Kilkenny priest who stood up to dictator in Chile posthumously honoured

On June 28, members of the Holohan family were invited to the Chilean Embassy in Dublin where they were presented with a posthumous award for their late brother.

Fr Liam Holohan (RIP) was born and reared in Marymount, Castlecomer. He was a member of the Mill Hill Fathers and served as a Parish Priest in Chile during the brutal Pinochet regime.

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Due to his great ministry there standing up to the corrupt government which included being arrested for distributing greeting cards that wished Chileans a new year ‘without torture’. The people named a street after him, Avenida Holohan.

In Chile Fr Liam set up soup kitchens, provided youth ministry and tended to those most in need. He built a community centre and was involved in providing education and bringing Christianity in every respect and he built a place of worship. He strived to get young people involved in sport and recreation in a safe environment and stood up for the rights of the underprivileged.

He had a profound sense of social justice and worked tirelessly and courageously to serve the poorest and most vulnerable who were living in appalling conditions. Liam was so grateful for all of the support received from Castlecomer and afar as are all of the family.

In 2015, then-President Michelle Bachelet of Chile with the Human Right Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs awarded members of the international community with an award recognising their role in the advocacy for Human Rights during the dictatorship in Chile in the 1970s.

There were four Irish people to whom the award was given: President Michael D Higgins, Father Brendan Forde, Father Desmond McGillicudy, and Father Liam Holohan.

Unfortunately, at the time the effort to contact the three priests was not possible. In January 2016 there was a ceremony to give the award to President Higgins. In 2022 Pilar Gonzalez from the office of the Ambassador of Chile to Ireland contacted Fr Brendan and Fr Des and ultimately Kay Mulhall sister of Fr Liam Holohan (RIP).

Father Brendan who is working in El Salvador planned to visit Ireland in 2023. This provided the perfect opportunity for the Ambassador of Chile HE Ricardo Hernández to present the awards and the ceremony took place at the Embassy on June 28.

Among the dignitaries were President Michael D Higgins and Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemayor, Papal Nuncio. Kay Mulhall (Nee Holohan) spoke on behalf of the Holohan Family.

“I want to say on behalf of the Holohan family how honoured and grateful we are to the Chilean government to be here to accept this award for Liam. I know Liam along with our parents and sister Anne are looking down here this evening with big smiles on their faces,” she said.

“As most of you here are aware Liam died in September 2002 after a brave battle with melanoma at the age of 47.

“Following his ordination to the priesthood in 1981 Liam received his first missionary post to Santiago, Chile and from the beginning he formed a very warm relationship with the people in the shantytown of Sara Garrido where he lived among them.

“During his time there with the help of funds raised by the people of his hometown of Castlecomer and surrounding parishes they built a community centre.

“He continued his missionary work there until he was sent to Washington for further studies but upon completion, he was refused a visa forre-entry to Chile. He was subsequently posted to Brazil, and it was while there that he first contracted his illness.

“We later received word that there was to be a street named after Liam in Santiago. This happened in May 2003. I attended along with my mother, and it was one of the most beautiful and memorable times of our lives where I was proud to say Liam was my brother. I could now understand how Liam loved these people so much. I came away thinking ‘these people have nothing, but they have everything’.

“They were so warm and welcoming, and they treated us as celebrities. To this day they mark Liam’s anniversary on 1st September each year and we are still in contact with them on a regular basis.”