The text below was first published as an article in the African Missionary Newsletter, No 47, Spring-Summer 2026.
As we travel along the pathway of life there are many milestones which we scarcely notice, but, occasionally, we are reminded of a milestone we cannot and should not pass by without pausing to reflect on its significance. This year the SMA Irish Province is approaching such a milestone when we prepare to celebrate the centenary of the opening of Dromantine House as a Major Seminary on 29th September, 1926. While we are commemorating a mere hundred years of its existence the building is steeped in history and boasts a rich multifaceted heritage whose origins can be traced back to the 12th century, when it belonged to the Magennis clan. It was then purchased by a Scottish family named Innes who made numerous additions and alterations to the building while residing there until 1922.
The Society of African Missions (SMA) was founded on the 8th December, 1856, in Lyon, France. It established its first presence in Ireland in Cork city in 1878 and its first official Major Seminary was established at Blackrock Road, Cork, on 20th September, 1909. Hitherto students went to a seminary in Lyon, France, to pursue their studies. On the 15th May, 1912, Bishop Paul Pellet, the SMA Superior General, formally erected the SMA Irish Province as a separate branch of the Society. The SMA Superior in Ireland since 1910, a Mayo man, Fr Stephen Kyne, resigned due to ill-health and was replaced by Fr Maurice Slattery, a native of Kerry, who later became the first Irish man to be elected the SMA Superior General, serving from 1937- 1947. A century ago, it was the foresight, diligence and determination of Fr Slattery whose keen intellect and warm personality impelled him to look for a suitable location to replace the Seminary at Blackrock Road which was no longer adequate to cater for the increasing numbers of students applying to join the Society. When an exhaustive search throughout the 4 Provinces proved to be fruitless, he sought divine intervention and organised a Novena in January, 1926. A few months later news reached him that a suitable site in the Diocese of Dromore was for sale. He sought and received the permission of Bishop Eugene Mulhern to establish a new theological seminary in the Diocese. He purchased Dromantine House and, after necessary renovations were completed, 47 
It is not an exaggeration to say that, when the SMA purchased Dromantine House and established it as a Major Seminary, it was a pivotal moment for the SMA here in Ireland and for the Diocese of Dromore. The prestigious Manor, which hitherto housed members of the landed gentry, was being transformed into “a spiritual powerhouse, an academy out of which go forth ambassadors to win new worlds for Christ”. (Quote from Dromantine Annual, 1943- 44, page 8). Eleven such ambassadors were ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Eugene Mulhern at St. Patrick and St. Colman’s Cathedral, Newry on the 16th June, 1927, and for the next 46 years a total of 571 students were ordained to serve as missionaries in Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia and Liberia, where they left a lasting legacy. Many are still remembered and admired long after they have gone back to God.
Largely unknown in their own country, they were regarded as giants on the mission fields of Africa, in the manner of the little acorn that has grown into the impressive oak tree and occupies a prominent position, standing guard for centuries at the entrance to Dromantine, to welcome its many visitors.
From the mid-60s onwards there was a significant rethink of the entire priestly formation process, in response to the insights of the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II, (1962-1965). This led to a fundamental change in seminary formation from an overly academic classroom-centred approach to a model which placed greater emphasis on human, spiritual and 
pastoral development. Vatican II was seen as a watershed moment in the history of the Catholic Church. It sought to move the Church away from a defensive and isolationist posture towards a more active engagement with the modern world. In the light of Vatican II, and in keeping with this prevailing fresh thinking, a decision was made to move SMA students into mainstream seminary formation at St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth. After 46 years as a Major Seminary, Dromantine gradually closed its doors and the historic move to Maynooth began, starting with a few classes in September, 1969, to be followed by the remaining classes in 1972.
Another new era for Dromantine was about to begin. (This story will continue in the Autumn edition of the African Missionary)