Two Irish parishes joined forces to raise money for blast-stricken Beirut. The parishes of Headford and Athenry in the Archdiocese of Tuam teamed up to raise funds for the many thousands who were left homeless and in need of basic supplies. Fr Raymond Flaherty of Headford parish, and Fr Jerald David of Athenry parish helmed…
Country superstar Nathan Carter has revealed his hope that a miraculous medal presented to him by his grandfather which the singer later lost is bringing faith and consolation to whoever found it. Speaking on RTÉ’s The Meaning of Life at the weekend, the Co. Fermanagh-based entertainer said that the medal was a cherished possession that…
Places of worship under threat of attack in Northern Ireland were offered reprieve last week as the DUP voiced its support for additional help for these centres of worship. Charity director Tim Martin and policy officer Mark Baille met with First Minister Arlene Foster and other MLAs to discuss CARE NI’s calls for consideration of…
The former Sisters of Mercy convent in Skibbereen which was gutted by a recent fire has been felt as “quite a loss by locals”, according to a respected architectural historian. On Tuesday, September 29, a fire burned through the interior of the convent buildings and chapel, leaving only the stone walls standing. Cork-based architectural historian…
Bishop Kevin Doran has described human rights organisation Amnesty International’s call for universal rights to abortion a “complete contradiction”. The Chairman of the Council for Life’s statement was in response to Amnesty’s announcement of a new abortion policy. The organisation is calling for abortion-on-demand, for any reason, up to birth and to allow sex-selective abortion.…
The Belfast-born poet Derek Mahon, who died last week, aged 78, after a short illness, was rightly acclaimed as one of the finest poets of our time. I knew Derek (along with his late wife Doreen) as a friend and a neighbour – when our children were young they played together in London’s Kensington. The…
President Michael D Higgins was one of many who expressed “great sadness” at the Death Sr Mac Curtain, who passed away recently at the age of 91. “I am among the many, in so many parts of Irish society, who will have heard with great sadness of the death of Sr Margaret Mac Curtain, Dominican…
The View Over 50 years, the work of peace and reconciliation in counteracting the ugly and protracted outbreak of violence has been facilitated by patient outreach and genuine effort at mutual understanding engaged in by Christians of different backgrounds. This has often involved painful and self-critical examination of the causes of conflict, where conflict itself…
Covid-19 looms large in pre-Budget 2021 submissions, as Irish charities stress the need to support people on the margins at home and abroad. Budget 2021 will be released on Tuesday, October 13, with charities calling for health, housing and climate change to be the priorities. A number of the charities said that Covid-19 has exacerbated…
Skibbereen convent fire is a tragic reminder of what we have to lose, writes Ruadhán Jones After the penal laws were lifted in the early 19th Century, there was an explosion in the number of convents being built in Ireland. So many were built, that they became a common sight across the country, and to…
Chai Brady
Ruadhán Jones
Mary Kenny