MONSIGNOR Canon Richard Twomey comes from Cork, and is one of four siblings.

His father was an accountant who co-founded a successful company producing nuts, bolts and similar items.

A sister was a physicist and a late brother an engineer, and the Monsignor himself shows a strong grasp of numbers, rattling off facts and dates with quiet precision.

He knew even as a schoolboy, though, that his future lay in the Church.

“I went to school at a Christian Brothers College in Cork,” he said.

“Coming near to the end of my years in the school, it began to dawn on me that I would like to become a priest.

“What I did to make absolutely sure I was doing the right thing was I went to a local seminary.”

His experience there reaffirmed his conviction that his vocation was real, and he began training as a priest at a seminary in Carlow in the south-east of Ireland.

He was ordained as a priest in 1962. A brief posting in Bristol followed, but then came the move to the town he calls home to this day, and where he has helped and guided tens of thousands of people.

“On September 22, 1962, I was posted to Holy Rood Church in Swindon. I remained here for 15 years as assistant priest to Monsignor Leahy.

“On September 29, 1977, I was appointed parish priest to Christ the King Church, Bristol. I spent four years there and in 1981 I was posted to Saint Mary’s in Chippenham as parish priest.

“On September 15, 1985, I returned to Holy Rood Parish Church and I have been here ever since.

“It was a joy to come back to Swindon. I’ve always liked Swindon and always been happy during both times I’ve been here.

“Over the years I’ve seen the great development of the town. When I first came here in 1962, Walcot and Park North and Park South were being built, and over the years I gradually saw quite a bit of industry coming to the town.”

He has served not just the Catholic community but also the community at large, having been heavily involved with such diverse causes as the Prospect Hospice and the county and borough education committees.

This was in addition to a 25-year stint as chairman of St Joseph’s school and his ongoing chairmanship of Holy Rood Primary School.

He also managed to find the time to play an active role in the Gilbert & Sullivan Society, listing The Mikado as his favourite work by the Victorian composers.

In June 1990 he was made Canon of Clifton Diocese and Trustee the following year. In 1997 Pope John Paul II appointed him Monsignor in recognition of his work in education.

In the Monsignor’s early days as a Swindon priest there was a large Irish community, although many of its members returned to Ireland during the ‘Celtic Tiger’ economic boom of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

The Polish and Italian communities are also well represented at Holy Rood, and more recently the arrival of devout Goans has swelled attendance figures even more.

The Monsignor has ministered to people at every stage in their lives from birth to death, guiding them through changes to worship and changes in society. In all that time, though, his faith has never been shaken.

“I have seen many examples of family life that have strengthed my faith in the Church. When I see parents constantly bringing their children here to church, it just reminds me of my own parents doing the very same for me.”