AFTER SIX years in Drogheda and more than 40 years in Africa as a member of the Society of African Missions (SMA), Fr Sean Ryan is once again heading for pastures new, as he retires from the priesthood.

Originally from Louth Village, Fr Ryan has been in St Peter's Parish for the past number of years following his return from Africa.

'Parish work is too much for me at the moment,' explained Fr Ryan. ' They asked where I would like to stay and I said Dromantine because that's where I trained in the seminary so I'm heading up there shortly.'

Fr Ryan first became involved with the SMAS after finishing primary school in his native Louth Village. He continued his education in Ballinfad in County Mayo before moving into the Noviciate in the seminary, eventually completing his ordination in the seminary in Dromantine in Newry.

'I finished off in Dromantine in 1958, there was actually another chap from Louth Village there as well at the time, Tom Lindon, but he was a year ahead of me.'

Fr Ryan was dispatched to Africa later that same year where he spent a year learning the local language in a small village only to be moved to another village with a completely different dialect as soon as he had a grasp of the vocabulary.

' The language wasn't took difficult to learn but it was completely wasted on me because I was sent to a different tribe as soon as I had the grasp of it!,' said Fr Ryan. He said travelling to Africa as missionary at such a young age was a ' huge culture' shock and the parishes, which were all situated in the mid-west Nigeria, were so isolated.

In 1959, Fr Ryan was appointed to the Ughelli parish where there were between 10 and twelve different languages. ' Some of them were alike and some weren't so it was very difficult but the people were very understanding and if you made any kind of effort at all they wouldn't laugh at you,' he explained. ' Then I got involved in sport so I started playing soccer with them and then I took up refereeing and used to help in the Sports Council and things like that. I was always very involved in sport having played a bit of soccer here and it was a great help to me.'

Fr Ryan later moved to the Delta of the Niger River and it was here that he spent the majority of his years in Africa.

He moved to Bomadi where he worked as parish priest in the Warri Diocese alongside Tom Kennedy who was principal of the adjoining St Brendan's Grammar School.

The vast majority of outstations in the area were visited by a canoe with outboard engine and in the early years Sean had to travel by boat to Patani to get transport to the mainland. In later years, he could cross the Bomadi creek on the opposite side where his car was parked.

The riverside area was swarmed with mosquitos and Fr Ryan admits he often got malaria. 'In those days we used to take malaria tablets every day and I didn't like that so I decided to go and try and build up a resistence. It would work but then every time I would change area I would get malaria again because it was a different strain.'

He returned to Ireland in 2001, taking up an appointment in Tallanstown Parish before moving to Drogheda in 2006. Fr Ryan is now looking forward to moving back to the SMA house in Dromantine and says he is looking forward to taking life a bit easier.

'I'm going back to the SMA centre in Dromantine where I was ordained so back to where i started,' he revealed.

A farewell Mass for Fr Ryan will take place on February 4th at 6.15pm in St Peter's. A function follows immediately in the Barbican and all are invited to come along and say farewell.

Fr Ryan's duties in St Peter's will be taken over by Fr Aidan Dunne from Dungannon.

- FIONA MAGENNIS