Born in Belfast, Paul joined the Irish Jesuits in 1974. After novitiate and undergraduate studies in Dublin, he was sent to France to study Philosophy.
He then went to Japan where he studied the language for two years before teaching in a high school for another two years. Four years of Theology followed, and after ordination Paul spent several months helping out in a parish in Yamaguchi, the town where Francis Xavier landed in the 16th Century.
In 1989, he came to the United States for a Ph.D. in Communications. He then taught at Le Moyne College, Syracuse, NY for many years. In 2006, after a couple of years as VP of Loyola Productions in Los Angeles, he was missioned to Loyola Press in Chicago, initially as VP for Mission, Identity and Online Community Building. From 2010 until 2016, he served as Publisher of Loyola Press.
In 2016, he moved to Holy Trinity Parish in Washington, D.C. where he served as Associate Pastor. In 2020, he came to Loyola Jesuit Center in Morristown, NJ.