Buck Whaley: Ireland’s greatest adventurer by David Ryan (Merrion Press, €16.95 / £14.99) Andrew Carpenter This is a highly entertaining, well-written account of the life of one of 18th-Century Ireland’s most famous characters, Thomas ‘Buck’ Whaley. Born into a wealthy Anglo-Irish landowning family in 1765 – he was the heir of landowner, magistrate and former Member…
Month: March 2019
Remember Taoiseach’s call for new Church-State covenant, archbishop urges
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s call for a new relationship between Church and State remains an important call for dialogue, Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has said. “So far no progress has been made by the Government in developing the Taoiseach’s idea of a Covenant,” Archbishop Martin said yesterday about Mr Varadkar’s Dublin Castle speech during the papal…
Pope rejects cardinal’s resignation
French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of Lyon said Pope Francis would not accept his resignation following his conviction for covering up clerical sexual abuse, so he has decided to step aside temporarily for the good of the archdiocese. The cardinal had met Pope Francis on March 18 to hand in his resignation after a French court…
African youth networks urges: listen to young people on ecology
The head of an African youth network urged the world’s religions to embrace the voices of young people, as the leaders explore ways to tackle the current global ecological crisis. Allen Ottaro, founder and executive director of the Catholic Youth Network for Environment Sustainability for Africa, said young people were aware of the current realities…
Man appears in court charged with stealing 800-year-old skull from Dublin crypt
A man has been charged after an historic Dublin church crypt was “desecrated” and the head of an 800-year-old mummy known as ‘the Crusader’ was severed and stolen. The man (36) was arrested yesterday morning (March 14) and was brought before the evening sitting of Dublin District Court. Brian Bridgeman, with an address in Dublin…
Bishop condemns ‘savage’ New Zealand terror attack
An Irish bishop has condemned the terrorist attack on two crowded mosques which left 49 people dead in New Zealand today (March 15). Bishop Kevin Doran of Elphin diocese said serious questions must be answered including in our own society by those who “unjustly blame the entire Muslim community for the extremism of some”. The…
Controversial Belgian cardinal dies aged 85
Junno Arocho Esteves Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels, retired archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, died March 14 at the age of 85. Pope Francis expressed his condolences to Cardinal Danneels’ family, and the Belgian faithful and praised the late prelate’s zeal for the Church, especially during the Synod of Bishops on the family in 2014 and 2015.…
Abortion job requirements ‘undermine’ maternal healthcare, bishops warn
Making a willingness to perform abortions a job requirement for consultant doctors threatens the training and recruiting of hospital staff, Ireland’s bishops have said. In a statement following the Spring 2019 General Meeting of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the hierarchy “noted with regret the pre-conditions for applicants listed in the recent advertisement for a…
Irish nun hopes award will help highlight ‘heroic’ work of religious
An Irish nun who won a prestigious humanitarian award said she hopes it will encourage other missionaries to continue their dangerous work, as well as spread a broader appreciation of the work of religious in Ireland. Wicklow-born Loreto Sr Orla Treacy, received the ‘International Women of Courage Award’ for her outreach work and educational mission…
A revolutionary movement indeed
Revolutions don’t always happen with riots in the streets, or even ordered declarations of a new national order. Revolutions sometimes take place quietly, when nobody is paying attention, or by slow, gradual, incremental change. Back in 1989, a revolution began which none of us even knew about. Sir Tim Berners-Lee, a British engineer and computer…


Greg Daly


Chai Brady




Mary Kenny