Departing Ireland West Airport, Knock, for a return visit to Liverpool, Friday 1 December 2023.
In August 2023 I was fortunate enough to secure a ticket to a Liverpool FC home game in Anfield versus Fulham on Sunday 3 December. A blessing, without a doubt, for it gave me the opportunity once more to set off from Ireland West Airport for a return visit to this maritime city in the northwest of England, where the river Mersey meets the Irish Sea, just as I had done on 13 September 2021 when I began working for the Archdiocese of Liverpool as Catholic Chaplaincy Assistant at Liverpool Hope University for the 2021-22 academic year.
Being in Liverpool again has been most uplifting. Spending time recollected in prayer and positive memories, and in familiar places has been truly restorative. I feel I am among friends here and even this short visit has given me renewed hope and the belief to trust in God’s promises and faithfulness. As the Liverpool Football Club anthem goes ‘You’ll never walk alone’.
The nine months I spent working in Liverpool was certainly a providential gift from God. Not only did it give me the fresh impetus I was yearning for in my personal and professional life, while we were still in the midst of a global pandemic; it also gave me the opportunity to put into practice the Theological and Chaplaincy Studies I believe God called me to undertake.
Liverpool gave me a new lease of life. It reconnected me with friends in the Catholic faith through living in a youth community house with 5 others, sharing the cooking and cleaning, and praying together daily. To share also in the liturgical life of the adjacent Metropolitan Cathedral gave me consolation and peace. Then there was the active apostolate of chaplaincy through which I learned so much by working with an experienced Catholic priest chaplain and the other members of an ecumenical chaplaincy team which very much nurtured my learning and professional development.
Being in Liverpool was not just about ministry. I got to celebrate my 40th birthday in a special and meaningful way with a Mass celebrated by the chaplain of the community house and a celebratory dinner with housemates and friends. Meanwhile I had wonderfully enriching social and running times through the Liverpool Irish Centre, and reconnected too with the Irish language through Conradh na Gaeilge Learpholl and the monthly Céilí.
Liverpool was also the place where I learned to swim – I was recommended it for rehabilitation from a degenerative foot injury I developed from my high mileage in long distance running. While progress was slow with the swimming I was disciplined to my weekly sessions and found it very therapeutic. One of my main other outlets for regular exercise was biweekly social spins with a community cycling club, often stopping for a hearty cup of tea or a meal. I cycled with my housemates too and a long cycle circling the circumference of the beautiful Wirral and then onwards to Chester was particularly memorable.
My recollections of Liverpool would not be complete without sharing about the warmth of the people. While it took me some time to pick up their Scouse accent, the kindness, generosity and friendliness of the Liverpudlians was so uplifting to experience. I recall one particular random act of kindness which epitomised this – my friend at home being contacted through my Messenger app by a kind person whose younger brother found my phone and sought to return it to me.
While I was living in Liverpool and as a member of the Liverpool FC Supporters Club I had a preferential option of applying for tickets for home games, so it was a very joyous occasion to attend a home match at Anfield in December 2021, Liverpool v Newcastle. I found Anfield to be a great stadium, and there was a fantastic family feel to everything about Liverpool FC. Football is a passion on Merseyside, on the blue side as well. It is something I enjoy a lot, particularly as I’ve been supporting the Reds since I was seven years of age. I’ve happy childhood memories of playing soccer up to Under 13 with Castlerea Celtic FC. In life it is good to have things that help give us perspective and balance: hobbies and interests that release positive endorphins and ‘down-time’ things.
