DANIEL Francis Foley, known by the Irish Gaelic Donal to distinguish him from his father, was born on October 10, 1927, in Denny.

His father, then headteacher at St Joseph's RC School in Bonnybridge, was one of the principal movers behind the "Bonnybridge case" of 1929, a landmark ruling in the history of the 1918 Education (Scotland) Act. Bishops challenged the refusal of Stirlingshire Education Authority to provide a local Catholic school and took their case to the House of Lords, where they won.

At the age of 14, Donal went to Blairs College, a junior seminary near Aberdeen, to see if he had a vocation to the priesthood.

From Blairs, he went on to study theology at St Mary's, Oscott, Birmingham, before being ordained in 1951 for the archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh at St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh. Donal immediately began his work as a priest, serving as an assistant at St Mary's, Bo'ness (1951-53) and then at St David's, Dalkeith (1953-58).

In 1958, his great wish to be a missionary priest was granted when he volunteered to be posted to Nigeria to assist in a new venture, the evangelisation of the Bauchi people. By 1982, four major churches had been built in Bauchi, Gombe, Billiri and Gambar. There were at least 300 bush churches in the out-stations.

During the Nigerian civil war (1967-1970) , the work of Donal and his colleagues was severely challenged. Donal said: "Terrible scenes of massacre and destruction were witnessed by some of the priests. In Gombe practically everything was destroyed. The house and school were burned down and the priest lucky to escape with his life. In Bauchi, most of the Igbo men who returned on promises of protection were massacred outside the Mission House with our priest helpless under virtual house arrest."

Following the war, the rebuilding of the mission stations and churches began. After 1982, Bauchi State was born and developed, leading to an inf lux of workers, many of the workers being Catholics from other parts of Nigeria, from the Philippines (doctors and teachers) and Italy (mechanical engineers and construction engineers) .

In October 1983, toward the end of Donal's service as missionary director, Cardinal Gordon Joseph Gray of St Andrews and Edinburgh asked Bishop Gabriel Ganaka, the new bishop of Jos (which included Bauchi) to come to Ingliston, Edinburgh, for an official "handing back" of the territory, now self-sufficient. It was a time of great satisfaction for Donal and his missionary colleagues, seeing their lives' work completed.

Donal's remit as missionary director gave him something of a roving portfolio and he easily mastered the art of diplomatic subterfuge, aided and abetted by his silver tongue. His work required him to travel many thousands of miles each year. It was one of his proud boasts that he managed to change his car every year without the parish priest with, whom he was lodging, knowing he had done so. This he accomplished by buying a new car of the same model and the same colour and retaining the same number plate.

Although Donal never saw service in the bush itself, during his seven years in Nigeria, he quickly established himself as a key player through his gift for motivating and networking. As archdiocesan missionary director, he became affectionately known as Mr Bauchi, through his ability to convince Scottish Catholics that putting their hands in their pockets forAfrica was a sacrifice worth making.

For some 20 years, he travelled far and wide in Scotland, visiting parishes and schools, thinking up inventive ways of catching people's attention about the needs of Bauchi and encouraging others to volunteer for missionary work. Being a motivator had its frustrations: not all of his best ideas were taken up by his superiors, who perhaps did not have the insights that missionary experience provided.

After his return from Africa, he served at St Mary's, Stirling (1965-69), St Mary's, Slamannan in Falkirk (1969-77), Mayfield, Dalkeith (1977-85) and St Columba's, Edinburgh (198593). He then retired. In 1987, he became a member of the papal household, receiving the title of monsignor for his work in the mission field. He was Scottish representative on the World Mission Council in Rome.

In retirement, he set off on a challenging new apostolate as a chaplain on P&O cruise liners. He enjoyed meeting people and celebrating innovative liturgies for a wide crosssection of passengers and crew.

Over the past few years, Donal's health deteriorated.

After a short time in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, he returned to Nazareth House, Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, to which he had finally retired. There he was able to say farewell to many of his friends. He is survived by his brothers, John, Patrick, Brendan and Michael, and his sisters, Sheila and Margaret (the latter a Notre Dame sister) .

Monsignor Daniel (Donal) Foley; born October 10, 1927, died March 6, 2005.