06.09.2019
DCU bids farewell to Church of Ireland Chaplain
After four years as Church of Ireland chaplain at DCU, Philip McKinley is leaving the Inter Faith Centre in Glasnevin to study a Master’s in Theology at the Church of Ireland Theological Institute.
Colleagues and students gathered in the Inter Faith Centre on Friday to say their farewells and to wish Philip well in his next venture.
Reflecting on his time at the university, Philip said: “DCU has been a thrilling place to minister. This was the first Inter Faith Centre in Ireland and it’s been wonderful to experience the diversity of faiths on campus and to help foster the university as a space for all cultures. It’s been a joy to work particularly with the students, my chaplaincy colleagues, the newly established Church of Ireland Centre and the ACT3 partnership of University Chaplains in Dublin.”
Philip’s tenure as chaplain coincided with the incorporation of St Patrick’s College, the Mater Dei Institute of Education and the Church of Ireland College of Education into DCU. He was also instrumental in establishing DCU as Ireland’s first University of Sanctuary. Drawing on his musical experience, he help to form the DCU Gospel Choir and the ONE Dublin student gospel music services at the Church of St George & St Thomas on Cathal Brugha Street.