The members of MissionTeam South are:
Tadhg Herbert CSsR (Team Leader)
I come from the hurling stronghold of Ahane in County Limerick. I was ordained in 1988 and spent the most part of the past twenty years working on the Redemptorist mission in the North East of Brazil. I returned to Ireland in 2008 and now work with the Limerick/Cork-based mission team as a member of the Mount Saint Alphonsus Redemptorist Community. I find parish missions in Ireland both exciting and challenging. They are challenging because you can never take for granted that people will be interested in taking part in a parish mission unless the message is presented in an exciting and attractive way and unless there is quite a lot of preparation done beforehand in the parish. It's exciting because, even though the church is in crisis, there are signs of renewal in a number of parishes, especially where the laity has become more active in ministry. I believe that parish missions can be very effective in the renewal of people's faith and in strengthening community.
Contact Information:
Phone: +353 61 315 099
Email: Tadhg Herbert CSsR
My name is Seán Duggan. I was born in 1979 and am from Galway. Before I joined the Redemptorists I studied law at NUI, Galway. During that time I also worked and studied in Paris and worked on a voluntary basis in Haiti. I have a wide range of interests, which includes playing music. The period of formal training as a Redemptorist included academic study, various ministry experiences and two years of parish missions. I made my life commitment as a Redemptorist on the feast of St. Clement (a Redemptorist saint) 15 March, 2009. I have recently moved to Limerick City and am a member of the Mount Saint Alphonsus Redemptorist Community. I was ordained a priest on 06 December 2009. My main ministry is parish missions. An essential part of any parish mission is the preached Word. As preachers of the Gospel, we have a life-giving message to proclaim (John 10:10). This message of life is at the core of the Gospel and of our preaching. It touches every possible life situation there is and echoes in the hearts of people I meet all over the country through parish missions. Striving to hold Christ at the centre of our lives, Redemptorists invite those we meet to share more fully in the life God has given to each of us.
Contact Information:
Phone: +353 61 315 099
John P. O'Riordan CSsR
I was ordained in our (now-closed) seminary Cluain Mhuire, Galway in 1960. I then worked in the (former) retreat house in Limerick in the 1960s. I was also Director of Archconfraternity in Mount Saint Alphonsus in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I then worked as chaplain in Saint Clement’s Redemptorist College from the mid1970s to the early 1980s. The period 1982-1990 saw me as Rector and parish missioner in Dundalk. I 1990 I went to Nigeria and worked as a missionary there until 1996. I had the opportunity for a sabbatical in Jerusalem in 1997 and since then I have preached parish missions, based mainly the Mount Saint Alphonsus Redemptorist Community. As a preacher of the Word in the Ireland today, I have been given an opportunity by God to help people to rediscover who they are, where they are going in life, what their deepest and most urgent needs are. Above all I can help people to rediscover the One who can show them the way, tell them the truth, and help them to live a fully human life. That One, in whom we find plentiful redemption, is our Redeemer Jesus Christ. There is truly a great hunger for Jesus’ Good News in the modern Ireland.
Contact Information:
Phone: +353 61 315 099
Email: John P. O'Riordan CSsR
John Hanna CSsR
I worked in the Philippines for my first eleven years as priest. Those were formative years for me as a priest.I will always be grateful to God that I had the opportunity to work among those wonderful people. I have been giving missions, solemn novenas and retreats in Ireland since 1975. I am now a member of the Mount Saint Alphonsus Redemptorist Community. I love the work, though it can be demanding. Whatever gifts I have, I believe that I can use them best in giving missions. I get to know the country and to meet so many people in all kinds of different situations. It is wonderful too be able to see people celebrating their faith with joy, people being reconciled and finding peace in their lives. On missions so many people discover the wonder of who they are; the spirit of the community is experienced and celebrated. I think it is an extraordinary privilege to be a preacher in Ireland today. I know there is a great hunger in people in Ireland today. Modern people need to hear authentic voices proclaiming the Word of God. As a Redemptorist preacher I have to be a witness to the presence of Christ in my own life. I try to live in my own life what I preach to others, otherwise the Word of God will not be heard. I also strive to have a heart that is focused on people and to be a man of faithful daily prayer.
Contact Information:
Phone: +353 61 315 099
Email: John Hanna CSsR
Derek Meskell CSsR
I was born in Limerick and at 19 joined the Redemptorists in Galway. After a couple of years there, I left for India where I continued my studies and was ordained in 1966. Nearly ten years later I returned to Ireland. Apart from two years in Nigeria in the 1990s, I have been working in Ireland, spending nine years in Galway (Athenry) and seven years in Dublin (Marianella). For the past fourteen years I have been attached to our community in Cork (Scala Redemptorist Community). Our foundation in Cork was opened in 1988 with the express purpose of developing collaborative ministry and of working with young people. These years have been truly an enriching experience on all levels of community and work. Most of my assignment in Ireland has been working on parish missions and some solemn novenas. It is a work that I value greatly and feel privileged in doing. The mission weeks are graced as they offer an opportunity for the goodness in people to find expression in faith, acceptance and renewed friendship. Evermore nowadays, the mission event becomes an occasion when parish groups and councils are recognised, accepted and encouraged as they become more and more involved in their parish life. In the middle of the winter times of our lives and the life of the country, events like missions and solemn novenas bring a bit spring, a bit of good news, perhaps a lot of good news.
Contact Information:
Phone: +353 21 435 8800
Email: Derek Meskell CSsR