Below is the the text of the homily delivered by Fr Eamonn Finnegan SMA during a Mass, to mark the centenary of the SMA’s presence on Dromantine, Newry, Co Down, celebrated on Sunday 20th of September 2026.
This year is a year of Jubilees for the Society of African Missions and the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles (OLA). Last June, in Lagos, Nigeria, we celebrated three jubilees – the 170th anniversary of the foundation of the SMA by the Venerable Bishop de Brésillac. The Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles [OLA] celebrated the 150th anniversary of their foundation. and the 200th anniversary of the birth 
of their founder and the SMA Co-Founder, Fr Augustin Planque. And here this afternoon, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the SMA in Dromantine, in 1926.
When our Founder died at the age of 46 in Freetown, Sierra Leone, it was left to Fr Planque to continue the work he started in Lyons, France. Fr Planque realised that, not only did Africa need priests, but they also required religious Sisters to look after the health and education of the women and girls. He therefore founded the OLA Sisters. I want to acknowledge the tremendous work the OLA Sisters have done in Africa, in Ireland and especially in Dromantine for many years.
In our early years in Ireland, we had our own Fr Planque in the person of Kerryman, Fr Maurice Slattery. He, too, like Fr Planque, was a man of vision, a man who took risks, a man who was totally committed to the work of building up of the Society of African Missions in Ireland.
He was ordained in Egypt in 1900 and after his ordination he remained there, teaching in the seminary. In 1912 he was elected Vice-Provincial of the newly-erected Irish Province and the following year at the age of 38 he succeeded Fr Stephen Kyne, as Provincial Superior. When he took over from Fr Kyne, he had many challenges to face. By the time his term of office came to an end in 1918, he had put the young Society on a sound financial footing. He had the joy of seeing many young
newly ordained priests going on mission in West Africa. In 1914 he started the African Missionary magazine – the first missionary magazine in Ireland. In 1925 he was elected again as Provincial Superior. One of the most pressing needs for us at that time was to find a suitable seminary for the increasing number of young men who were joining the Irish branch of the Society. The seminary at Blackrock Road, Cork was too small. Maurice put his heart and soul into looking for a suitable house. On the 24th January 1926, at his request, a special novena begun after night prayers for the procuring of a suitable site for a new seminary. Shortly afterwards he heard that a suitable property, near Newry, Co Down, had come on the market. Permission to build a seminary was given by Bishop Mulhern of Dromore diocese. On the 29th September 1926, Dromantine opened its doors to welcome 47 seminarians. On the 16th June 1927, eleven of those students were ordained in Newry Cathedral by Bishop Mulhern. From 1927 until 1972, 587 students were ordained to the missionary priesthood, nearly all in Newry Cathedral.
Fr Slattery soon saw, with the increase in the student numbers, that he would have to extend the house. He supervised the various extensions himself, keeping them in harmony with the architecture of the original Manor House. Only a man of Slattery stature, vision and courage could have transferred the seminary from Cork to Newry.
When Fr Slattery arrived in 1926, he was welcome at the front door by a lady from Ardee who worked for the McKeever family – the previous owners of Dromantine. She was Annie Rogers who later married a local man, Pat Bagnall. Two of their daughters Agnes and Annie worked here for almost 50 years. Agnes married Sean McCrink who along with his father Frank looked after the farm. In later years Sean was the maintenance man in the house. Annie & Sean are present here today. We, SMA’s are very grateful to all our lay staff for their loyalty to us going right back to 1926. I must also acknowledge the many people from this parish (Donaghmore) and surrounding area who worked in Dromantine.
The cost of running a large seminary for many years was very difficult for SMA Leaders. Money in the 1930’s 40’s and 50’s for very scarce.
In 1959 a new movement began that was to change the financial situation in Dromantine. And this movement was started in Belfast when a young man by the name of Tommy McKenna came to visit a student friend of his. On that visit he met the Superior, today we call them Community Leaders. Tommy asked the Superior, ‘how much does it cost to educate a student for one year?’ He was told that approximately £100 per student. Tommy went back to Belfast and gathered members of his own family and some friends and told them the story of Dromantine. That Sunday afternoon in Belfast he got his £100 and sent it to Dromantine. And he did this for the next seven years – seven years being the length of time a student spent studying for the priesthood. So, from that meeting the Family Vocation Community (FVC) was born. And it snowballed throughout Ulster. Very soon every town had an FVC group. It was so successful that a priest had to be appointed to help with the work. Every Sunday afternoon, two laymen, Tommy McKenna and Johnny Lappin from Portadown travelled with Fr Andy Anglin to towns and villages all over Ulster, to speak to groups of people about this movement. It has been perhaps one of the most successful lay movements in the country. At one time we had over 30,000 families involved throughout Ireland. Today I want to thank all those that we call Head Sponsors or group leaders – some are with us for over 50 years. Your commitment to Dromantine for the education of students to the priesthood has been phenomenal. Our Sponsors are just Like St Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower, who never left her convent in France but spent her life praying and offering her sufferings for the missions.
