Neil Collins was born in Swatragh, Co Derry on 5th December 1938. He was educated at Swatragh, PES and St Columb’s College, Derry. He came to St Columban’s, Dalgan Park, Navan in September 1956 and was ordained priest on 21st December 1962.
Neil was appointed to study at Greyfriars College, Oxford, along with three other members of his class with a view to staffing the Columban boarding school then being established at Whitby, Yorkshire, England. Neil was asked to study ‘Greats’ i.e. Latin, Greek and Ancient History, a very demanding four-year course.
As he graduated from his studies in 1967, the Whitby Project was discontinued, and Neil was appointed to the Philippines.
Assigned to Ozamis City, Mindanao, Neil was immediately asked to join the staff of the Junior Seminary as a Latin teacher, without being given the opportunity to study the local Cebuano dialect. He worked in this difficult situation until 1971 when the accumulated strain became too much, and he requested an extended leave of absence.
He came back to Northern Ireland and taught very successfully at secondary level for the next ten years before requesting a return to ministry in 1982. Assigned again to Mindanao, Neil served in Dumalinao, Zamboanga del Sur (1983-1984), San Miguel, Z.S. (1984-1986), and San Pablo Z.S. (1986-1993). From 1993 to 1997 he was appointed Lay Mission Co-ordinator, and District Superior, Mindanao, from 1997 to 2003.
The General Chapter in Lima, 1982, authorised a critical history of the Society. In 2003 Neil was appointed Society Historian. He enrolled in a Doctorate Programme in Maynooth under Dr Jacinta Prunty. A modified version of his doctoral thesis was published in 2009 as The Splendid Cause: The Missionary Society of St Columban 1916-1954.
By the time of the Columban Centenary (1916-2016) Neil had further extended his research up to the present time and published A Mad Thing To Do: A Century of Columban Missions in 2017. Producing these two excellent books was a huge task, involving endless hours of lonely research.
Neil remained patient and good humoured throughout while always being a helpful member of the Dalgan community. He continued his research for as long as he was able before entering the Columban Nursing Home in 2024 where he died on 16th October 2024.
May he rest in peace.
