When the inimitable Sam Goldwyn was asked once what was wrong with the American film industry he famously replied, “We need some new cliches”. Writer/director Martin McDonagh, in his ambition to be the Irish Quentin Tarantino, has spent the last number of years providing us with his version of these. He’s unpicked stage-Irishry with some…
Over the past two weekends, I had the opportunity to celebrate Vigil Masses. Hardly unusual or particularly newsworthy, were it not for the fact the Masses were in Spain! I left Tubbercurry at 3.20am and celebrated evening Mass at 5pm, in a hotel function room in Torremolinos. I returned home, in both cases, the following…
The Sunday Gospel In this Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 19:1-10), Jesus calls Zacchaeus by name and brings salvation to his house. Zacchaeus was the one above who looked down while Jesus was the one on ground level who looked up. Jericho was a wealthy town – set in a green, fertile oasis between the River Jordan…
The media’s obsession with the ‘far right’ tends to give the far left a free pass, which just might be the whole purpose. I’m three episodes into The Walk-In (UTV, Mondays), a gripping true-life drama about efforts to expose the far right group National Action in the UK. Stephen Graham plays campaigning journalist Matthew Collins,…
New Catholic school for Belfast The North’s Education Minister Michelle McIlveen has officially opened the new £8.3 millionSaint Patrick’s Primary School in Belfast. The new school, which has 21 classrooms, was formed following the amalgamation of Edmund Rice Christian Brothers and Star of the Sea primary schools. Speaking at the opening ceremony the Minister said:…
Academy for Life defends appointment of economist despite abortion posts Convinced that poverty, inequality and economic systems are killing millions of people each year and threatening the dignity of many more people, Pope Francis appointed an economist to the Pontifical Academy for Life. But the nomination of Mariana Mazzucato, a professor of the economics of…
Dear Editor, Despite deep disquiet, expressed in a recent National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) public consultation, it is now almost certain, that a new intensified mandatory sex-education programme will be imposed upon schools. It will be part of an expanded SPHE module. This is the third wave of sex-ed programmes, each of which…
Editor’s Comment One of the great sadnesses shared with me when I speak at parish missions and novenas around the country is the absence of young families. Often a grandfather and grandmother will be there with cheerful grandchildren, and at the cup of tea afterwards will share their dismay that their grown-up children – the…
One person dying every 36 seconds Wealthy countries like Ireland must not wait for famine to be declared to act on the food crisis in the Horn of Africa, the Church in Ireland’s aid agency has said. Trócaire’s call comes amid a warning that drought-ravaged countries in the region face a “devastating” human disaster. The…
The Government has confirmed that parishes who use a building for what is described as a ‘community service’ such as meals-on-wheels or an active retirement club can start to apply for funding to defray rising energy bills from next month. The Department of Rural and Community Development confirmed to The Irish Catholic this week that…
Aubrey Malone
Brendan O’Regan
Ruadhán Jones
Michael Kelly
Chai Brady