Founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel in present-day Israel, The Carmelites, a Catholic religious order, have a long association with Kinsale. The Order has been present in the town since the 14th century, first establishing a church in 1334, and building the current church after the Reformation. While it faced significant challenges during the Penal Laws in the late 1600s, which sought to suppress Catholicism in Ireland, the Carmelite Order, sheltered by local Protestant families, remained in Kinsale. Now from its perch on Lower Catholic Walk looking over the town, the friary houses a beautiful retreat and spirituality centre and continues to play an important role in the community. Today there are four friars based in Kinsale. While of different generations and backgrounds, Fr Bene O’Callaghan, 81, a friar who’s partial to a game of Bridge, and recently-appointed Prior, Fr David (Dave) Twohig, 41, a football enthusiast and passionate musician, are of one mind when they chat to Mary O’Brien about the 800-year-old values of the Carmelites – contemplation, community and service.
Fr Bene O’Callaghan
From Cork City, Fr Bene O’Callaghan was born into a religious family and grew up on Bandon Road, where the family ran a busy grocery shop, not far from Jackie Lennox’s renowned chip shop. His father, an insurance salesman, designed an innovative ice pop machine in the 1950s, selling his frozen creations to shops around the city. One of Fr Bene’s enduring Christmas memories from childhood is of a neighbour with Scottish roots playing the bagpipes and leading a crowd up the street on Christmas Eve.
Bene and his brother attended a Carmelite-run school. The friars at his boarding school made a huge impression on the young student, prompting Bene to join the Carmelites directly after completing his Leaving Certificate in 1960, at the age of 18. While there was always an understanding with his parents that he had a home to come back to, on reflection, the friar admits he was very young to take such a step. “You wouldn’t be encouraged to join straight after school today,” he says. After his novitiate year, a time of preparation, Fr Bene studied philosophy and theology at university in Dublin, the beginning of a decade-long training period.
He describes the order as having a strong tradition of prayer, community life, and service, which has deeply shaped his faith. “Living in God’s presence and our duty to each other flows into service,” he says.
Over the years, Fr. Bene has held many roles, spending significant time in Kinsale, as well as Whitefriar Street in Dublin, and other locations. He also served as a chaplain in a community school before taking a sabbatical in Boston, which he describes as a rejuvenating experience. “There are always challenges, times of anxiety and periods when you need to renew your spirit,” he shares.
Early in his ministry, while teaching, he discovered that his time was put to better use in organising and administrative tasks.
In Kinsale, Fr. Bene has witnessed both challenges and changes. While he notes the decline in vocations, he remains optimistic about renewed interest among young people because of interest in prayer experience and social consciousness. The friary serves as a spiritual hub, offering daily Mass, pastoral care, and recently renovated guest rooms for personal retreats. Fr. Bene highlights the importance of hospitality, quiet reflection, and community outreach, such as visiting the sick and hosting support groups like St. Vincent de Paul and Alzheimer’s groups.
The Carmelites maintain strong ecumenical ties in Kinsale, frequently collaborating with the Church of Ireland and Presbyterian communities on events like pet blessings and remembrance services.
Despite the challenges of modern ministry, Fr. Bene finds joy in the regular rhythm of Carmelite life – prayer, community, and service. He enjoys connecting with people, preparing meaningful homilies, and engaging in his personal pastime of playing bridge. Looking back on his 64 years with the order, Fr. Bene is grateful for the privilege of being part of people’s lives during significant moments, from weddings to funerals.
His message is one of faith and hope, emphasising that “even in times of difficulty, God’s presence is constant”.
Fr Dave Twohig
Fr Dave Twohig, 41, is the latest and youngest friar to join the team in Kinsale. He is the second youngest in the Irish Carmelite Order and the new Prior at Kinsale Carmelite Friary.
While the Carmelites were active in the parish where Fr Dave grew up on the North side of Dublin, religion didn’t play a significant part in his upbringing. “We didn’t go to Mass as a family,” he shares, adding how “football and girls were my priorities as a teenager!”
After discovering an affinity for the subject Technical Graphics at school, Fr Dave got accepted to study Architectural Technology in Waterford, taking a year out before college to serve as an intern in an architect’s firm in Dublin.
It was while studying in Waterford that his path started to take a more spiritual turn. “I started spending time in a local church. I liked the quiet,” he shares.
An avid reader of classic and modern literature, he started expanding his reading material further, delving into philosophy and then the bible.
“I was intrigued by the teachings of Christ,” he says, “which struck me as common sense.” He admits that while the anti-authoritarian tone of Christ in the bible resonated with his teenage self, the fact that he came from a place of passion and love is what really made an impression.
