Brother Éamonn Davis SJ, RIP – “Let God at ya!”

We are sad to report that Brother Eamonn Davis SJ died on Thursday 11 July, 2024, at the age of 94. We republish this interview with him from 2019. His concelebrated Requiem Mass took place on Tuesday 16 July 2024, at 11am at St Francis Xavier Church, Gardiner Street. The principal celebrant was Father Richard O’Dwyer SJ.

Jesuits, family and friends gathered to bid a final farewell to their brother Éamonn. They were joined by students of Belvedere College SJ and the principal Ger Foley who shared a reflection on the life of Brother Éamonn at the end of Mass.

In his reflection Ger said that the school’s encounter with Brother Éamonn “taught us a lot about what it is to respond generously”. He said Brother Éamonn’s impact was huge on those who served the marginalized and those who worked for justice. “Serving the poor was at the very heart of everything he did. Living in Gardiner Street he developed a relationship with many in the inner city flats, so much so, one of the condolence messages read ‘up the flats'”. Ger also referenced the fact that Brother Éamonn started every Vincent de Paul meeting in the school with a prayerful reminder to the boys, “You wont get to heaven unless you have got a passport from the poor”.

Brother Éamonn’s trust in God and genuine care for others made him an indispensable part of the Belvedere family said Ger. “He served as first year Chaplin and helped so many discover their passion and true talent. He encouraged Belvedere College students to visit the elderly, to run Christmas dinners, dances and to participate in the weekly soup runs”.

Brother Éamonn’s dedication and service to God, shone bright in everything he did according to Ger. “He would often be in the Chapel lighting candles and letting the spirit flow in his daily actions. His frequent encouragement was ‘Let God at ya’ which is now on the plaque on his coffin, a reminder to us all that we have to make room in life to be touched by the divine.”

In conclusion Ger said, “Brother Éamonn didn’t need a passport from the poor he was assisting the kingdom of God already on earth.”

Brother Éamonn was laid to rest in the Jesuit plot in Glasnevin Cemetery in his own words “I always say if I die suddenly just say, this guy had a good life, he was delighted and don’t be worried.” May he rest in peace.

A Brother of boundless energy

Brother Éamonn Davis SJ will be 89 years old this May, and he is still going strong working as a chaplain in Belvedere College SJ. In this short film, he talks about his life, his joining the Jesuits, his love both for the local people of the inner city and for the Belvedere students who worked with him down the years in the St Vincent de Paul Society in the school.

Past pupils and present-day staff pay tribute to this man whose energy and enthusiasm seems boundless. Br Éamonn runs the swimming and life-saving club in the school. He takes the students to Lourdes annually, where they look after the sick. And when he needs a summer holiday he heads off to America to work in an outdoors youth project with disadvantaged young people, before returning back to Belvo for another school year. They speak about his commitment to the excluded and those on the margins, quoting one of his sayings they never forgot – “You won’t get into heaven unless you’ve a passport from the poor.”

Br Éamonn speaks about the mysterious way God was at work in his long life, when he was led towards his vocation to join the Jesuits, and particularly when he was sent by Provincial Joe Dargan SJ to Belvedere at the age of 53. He is a special man, a man of prayer who is deeply loved by all who know him. Hence the willing co-operation of Belvedere College and Irish Jesuit Communications in making this film as a fitting tribute.