Sean Corkery’s uncle was a chef and the young Cork man, fuelled by a passion for food, followed in his footsteps only to find that his true life path lay with the Church
SEAN CORKERY’S grandmother used to give him £5 every time he made a fruit cake in order to encourage his love of cooking. Not that the aspiring chef from Mallow needed much in the way of encouragement having always had an interest and flair for baking.
Corkery (32) from Mourneabbey, Co Cork went down the route of training as a chef at Cork Institute of Technology in the 1990s after he completed his Leaving Certificate at Davis College in Mallow.
“My uncle was a chef and I used to bake for my gran. I don’t know what she did with all the fruit cakes. I did a bit of this and that in kitchens. Pot washing and so on. And then cooking. I did my diploma in professional cooking. I got out in the world and was having craic in kitchens and just loving every minute of it.”
Corkery went on a placement in Killarney and later ended up working at the Springfort Hall Hotel in Mallow from 1996 to 1998. He loved the “family dynamic” in the hotel kitchen and enjoyed getting to see the best and worst of people when they were under pressure to deliver. He also continued to develop his expertise in the kitchen.
In 1998 Corkery decided to travel to Australia for a year in order to improve his culinary skills.
He also wanted to test his ability to cope in another culture. Corkery thrived in Sydney in what was an “extraordinary growing up experience”.
“I had the experience of being accepted by people in another country. Travel just really broadened my mind and I tried to take in all that the Australian chefs were doing. I built great friendships with people. I learned so much in the kitchen as well. They would have a British tradition but I learned so much being exposed to different ingredients and menus and ways of cooking.”
Corkery returned from Australia and went back to work at the Springfort Hotel.
But he was starting to feel a yearning in a different direction and did not quite know where to go with it.
Corkery, like many boys of his generation, was an altar server in the 1980s but when he left primary school, his work with the church was left behind.
Priesthood was a “word” on Corkery’s mind at this stage and he was beginning to explore his relationship with God. While in Australia he found himself seeking out a Catholic church to attend mass and when he returned to Cork the idea of becoming a priest was in the back of his mind.
However, Corkery’s career was on the ascendancy – he had been promoted at Springfort Hall and enjoyed the new challenges that came with it. Springfort proved to be a very busy place and he still enjoyed the interaction with members of staff. He worked there for another two years.
Corkery was considering the priesthood but he admits he was a little afraid to take the leap to contacting his local vocations officer.
“There is a lot of baggage in our modern times when it comes to the priesthood. I was afraid. I was convinced there were better living, more principled people out there. They were surely more qualified than me.
“When you are trying to make that decision you are not sure who to talk to. I spoke to the head chef in Springfort who I was friends with. When she thought about it overnight she said she wasn’t shocked.”
Corkery eventually contacted his local vocations officer who gave him invaluable advice in relation to the priesthood. The vocations officer understood his worries and concerns and said he would be able to do it if God called him to do so.
Surprisingly, Corkery said that he was more concerned about whether he possessed the leadership skills for being a priest rather than actually making the move into the seminary itself.
Corkery was wondering if he would have the confidence to be a leader. He was also unsure as to whether he would have the ability to “put words on tragedy” for families impacted by sudden deaths.
“In sad tragic times the priest is the voice of the community. You have to be there for people in the devastating times and know what to say and do. You have to try to put some shapes on the tragedies. I was wondering if I would have the confidence to do it.”
Corkery was in his mid-20s at this stage and was well established as a chef when he gave up the life he had known for the seminary.
He says his move was a bit of a shock for his family because he was never someone who would have been put into an obvious category as a priest in waiting. However, his parents and siblings were fully supportive of his move.
The Mallow man slotted right in in the seminary and says life in Maynooth is far from the “big locked gate image” that many people have of life as a priest in training.
The seminary was a free and open environment and he thrived when surrounded by other like-minded men.
Corkery was ordained earlier this summer and he is currently pursuing one extra year’s study at Maynooth prior to being given a parish.
“I am so lucky to have an extra year’s study and I really appreciate it. I am very excited about the future and pleased with what I have done. The day of the ordination was very emotional. The atmosphere was electric for the week. I remember walking up the church and the whole family was gathered around me. Everyone I loved was there.
“I thought I was going to be nervous but I was at peace. There was a real sense that the church was alive and being a priest was renewing it. It was a complete moment of joy.
“I know I have done the right thing.”