Feíle Mac Gréil will celebrate legacy of Mayo priest's life work

THE University Social Sciences Institute, the Department of Sociology Maynooth University and Atlantic Technological University have planned a festival of three events for Social Justice Week to celebrate Micheál Mac Gréil S.J and his life's work.

An tAthair Micheál Mac Gréil, who died in January 2023, was a member of the Department of Sociology at Maynooth University from 1971 to 1996, renowned as a gifted teacher and an outstanding researcher.

A staunch Mayo man, he made an extraordinary contribution to the west of Ireland through his research and advocacy and community action.

There are events planned in Westport, Castlebar and Maynooth from March 7 to 9.

March 7, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m., Maynooth University: 'Prejudice and Tolerance in Ireland' with Professor Jane Gray, Professor Emeritus Tony Fahey, Martin Collins, Pavee Point, and Niamh McDonald, the Hope and Courage Collective.

March 8, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m., ATU Mayo campus, Castlebar: 'Remembering Micheál - Colleague, Academic and Social Activist'. Contributors include Professor Mary P. Corcoran, MU, Dr. Mark Garavan and Eoghan Murphy, ATU, and Professor Emeritus Paddy Duffy, MU. Chair, Deirdre Garvey, ATU. This event will be held in Room P002 in ATU, Castlebar.

March 9, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., Westport Town Hall Theatre: 'Ag Ceiliúradh Micheál Mac Gréil'. Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. in St. Mary's Church, Westport, with a reflection by Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív, followed by participatory discussion, poetry and song, facilitated by Liamy MacNally. Contributors include Colm O Raghallaigh (Western Railway Corridor), Catherine O’Grady Power (Westport Tourism), Michael Smyth (Forsa Trade Unions), Neil Sheridan (Mayo County Council), and others.

Over the course of his career as a sociologist and a Jesuit priest, Fr. Mac Gréil shone a bright light into the corners of Irish society where intolerance and lack of compassion for others prevailed. He called out inequalities and injustices wherever he encountered them.

His moral compass remained resolute throughout his long and productive life working assiduously to build a more solidaristic, empathic and fairer Ireland.

A pioneering advocate of empirical social science research, his path breaking sociological inquiries into prejudice and tolerance in Irish society spanned several decades.

The two events on March 7 and 8 are free but do require registration.

For more information and the link to register, see the Maynooth University website https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/news-events/fe-le-mac-gr-il.