This is the life story of Father Bob Maguire - a rare behind - the - scenes look at the much - loved 'people's priest'.  The enigmatic champion of the down - and - out was shaped by a lonely childhood in poor circumstances, an early priesthood that collided with the upheaval of Vatican 11 and working with the army during the Vietnam War.  This is a lively portrait of the man behind the resilient social activist and popular media performer who refuses to be defeated by enforced retirement from the parish over which he presided for nearly forty years. Bob Maguire: 'Some people have called me a maverick or a larrikin or a renegade, or they say I'm plain mad. . .People will have to decide for themselves.  But just one thing: Don't ever make me a saint.  Because that is something I'm most definitely not.