Br Kevin Crowley, who died on Wednesday aged 90, was remembered as “a champion of the poor” and a man who “saved many lives” at the Capuchin Day Centre he founded more than 55 years ago.
The centre on Dublin’s Bow Street, which provides food, clothing, medical and other care to the city’s homeless and destitute, was busy as ever hours after his death was announced.
Craig (37), from Dublin, who had just finished lunch of beef stew, potatoes and vegetables, said he had known Br Kevin for about 20 years.
“I wouldn’t be alive today if it wasn’t for him and this centre ... He saved many lives and he was a big part of my life. He was always welcoming. He’d shake your hand, ask how your day was. That means a lot to a homeless person. When you’re homeless 90 per cent of people walk by you, but that man took 40 seconds out of his day to ask, ‘how you are doing today?’
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“I am homeless still, living in a tent ... I would love a place [home]. Here, you can come in the morning; you are not rushed out the door. You can relax, go asleep, have a shower if necessary.”
Derek (60) had known the late friar since about 2015. “I was just made redundant and it was hard. I came in here to get dinners first. Br Kevin would sit down and chat with me. He was more like a father, a lovely man ... It’s very sad now that he has passed. I hope I can get to the funeral.”
Robert, from Ballymun, who is living in a nearby hostel, said Br Kevin was “always kind” to him.
“He’d always help me out with clothes, food ... It is so important, especially when you’re in and out of homelessness.”
Centre director Fr Kevin Kiernan heard of his mentor’s death early this morning.
“Like everything, you are expecting it, but then when it comes, there is a shock. Kevin was 90 last February; he was ready. I spoke to him about two weeks ago and he said, ‘I am very weak. I just want to go’. He embraced the Lord in death this morning and that’s the way he wanted it ... He is a great loss for us, but his vision is still very much alive in the day centre.”
Alan Bailey, a retired Garda detective who has volunteered at the centre for more than 50 years, described Br Kevin as a “champion of the poor who devoted his whole life to the poor”.
On the day he died, the centre he founded served more than 650 hot meals and distributed hundreds of food parcels.
Br Kevin’s remains will repose at St Mary of the Angels Capuchin Church on Church Street from Thursday evening and through Friday, where the public are invited to pay their respects.
