Priest who survived the Blitz and a plane crash to reach 102

Fr Ambrose O’Gorman, who has died aged 102 at a nursing home in Belleek, Co Fermanagh, was believed to have been be Ireland’s oldest priest. Two weeks before his death he concelebrated the funeral Mass of a fellow resident.

Most of Fr O'Gorman's ministry was spent in the London area, except for a short spell in Swansea. In Greater London, he survived the Blitz, about which he had many stories.

He recalled that during one air raid he hid under a chair, saying the rosary. His wartime experiences affected his view of life. “I do remember saying I was never going to learn German,” he said.

He also endured the food rationing of the postwar years. Once, hearing the confession of a Donegal woman, he smelled food. The penitent produced a cooked chicken, and the pair of them ate it in the confessional. Crash survivor The Blitz was not his only brush with danger. In 1960 he emerged unscathed when the plane carrying him crash-landed at Heathrow Airport and went on fire.

Ambrose O’Gorman was born near Killygordon, Co Donegal, fourth of seven children to Michael O’Gorman, a member of the RIC and his wife, Noreen (née Maguire), a native of Fermanagh. The family moved, first to Kilmacrenan, Co Donegal, then to Strabane.

When the RIC was disbanded in 1922, they settled in Ballyshannon, where their next door neighbours were the Corscadden family, one of whom, Hazel, was to be the mother of Tony Blair.

He began primary schooling at the De La Salle Brothers national school in Ballyshannon. However, his mother withdrew him because of the brutal regime. He continued primary education at Creevy National School. His secondary education was at Belcamp College in Dublin, run by the Oblate Fathers. He felt a calling to the priesthood, but the Oblates turned him down. However, he was accepted by the Salvatorian Fathers, studied at their seminary in England and was ordained at 28.

He retired to Ireland in the early 1990s. In the nursing home, he attended to the spiritual needs of Catholic residents. He maintained a wide circle of friends, with former parishioners from England keeping in touch.

He is survived by his nephews, nieces, and their families.