The Irish Catholic Church was seen for generations as the jewel in the crown of the English-speaking clerical world. Scores of parishes in Great Britain owed their development to Irish priests. The same applied in the United States, Australia and in many mission lands throughout Africa and elsewhere.
Ireland boasted many seminaries, with the main national seminary, St Patrick’s College in Maynooth (founded in 1795), once home to 500 seminarians. Today, there are just 20 there.
While it will be argued that modern Ireland does not need as many priests given the decline in weekly Mass attendance in the Republic, from 91 per cent in 1973 to less than 30 per cent today, the reality is that for those who remain practising Catholics, there will always be a need for sacramental ministry.
