After leaving St. Fintan's High School in Dublin, he entered the novitiate of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
At the end of his term as provincial, during which he had travelled to Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa, he was a parish priest at South Norwood in the Archdiocese of Southwark for several years before being appointed as a bishop.
The principal consecrator was the archdiocese's ordinary of that time, Archbishop Kevin McDonald; his principal co-consecrators were Auxiliary Bishop John Hine and McDonald's predecessor, Archbishop Michael Bowen.
He had responsibility for the South East pastoral area of the diocese, which comprises the deaneries of Bexley, Bromley, Camberwell, Greenwich, Lambeth and Lewisham.
[2] The Press Office of the Holy See announced on 28 November 2020 that Pope Francis had accepted his resignation.