Death of well-known Oblate priest
Fr J. Butler OMI
Sometime in the night of 28 November, well-known fundraiser for the missions, Fr Jim Butler died suddenly in his room at the Oblate House of Retreat, Dublin. Earlier that evening he had been enjoying his usual leisurely cycle in the grounds.
News of his death came as a great shock to the members of his community and his many friends in Ireland and Britain.
Even though he was 83 years old, Fr Butler was in good health and had no intention of retiring from his fund-raising work. He was a member of the Missionary Association team. In the weeks prior to his death he had been busy collecting gifts for the annual Sale of Work.
Fr Butler worked in parish ministry in Britain for many years before returning to Dublin in the early 1970s to take up an appointment as parish priest of Darndale, a Corporation housing estate which was about to be built. He served for some years as this new community’s first parish priest.
Fr Butler is best known for his fundraising efforts on behalf of the London Irish Centre, his next appointment. The LIC was in financial difficulty in 1983, the year Jim undertook a well-organised and successful 1,000 mile sponsored cycle around Ireland.
The project raised almost £170,000, which went towards clearing the debt.
Further sponsored cycles followed which raised funds to support projects for street children in Brazil and the Oblate mission in Brazil generally. He also ran a variety of other fundraising projects, including golf tournaments, in aid of the missions.
A large congregation, many from his native Co Leitrim and some from the various ministries in which he served, attended his Funeral Mass at Mary Immaculate Church, Inchicore on Monday, December 3rd. He was laid to rest in the adjoining community cemetery.