The first Reek Sunday pilgrimage up Ireland’s ‘Holy Mountain,’ Croagh Patrick, since the passing of Pope Francis took place last weekend, in a multi-day long tradition that thousands participated in. Entering into this new chapter with Pope Leo, Archbishop of Tuam Francis Duffy kicked off the pilgrimage weekend by expressing a desire for positive change…
The Joint Lectionary Project, a collaborative initiative between the Bishops’ Conferences of Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland, met recently at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, to discuss next steps in the development of a new edition of the Lectionary, aimed at updating the proclamation of Scripture across the three island nations. In a statement to the…
More than 600 young adults from Ireland are expected in Rome for the Jubilee of Youth this week. The event is expected to gather up to 1-million young people from across the world for the once in a 25-year event marking the Jubilee year. It will culminate in an overnight vigil outside the city in…
The 250th anniversary of the birth of the Liberator, Daniel O’Connell will be celebrated in his native Kerry on August 6. While O’Connell is arguably the most famous Kerryman of all time, Dublin claims him too, as Lord Mayor and distinguished citizen. Indeed, there are a number of O’Connell monuments in Dublin: the statue in…
Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown has announced new clerical appointments for the diocese. The appointments will take effect from August 30 and are as follows: Rev. John McDevitt, PP Steelstown and Adm Culmore to be PP Clonmany and PP Culdaff. Rev. Sean O’Donnell, CC Three Patrons, to be PP Melmount and PP Sion Mills. Rev. Declan McGeehan, CC…
A group of 40 pilgrims set out from Dublin airport to the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico, via Amsterdam, under the good shepherding of Marian Pilgrimages guide, Michael Murphy, last October. Few of us knew each other, and each of us had our own reason for going. This was a very different and…
Should we moralise – or take a moral view – on the public behaviour of persons thrust into the public limelight? A recent global event has produced a wide range of varying responses to such an occurrence. At a concert in Massachusetts, where the musical group Coldplay was performing, a couple were caught on camera…
What is it like to grow up in the age of the internet, social media, and smartphones? Think of your children and grandchildren and how often they have their heads stuck in their devices. You might even do the same thing yourself. I know I do. Sometimes, I have to consciously put my phone out…
Pilgrims from across Ireland and the world gathered in the thousands to scale the 765 metres up Croagh Patrick in Co. Mayo for the annual Reek Sunday pilgrimage last weekend. The theme for this year’s journey was ‘Christian Hope.’ This centuries-old tradition is celebrated on the last Sunday of July every year, inviting all to…
Folklore promises that those who perish on the hill at Saul, Co. Down, will skip purgatory and go straight to Heaven. After all, it was here that St Patrick himself ended his days on March 17, 461AD. But the legend was not what drew the parish priest there as he marked his 75th birthday. Rather,…
Renata Steffens
Mary Kenny
David Quinn
Martina Purdy