her name because she knows Guinan's family and did not want them to know she was talking about them.
At the En Route pub and restaurant about a mile from Guinan's relatives' home, staff were friendly and helpful with directions until they realized it was a reporter trying to find family members of the priest at the center of a scandal.
"They are good people and you'll find that people around here don't want to talk ill of their neighbors," one waitress said. "A lot of families have lived in this parish for hundreds of years and they know that troubles come and go but your neighbors will be here long after this blows over."
Paula McMahon can be reached at pmcmahon@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4533.
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