The annual pilgrimage to Máméan in the Maum Turk Mountains in Connemara was held on Sunday with Bishop Brendan Kelly of Achonry (centre) celebrating Mass. Fr Fintan Monahan celebrated Turas na Croise along with sean nós singer Máire Áine Uí Chadhain. Fr Michéal Mac Gréil read liosta na Mairbh. Fr Kieran Burke of Leenane sang…

Funding for social housing has collapsed under the Fine Gael-Labour Government, according to data received by Fianna Fáil following a parliamentary question to Minister Alan Kelly. The data shows that there has been a 79% fall in funding for local authority housing, a 70% fall in funding for voluntary and housing co-operatives, and a 53%…

Bro. Denis Aherne, OFM (centre standing) pictured with members of the Burlington community following his first profession in a ceremony with the Provincial Minister of the Irish Franciscans, Friar Hugh McKenna OFM on Sunday. Bro. Denis is a member of the Irish Franciscan Province and having completed his postulancy in the Franciscan Friary, Killarney, Co.…

Priests have described the theft of the Blessed Sacrament from a Co. Cavan church as deeply upsetting and proof that we are losing a sense of respect for the sacred in Irish society. It is believed that two young children managed to break into the sacristy of St Patrick’s Church in Kilnaleck, Co. Cavan last…

Pope Francis has given his seal of approval to Declan Donnelly’s marriage to agent Ali Astal. Declan, who is one half of TV duo ‘Ant and Dec’, was presented with a special framed certificate from Pope Francis at his wedding at the weekend. During the ceremony, the groom’s brother, Fr Dermott Donnelly, presented the couple…

Experts in religious education have challenged claims that the quality of the subject in Irish schools needs closer scrutiny, pointing out that an article arguing this admits that there is a lack of serious research on the subject. ‘Religion, Education, and Religious Education in Irish Schools’, by UCC professors Áine Hyland and Brian Bocking, recognises…

Over 1,000 young Catholics are expected to descend on the Cistercian College in Co. Tipperary next week for the annual Youth 2000 Summer Festival. Youth 2000 is an international movement of young people called to spread the Good News and the cornerstones of its spirituality are the Eucharist and the rosary. The festival, which combines…

A prominent Muslim cleric in Dublin has warned that the radicalisation of Muslim youth is becoming more prominent in Ireland. Shaykh Dr Muhammad Umar Al-Qadri has said that Islamic extremists are regularly congregating at two Irish mosques and in one mosque in particular the religious leaders never denounce atrocities carried out in the name of…

A Dominican priest accused of preaching a “vitriolic” sermon against gay people has apologised for any “pain and upset” he may have caused. Fr Terence Crotty, OP of St Saviour’s Dominican Priory in Dublin admitted he “deeply regrets” that a homily in which he described gay people as “intrinsically disordered” had caused “pain and upset”.…