Sweet Treats Banana bread is a staple in any baker’s repertoire and this recipe doesn’t even call for a hand mixer so it’s perfect for beginners. If you don’t even have a loaf tin you could always make mini banana bread muffins, a delicious breakfast treat, just adjust the cooking time down as necessary. A…
Trócaire have thanked Bishop John Kirby for serving as the Church-charity’s chairperson for 20 years after his resignation as the Bishop of Clonfert was accepted by Pope Francis. CEO Caoimhe de Barra said Bishop Kirby’s “passion and enthusiasm” helped drive the organisation, and that he was “deeply committed to campaigning for social justice”. “He helped…
What does it mean to ‘be born again’, to ‘be born from above’? If you’re an Evangelical or Baptist, you’ve probably already answered that for yourself. However, if you’re a Roman Catholic or a mainline Protestant then the phrase probably isn’t a normal part of your spiritual vocabulary and, indeed, might connote for you a…
New Vatican press office director appointed Pope Francis has appointed Matteo Bruni to serve as director of the Vatican press office, replacing Alessandro Gisotti, who had been serving as interim director since December 31, 2018. The Vatican announced the appointment last week. Bruni (42), previously served as assistant to the director since 2013, helping organise and coordinate media presence and…
KNOCK NOVENA Chai Brady hears about Knock Shrine’s plans and their 140th anniversary Cogs are in motion as excitement builds for the 140th anniversary of the Apparition at Ireland’s national Marian shrine in Co. Mayo, with the parish priest of Knock saying it has “come an awful long way” in recent years. Extensive refurbishment…
A poll of visitors at the National Ploughing Championship to find their traditional prayer is intended to boost an awareness of faith and the importance of prayer, Bishop Denis Nulty has said. The Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, in whose diocese this year’s ploughing championships will take place in September, said that with over 85%…
Youth Space Claire Murray I walked into Shannon Airport for the eighth year last month, to go on the annual Diocesan Summer Pilgrimage to Lourdes. I had the honour of being there twice as a youth helper, and this was my sixth trip going as a youth leader. Even though there are different people coming and…
“No, the Word is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart for your observance.” (Deuteronomy 30:14) I was reading at Mass a couple of weeks ago and that line stayed with me. It was that sense that God’s Word is not something distant or illusive that attracted me. As…
An Urban Sketcher’s Galway by Róisín Curé (Currach Books, €22.99) My wife and I often go down to Galway by train to have lunch, then a walk in Salthill by the sea, rounded off with a browse in Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop – truly the best in Ireland. The city, in our experience has changed dramatically since…
I had the good fortune to interview Leonard Cohen in 1988 when he was promoting his I’m Your Man album. During the course of the interview he told me Marianne Ihlen, a Norwegian woman he met on the Greek island of Hydra during the 1960s, was the love of his life. At the Irish Film…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Chai Brady
Greg Daly
Bairbre Cahill
Peter Costello