Father Eddie Fitzgerald SDB who died on December 23rd, aged 60, was a communicator who displayed great courage throughout his life in the face of ill-health.
His inspirational book, Cancer Busters, published just before his death, was written to help and encourage other people with cancer at a time when he knew he had not long to live.
He was born in 1939 to Jack Fitzgerald and his wife Catherine, whose maiden name was also Fitzgerald. His father was a shoemaker in Tralee and had the distinction of having a wooden leg which he wore only on Sundays. He played the melodeon and gave his son a love of music. He died when Eddie was 10.
Eddie Fitzgerald was educated first by the Christian Brothers in Tralee and then by the Salesians at Pallaskenry, Co Limerick. He had already formed the intention of becoming a Salesian priest.
However, he was not ordained until 1970 due to ill health which, on occasion, confined him to a wheelchair. But he faced that ill health with a courage which brought him very far in life.
Communication was his gift. He edited the Salesian Journal and also presented a late night spiritual reflection on RTE. There is little doubt that a turning point in his life was his discovery of the Enneagram - an approach to personality and change - in the mid-1980s.
With his great friend, Presentation Sister, Eilis Bergin, he gave courses in the Enneagram all over Ireland and around the world. Thousands of people in Ireland have been introduced to the Enneagram as a result of their work. Together, they wrote the best-selling An Enneagram Guide: A Spirituality of Love in Brokenness and a booklet Stress and how to deal with it.
He was keenly interested in stress management in which he presented courses and workshops.
He was diagnosed with cancer early last year. The cancer was at an advanced stage but he lived the remainder of his life with his usual courage.
The book, Cancer Busters, is a legacy of that courage. He drew on all he knew, from the fields of psychology and spirituality and from his own experiences, to produce an extraordinarily uplifting and inspiring guide for people with cancer or other serious illnesses.
It took courage and determination - rising at 5 a.m. often in severe pain, to write a lively, humorous and compassionate book.
He is survived by his brother Liam, and his sister-in-law Anne.
Father Eddie Fitzgerald SDB: born 1939; died December, 1999