Bishop Michael Duignan will act as Parish Priest in name for the Parish of Ennistymon and Lahinch, as former PP Willie Cummins has now retired. In a letter from the bishop to the parishioners, he mentioned how “falling congregations and a shortage of priests have left our parishes facing many challenges. I will now need…
Thousands are expected to gather for the national St Padre Pio pilgrimage in Holycross Abbey, Thurles, Co. Tipperary. This weekend relics coming from the St Pio Foundation in the US will be available for veneration on May 24 and 25. With the Leaving Cert approaching, many students turn to Padre Pio, but Fr Celsus Tierney,…
Two things I’ve discovered since coming to Ireland: first, that there is a huge hunger for God here that I have not seen elsewhere. There is a hunger for God here. Secondly, because of this hunger, I believe there is evidence of a new hope arising in Ireland that we are on the cusp of…
How do we each play our part in passing on the Catholic Faith in today’s society? The Gospel reading for the fourth Sunday of Easter points us in the right direction. Jesus is depicted as the Good Shepherd –the one who lays down his life for his sheep. Sheep are known for their tendency to…
A parish administrator has called for action in support of starving people in Gaza. Fr Billy Swan Adm. Wexford Parish told The Irish Catholic, “I felt like someone had to say something.” In a published statement, Fr Swan said the people in Gaza are “slowly starving to death. They are without basic healthcare, adequate food…
The Pray for Life novena runs from May 23 to May 31 and falls on the Feast of the Visitation. It is an initiative of the Council for Life of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference. Everyone across Ireland is invited to pray this novena. Bishop Kevin Doran of Achonry and Elphin, as well as chairman…
I spent my birthday last year at Knock. It was my first time going and I didn’t know what to expect. On the bus ride we prayed the rosary and there was a great feeling of peace and gentle anticipation. It was the celebration of 800 years of the Dominicans in Ireland, and Archbishop Anthony…
“Addiction is not only the State’s problem, it’s everybody’s,” Bishop of Waterford and Lismore Alphonsus Cullinan told those attending Mass marking the start of renovations at the site of a new female addiction recovery centre near Dungarvan, Co. Waterford on May 14. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, he said “people of faith have to see…
In the quiet coastal village of Ardmore, Co. Waterford, where the sea whispers against the cliffs and the rolling green hills meet the sky, a boy named Declan Deasy was born on November 14, 1930. Little did anyone know then that this child would grow into a man whose life would become a living testament…
There is a troubling aspect to civic discourse that is getting progressively worse. As a constituency, we (the Irish public, the ‘western’ public) seem increasingly less able to disagree without falling out, or to hold nuanced or contextualised positions on almost any aspect of civic engagement. This degeneration of discussion is in part fuelled by…
Renata Steffens
Renata Milán Morales