Renata Steffens
Bishop Paul Dempsey with Pope Francis The Irish Church is facing a period of distress with the numbers of active priests dropping every year, as more and more priests are retiring and ordinations are not happening at the same pace. Many dioceses are receiving help from foreign priests, but Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois Paul Connell said that is “not the solution to the problems of the Irish Church.”
The Irish Catholic received stats from nine dioceses across the island of Ireland, and eight of those are receiving help from at least one international priest. Ferns has no foreign priests; Achonry, the diocese with the least number from the stats provided, has one; and Armagh, the diocese with the highest number, has twelve.
In the nine dioceses analysed (Ardagh and Clonmacnois, Achonry, Cloyne, Armagh, Kilmore, Down and Connor, Galway and Kilmacudagh, Tuam and Ferns), most of the foreign priests are Indian (22), Nigerian (14), and Polish (five). The Diocese of Elphin refused to share any information about the number of active and/or foreign priests in that diocese.
Bishop Connell said the assistance from these foreign priests is “obviously very helpful”, but it is necessary to continue encouraging vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Similarly, Bishop of Kilmore Martin Hayes said the international priests are “only part of the solution,” as these priests are here either to study or on a three-year contract and will leave eventually.
In an attempt to manage the drought in vocation callings, Bishop Connell is clustering parishes, having priests responsible for two or more parishes at the same time. He said merging parishes is not happening in the foreseeable future. Bishop Hayes is focusing on involving laypeople more actively in ministries and parish administration.
Relation between priests currently active and ordinations/retirements in the past 10 years
| Diocese | Parishes | Churches | Active parishes |
Foreign priests |
Ordinations | Incardinations | Retirements |
| Achonry | 23 | 47 | 26 working, 23 in ministry |
1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Ardagh and Clonmacnois |
41 | 80 | 45 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 18 |
| Armagh | 61 | 152 | 98 | 12 | 12 | 2 | 23 |
| Cloyne | 46 | 107 | 60 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 16 |
| Down and Connor |
88 | 151 | 97 | 6 | 8 to Priesthood and 15 to permanent diaconte |
1 | 27 |
| Ferns | 49 | 101 | 53 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
| Galways and Kilmacudagh |
39 | 71 | 49 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Kilmore | 36 | 95 | 47 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
| Tuam | 56 | 131 | 54 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 26 |
Read more about the views of the Dioceses of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, Armagh, Down and Connor and Kilmore on international priests and the lack of Irish vocations here.