St Mary’s University College joins with Archbishop Eamon Martin in paying tribute to Mr Seamus Mallon RIP.
Seamus was a College alumnus, who was educated to be a teacher at St Joseph’s College of Education, where he also played for the Gaelic football team. After leaving the 'Ranch', he taught in both primary and post-primary schools in County Armagh before entering full-time politics where his leadership qualities were outstanding.
Archbishop Eamon issued the following statement on Friday, 24 January 2020.
Archbishop Eamon Martin pays tribute to the late Seamus Mallon RIP
With the death of Seamus Mallon, the people of Armagh and Ireland have lost one of our most respected sons and bravest leaders. A person of global stature, Seamus was a county Armagh man through and through, and he gave his gifts unselfishly and tirelessly to serve the betterment of the whole community on this island, north and south.
People sometimes speak of the “noble vocation of politics”. Seamus was a shining example of someone who gave his life to that vocation and in the service of others. He will be remembered as a man of integrity and great courage who was not afraid to speak up or call it as it was – even at great personal risk. A man of strong faith, Seamus was calm, fair and principled, and always respectful of the rights of others.
To his dying day Seamus Mallon remained a man of hope for a brighter future - a shared and respectful future where we all experience a sense of belonging. A fitting tribute to his legacy would be a renewed effort by all our political leaders and by all of us to build that “shared home place” which was Seamus’ vision and lifelong project.
I express my sympathies on behalf of all in the Archdiocese of Armagh, to Seamus’s daughter Orla, to his extended family and colleagues. May he rest in peace.
* Archbishop Eamon Martin is Archbishop of Armagh and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of
Dromore.
Martin O’Brien interviewed Seamus Mallon in 2015 for an article which was published in the Irish Catholic.