One in six pregnancies in Ireland now ends in abortion, according to figures released by the Department of Health showing a record 10,852 abortions in 2024. The real figure is likely to be several hundred higher because full hospital data are not yet available. The number of abortions has climbed by 65% since 2019, which…
Seventeen men from across Ireland gathered in Knock on Sunday to explore a possible call to diocesan priesthood at a national Come and See Day. An event described by Fr Willie Purcell, National Vocations Coordinator, as “a very successful and productive day.” Organised for those at the initial stage of inquiry into priesthood, the event…
Irish missionary nun Sr Mary Lucey has been awarded the Presidential Insignia for Meritorious Achievement by Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema in recognition of her decades of service to poor communities. Sr Mary, now semi-retired in Castleisland, Co Kerry, spent 31 years working in Pemba and Kalomo, where she led projects to empower marginalised families. Her…
Former Minister for Justice and Equality Charlie Flanagan has criticised the Government for failing to give sufficient prominence to Catholic Emancipation in its newly announced programme to commemorate Daniel O’Connell. Minister for Culture Patrick O’Donovan last week launched the Daniel O’Connell Commemorative Programme to mark the 250th anniversary of O’Connell’s birth. Speaking to The Irish…
The Society of St Vincent De Paul (SVP) has been praised after 12 new social housing units were opened last week at An T’Ard Clon Road, Ennis, at a cost of €3.65 million. With the support of Clare County Council, St Benedict’s Conference of the SVP was able to deliver several two-bedroom homes specifically designed…
A priest in the last remaining all-Christian village in the Palestinian West Bank has pleaded with Irish Catholics to pray and pressure politicians to raise awareness of what is happening there, following a wave of attacks by Israeli settler extremists. Fr Bashar Fawadleh, PP of Christ the Redeemer Church in Taybeh — where Jesus spent…
A recent pilgrimage by members of Clogher Diocese’s youth group, Clogher don Óige, was described as “humbling” by one of the participants. The young people taking part had the responsibility of ensuring those unable to move on their own could attend Masses and liturgies by pushing wheelchairs and chariots. One of the young people said, “assisting the…
So, do we lament, or celebrate, the fact that a thousand more Irish pubs, all across the country, are predicted to close over the next decade? Or that, already, more than 100 pubs close each year in Ireland – 150 have shut down in the first quarter of this year alone? For those in the…
Almost in the dead of night, the Government published the latest abortion figures late last week. There was no press release. Nothing was done to draw attention to the grim new total. It is as if the Government doesn’t want the figure discussed at all. Instead, the annual abortion figures were simply published on the…
I have learned a new word in time for the 250th anniversary of the birth of Daniel O’Connell, the leader of Catholic emancipation: eleutherophilia. It means a passion for liberty; but the term can also refer to a mental disorder: a manic or mad irresistible craving for freedom. This mania – a dangerous belief that…
Chai Brady
Renata Steffens
Mary Kenny
David Quinn
Martina Purdy