I grew up on a farm in East Galway, Ireland. I come from a large family of four brothers and five sisters, I am the second eldest in the family. Having grown up close to the River Suck I developed a love of fishing and the outdoor life. I often rowed a boat to the nearest town, collected groceries for the family and rowed home again.
All my family were brought up Catholic and I have fond memories of Christmas time because my father gave us gifts of hand- made Christmas presents during a time when money was scarce. As a teenager I went to a Boarding School in the Midlands which was administered by the Franciscan Order. I found this to be a positive experience because the curriculum included sport, horticulture, agriculture and drama.
During my childhood and early teens my grandmother, a retired nurse, had a lasting influence on me due to her kindness and deep spiritual outlook on life. In my late teens I travelled to Portlaoise and there met my future wife, Betty, who was undergoing Nurse Training there. We are now the parents of four adult children and three grandchildren.
My career for a number of years was in Construction but I was always seeking and searching for Biblical truths. It was with great joy that I discovered the SDA Church in Galway in the early 90’s and, following a Daniel and Revelation Seminar Series, both my wife and I were baptized.
Since joining the church, I have held positions as a Deacon, an Elder and Head Elder, but never envisaged myself getting an opportunity to study as a Pastor. This came about in 2008 when I was invited by the then Irish Mission President, Pr. David Neal, to shepherd the Cork and Newmarket SDA Churches as their Pastor was terminally ill. I subsequently began Pastoral studies in Newbold College and Weimar Institute, California.
My passion in ministry is connecting with people from all cultures helping them to have a balanced lifestyle physically, mentally and spiritually. To achieve this, I find myself trusting in God’s Word, which I study daily, along with prayer and devotional reading.
Right now, I am reading Scalpel Moments, a book I picked up in Florida Hospital when I undertook Chaplaincy Training there in 2019. Among the books I read from daily are Our Father Cares, The Promises of God and Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.
When it comes to my favourite text Proverbs 3:5-6 holds dearly. My favourite Hymn has always been 569, “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour”.
I have been very blessed to travel this journey in life knowing that God has allowed me the privilege to minister to His people and to empower them to fulfil His commission as given in Matthew 5:13-16.
