A former professional footballer who began his career at Manchester United and won 27 caps for his country has been ordained a deacon after retiring from the beautiful game at the age of 30 to train to enter the priesthood.
In a career spanning 12 years Philip Mulryne made his professional debut for Manchester United at the age of 18 but failed to break into the senior side at the English Premier League club, in large part because he was competing against David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Nicky Butt and Andy Cole - who were the attacking core of one of the most successful English club sides in history.
Mulryne left United for Norwich City and went on to make 161 appearances in an 11-year career in Norfolk, before long-term injuries took their toll. After unsuccessful spells at Cardiff City and Leyton Orient he retired from the game to train for the priesthood - attending the Pontifical Irish College in Rome.
On Saturday, the 38-year-old from west Belfast, took the penultimate step on a journey he began in 2009: a journey he expects to complete next year when he can become a priest. In front of friends and family Mulryne was ordained a deacon by the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, in Dublin’s Saint Saviour's church. He is now a member of the Dominican Order.
He completed two years studying philosophy in Italy and then a four-year theology degree in Belfast, before he enrolled in 2009 at the Pontifical Irish College in Rome.
Mulryne said he wanted “to give oneself completely to God” and what attracted him to the Dominican life was that, despite his weakness and defects, God was transforming him by His grace in order to “communicate the joy in knowing Him to everyone we meet”.
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