Born in 1927 in Mullagh, County Cavan in Ireland, Alfred Deignan came from a large family of 13 children. As a scholarship boy in the Jesuit mission school, he was asked by one of the Fathers what he would like to do when he grew up.

"I want to be a Jesuit priest", the young Alfred Deignan replied without hesitation. When he went home and told his mother what he said, she was surprised but understood and supported him.

In 1945, he became a novice in the Society of Jesus. In 1947 he entered University College Dublin to read History, Irish, and English. After graduation, he studied philosophy until 1953 when the Society decided to send him abroad. With the same spontaneity which prompted his boyhood wish to become a priest, he said he wanted to go to Hong Kong.

He arrived in August 1953. For two years, he lived on Cheung Chau where he learned Cantonese, and experienced at first-hand the struggles of the villagers and boat-people against poverty and hostile natural conditions. As Father Deignan, he is loved, respected, and revered by many in the Hong Kong community, past and present.