Since St Columba and St Columbanus Irish missionaries have followed the example of our ‘saints and scholars’ in taking their faith to every corner of the known world.
At the peak of the Irish missionary movement, in the 1960s, over 6,000 Irish Catholic missionaries were dispersed over 80 countries.
But a movement, which put Ireland on the map in terms of moral influence, is coming to a close. Today, there are only about 450 Irish missionaries still scattered around the world and most of these are well over the age of sixty.
By the end of this decade, that number is likely to fall below 200.
Bryan Dobson and Dearbhail McDonald’s two-part series, ‘The Last Irish Missionaries’ spoke to a number of Columbans including, Fr Alo Connaughton, Fr Cyril Lovett and Fr Shay Cullen.
It was filmed in Dalgan as well as at the PREDA Foundation in the Philippines.
In Episode 1, Fr Alo tells Bryan Dobson: “I came here in September of 62, there were about 200 students here at that time. In the 21st century we have not had one person come here in Ireland, we have had people coming in other countries but not here in Ireland.”
Fr Cyril tells Bryan, “In the Philippines there was one priest for every 20,000 people and I said to myself ‘I am living in Fermoy, we have four priests for 4,000 people. It doesn’t make sense’.”
The two programmes look at the origins of the missionary movement, notably the role played by the Maynooth Mission to China/Columbans and the Far East magazine and assesses the legacy of Irish missionaries.
According to the programme makers, ‘The Last Irish Missionaries’ is “neither an elegy nor an assault”. Rather, it
acknowledges what Irish Missionaries have contributed to global society and our own.
Dearbhail McDonald and Bryan Dobson explore why so many Irish priests, nuns, lay people and other religious felt called to spread the Gospel to the farthest reaches of the world. They hear firsthand about their experiences and the impact of those individuals – sometimes heroic, sometimes thwarted, sometimes even persecuted or martyred. And they ask if we or the world will be poorer for the disappearance of the last Irish missionaries.
Episode 1 screens on Monday 14th July 2025 on RTE 1 at 9.35pm and Episode 2 screens on Monday 21st July 2025 on RTE 1 at the same time. The documentaries were made by Scratch Films.