Fr Thomas Comerford RIP

Fr Thomas Comerford SSC

Fr. Tommy Comerford who died on the 18th. February in Chun Chon, Korea was in his 90th. year. He had spent all his missionary life there and it will be his final resting place among the people he loved and served for over fifty five years.

Tommy was born on October 31st. 1919 to Philip Comerford and Ellen Pollard in the Parish of Danesfort and Grange in the Diocese of Ossary. After his early education at Kells National School and St. Kieran’s College Kilkenny he joined the Columban Missionaries. He was ordained in Dalgan Park, Navan on December 21st. 1943 and assigned to China in 1944.

His next two years were spent in Shanghai and then he was appointed to the new mission in South Korea where he and five other Columban Missionaries arrived in January 1948.

Asked about his first impressions of his new mission he replied, "It was like the North Pole, it was so cold". Since he had spent a year learning the Korean Language in Shanghai, he was assigned without delay to Chun Chon a rural mountainous area north of Seoul. At the time of his arrival there, the area had only 3 priests and 4 parishes. Today it has over 100 priests, all native Korean and as many parishes.

Ever the stalwart missionary, Tommy went straight to work to bring the comfort and light of the Gospel to his new found friends. The roads were poor or non existent with no organised transport, so Tommy recalled days when he walked long distances to mountain villages to attend the sick and offer Mass with the people. If there happened to be a passing Army truck he would try to thumb a lift with them. He honed his skills at thumbing and in the end he usually got where he wanted to go. On one occasion when he had to go to a remote area in the mountains for the Easter ceremonies, the Bishop, Tom Quinlan, a Tipperary man loaned him his bicycle. Tommy was chuffed at this and joked that hurling was not an obstacle to the spread of the Gospel in Korea - referring to the fact that Kilkenny had beaten Tipp in the hurling final the year before.

All who knew Tommy Comerford enjoyed his engaging personality, his love of history, his joy in meeting and conversing with people and his tireless energy and zeal for mission. He was a familiar figure on the streets of the small towns and villages in the province of Kangwondo in the Diocese of Chun Chon where he spent all his life. The local people referred to him respectfully as Buddha, a Holy man walking among them. They will miss him and they will remember him with love and deep affection for generations to come.

To his family in Ireland we offer our deepest sympathy at this time and pray that the Lord will comfort and console all who mourn his passing. May he rest in peace.

Fr. Malachy Smyth
Columban Fathers
Navan