Inspired by the teachings of the gospels, Fr Dave decided he wanted to make life better, not just for himself and his family, but for others around him.
With his family in serious financial difficulty and made homeless, it was a challenging time and a turning point in the young student’s life. While the Twohig family were able to afford accommodation for Dave’s mother and younger sister in a B&B for a period, his father, and Dave when he was up in Dublin from college, were at times, forced to sleep in his father’s taxi cab.
“I found that my belief in God gave me the strength to deal with that situation,” he shares.
Inspired by the message of hope that he took from the gospels, the young man made the decision to abandon his studies in architecture to instead lead a life devoted to God and working with people; it’s a move he has never regretted. “I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be,” he says. “Although it’s a running joke that I never really left architecture behind,” he adds laughing, as he is often consulted on building and restoration projects within the Order.
After volunteering with Carmelite-run projects in the community, Fr Dave shares how “things very quickly snowballed”; his calling propelling him towards joining the Carmelite Order at the age of 21.
“A calling isn’t a voice from the clouds, or a burning bush,” he explains. “It’s what speaks to the very core of who you are as a person, something that resonates with your very being.”
While completing his theology degree, he did a number of placements in Dublin, including at St Michael’s House, a service for people with disabilities, and Merchants Quay Ireland homeless and addiction services.
He felt drawn to working with people experiencing homelessness and addiction because of his own personal history.
“I have lost a few friends to addiction,” he shares.
Although life may move at a slower pace in West Cork, based on his experience, Fr Dave knows every community struggles with issues like addiction.
“You’re never far from it, addiction is part of every family and community.”
With the number of people joining the Carmelite order in Ireland seeing a significant decline in recent years, it’s a trend that raises questions about the future of the Carmelite order in the country and whether it reflects broader changes within the Church. However, Fr Dave is quick to point out that from a global perspective, the picture is quite different.
“We have more members now than ever before and from a historical point of view, there has always been fluctuation,” he says. “During the post-Reformation period, the order was reduced to a single member in the country, while in the 20th century, the numbers rose in the 1970s after a dip in the 1950s.”
Understanding these shifts requires historical perspective and time. “Historians suggest that it takes at least 100 years to objectively analyse and understand past events,” explains Fr Dave.
“Healing and rebuilding trust will be a long process, requiring acknowledgment of the darker periods in the Church’s history.”
Leadership roles in the Carmelite Order, as with other Orders, rotate every three years, fostering a sense of humility and adaptability, setting it apart from diocesan structures.
“The Carmelite Order has always been known for having a very humane and pastoral approach,” says Fr Dave.
Despite the differences in age – the youngest is 41 and the oldest is 89 – and personality, the camaraderie between the friars in Kinsale is strong, with all of them deeply committed to serving the local community.
The friars’ days are structured around communal prayer, including morning and evening prayers, and shared meals, fostering a sense of unity.
Outside of his spiritual duties, Fr Dave enjoys sports, having followed Dublin GAA and Irish soccer with season tickets when he lived in Dublin, though he admits to missing the matches now. He also stays active by walking every morning, swimming in the sea regularly, and playing golf when he has time. A passionate musician, Fr. Dave plays the guitar and used to perform in a band before the pandemic. While he hasn’t yet joined local music groups in his new community, he remains open to the idea as he settles in. “It’s early days yet, I’m still feeling my way,” he says. Christmas for him this year will be poignant, as he lost his father on Christmas Eve last year.
Fr. Dave offers a reflective and open-minded perspective on his vocation and the Catholic Church’s place in the modern world. He acknowledges the complexity of being a priest and the misconceptions that often come with it. For him, the experience of being a friar is far more grounded in human connection than many people might assume.
He actively encourages dialogue, particularly with younger generations in schools, creating spaces where questions about faith, morality, and modern day issues can be talked about openly. He believes that fostering open conversations, even on polarising topics like homosexuality, abortion, or divorce, is essential to building understanding and empathy.
He takes a compassionate approach to his ministry and sees value in acknowledging and adapting to the realities of modern life, advocating for change where necessary. Fr. Dave shares the example of gay individuals he has met through his ministry who remain committed to their faith despite feeling excluded by some Church teachings. Their resilience inspires him, reinforcing his belief in a faith that prioritises community and personal relationships with God over institutional judgments.
Like Fr Bene, he deeply values the Carmelite tradition of prayer, community, and service, and emphasises the accessibility of Carmelite spirituality to people from all walks of life.
As Prior, he is committed to building on the vibrant spirit of the community in Kinsale by fostering projects and initiatives that address the needs of the people around him.
