01.07.2026
‘Leaving with profound hope and gratitude’ – Farewell to Dean of Christ Church Cathedral
“Now we pray, be with him who leaves and with us who stay.” The words of the final prayer of the priest and the people of Christ Church Cathedral Dublin struck an emotional note in an uplifting, music–filled Evensong on Sunday afternoon (June 28) as Dean Dermot Dunne celebrated his final service in office.
The cathedral community and many friends gathered for Choral Evensong to bid a fond farewell to the Dean and his wife Celia. After 18 years, the Dean will hand back to the Archbishop of Dublin the pastoral care of the cathedral and its parishes on August 31.
Fittingly and in line with the strong tradition of the Cathedral Choir, music shaped the service with two anthems, one commissioned for the occasion composed by Jack Oades, former organ scholar and acting director of music and assistant director of music. The Cathedral Choir was joined at the end of the service by Christ Church Community Choir for an outstanding rendition of ‘The Parting Glass’ before the congregation made their way out into the sunshine for a party on the labyrinth.
The service began with a presentation to Dermot and Celia by Precentor and Sub–Dean Canon Roy Byrne on behalf of the cathedral family. For the past 18 years, he said, Dermot and Celia have loved and cared for the cathedral and have been part and parcel of its life. “They have in many ways opened the doors of this place wider than could ever have been imagined,” he said noting that Dermot had never allowed the cathedral to stand still. He wished them God’s speed and many years of happiness ahead.
Canon Byrne read a message from Archbishop Michael Jackson who was attending the opening service of the Anglican Consultative Council’s meeting in Belfast at the same time. “Today is Dermot’s day,” he said. “We wish him health and happiness in the next phase of the life he and Celia share. We thank him for his commitment to the cathedral as an ever changing community and as a heritage building in the beating heart of the city.” The Archbishop also thanked him for his kindness, his commitment to liturgy and his facilitation of diocesan services.
In his final sermon as Dean, Dermot said his overwhelming emotion was one of gratitude. He thanked all in the cathedral community, his many friends and clerical colleagues and Celia. He looked back beyond his 18 years as Dean to July 1997 where the seed was sown that would lead to him standing in the pulpit that Sunday. He paid tribute to the Ven Ricky Rountree who introduced him to the Church of Ireland as he and Celia were making Kilbride, just outside Bray, their spiritual home.
“There is no perfect way of saying goodbye,” he observed. “Today there is joy and sadness, excitement and uncertainty, relief and nostalgia. But overall there is gratitude. This afternoon is not really about saying goodbye it is about saying thank you.”
When looking for inspiration for his final sermon he turned to Gloria Gaynor and her famous anthem ‘I will survive’. It is a story about how, after life’s upsets, somehow we keep going and there is something wonderfully hopeful about that, he observed. “But Christians have a deeper song. We do not simply survive. We are sustained. We are carried. We are upheld by the grace of God,” he said.
He thanked all who sustained the life of the cathedral – the staff, Chapter, board and volunteers. He thanked Archbishop Michael and previous Archbishops of Dublin, Archbishop John and Archbishop Walton, for their trust support and friendship. He thanked the Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough for allowing the cathedral to play its part in the life of the diocesan family. And to all beyond the walls, civic leaders, ecumenical partners, friends of other faiths, neighbours, visitors and pilgrims – “You have reminded us that the Gospel is never confined within walls”. Above all he thanked the regular congregation of Christ Church Cathedral who for 18 years had allowed him into the most sacred moments of their lives.
“This cathedral has welcomed presidents and pilgrims, tourists and theologians, schoolchildren and sceptics, believers and those who were not quite sure what they believed,” Dean Dunne said. “I have always hoped that everyone who crossed these doors would know that they were welcome before they were anything else. That, it seems to me, is how Christ receives us.
“If there is one thing I hope my ministry has reflected, it is that the Kingdom of God is always larger than the categories by which we divide ourselves. Larger than our labels. Larger than our certainties. Larger even than the Church itself. It is a Kingdom where grace always has the first word, and love always has the last.”
The words of Evensong have become deeply woven into his soul, he said – ‘Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord…’ “How often have we sung those words together?’ he asked. “They have accompanied us through moments of celebration and sorrow, certainty and doubt. They have reminded me that faith is not about having all the answers.Faith is trusting the One who walks beside us when we cannot yet see the road ahead.”
Dean Dunne said he is leaving office with profound hope. For almost 1,000 years generations have worshipped in the cathedral. “Long after every one of us has become part of its history, prayer will continue to rise from this place. The choir will continue to sing. Children will continue to be baptised. The hungry will continue to be fed. The stranger will continue to be welcomed. The Gospel will continue to be proclaimed. That is wonderfully reassuring,” he said.
His words were received with standing ovation. You can read the full text of the Dean’s sermon here.
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