A Note from Sligo

I am currently taking a break from the normal routine of work to be in our Dominican community in Sligo to preach the novena in honour of Our Lady of Lourdes. The novena started on Saturday last (February 6th) and concludes on Sunday next (February 14th). It is very heartening to see the large crowds attending the nine days of prayer - both young and old. I suspect this has much to do with the great devotion to Our Lady that exists but also to the service that the friars give to the people of the town and beyond.

It is interesting to note that the Dominican friars first arrived in Sligo in 1252 - over 750 years ago and have had well over thirty genrations of service to the people of the North West. Also worth noting is the fact that two of our brothers currently in formation are from the Sligo area.

It is encouraging that the people associated with the friary here regularly pray for vocations. Evidently their prayers are not going unnoticed - as I have a number of people from the area who are making enquiries about the Order in the Mayo/Sligo/Donegal region. I look forward to meeting with them in the coming days.

Preaching Saint Martin de Porres

There is great devotion to Saint Martin de Porres in Ireland and many of our communities hold novenas and other days of prayer in honour of the Peruvian Dominican brother around this time of the year (his feastday is November 3rd). His life is an inspiration to many and part of the reason for the devotion to Saint Martin is because of the many human qualities that he used for the benefit of others and in the service of God. He is no ordinary saint and his life story challenges many to think about their attitude to violence, racism, justice, care of the sick and obedience - among other things.

On a personal note, I have great devotion to Martin de Porres. One of the reasons I came in contact with the Dominican Order was through the Saint Martin Magazine which is a monthly publication promoting devotion to the great saint. Twenty two years ago I replied to a vocations advertisement in that magazine - not knowing then that I would be a Dominican friar following in the footsteps of Saint Martin.

I have been priveliged to ask to preach the Saint Martin novena in our church at Saint Saviour's, Dominick Street, Dublin this year and also to preach at the triduum to Saint Martin in our priory church of Saint Eustace, Newbridge College in Co Kildare (November 2nd to 4th).

To see the list of devotional novenas and days of prayer in honour of Saint Martin in our Dominican churches throughout Ireland this year, please visit the Saint Martin Apostolate website here.

Recent Events

Finding the time to blog recently has been difficult. It has been a busy time. So, I recently preached then annual novena in honour of our Lady of Fatima in our priory church in Pope's Quay, Cork. The interior is pictured above. In my opinion it is the most ornate of all the Dominican churches in Ireland - and really beautiful. It is well worth a visit.


The novena went well. There were two sessions each day with the exception of the two Sundays - one session with rosary, sermon and benediction. It was great to see good numbers attending each day - and particularly gratifying to see the church full on occasions for the event. Obviously, a lot of work went on behind the scenes to prepare for the novena - and the community there worked hard to make the novena successful.


A novena is primarily a time of prayer. It was a source of great encouragement to accompany a praying community for these nine days - so it was an enjoyable experience.


On the vocations front, I was able to meet with all of the enquirers from the Munster region while in Cork - and of course to promote the Dominican vocation to those attending the novena.