Mourners told late Fr Herbie Bromley’s (91) “easy going manner and quick wit” endeared him to many

A packed St Patrick's Church in Ballyshannon on Friday was told of the lifetime of service that the late Fr Herbie (Bert) Bromley (91) had given to parishioners in Ireland, England, South Africa and later his native Ballyshannon as a member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate missionary order (O.M.I.).

Fr Vincent Finnegan OFM was joined at the altar by a number of other priests, who turned out to show their respect to a man that was a much respected and valued member of the local community.  

Fr Herbie was a native of Chapel Street, Ballyshannon, being born in the then Corner Bar at the junction of Chapel Street and Market Street.

When he was seven the family moved up the street to the house he grew up in, spent the last 15 years of his life and in which he departed this life. 

He was the youngest of a family of four boys and three girls and was predeceased by his sisters Ellie, Mae and Therese and brothers John Joe, Richie and Willie, as well as his parents Richard (Dickie) and Mary B.

Chapel Street and the nearby “Back Street” (officially Tirconaill Street and Market Street) were his playground.

And the chapel on Chapel Street, St Patrick's Church, played an important part in his life. Indeed he had what may well be a unique connection with the church. 

It was where he was baptised, received his First Holy Communion, made his Confirmation, served on the altar, rang the church bell at times and said his first public mass.  

It was also where he went on to marry many people, baptise many children and be there to send many people on their final journey.

It was also where on September 21, 2018, he celebrated a special mass to mark the 60th anniversary of his ordination. The packed church told its own story of how fondly he was regarded in the area.

And, fittingly, his final farewell was also in St Patrick's.

But the church also featured in one of his less “saintly” activities as a youngster, and by all accounts there were quite a few. 

At a time when few families could afford to buy bikes for children, Herbie and his friends used to “borrow” some for a while. 

They went to early mass and then when people from the country came to second mass and left their bikes outside, Herbie and others would spin around the town on them, making sure to leave them back where they were before the end of mass.  

He received his primary school education in Ballyshannon and on one occasion as an infant in the convent school he sparked a major panic when he and another pupil hid under the stairs. 

People had been called in to search the area, with particular concerns about the nearby river, before Herbie and his friend eventually emerged from their hiding place having got fed up.

But he took the first steps towards the priesthood when he went to Belcamp College in Dublin, which was a juniorate for the Oblates of Mary Immaculate missionary order. 

However, he wasn't always a model student and bikes again featured. 

On Sundays students were allowed the use of bikes from the college for exercise. 

They weren't allowed into Dublin but that didn't deter Herbie and a few friends from hightailing it in from the College on the Malahide road to his relations the Rooneys in Phibsborough where his aunt Maisie would make sandwiches for them and they'd often spend the afternoon around the piano having a sing song. 

They then made sure to get good and sweaty on the way home to pretend they had spent the afternoon cycling around the country roads.

From Belcamp he went on to the Oblate seminary in Pilltown, Co Kilkenny, where bizarrely he became barber to many of the students and indeed some of his superiors, despite previously never having done any hair cutting 

Following his ordination there on September 21, 1958, he returned to Ballyshannon that evening. 

As a proud Ballyshannon man, one of his fondest memories was of being met at the bridge by a huge crowd of well wishers and being led by the Ballyshannon brass and reed band up to St Patrick's Church to celebrate his first public mass. 

After that he was sent to the Oblates' South African mission. It was his first time out of the country and at the time it involved a voyage of almost three weeks to Cape Town. He ministered in a parish near Bloemfontein in South Africa from early 1959 to 1964. 

His work there regularly involved a round trip of about 50 miles on dirt roads on a Sunday to say mass in perhaps three or four different villages but he loved it there, despite having great difficulties dealing with the system of apartheid in the country.

Between 1965 and 1985 he was based in England and spent a number of years in parishes in Bristol, London and Birmingham.

He returned to Ireland, to the parish of Bluebell in Inchicore in Dublin, in 1985, where he was until 1994. 

Following that he was head of the Oblate Retreat House in Inchicore for five years before returning to parish work again in the parish of Mary Immaculate in Inchicore until 2003.

He was then back again to London, serving once more in Kilburn from 2004 to 2008, when he officially “retired” and returned to live in Ballyshannon.

However, he continued in active ministry in the parish of Kilbarron for many years, regularly celebrating mass in St Patrick's Church in Ballyshannon, as well as in St Mary's Church in Cashelard and also at Finner army camp.

He also spent a lot of time on visitation in the parish, particularly calling into people who were ill or housebound. He also regularly visited people from the parish who were in Sligo University Hospital and nursing homes in the area.

Hospital visits had also been very much part of his life while in Dublin as he and his late brother Willie visited anybody from Ballyshannon and the wider area who was in hospital in the capital.

Often described as a people's priest, he made lifelong friends wherever he went and had a huge Christmas card list.

He loved being busy and being with people. In all the parishes he served in he was very involved in the local community and worked with local schools, football clubs and other organisations.  

He made it his business to get to know people, calling to their homes and even meeting them in the pub.

He was a man who was the life and soul of the party. He loved music and singing. He had a fine voice and rarely needed much persuading to get up and sing, with two favourites being “My Way” and “Moon River”,

What endeared him to many people was his easy going manner and quick wit. 

Always fond of a laugh, he used humour to lighten many many stressful situations for people.

Predeceased by his parents Richard (Dickie) and Mary B, sisters Ellie, Mae and Therese, brothers John Joe, Richie and Willie. Fr. Herbie will be sadly missed and fondly remembered by his nieces, nephews, grandnieces and nephews, great grand nieces and nephews, cousins and all other relatives, and a wide circle of friends across the world.

Following the Funeral Mass on Friday morning last, this was followed by burial in St. Joseph's Cemetery, The Rock, Ballyshannon. May he rest in peace.