Episode

Frank Diamond- Leaving the priesthood and winning an All-Ireland

Podcast
The GAA Social
Published
Jun 2, 2026
Duration seconds
3127
Processing state
not_requested
Canonical source
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0npqjs3
Audio
http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss/proto/http/vpid/p0npq7kk.mp3
JSON
/v1/public/podcasts/the-gaa-social-3752702/episodes/frank-diamond-leaving-the-priesthood-and-winning-an-all-ireland
Markdown
/podcast/the-gaa-social-3752702/frank-diamond-leaving-the-priesthood-and-winning-an-all-ireland.md

Actions

  • POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-gaa-social-3752702/episodes/frank-diamond-leaving-the-priesthood-and-winning-an-all-ireland/transcription-requests
    Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
  • GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gaa-social-3752702/frank-diamond-leaving-the-priesthood-and-winning-an-all-ireland.md
    Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

Summary

Winning an All-Ireland club with Lavey, captain of all his school teams, Sigerson leader at Maynooth and at one stage the only Priest, playing Gaelic Football. Times have changed, but at 40 "Fr Frank" decided the priesthood wasn't for him anymore. A big call, He now works for mental health charity ALPS, connecting with young people is his thing. Dromantine retreat outside Newry was the spot where Frank connected with young people, perhaps first, leaving a lasting impression. He spent most of his ministry in Africa, with some of the world’s poorest people. But, with guitar in hand and singing his favourite Christy Moore songs, Africa became home. Malaria almost killed him, more than once- but he kept going back. Life has moved in a different direction. Frank now has two daughters. Carina is six, Laoise is 11. Laoise has Down syndrome and brings "absolute joy to my life and everyone around her" This is his story, a nomadic existence and still making a difference.