Thomas Broderick, SMA (1882 - 1933) was an Irish born priest, a member of the

Society of African Missions The Society of African Missions (; ), also known as the SMA Fathers, is a Catholic religious society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men founded by Melchior de Marion Brésillac in 1856. They serve the people of Africa and those of ...

, who served as Vicar Apostolic of Western Nigeria. Broderick was born in

Kilflynn Kilflynn () is a village and a civil parish in north County Kerry, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is 11 km north-east of Tralee just off the N69 road (Ireland), N69 road from Tralee to Listowel. Etymology The origin of the place name ...

in North Kerry. He was educated at the SMA St. Joseph's College,

Wilton, Cork Wilton is a suburb of Cork City. It is the site of Cork University Hospital, Cork's largest hospital. Other landmarks include Wilton Shopping Centre and St. Finbarr's Cemetery, which lies on the border between Wilton and Glasheen and is the ...

, before completing his clerical training in

Lyon, France Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. In 1906. shortly after ordination, Broderick left for the Gold Coast (

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

). In 1908 he returned to Ireland as director of the new Sacred Heart College,

Ballinafad Ballinafad () is a village in the south of County Sligo in the west of Ireland. The village overlooks Lough Arrow, and is itself overlooked by the ruins of Ballinafad Castle. The Most Rev. Dr John Healy, Lord Archbishop of Tuam from 1903 ...

, a juniorate (a preparatory secondary school). With the setting up of the Irish SMA seminary in Blackrock, Co. Cork, Broderick was appointed its first Rector. Broderick was ordained Titular Bishop of Petnelissus and Vicar Apostolic of Western Nigeria in 1917, in St. Brendans Cathedral in his native Kerry,Bishop Broderick
Catholic Hierarchy. officiating over the Benin/Asaba diocese he lived in Asaba. Broderick died following an operation in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, in 1933. He is buried in the SMA cemetery in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Broderick, Thomas 1882 births 1933 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Nigeria Christian clergy from County Kerry Irish expatriate Roman Catholic bishops Roman Catholic bishops of Benin City Society of African Missions Burials at St. Joseph's Cemetery, Wilton, Cork