Dan arrived in Ringsend in 2006. He was an immediate hit with the local people, especially the parishioners of St Patrick’s church.

Dan is studying for the priesthood at Maynooth and was made Deacon in November last. He was born in Saigon, a city three times the size of Dublin with a population of eight million people. Dan tells me that Vietnam has a population of 83 million souls; he likes the word ‘souls’.

His mother and father are both Vietnamese and the family surname, Nguyen, is extremely popular in Vietnam. He has seven brothers and five sisters. His eldest brother is a priest in Peterborough in England.

He explains that Saigon is mainly a trading city. The further inland from the coast towards the Thailand side agriculture dominates. Dan tells me that Vietnam has a religious divide with fifty percent Buddhist, thirty per cent Catholic and twenty per cent atheist.

When I asked Dan if he ever has doubts about the existence of God, his answer was adamant, “no doubts at all”. His strong faith in Catholicism emanates from family influence.

When I asked him about schooldays, it was as if a raw nerve had been touched, an old sore opened. Dan detested the Communist school system.

If a family had no work or no income, then the children could not afford to go to school. Schools and classes were overcrowded with no yard or playground and in some cases no toilets. Corporal punishment was rife. There was no social welfare.

After his primary and second level schooling, Dan went to the University of Agriculture and Forestry. After five years he graduated as a vet. It was during the following years while working as a vet that Dan realised he had a calling to religious life.

However, he could not get a place in the seminary as the Communist authorities only allow twenty students enter the seminary per year. Dan finally got a place at Maynooth University in 1999.

When Dan first arrived in Ireland he found the weather horrible and the food horrible. Dairy produce like milk and cheese are not on the Vietnamese menu, most meals contain rice just as the Irish dinner generally has a few spuds thrown in.

Dan says he has become acclimatised to the weather, loves his chips and loves living here. He says that the people are very friendly and he is very content in his vocation.

I was surprised to learn that Dan will not be moving on after his ordination to some other country. You see, Dan is being specifically ordained for the Dublin diocese. In fact, Dan will be the only priest ordained in Dublin this year.

I believe Archbishop Martin gave Dan the nod for his ordination on November 14th next. I say get the bunting out, pronto.

When I asked Dan about ambition such as becoming a parish priest or a bishop, he gently put me straight on the matter. It doesn’t work like that, he explained, it’s not like any other career. If you were to enter religious life with ‘ladder climbing’ ambitions, you would probably not be suitable.

Dan says he will be happy to be a priest serving the people. He is looking forward to anointing the sick, giving children their first Holy Communion and hearing confessions.

When I ask Dan about his recreation and hobbies, he becomes fired with enthusiasm. He plays soccer and Gaelic football and enjoys swimming. Dan also likes table tennis, lawn tennis and works out in the gym. He has played soccer for the seminary in Europe.

When I asked about the church’s view on relationships and celibacy, Dan had no hesitation in his reply. Dan had a girlfriend whom he loved very much but he felt there was something missing. That something was his ‘calling’ to religious life, his vocation.

Dan enjoys singing and is member of the choir. His rendition of ‘O Holy Night’ at the Christmas mass was very enjoyable and he got a big round of applause. All his family are into singing and music in general.

If you were not going to be a priest, I asked, what other profession or career would you pursue? Dan was once again adamant: the priesthood is the only thing in life for me, there is “no other” career.

Dan has extremely good English. He explained that he was forced into learning English in order to study theology at Maynooth. He said he picked up the language by constantly listening to the radio. He likes Newstalk 106 and enjoys Joe Duffy. I guess Joe will be chuffed to hear that.

As the interview ended, I thanked Dan and Parish Priest Father Coady. I have to say for my part it was a pleasure and so interesting. So interesting, in fact, that I felt like discarding my notes and just having a good chat.