Fr Tom Rankin recital in Kilcullen church

There will be a special musical performance in Kilcullen Parish Church next Wednesday, 27 April, writes Brian Byrne.

Fr Tom Rankin, formerly of 1039 Nicholastown, will play his own composition ‘Resurrection’ on the recorder, and Gormanstown Choir will also feature in the evening of music and talk.

Fr Tom — also known by his Carthusian order name as Fr Simon Marie — is the grandson of Paddy Rankin, who cycled from Newry to the GPO in Dublin to take part in the 1916 Rising, later settling in Kilcullen.

He will also concelebrate Mass on The Curragh on Thursday next as part of the commemoration of 1916, and will travel on to Newry to meet relatives.

Fr Tom has already performed ‘Resurrection’ in the cathedral in Cork, and churches in Wexford and Sligo.