It’s been a blessing

BELOVED . . . popular Canon Eugene Dolan (front left) celebrates 50 years in the priesthood with a Mass at St Edward’s, Lees

POPULAR Canon Eugene Dolan who celebrates 50 years as a priest is showing no signs of slowing down.

Father Dolan was ordained at All Hallows College, Dublin, in June, 1962 and spent nearly eight years as a curate at St Joseph’s Church, Ordsall, in Salford, close to Old Trafford.

The Northern Irishman — a huge fan of football and, in his time, of fellow Irishman George Best - then became priest at St Edward’s, Lees — originally as a temporary measure, he admitted.

Father Dolan said: “I am not slowing down and I have no intention of doing so. The community has grown — we built the new school in 1981 and the church in 1989. We’ve managed to update the old building and the hall upstairs.

“There’s a lot of things always happening, but you cannot do it on your own and people have been very supportive and that’s one of the reasons why I like staying.”

Hundreds packed into St Edward’s for a Mass to mark Father Dolan’s 50 years in the priesthood.

A gold chalice and a book sent by a former classmate in Derry — Nobel prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney — were among the many gifts by wellwishers.

Recent years have been a “blessing” he declared, after battling cancer in 2002.