The Sunday Gospel For the past few weeks, the Sunday readings from Mark’s Gospel set us on the road, following Jesus on the way towards his death and resurrection in Jerusalem. The Gospel each week is a challenge asking us are we true followers or not. Last week, you might remember, a rich young man…
Ireland’s October music calendar is usually dominated by events in Wexford and, happy to relate, following last year’s Covid restrictions, the curtain will rise again on the town’s international opera festival next week. Reinstate Running from Tuesday October 19 to Sunday October 31, festival director Rosetta Cucchi has managed to salvage her 2020 plans and…
Star Trek’s Shatner to ‘boldly go’ with Blue Origin Blue Origin has confirmed that William Shatner, who starred as Captain James T Kirk in the original Star Trek series, will fly aboard the company’s next crewed rocket on 12 October. The company also announced the identity of the remaining passenger, Audrey Powers, the company’s vice…
This is the second book by NUI academics Prof. Breslin and Dr Buckley in which they use advanced computer technology to “restore”, or rather add natural colour tones to photographs enlivening the original monochrome. I have my doubts about this technique, as have many historians and photographers. But looking through these pages I found images of…
Cardinal hospitalised with Covid after attending Eucharistic Congress Cardinal and President of the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe, Angelo Bagnasco, has been hospitalised with Covid after travelling to the International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest. The cardinal, 78, had been fully vaccinated since May. He tested positive for Covid upon his return to Italy…
Notebook I was fortunate to spend a few days in France in September, thanks be to God. My nerves were fairly frazzled by then, after nearly 18 months of semi- or perma-lockdown. Last year saw me take a staycation in the eastern counties of Ulster, but this year something else was needed — so France…
Dear Editor, We are being lectured ad nauseam that the truly dark period of our recent history has been superseded by an enlightened and liberal era. However, the hall marks of social behaviourism in this secularised paradise making for daily media reportage presents an unpleasant and disturbing reality. Children, according to a Garda report were suspects in…
What I like about TG4 is that it’s low key, not polluted by minor celebs and pointless controversies. There are some great re-runs of old TV shows (not sure how this fits in the mission), some high class Irish language programmes (the mission) with some excellent traditional music shows. Comhrá (TG4, Thursday) is a chat…
I felt blessed to be in Rome at the weekend to be with Pope Francis for the launch of the synodal way which will see a massive programme of consultation in every parish in the Catholic world. The Irish phase of the consultation – known as the synodal way – will begin in dioceses this…
Ireland’s Budget 2022 was hailed as “a step in the right direction” by some Irish charities, but others criticised it as being a “missed opportunity”.
Peter Costello
Brendan O’Regan
Michael Kelly
Ruadhán Jones