A petition containing 1200 signatures was delivered to Bishop Ray Browne of Kerry calling on him to reverse the decision that makes Kilcummin one of five parishes without a resident priest.

“The outcome of the ‘Placing Hope in Faith’ listening process will result in proposals which will inform diocesan policy and underpin our Pastoral Plan for the Diocese” – Bishop John Fleming

"The pastoral councils on both islands are vital to the life of the parish. In many ways they are an example of what we are now trying to do on the mainland – lay-led ministry." – Fr Patrick Burke

One of the ways the bishops are dealing with the vocations crisis is by “borrowing back" from Churches where Irish priests and sisters served.

Ballymore is unlikely to have a resident priest again as Bishop Michael Smith of Meath has said he no longer has enough priests.

ACP's Fr Brendan Hoban warns, it is “now mathematically certain that Irish priests are an endangered species."