Sideways News

The Irish priest who travelled the war zones of the world, kept his faith and left a lasting and inspirational legacy.

Father Aengus Finucane, the Roman Catholic missionary who braved civil war in Nigeria and pioneered an aid effort that became the international charity Concern, died on Tuesday 6th October aged 77.

Born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1932, Finucane joined the Holy Ghost Fathers (Spiritans) on leaving secondary school. He was ordained as a priest nine years later and, in 1960, assigned to the Nigerian Missions. When civil war broke out in Nigeria, Finucane went to breakaway Biafra where he became parish priest of Uli.

As Nigeria sank into desperate famine, Finucane appealed to the Irish public to respond. He worked with Dublin-based workers to channel aid through worn-torn Biafra, risking his life each time he unloaded and distributed 20 flights of relief supplies on a frequently-shelled airstrip.

Out of this aid effort Concern Africa was founded, shortening its name to Concern in 1970 as the charity grew into an international aid organisation.

Finucane became Concern’s senior officer in Bangladesh in 1972, following its war of independence with Pakistan.

From 1981 to 1987, he served as the charity’s chief executive, during which time Concern expanded into 11 other countries and dramatically increased its fundraising.

Despite witnessing desperate suffering as he travelled through the war zones of the world, Finucane is remembered for his faith – recognising the tension between a good God and the presence of evil and suffering. He wrote after witnessing first-hand the horrors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide:

“We have a strong inclination to do evil and you have to fight like hell to do any good.”

Concern’s current CEO, Tom Arnold, recognises Finucane as an inspirational leader, with a heartfelt passion for a cause.

"He used his great gifts of personality and charismatic leadership to work for the things he believed in. People loved to be with him and he loved to be with people. He inspired a whole generation of Concern overseas volunteers," wrote Arnold in a tributeto his predecessor.

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