Everyone is welcome to St Macartan’s Cathedral, Monaghan, on Sunday next, 1 July 2018, at 3pm, when Rev Seán Mulligan will be ordained to the Priesthood for the Diocese of Clogher by Bishop Noel Treanor, Bishop of Down and Connor. Having completed his studies at the Pontifical Irish College in Rome, Rev Mulligan has been ministering as a deacon in the diocese for the past year, initially in Carrickmacross and, more recently, in Enniskillen. Aged 47, he is a native of Knockatallon in the Parish of Tydavnet
Deacon Seán Mulligan is the son of the late Michael and Philomena Mulligan (R.I.P). One of three brothers, he was educated in St. Joseph’s N.S, Knockatallon, and Beech Hill College, Monaghan, before obtaining a National Diploma in Civil Engineering from Dundalk Institute of Technology (DKIT). After working for three years in the concrete business, Seán took up a post with Monaghan GAA, coaching the skills of Gaelic Football and Hurling to primary school children in the north-Monaghan area. It was during this period that Seán felt a renewed inner-desire to serve God through the priesthood, but he chose instead to pursue a career in Intellectual Disability Nursing through DKIT. and St. Mary’s Residential Centre, Drumcar, Co. Louth. He spent five years working as a staff nurse in St. Mary’s before finally answering the call to priesthood, entering formal studies for the Diocese of Clogher in 2007.
Deacon Seán spent the first year of his formation in a propaedeutic year at the Royal English College in Valladolid in Spain, before studying philosophy for two years in St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth. After this, Seán spent a period of time discerning community life with two different religious communities, before returning to the diocese. He then underwent a pastoral year in Dublin, working alongside Fr. Peter McVerry, S.J., where he gained a great deal of experience in working with the homeless, individuals with drug and alcohol addictions, and with prisoners. Following this, he moved to the Pontifical Irish College in Rome to study for a degree in theology at the Angelicum University. He was ordained to the diaconate in Rome last year,
Seán is an avid sports fan, and a devoted follower of his home club, Scotstown G.F.C., and the Monaghan county teams. He represented his club, Scotstown, at all levels, winning two Monaghan Senior Football Championships with them in 1992 and 1993. He has also represented Monaghan county at Vocational Schools’, Minor, U’21, and senior level. He is also a lifelong member of the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association.
Once again, everyone is welcome to participate in Sunday’s liturgy in the Cathedral which will attended by Sean’s family and friends, together with the priests of the diocese.
