Terence Horgan (1937 – 2024)
Terry Horgan, who died on 4th January 2024 after a long illness, was one of the founding members of Family Solidarity and a loyal supporter. Born in Loughrea in 1937, the second youngest of eleven children, three of whom became priests and two nuns, he was a successful businessman. He married Ann in 1964. In 1973, their only child, John, was killed by a teenage neighbour and friend when he was nearly eight years old.
After this awful tragedy, he and his wife dedicated their lives to working for the Church, promoting Catholic education. He played a key role in the establishment of two schools in Dublin run by parents: Rockbrook Park in Rathfarnham in 1975, and Rosemont in Sandyford in 1977. He also set up the Lismullin Conference Centre in Co. Meath and established a company called City Publishing, which imported religious books.
The idea of Family Solidarity came from the realisation that Ireland was slipping away from the Catholic faith and needed an organisation to promote and sustain families. Terry discussed this idea with Pope John Paul II when they met privately in Rome in 1979. He consulted with four Irish bishops and then started giving talks on Familiaris Consortio, a fundamental document on the family written by Saint John Paul II.
From this experience, in 1983, he formed Family Solidarity together with a number of people (John O’Reilly, Bernie Bonnar, Tom Whitney, Fr. Leonard Coughlan) who had been involved in the campaign and the successful referendum to include the ban on abortion in the Irish Constitution.
Terry came up with the name ‘Family Solidarity’ after a meeting with Cardinal Ó Fiaich on 7th April 1982. The previous day, Cardinal Ó Fiaich had been visited by some Polish priests who donated him a pin of the trade union “Solidarność”, which played an important role in fighting Communism. Cardinal Ó Fiaich presented “Solidarność”, which means solidarity, as an inspiration for the new family organisation. Not only the name “Family Solidarity”, but also our logo, its red colour and the style, were inspired by the Polish trade union.
Terry never held an official role in our organisation but was always supportive and helpful. I had the fortune to meet him a few times in his house where we discussed the past and future of Family Solidarity. He was a friendly man full of enthusiasm and with a deep faith. In the picture above, you will see him holding the Irish Constitution and Familiaris Consortio, two documents that he used in his talks. He was inspired by the everlasting values embodied in those documents and passed his own copies on to me as a sign of continuity between the old and the new generations in our organisation.
Terry Horgan’s life was marked by unwavering faith, dedication to family values, and a tireless commitment to the Catholic community. His legacy through Family Solidarity and his contributions to Catholic education will be remembered and cherished by all who had the privilege of knowing him.