Levitical Tradition: Richard's mother's uncle, Richard Owens, had been a priest of the diocese of Clogher in the late 19th century, later a dean and theology professor at Maynooth, and from 1895 to 1907 Bishop of Clogher. The bishop's namesake, a Columban priest and also a native of Coonian, was ordained in 1951 and served on the order's Japan mission until he returned to Ireland in 2004, when he worked in his native diocese until his death in Enniskillen in 2007 at the age of seventy-five. A first cousin of Richard Mohan's, Christopher Mohan, a Maynooth student ordained in 1974 for service in the Archdiocese of Armagh, died as curate in Magherafelt in 1995 at the age of forty-five.

Motor Rallying: That interest was more specifically involvement in the activities of the Monaghan Motor Club, where he served on the committee for a number of years until new diocesan duties intervened. He was secretary of the club for a time also, a role where his attention to detail was evident.

However, it was as a competitor that he will be remembered most, according to a tribute by the club committee on his death. ‘We can recall him competing in full rally mode in his Escort RS2000 or his Ford Capri in many Navigation Rallies spread over several years. Dick’s finishing rate in events was excellent and record shows how he and his various navigators won many class awards.

'In addition to all of the above, his presence at and around events brought out many witty and amusing encounters in a sport, by its nature, well removed from the liturgical setting of the sanctuary. His wonderful ability to cultivate friendships widely, together with the great pastoral support that he is renowned for, will live on in the memory of all who remembered him.'

Developments at Lough Derg: 2002 saw the installation of a new millenium statue on the lakeshore; entitled Patrick the Pilgrim and sculpted by Ken Thompson, it was unveiled by Brian Keenan.

Early on in his tenure Fr. Mohan was able to start work on the installation of a  Blessed Sacrament Chapel in the small St. Mary’s building, which he would then restore to its original 1860s form in 2003. In 2004 he oversaw the development of a Pilgrim Path along the lakeshore (this path became very relevant in the Covid period when it could host outdoor walks that did not breach social distancing regulations).

In 2005 a new retreat facility named Davog House was solemnly opened by Archbishop Sean Brady of Armagh in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio and the extended range of sacred spaces allowed the first ecumenical day of prayer to be organised in 2007, the first family day retreat in 2008 and a half-hour daily session exploring alternative forms of prayer was introduced for pilgrims on the 2nd day of their Three Day Pilgrimage, facilitated by clerical students.

International Connections/Inward: One of the interesting aspects of the relatively isolated island was the manner in which it attracted people from overseas. One of the most notable was Fr Ragheed Ganni, a former engineer from Iraq who studied for the priesthood in Rome and stayed at the Irish College during his time there, including two years of post-graduate study for his doctorate.

He was a highly regarded member of season staff at Lough Derg from 1996 to 2003 (he returned to Iraq in the same year and was appointed to a parish in Mosul. There, at the age of thirty-five, he was assassinated in 2007, along with three sub-deacons, as he left his church; he is now a candidate for beatification).

Some of this attraction of Lough Derg to foreign visitors was based on the historic appeal of the island to international pilgrims, as was commemorated in 1997 when a group from Catalonia retraced the steps of their fourteenth-century countryman Ramon de Perellos, and in 2003 when the Hungarian Special Olympics team visited to remember the pilgrimages of George of Grissaphan (1353) and Laurence Rathold de Paszo (1411).

For many years the sacristan in the basilica was a Russian named Vladimir Belov and in 2003 he returned to Lough Derg with fourteen companions as part of a tour funded by donations of island pilgrims.

International Connections/Outward: Meanwhile Fr. Mohan was travelling in the opposite direction with his attendance at events such as the Fifth European Conference of Priors/Recteurs of Shrines & Pilgrimages in Lourdes on the theme Shrines & Pilgrimages: Paths of Peace and Spaces of Mercy in 2007; a Conference in Krakow, Poland in 2008 on the theme Reflections on Renewing a Shrine’ – The Place, the Story, the Welcome, the Prayers, the Liturgy; and the World Congress on the Pastoral Care of Pilgrimages and Shrines, organised by the Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela, Spain in 2010 on the theme ‘So he went to stay with them’