"A Chaplain to people of all faiths and none"- SETU's Fr David Keating remembered

Tributes have been paid to the late SETU chaplain Fr David Keating, who passed away on Saturday, February 7.

Fr Keating served as chaplain at SETU Waterford for more than 25 years. He was a native of the Parish of St. Joseph, St. Benildus and St. Mary’s.

Fr Keating studied at Waterpark College before joining the seminary at St. John’s College, Waterford.

He was ordained to the priesthood in the Cathedral on June 5, 1993. Before his time at SETU, he served as a curate in Dunhill, St. Paul’s, Kilgobinet, St. Mary’s, Clonmel, and the Holy Family Parish.

“Common themes on social media are the impact he had on parishioners and their families,” said Neil O’Sullivan, a former colleague at SETU, who delivered the eulogy for Fr Keating.

The funeral mass was held in St. Mary’s Church, Ballygunner on Saturday, February 14. The chief celebrant was Fr Brian Power, PP Kilsheelan and Kilcash.

The funeral was attended by a number of clergy including Fr Liam Power PP of St Mary’s Church and Bishop of the Waterford and Lismore Diocese Alphonsus Cullinan.

Mr O'Sullivan continued: “Students, staff and family all benefitted from his support, advice and wisdom.

“He wore civilian clothes on campus and sought to meet students and staff in informal settings such as cafes rather than having them come to his office.

“He made himself very visible in the college community and so became extremely approachable. His personal greeting was ‘hello my friend’.

“We often joked with him about having an easy job, but two small examples will illustrate the extent of his brief.

“One was a journey he undertook to China with a student with serious mental health issues.

“He literally flew to China, reunited the student with his family and flew home again over the space of a weekend.

“On another occasion, on a Friday evening at about 8.30pm I rang him to see if he wanted to meet up and he told me he was with a student in the Primary Care Centre on Johns Hill and was unlikely to be free anytime soon. This highlighted his 7-day/24-hour availability to the college community.

“He entered fully into college life, joining the staff ski trip, organizing a staff Camino, going on staff social nights and joining the Staff Social Club Committee.

“He also was a member of the College Poker School where he took great delight at winning money from his colleagues. He often used his poker winnings to buy a nice item of clothing.

“He had a keen interest in fashion, art, music, cooking, gardening and literature and wrote many articles which were published in newspapers.

“One such article based on a discussion on falling numbers of vocations for the Priesthood suggested that the Church would and could survive with greater lay person involvement.

“This drew a complaint from a reader who contacted the Vatican. They have a complaints department apparently!” 

 Mr O’Sullivan remembered Fr Keating as an avid traveller; Fr Keating estimated he had visited over 100 countries in his time.

He traversed across South America, Iran and Japan, lived with Buddhist monks and took part in creative writing courses. One of his favourite destinations was Mongolia.

“On another occasion, he drove a car in Alaska belonging to the HOPE Foundation and thought people were very friendly waving and pointing at him,” Mr O’Sullivan recalled.

“However, they were trying to tell him that there were smoke and flames coming out of the car because he had left the handbrake on for the entire journey.” 

Mr O’Sullivan had planned to go to Berlin in April with Fr Keating and their friend Paul, for his 60th birthday.

“That trip will go ahead, and we will celebrate both Paul’s birthday and David’s life," he said.

“David’s ability to listen to and support students and staff is evident by the countless messages and calls we have all received in recent days.

“These messages expressed both sadness at his passing but also gratitude for the time and assistance he gave to all who sought it in the college community.

“He was a Chaplain to people of all faiths and none. Last year he observed Ramadan.

“He was famous for his beautifully handwritten notes which he regularly sent to retiring staff, bereaved staff and those who had shown kindness to others.”

Fr Keating will be sadly missed by his loving mother Monica, brother John, sisters Janet, Deirdre and Susan, brothers-in-law Declan and Richard, sister-in-law Jennifer, nephews and nieces, family, the priests of the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore, his colleagues, staff and students of SETU Waterford, neighbours and friends.