In August, Bishop Kieran O’Reilly of Killaloe, Ireland, announced that the diocese would be instituting the permanent diaconate, which is only open to men. Writing in the Association of Catholic Priests blog, Irish Redemptorist priest Tony Flannery said that four laywomen led a meeting attended by two hundred people to express their disagreement with the proposal. Subsequently, O’Reilly said that the plan was shelved for the time being. Women from Seeds of Hope campaigned to request that the bishop take the funds set aside for the project and dedicate them to training for the laity, male and female, according to the Tablet (UK).