It was not Bishop Comiskey but media representatives whose standing was in question for many attending the Easter ceremonies in Enniscorthy at the weekend.
"Fancy making a living like that, you're the lowest of the low," a woman told reporters and photographers outside St Aidan's Cathedral on Saturday night when Dr Comiskey celebrated the Easter Vigil.
"I'll bet you didn't even go to Mass," she added for good measure. An assurance by one repentant sinner among the Fourth Estate that he would be going on Sunday cut no ice.
The message was clear: Bishop Brendan was welcome, journalists were not.
"They wouldn't come if there was something going on," said another woman as she passed photographers on her way into the cathedral.
The media presence on Saturday was much smaller than on Good Friday, perhaps because of an RTÉ report that Dr Comiskey would not be turning up. When it emerged at the start of the vigil that the bishop was present after all, a concerted effort was made to ensure that no reporter or photographer would get near him afterwards.
Journalists waiting at the cathedral exit they expected the bishop to use were told politely but firmly they were on private property and would have to leave. Male ushers and a small group of women then blocked a path to keep the media at a distance. Photographers were advised not to try their luck. "If that flash goes off I won't be responsible for what happens to that camera," an usher told one.
When it was clear the bishop had left, members of the congregation who had waited around made their delight known. "Hard luck lads, no show," said one. "You didn't find the secret passage," said another.
After 12.30 p.m. Mass in the cathedral yesterday support for Dr Comiskey was still in evidence, but views were more mixed. "I have no time for the bishop," said one elderly woman when asked if she thought he was getting a fair deal from the media.
Most of those canvassed by The Irish Times, however, believed the bishop was not getting an even break. "He's a good man, basically. I think you're being too hard on him," said one man. "Just leave well enough alone," another woman said. "It all happened a long time ago and it's best forgotten."
While the congregation on Saturday applauded Dr Comiskey's homily and appeared to be solidly behind him, not everyone in the town shared their view. "Did he turn up?" a woman asked from her car as she passed the cathedral. Informed that he had, she replied: "By the Lord Jesus, he has some neck."
