Priory Trail

The Benburb (Servite) Priory in Benburb, County Tyrone, is an open religious community. Established in 1949, it has a long-established open-door policy and a firm commitment to facilitating and enabling community development, good relations and peace building, and the regeneration and revitalisation of the local and wider rural area. The Priory is a unique facility in the area, creating physical and psychological space and place for all sections of the rural and wider community to come together to meet, talk, share, learn, play and grow together, addressing some of the most pressing rural social and community needs. The commitment of the Priory to local needs has been evidenced through its ongoing provision of a dedicated community space within the buildings and grounds of the estate for the advancement and promotion of community development, regeneration and social inclusion in support of one of the most disadvantaged rural communities within Northern Ireland.Of particular importance and priority to the Servite Order since its establishment in Northern Ireland has been its commitment and role in promoting and fostering community and scholarly learning, and the arts and sciences, within and between the communities. When the Servites took over the estate in 1949, then reduced through various Land Acts to about 100 acres, it was used as an education and development centre for training student priests and brothers. At its peak, around 1960, there were as many as 100 friars and students in Benburb.As the number of Servite students declined during the late 1960s and 1970s, the presence and purpose of the Servite Community evolved, with the student accommodation being utilized for retreats and study groups, both religious and lay. This was a time of social and community change and evolution in Northern Ireland. The Servites sought to counteract the ongoing religious and political turbulence. The ethos of an ‘open-door’ policy, established by the Servite Community almost 20 years before, was maintained and continues as a central priority of the Priory right up to the present day..