An Interview with Dr. Margaret Naughton

by Gordon Nary

Gordon: Please provide an overview of you primary education experience with the name of the incitation, degree/certificate   received and one of your favorite memories when you were at that institution?

Margaret: Okay well Gordon I am somewhat of a perpetual student! I love learning and education is my passion.  I firmly believe that education gives us opportunities that otherwise we would not have in our lives.  Therefore, I have seized every opportunity possible to educate myself more deeply so that I can be a better person, Christian, chaplain and child of God.  I began by studying for a Joint Honours Degree in English and History which was followed by a Taught Masters Degree in English where I studied the English Puritan poet Anne Bradstreet.  These were both undertaken at University College Cork.  This was then followed by a Research Masters in Irish History, again undertaken at University College Cork.  I took somewhat of a hiatus at this point for a few years and decided that I would like to study Clinical Pastoral Education (Cork University Hospital) and Theology (Priory Institute Dublin) which I did in 2009.  I have since completed an undergraduate degree in Theology (2014) and full clinical pastoral education training both for chaplaincy provision and supervisory education (Cork University Hospital and Vancounver School of Theology).  I have also brought to completion and published my PhD in Pastoral (Practical) Theology which was in the area of Healthcare Chaplaincy/Spiritual Care and undertaken at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick under the supervision of Rev Dr Eamonn Fitzgibbon.  So as you can see I have been busy!

I guess a standout moment for me has to be my PhD graduation day in October 2021.  Covid restrictions were still in place and we were unsure if we would have an inperson graduation or not.  But things went in our favour and myself and four other students graduated from the Theology department with PhDs in Theology - not bad for a small department!  A very proud day for me and my family as well as my supervisor (I am his first PhD student - again something I am very proud of).

Gordon:  When and where did you serve as Substitute/Supply Teacher and what were your primary responsibilities?

Margaret: So for about four years I worked as a substitute teacher in local schools teaching children the primary school curriculum in subjects such as English, Irish, Maths, Religion and so on.  It was an extremely enriching time for me as I had just come through a difficult period of illness and these years helped me to regain my sense of confidence and belief in myself.  When we have become vulnerable for whatever reason it can be difficult to face the world again.  That said, the beautiful children I taught helped me to see the light within me again which in turn empowered me to explore the possibility that life could have meaning and purpose once more.  A period of salvation through the teaching of reading and writing to some of God's most wonderful beings.

Gordon:  When did you serve as Tutor/Assessor as Hibernia College abd what did you enjoy about your work?

Margaret: I began working as a Tutor and Assessor with Hibernia College (a private college which is involved in education training) and I mainly taught Religion and Theology.  I really loved this work as it was the first time I really got to teach adults and theology.  So, it proved to be a voyage of discovery for me and helped to stretch me to see if this was a form of work I would like to do into the future.  I have no doubt that I draw from this experience every day in my work as a chaplaincy formator.

Gordon:  When did you serve as Healthcare Chaplain at Bon Secours Hospital and what were your primary responsibilities?

Margaret: I worked as Healthcare Chaplain at the Bon Secours Hospital, Tralee for ten years from 2011 to 2021.  It was my first proper experience as a healthcare chaplain and I commenced it shortly after completing my first bout of CPE training.  I also became accredited by the Healthcare Chaplaincy Board (HCB) as a Healthcare Chaplain around the same time, a status I maintain to this day. 

At the Bon Secours Hospital, my primary responsibility was to deliver pastoral care to patients, their families and staff - meeting people where they were at, offering compassionate and empathetic presence, crafting pastoral relationships, helping people to find meaning and purpose within the context of human suffering.  This experience helped me to grow my roots in ministry and to find and hone my own particular style and modality of pastoral care provision.  I also worked a lot with staff - partaking in training, induction days, stress management programmes, hospital publicity and so on.  It was an interesting role and I still maintain strong relationships with many of my friends and colleagues within the hospital.

Gordon:  As the Healthcare Chaplain and CPE Supervisor/Educator at University Hospital Kerry  what most rewarding about you work?·

Margaret: Meeting wonderful patients who allow me into their space teaching me so much about life, about resilience, about loss, about suffering and about hope.

I am also so privileged to be a CPE Supervisor and Educator which gives me a considerable role in the formation and training of future chaplains and spiritual care providers.  They also teach me much about human existence and how if we are open to the possibility we have so much to learn from each other.  I often say to my students - there are no experts - we are all learning.  I draw here from Michael White's analogy of being on 'an apprenticeship without end' - I am blessed to encounter amazing people who keep my apprenticeship fresh and exciting.

Gordon:  Do you ever give comfort to the dying, If so what are the challenges of assistance?

Margaret: Absolutely I do.  Journeying with the sick and the dying is an integral part of my role and my modus operandi.  In fact, it is a part of ministry I am very drawn to.  I have faced death myself so I have some little awareness of the magnititude of the fear and hopelessness people can feel in that space.  That said, I also have and continue to witness great hope in that context as well.  It is a deep privilege to minister to the dying, to offer my pastoral presence, my prayer ministry and something of the compassion of Christ at a key moment in their lives.

The challenges are many too of course.  Some that spring to mind right now would be the pain of a person who is not ready to go, who feel cheated of their future or who struggle to reconcile themselves to the mistakes they've made or the people they have hurt.  These can be difficult situations to face into or where there is hurt and division within a family - this makes caring more challenging as you might well imagine.  That said, we meet people where they are at and endeavour to offer whatever we can in the immediacy of the here and now.

Gordon: According to The Irish Times Ireland’s health system is one of the lowest performing in the northern hemisphere. What are some of the healthcare challenges that  need to be addressed?

Margaret: In truth, Gordon this is something which I feel is beyond my scope of knowledge or expertise to comment upon.  What I will say is that yes there are challenges and yes there are huge mountains to climb within the Irish healthcare sector.  That said, we have an extremely hard-working workforce who care deeply for the patients in their care and they provide wonderful medical attention within the context of a very challenging backdrop.  Healthcare is a complex reality - there are no quick fixes or solutions for the deficits and speedbumps.  We try hard to make each person feel like they matter - unfortunately sometimes we might not get it right but we keep trying to learn, to grow and to begin anew.

Gordon: Thank you for a great and informative interview.