Local Faces: Fr John Kelly
Fr John Kelly is the director of pastoral care at Tallaght University Hospital (TUH), having worked as a chaplain in the hospital for over 22 years, reports Aimee Walsh.
Chaplains have paid a crucial role during the pandemic, continuing to care and support people in extraordinary circumstances.
A native of Dublin City’s northside, Fr John Kelly began working in retail management but says he was always involved in various aspects of community life, which led him to his path of priesthood and later into chaplaincy.
“Part of my training when I was a student was to do clinical pastoral education and that training trains you in a particular way for healthcare chaplaincy.
Fr John Kelly has worked as chaplain in Tallaght University Hospital for more than 22 years and like all chaplains played a crucial role during the pandemnic
“I worked in a boy’s secondary school as chaplain and then I came to Tallaght in the early stages of the hospital opening,” he tells The Echo.
Speaking about the duties of his position at TUH, Fr Kelly says that the pastoral care team provide “holistic care” which includes the emotional, spiritual and urgent needs of people in hospital.
“It is very much about being with people in difficult times and being with them through the joys and the sorrows of life.
“We basically spend time with people who are caught up in trauma, hearing bad and difficult news and prognosis.
Fr John Kelly
“It is very much about a presence in those types of difficult situations.”
Fr John explains that the qualities of being able to listen to people and being there in a non-judgemental way with compassion are qualities that are pivotal to the job.
“We accept people for who they are – we don’t bring an agenda to the bedside it is the patient that sets the agenda. It is very much what the patient brings up is what we deal with.
“It is about being with people through the challenging moments of life,” he explains.
Fr John says that as a hospital community they felt supported by the local community during Covid-19
Over the last 16 months, healthcare workers have faced unprecedented demand for care, undoubtably bringing with it an emotional and physical strain on their wellbeing as they fought hard against the virus.
Commenting that the pastoral health service’s role is crucial during times of crisis, Fr John says that working through the pandemic has been “very challenging”.
“Obviously, people were very much alone at a critical time where visiting was restricted, and we were with those people during those times being a listening presence.
“We were there for people as we normally would be but in a more intensified way because they weren’t able to have family members with them, so we were the link to the family.
“I think all of us who have worked through Covid and were up close with patients who were sick and dying will never be the same again.
Fr John Kelly
“We were so close to people who shared so openly during those difficult days the fear they had and sense of isolation.
“When you experience intimate moments with people like during Covid-19 when people were getting sick fast and dying fast – you can’t not change.”
In January this year, an RTÉ Prime Time Investigates episode aired which was filmed during the ‘third wave’ of the pandemic and highlighted the staff at Tallaght University Hospital facing significant numbers of gravely ill patients being admitted to the hospital’s ICU department with Covid-19.
Speaking about the documentary, Fr John says that it showed the “wonderful contribution” that Tallaght Hospital made for the patients in the area.
“I am proud of that. During everything, in Tallaght the hospital was here to care for patients.
“I think that is important to highlight the fact that the community also responded by coming here with donations etc.
“For me, the local community paid a pivotal part in what was going on.
“As a hospital community we felt supported by the local community during Covid-19.”
