Tributes paid to Fr Aengus Finucane of Concern

Charity chiefs today paid tribute to former Concern chief executive Fr Aengus Finucane, who has lost his battle with cancer.

Concern Worldwide’s chief executive Tom Arnold said the 77-year-old had been an inspirational leader whose work saved countless lives.

“He had an absolute commitment to the poorest of the poor,” Mr Arnold said.

“There can be few Irish people of his generation or of any other generation who have contributed as much to improving the lives of so much of humanity.”

Following the outbreak of civil war in Nigeria in 1967, Fr Finucane travelled to the breakaway region of Biafra where he and fellow missionaries attempted to aid a populace ravaged by war and famine.

That same year, recalling Ireland's own famine suffering, Fr Finucane and colleagues appealed to the Irish people to respond to the famine needs of the Nigerian/Biafra victims and Concern Worldwide was born.

His initial work with Concern was to assist with relief and refugee work in Biafra and Gabon. In 1972, he went to Bangladesh as Concern's Field Director. He also worked extensively in South East Asia and Rwanda, and served as chief executive of the charity from 1981 until his retirement in 1997, when he was made honorary president of Concern US.

Fr Finucane was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and died at the Spiritan nursing home in Kimmage, Dublin.

Mr Arnold said the former teacher had a keen interest in improving educational standards, particularly for females, in the countries he visited.

“He saw from his early days in Bangladesh the benefits of girls’ education and how if they were educated their status just changed and they were going to have more opportunities,” Mr Arnold said.

“He saw education as a kind of liberation of potential and his legacy has lived on in the education projects Concern has established in many different countries.”

Tributes were also paid by Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin and Minister of State for Overseas Development Peter Power.

In a joint statement, the Ministers said: “Fr Aengus Finucane has been a tireless force for good across the globe for more than four decades."

"Fr Finucane harnessed his great energy, commitment and kindness to effect real improvements in the lives of the poor and those devastated by war and disaster."