Société des Missions Africaines –Province d'Irlande

né le 2 décembre 1919 à Belfast dans le diocèse de Down & Connor, Irlande membre de la SMA le 29 juin 1938 prêtre le 4 juin 1942 décédé le 18 mars 1975

1943-1960 missionnaire au Nigeria, archidiocèse de Lagos 1960-1962 repos en Irlande 1962-1971 missionnaire au Nigeria, archidiocèse de Lagos 1971-1972 Ibadan, maison régionale, supérieur 1972-1975 Irlande, en famille décédé à Belfast, Irlande, le 18 mars 1975, à l'âge de 55 ans

Denis Maguire was born in Townsend St., Belfast, in the diocese of Down and Connor, on 2 December 1919. He died in St. John's Nursing home, Belfast, on 18 March 1975.

Denis (Denny) received his secondary education with the Christian Brothers, at St. Mary's school, Belfast (1930 1936). He entered the S.M.A.'s novitiate and house of philosophy at Kilcolgan, Co Galway, in 1936; two years later, on 29 June 1938, he was admitted to membership of the Society. In September 1938 Denis commenced his theological training in the Society's seminary at Dromantine, Co Down. Denis was too young to be ordained with his classmates in December 194l. Instead he was ordained, on his own, in the Dromantine chapel, by Bishop Edward Mulhern of Dromore diocese, on 4 June 1942.

In March 1943, at the height of the second world war, Denis went to the vicariate of Lagos, in south-western Nigeria. A slim, quiet, unassuming priest, he nevertheless possessed an inner strength which quickly became apparent to all. His first posting, given to him by Bishop Leo Taylor, the vicar apostolic, was to Oke-Padi mission, in Ibadan city. Here he was introduced to the missionary life and learned Yoruba. In June 1943, having passed his examination entitling him to hear confessions in Yoruba, he was appointed to Topo island, near Badagry (Lagos), where, in addition to the mission parish, there was a boarding school and large coconut farm (copra, the dried fruit of the coconut, was sold as a cash crop to manufacturers of soap and cosmetics). In May 1944 Denis became assistant priest at Ebute Metta, Lagos, and was also appointed manager of St Paul's Press, which published the Nigerian Catholic Herald, the national Catholic weekly. In August 1946 he became editor of the Herald, residing in Yaba mission. Three years later, in November 1949, he was appointed acting superior of St. Theresa's junior seminary, Oke Are, Ibadan. This was an inter-vicarial institute, providing secondary education for seminarians from most of the jurisdictions in south and south-west Nigeria. In the following year Denis returned to Yaba where he resumed his managership of St. Paul's Press. In January 1951 Denis became procurator for Lagos archdiocese, living in the cathedral parish of Holy Cross, the oldest mission in Nigeria, founded in 1868. Three years later, in 1954, he was appointed assistant priest in Ebute Metta parish where, a year later, he took charge as parish priest. In 1957 Denis became rector of Holy Cross cathedral. In subsequent years he served in Abeokuta and in Ijebu-Ode.

Never very robust, the heat and humidity of Lagos and its hinterland took its toll of Denis' physical strength and he was invalided home with respiratory illness in 1960. After convalescing he worked in the Province's motherhouse at Blackrock Road, Cork, assisting in various administrative tasks. Few expected him to be well enough to return to the tropics, but they failed to reckon with his dedication to his missionary calling. In October 1962 he returned to Africa to what was now the archdiocese of Lagos. Appointed to the staff of St. Finbarr's college, Akoka, Yaba, he is remembered as a brilliant teacher and many of Nigeria's technicians in later years owed a lot of their success to his talent as a mathematical teacher. In March 1971 he was appointed to the staff of the regional superior's house at Ibadan. However, still dogged by ill health he was invalided home in July 1972. Denis was still hopeful of returning to Nigeria, but eventually all his efforts to persuade the doctors to give him permission failed and in July 1973, from St. John's nursing home, Crumlin Road, Belfast, he wrote poignantly to his superiors in Cork:'I give in! I have just sent off my return ticket to Ibadan for them to get a refund... the matter of going back is finally finished'. During the next few years Denis returned to the nursing home on several occasions, but spent most of his time with his sister and mother (then in her nineties), in the family home at 49 Rushfield Avenue, Belfast. His mother died on 5 April, three weeks after Denis' death.

Denis loved good music; his principal recreation and relaxation was to listen to a Beethoven symphony or a Mozart concerto on his tape recorder. Denis was one of three brothers who became priests. One was Maurice, who was a member of the Society and served in Benin City diocese; the other, Joseph, ministered in New Zealand. Denis was the youngest of the three.

He is buried in Wilton cemetery.