I want also to mention the many FVC Directors – SMA priests who succeeded Fr Andy. Some of them are here today. They all made a great contribution to the work, especially those who worked here during the Troubles.
From the FVC came the Open Day, the Holiday Camps, the missionary Association Cards. Open Day was built on the enormous number of local people and others from further afield. I want also to acknowledge the many people who support our missionary work through our Mission Boxes and our Mission Awareness ministry.
I must not forget the great support we – and all missionaries – received from the Apostolic Workers. Founded in Belfast by Miss Agnes McCauley, our Society has been receiving all types of support from them since 1923 with money being sent to Cork for our missions
In the 1970’s the SMA seminarians transferred to the National Seminary – St Patrick’s College, Maynooth. This has led to a very fruitful collaboration with the diocesan clergy our students studied alongside for many years. A new beginning for Dromantine saw it hosting conferences and Retreats, Holiday Camps etc. Over a three-year period, the entire building underwent major renovations and reopened in 2001 as the refurbished Dromantine Conference and Retreat Centre. Since then, the Centre has, and continues to play a major part in promoting the work of Mission to groups from all over Ireland and overseas. Thousands of priests, Sisters and lay people have made use of the Conference Centre facilities for workshops, retreats etc.
Many groups from other denominations also use Dromantine. In 2005, the worldwide Anglican Assembly of bishops was held here. In 2000 and 2006, we hosted two international Flower festivals to celebrate the new millennium and the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Society. More than 10,000 people came through the doors of Dromantine for these weekends.
You, my dear missionary friends, can be proud of the work of the Irish missionaries, your representatives in Africa. Many of those early missionaries did not see the fruit of their labours. But we who worked in countries like Nigeria, Liberia, Ghana, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa have witnessed the growth of the African Church.
In many African countries, the church is flourishing. When I first went to the Archdiocese of Lagos, Nigeria, there were over 20 Irish SMA priests. Today there are none. But there are over 400 Nigerian priests caring for more than three million Catholics. There are thousands of Sisters who run hospitals, schools and clinics. And today Nigeria and other African countries are sending missionaries all over the world to preach the gospel. As SMA’s we thank God for the gift of so many Africans, Indians, Filipino and Polish young men who have been ordained as SMAs since the early 1990’s. This year alone we had 31 young men ordained as SMA missionaries.
Dromantine has served us well since 1926 – the people of Ulster have been generous with their spiritual and financial support. The young people still come to the holiday camps in large numbers. The promotion activities and the Retreat and Conference Centre continue. We give thanks to God for the many gifts the SMA have received since its foundation.
My dear friends of the SMA, in this place, we stand on Holy Ground. For 100 years we have been praying and celebrating Mass daily for our supporters, for our missionaries and for the work of the Church. And we will continue to do so. The future is in the hands of the Lord. May we be attentive to the voice of God’s spirit as we face the future.
We are not just looking back, we work in the present and with the help of God, our Blessed Mother and with the continued support of the people of Ulster, the Society of African Missions will continue to bring the message of Jesus to the ends of the earth.
But what does the future hold? Our Irish membership are ageing. We are just over 100 Irish SMAs, two thirds of whom are over 70 years. Before Bishop de Brésillac died he told Fr Planque that the work would continue if he, Fr Planque, would take it on. And so today, as our numbers decline, the vibrant churches in Africa, Asia and Poland are taking up the challenge. Thanks to the Family Vocations Community, the SMA now rejoices with more than 400 SMA priests at the service of Africa. They are the future. Six of them, from Africa and India, are now here in Ireland helping us with our work. And we know they will continue the work of the Irish and other European missionaries who left all to proclaim God’s message of mercy, compassion and love to the people of Africa. Amen.
God bless you and enjoy your afternoon.