Philip O’Flaherty and the Irish roots of Uganda’s Protestantism

Abstract

Despite exiting history only a few years after his death, Philip O’Flaherty, the Irish missionary sent to Uganda by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in 1880, planted Uganda’s Protestantism and, with others, established the foundation that its present success can be understood. Upon arriving on March 18, 1881, he renewed the enthusiasm of a mission station struggling to find its footing in the East African country by conceptualizing a long-term vision for the mission and ensuring it was implemented. According to the historian J.A. Rowe, O’Flaherty possessed just those qualities of tact and savoir-faire that his colleagues lacked, making him a perfect fit for the mission field in Uganda. Among others, he performed the landmark first Protestant baptism in 1882, which had been five years in waiting. He was also a key member in forming the first church councils (one for men and another for women) whose membership included only Ugandans, a move that indigenized the church’s leadership for the first time.