Jack Finucane (1937 – 7 June 2017) was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

missionary of the Spiritan Fathers order, who with his brother

Aengus Finucane Aengus Finucane (26 April 1932 – 6 October 2009) was a Roman Catholic missionary of the Spiritan Fathers order, who organized food shipments from Ireland to the Igbo people during the Nigerian Civil War. His younger brother Jack Finuca ...

, organized food shipments from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

to the

Igbo people The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and formerly also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'', * * * ''Eboans'', ''Heebo''; natively ) are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are primarily found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States. A ...

during the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

. He was a co-founder and leader of Concern Worldwide, a global aid agency.

Biography

Early life

Finucane was born in 1937, in the city of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

, along with his twin brother. He was educated by the

Congregation of Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. Their first school was opened in Waterford, Ireland, ...

. He joined the Holy Ghost Fathers and was ordained in 1963. He taught for a time in Rockwell before going on missionary work to Africa. Following his work in Nigeria, he worked in the United States and studied in San Francisco for a Masters in Education.

Concern Worldwide

Jack was sent to Nigeria, and, along with his brother Aengus, he was involved in the provision of

humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and ...

during the

, and the founding and creation of Concern Worldwide. He was expelled from Nigeria along with the other Spiritans and returned to Ireland. In 1973, he was posted to Bangladesh, during the war of independence with (West) Pakistan. Jack worked with Concern in Ethiopia during the 1984 famine. He advised

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Rock music in Ireland, Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved ...

and in 1985 showed

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...

around on his first visit. Bono referred to Jack as the John Wayne of aid workers. Returning to Dublin in 1991, he became a regional director for Concern Worldwide, until he officially retired in 2002. He went in 2004 to Sudan during the Darfur conflict. In 2005, he headed up Concern's relief efforts in Sri Lanka following the tsunami.

Death

He died suddenly in

Kimmage Manor The Holy Ghost Missionary College, in Kimmage in Dublin, colloquially known as Kimmage Manor, is Holy Ghost Fathers(Spiritans) institution that has served as a Seminary training missionary priests and spawned two other colleges the ''Kimmage Mission ...

, on Wednesday 7 June 2017, and is buried in the Spiritan plot in Dardistown Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finucane, Jack Holy Ghost Fathers Irish Spiritans Irish Roman Catholic missionaries 20th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Irish anti-poverty advocates Irish humanitarians People of the Nigerian Civil War Christian clergy from Limerick (city) 1937 births 2017 deaths People educated at Rockwell College Roman Catholic missionaries in Nigeria Irish expatriates in Nigeria Burials at Dardistown Cemetery