New book remembers Br Frank

A new book commemorating the life and achievements of the late Brother Frank McGovern of the Marist Brothers in Athlone has been published.

The book, entitled 'Brother Francis McGovern – The Remarkable Marist Brother', was compiled by local businessman Cieran Temple.

In the introduction, Mr Temple says the objective of the book was to “record and recognise the vast contribution the Marist Brothers achieved in Athlone over a long number of years”. However, he said its main focus was on the life, times and achievements of one Marist brother, in particular, Br Francis McGovern.

Br Francis McGovern, was born in Gurteen, Co. Sligo, in 1925 and passed away on January 13, 2008, after a life packed with dedication to the underprivileged.

Br Frank, as he was known in this area, first arrived in Athlone in 1943 to Our Lady's Hermitage, at the time a novitiate for young men becoming Marist Brothers.

After being professed, he taught at national school level for seven years in Sligo, before undertaking a six-month training course in France ahead of a transfer to the Marist mission in Eastern Nigeria.

The books wonders whether Br Frank's involvement on the Gaelic football field for Athlone GAA, Craobh Rua GAA (Sligo) and the Sligo county team – at a time when members or religious order were not permitted to play Gaelic games – was the reason for his transfer to Africa.

Br Frank's time of over 20 years in Africa is only given cursory treatment as the book is more focused on his role in Athlone.

However, for further detail, it refers readers to another publication, 'A Remarkable Irishman: The Frank McGovern Story', written by Jim Malia, a friend of Brother Frank and a former Marist Brother who also spent time in Nigeria.

For a 30-month spell during his time there, Nigeria was torn apart by Civil War and Br Frank opened up the novitiate as a refugee centre, housing, sustaining, and feeding over a thousand victims.

Br Frank then turned his attention to the war-wounded, many of whom had lost limbs.

He later established a prosthetic clinic with support services, Hopeville.

On his return to Ireland in 1978, he was given the role of running weekend retreats for boys and girls in what was by then the unused Hermitage building in Athlone. The time coincided with a renewed interest in religion among young people with the visit of Pope John Paul II to Ireland in 1979.

It was around 1979 that Br Frank first started providing shelter to the homeless people

In an interview with the Westmeath Independent in 2004, he explained this arose due to the number of homeless people arriving at his door.

“I had began to get people coming at night – mainly alcoholics who were on the road, asking for food or shelter and they stayed the night or a couple of nights and then moved on their way. They had a circuit – like golfers – in that they would stay here and then move onto Longford or Sligo and so on.

“After a number of years, I felt I was getting nowhere so I decided to start the residential centre starting by helping alcoholics mainly but then the drugs scene changed – especially in Dublin – and I began to take in lads from there. I did a bit of training myself and gradually the centre grew and by the time we had finished we hand all our own people training and they could run the centres themselves.”

This residential centre, the Marist Rehabilitation Centre, continued until 2004.

The book also explains how Br Frank realised that those who had managed to beat addictions needed a further helping hand with the provision of housing.

It outlines his role in the establishment of a number of voluntary housing associations, including the Athlone & District Housing Association.

The book's strength lies in its inclusion of different voices and perspectives.

Br Frank's role in the provision of housing is told both by Cieran Temple from the Athlone & District |Housing Association and by Mike Ganly, a founder member of the Midland Housing Association.

In 1999 President Mary Robinson opened Maryville, a group of housing units in Monksland, established by the Monksland Housing Association, which was formed out of the Marist Rehabilitation Centre.

It was to there that Br Frank retired and lived before his death at the age of 82.

The success of the Marist Rehabilition Centre is shown to readers through the personal testimonies of former residents, including a frank account by Neil McDaid.

“I dare to think what would have happened me if I didn't go to Athlone on 5th January 2000” writes Anthony, another former resident.

Another wrote: “How can I thank you for being the man you were, the man who provided the platform for me to change my existence into a life worth living?”

Members of Br Frank's extended family also give their memories of their relative.

'Brother Francis McGovern – The Remarkable Marist Brother', concludes with a lengthy tribute by Fr Shay Casey who tells of his experiences as “an unofficial chaplain” for the Marist Rehabilitation Centre.