Fr. Johnny Doherty, Rector
Born in 1942 to Mickey and Annie Doherty, Johnny was the sixth of a family of eight - five girls and three boys - from Carndonagh, Co. Donegal. When he was an Altar server in the local Church of the Sacred Heart there was a curate, Fr. Paddy McGoldrick, who had just returned from Australia. From the many stories this priest told them Johnny's one ambition in life became to get to Australia. He applied to every religious group who visited the local school. He went with the Redemptorists because they were the only group who answered his application!
During the five years he spent in the Redemptorist College in Limerick, Johnny learned that the Redemptorists were, not only in Australia, but also in almost every country in the world. It looked good for seeing the world!
After the Novitiate year in Esker and the seven years of study in Cluain Mhuire in Galway, most of his class were assigned to the Philippines and Brazil. Johnny was kept at home. His first assignment was to the Retreat House in Belfast for six months.
Thirteen years later he got his second appointment! During those years Johnny lived through much of the worst of the Troubles in the North. It was also during that time that he got involved in Marriage Encounter from which he developed his life-long passion for supporting and developing the marriage relationship for the sake of the Church and the world.
Over the years, Johnny has preached Missions, Novenas and Retreats of various kinds. He has been Rector and Director of St. Clement's Retreat House, Director of Esker Retreat House and at present is Rector of Esker Community.
He has served as Veritas Director of Parish Renewal. Marriage Enrichment Specialist with ACCORD, is part of a specialised group to advise on Parish Pastoral Councils. He has written a few books and several programmes for renewal in the Church.
The two things he is most proud of are the establishment of the Youth Village in Esker and the founding of the Movement of Continuous Prayer for Marriage and Family Life, which has spread to many parts of the world. He continues to work for couples preparing for marriage, for married couples, for family life and parish development.
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