Contact details
Caroline Navagh (Administrator)
Columba Centre, Maynooth
Co. Kildare
Tel: +353 (0)1 505 3155
Fax: +353 (0)1 601 6401
Email:
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About the Irish Episcopal Council for Emigrants
(formerly Irish Episcopal Commission for Emigrants IECE)
The Council for Emigrants is the response of the Episcopal Conference to the needs of Irish emigrants prior to and following departure. It shows the caring face of the Church and is particularly committed to the needs of the vulnerable involuntary emigrant. It is a significant voice on behalf of emigrants - condemning involuntary emigration and seeking rights and adequate services for them. It provides services for potential emigrants and, in conjunction with the host church responds to the needs of the Irish as an immigrant community.
History of the IECE
The plight of Irish emigrants in Britain was brought to the attention of Archbishop John Charles McQuaid in the mid 1950’s by a group of Columban priests working in Manchester. Following their appeal and the obvious need the Irish Bishops' Conference asked that priests be released to minister to this wave of Irish Emigrants. Initially the work involved celebrating the Sacraments, however more and more attention was paid to the living and working conditions of these emigrants, many of whom were on the verge of destitution. The response was formalised by the Irish Bishops' Conference in 1957 when it set up the Irish Chaplaincy Scheme in Britain. This response was replicated in the United States in the mid eighties when large numbers of young Irish left Ireland in the hope of a better and brighter future there.
Membership of the Council for Emigrants
Rev. Paul Byrne OMI
Rev. Alan Hilliard
Sr. Elizabeth Maxwell PBVM
Sr. Marianne O’Connor OSU
Rev. Donal Hogan SCC
Episcopal membership:
Work of the Council for Emigrants
- To express the concern and care of the Irish Church for the spiritual and temporal needs of Irish people overseas in partnership with the local Church
- To research the on going needs of Irish emigrants and keep them before the Irish Church
- To develop and initiate services which will give practical expression to these concerns
- To liaise with national and international bodies dealing with migrants and refugees
Centres
Irish Apostolate USA - www.usairish.org
Irish Chaplaincy in BritainMs Philomena Cullen 50-52 Camden Square London NW19 XB Tel: +44 (0)207 482 5528 Email:
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Web: www.irishchaplaincy.org.ukIrish Chaplaincy AustraliaRev. Tom Devereux Parish of St. Patrick’s 2 Wellington Street Bondi NSW 2026 Tel: +61 (0)2 936 51195 Email:
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