Catholic feminist writer Debra Maria Flint tells of her love of Warrenpoint and spiritual journey

"I was born in Birmingham UK to an agnostic family. My parents divorced when I was three and I grew up on the outskirts of the city," she said.

"My parents always told me that my official Dad wasn’t my real Dad and that my biological Dad had been Irish/French. Apparently, I look just like him and take after him through my interest in religion and spirituality. My mum later remarried a Greek and so I have a very diverse family background. My interest in religion eventually led to my conversion to Roman Catholicism at 21 years of age.

"I’ve always felt a connection with both Ireland and Northern Ireland and as a young woman I toured them both before studying theology at a Catholic university college where I met my husband. He was half-Irish, divorced and 22 years older than me. He was also Catholic but had an annulment and so we married in the Catholic Church.

"After my marriage I trained as a psychiatric nurse and then obtained post graduate qualifications in safeguarding and research. I worked for many years with children who had emotional and behavioural difficulties and eventually became an inspector of social care provision. My love affair of Ireland continued and my husband and I toured both Northern Ireland and the Republic.

"My husband died 10 years ago and it was then that I decided to change paths and move in a more spiritual direction. I was in my early fifties and, as the Roman Catholic Church does not ordain women, I explored being consecrated as a widow. This vocation had been very common in pre reformation times but had died out at the time of the reformation. It had been restored by Pope John Paul II but had never really taken off in the UK and Ireland. Consecrated widows take vows of chastity but live in their own homes and serve the local community.

"I followed this path for five years and it was then that I got to know both Newry and Warrenpoint well due to visiting the areas to meet up with a friend and on route to retreats. I simply love it there. Newry is a very quaint, attractive and friendly town which has something to offer everyone and Warrenpoint is spectacularly beautiful and always lifts my heart. I love walking along the promenade and looking over to Carlingford Lough while watching the ships come into dock.

"My consecrated journey within the RC Church did not last because I encountered a lot of misogynism there. I was living in Scotland at the time and no woman has ever been consecrated a widow there. I encountered a resistance to the vocation. Eventually I left the RC Church and have since been ordained a deacon in the Old Catholic Apostolic Church. This Church is very similar to the RC Church but separated from Rome in 1870 after the declaration of Papal Infallibility. The church ordains women.

"Since leaving the RC Church I’ve researched history and written two books about women within Catholicism. I don’t think the RC Church is true to early tradition as my research shows that Catholic women were very influential until the tenth century after which their influence was gradually phased out through various councils and the development of canon law.

"My most recent book ‘No Place for a Woman’ describes the historical process through which women were removed from influence and gives the case for the ordination of women. I hope the RC Church will one day reform itself and at least restore the female diaconate. The historical evidence that women were ordained as deacons until the ninth century is irrefutable.

"I now live in England and plan to be consecrated a priest in on 1 February 2025. I’d like to be consecrated in Newry or Warrenpoint and am looking for a venue. I hope to move to Warrenpoint in early 2026."