John O'Donohue
January 1 1956 – January 3 2008
Irish philosopher, writer, poet, former priest
author of spiritually insightful treasured works,
including Anam Cara, on defining the old Irish Gaelic concept of "Soul Friendship".

Beauty does not linger, it only visits.
Yet beauty's visitation affects us and invites us into its rhythm,
it calls us to feel, think, and act beautifully in the world:
to create and live a life that awakens the Beautiful.

John O'Donohue sought "intimations" and manifestations of beauty, finding it in music, color and movement, as well as some less likely locations—imperfection and death. Beauty is sensuous and present, but it is also always pointing to the transcendent. Its trail leads to the recognition of God.

He said, "in this post-modern world the hunger to belong has rarely been more intense,
more urgent. With many of the ancient, traditional shelters now in ruins, it is as if society has lost
the art of fostering community. Consumerism propels us towards an ever-more lonely and isolated existence - although technology pretends to unite us, more often than not all it delivers are
simulated images that distance us from our lives”.

John O'Donohue is survived by his partner Kristine Fleck,
his mother Josie, brothers PJ and Pat, and sister Mary.

Click here to visit his website, which features essays, poetry, excerpts and tributes.
And, click here to leave a comment on John's website/blog:
Click here to read Obituaries from the Guardian and the Times newspapers.
Click here to learn about St. Brigid and the The Kildara Centre

IN MEMORIAM
MELBOURNE, Australia
7pm Friday, 16 May
The Kildara Centre