Obituary Notice
This obituary notice has been digitally processed from a scanned archival document. Some words may be imperfectly rendered.
Hilary Barry 1908 - 1980 FR. HILARY BARRY C.P. On the moming of the 28th July, 1980, a final stillness descended on one of the great preaching voices of the Passionist Congregation when Father Hilary Barry, C.P. passed to his eternal reward. He died in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, where he had been a patient for the final fortnight of his life. Some months previously, in that same hospital, Father Hilary underwent major surgery for cancer. It was thought at the time that the operation had effected a cure but, alas, it was not so. After further treatment at Montgomery House in Belvoir Park Hospital had failed to remedy matters, Father Hilary resigned himself to the inevitable and, although in great pain, prepared for his death in a manner that, to his Passionist brethren, was the greatest sermon of his life. Born John Barry in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, he was educated by the local Christian Brothers, who, as well as imparting knowledge and faith, gave him a taste for the two great loves of his life, the Irish language and hurling. He entered the Passionist Congregation and was professed on 2nd September, 1927. He was ordained a priest by Archbishop Downey of Liverpool in the Passionist Monastery at Sutton, Lancashire on 29th June, 1933. He soon made a name for himself as a preacher of missions and retreats. He had a commanding presence, a strong physique and a voice of rich resonance that needed no electrical amplification. His style was grandiloquent: he combined the best of oratory in his more formal sermons with the intimate, light, humorous touch in talks of a more instructive nature. He never shirked long hours of patient labour in the confessional. His work in this field was mainly in the South of Ireland and especially among the people of Cork, whose characteristics he was often heard to praise... except, of course, on days of hurling matches involving his native county of Tipperary. During the forties he was mainly resident in Ardoyne, Belfast. At this time he wrote a Passion play and was much involved in its subsequent production and performance. He also undertook a most arduous mission journey in Nigeria at the request of the Bishops there. He traveled over 6,000 miles preaching retreats and missions to the people, clergy and religious of the country. This interest in things missionary continued in the fifties when he was Procurator for the Passionist Overseas Missions in Botswana and Paraguay. Together with his lay helpers he was responsible for a number of experiments in fund-raising that were the foundation for the very successful work still being carried on. The Passionist Missions owe him a great debt. During the seventies, Father Hilary worked in a number of parishes in the United States, especially in Florida where he found that the climate gave great relief to the emphysema from which he suffered. While working there, he studied part-time to the extent of achieving a Masters Degree in History. He returned to Ireland in 1978, his 70th year. He spent his final two years in Ardoyne, Belfast. Although preaching styles had changed, he was still a most popular preacher at the Sunday Masses and, in preparation for the Papal visit to Ireland, Father Hilary conducted what was to be his final mission, in Ardoyne. During his last illness, he made two journeys that say something of the kind of man he was. Although weak and in great discomfort, he was delighted to attend the opening match of the new Semple Stadium in Thurles. The joy of the visit was dimmed by his having to endure looking at a Tipperary defeat. On his way back to Belfast he visited his sister, Sister Gabriel in Tipperary Mercy Convent. His final journey was to attend the ordination and preach at the first Mass of his grand-nephew, Father Oliver Barry, O.M. I, in Dublin. After that the journeying was over, the voice would preach no more. At the end of that final mission in Ardoyne, the people gave him a standing ovation. May it be an echo of the greeting that he has received from the heavenly host. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis crodha.
Source: Obituary Notices, Provincial Archive, St Joseph's Province. Passionist Congregation.