Finding Meaning in Conflict: An Interview With Fr. Oliver Crilly

As part of my book, 'Finding Meaning in Conflict: The Story of Northern Ireland', I interviewed Fr. Oliver Crilly at his home in Co. Donegal in March 2023. Fr. Crilly was a member of the Irish Commission for Justice & Peace and one of the three panel members on the progenitor of the Parade’s Commission in Northern Ireland. He worked ecumenically on a number of different projects throughout the years.

The interview was wide-ranging, reflecting Fr. Crilly’s interests and aspects of his priesthood that were challenging. Part of our discussion related to the Republican Hunger Strikes, where his involvement was unique.

I opened by recounting my own experience as a child watching the nightly news bulletins, where the hunger strikes unfolded in real time, and being overwhelmed by the darkness of it all. For me, it all seemed to be occurring in another world, not just a few miles across the Irish Sea. It upset me greatly and the images remain vivid in my mind.

Fr. Crilly responded, ‘It was dark, it was frightening, it really was frightening. The other thing about it was people looking at it from outside might take a very black and white view: that on the Nationalist and Republican side, we'd all have the same perspective, and everybody on the Unionist/Loyalist side would have the same perspective. But it was much more complicated than that, much more complicated. 

When Fr. Crilly  referred to his cousin, Tom McElwee, who was one of the hunger strikers, he was clearly very upset by the situation, both from a personal perspective and as a Catholic Priest. He had to navigate a very difficult and often tortuous route of conflicting emotions.

He said about Mr McElwee when he visited him in the Maze Prison/Long Kesh: ‘I said very openly to Tom or when I met him on a 1-to-1 basis, I wanted to talk to him about the possibility of coming off the hunger strike. But I began by saying to him, “Tom, I want you to know I'm your cousin. And I am your friend.  And no matter what happens here, I will still be your cousin. And I will still be your friend”.

And then I said that Bishop Edward Daly had asked me to say to him that he would like him to come off the hunger strike. And then Bishop Daly and the Cardinal, Cahal Daly, were both prepared to intervene as much as they could - to try and find some way forward. But Tom would have known, and the other hunger strikers would have known, that that the likelihood of Bishop Daly or even the Cardinal being able to successfully do that was very slim’.

Fr. Crilly explained how important and meaningful dialogue was for him, even when he knew it was unlikely to succeed. He said: “there are still lines of communication there. The relationship, the family relationship and their respect, if you like. was there. Even if we were disagreeing about the outcome.”’

I’m incredibly grateful for Fr. Crilly’s contribution to this project and for being so generous with his time.