The death of Bishop Séamus Freeman’s been described as ‘very sad news’.
Appointed to head up the catholic church in the Diocese of Ossory in 2007, he resigned that role due to ill health in 2016.
Bishop Freeman died on Saturday and Bishop Denis Nulty has been leading tributes to him, telling KCLR News “Very sad news, his passing a gentle, very gentle passing, on Saturday just after lunchtime, on Saturday in the early part of the afternoon, he’d been sick for a little while but remembered very fondly in Ossory for huge impact, particularly caring deeply for people evident in every encounter he had, it was the one thing people have said to me in recent days, he was kind, so kind with people and gentle is the word many, many people used”.
Bishop Nulty adds of him being considered a Kilkenny native; “It’s interesting that part because he actually was born in the parish of Mullinahone in county Tipperary, which would be Cashel and Emily, but moved to Callan at a very young age with the family, there were eight of them I think in the family, so grew up very clearly a supporter of Kilkenny and all of Kilkenny so very much a Kilkenny man then”.