For almost 30 years, Bernie Smyth has been at the forefront of the pro-life movement in the north of Ireland – taking the battle against abortion to the streets, television studios – even the courts. But, now that the law in Ireland, north and south, facilitates abortion, there’s been a subtle shift after years of…
A Co. Down native and former British ambassador to the Holy See, Francis Campbell has been appointed president of the Templeton World Charity Foundation, one of the world’s leading philanthropic bodies supporting research at the intersection of faith, science and human flourishing. Mr Campbell will take up the role in the fourth quarter of 2026,…
Sacred Heart College, Omagh in Co. Tyrone, celebrated their 25th anniversary last weekend. The school is an amalgamation of St Patrick’s and St Brigid’s secondary schools and has educated thousands of students in the past two and a half decades. It is also one of the six schools in Omagh preparing to move to a…
In a cold winter evening not long ago, through my work, I found myself sitting in a school staffroom with a group of volunteers gathered around a table. It was one of many such evenings I have shared in schools across Galway and further afield over the years. Some had come straight from work, others…
Blackrock college abuse survivor David Ryan had a private audience with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican last Monday. Speaking to RTÉ after the meeting Mr Ryan described the Pope’s empathy for his experience as “genuine”, and said “he was so sorry to hear of my pain…and for the other survivors who haven’t come forward…
Quotes from Eilís Mulroy of the Pro Life Campaign to The Irish Catholic: “The latest statistics from the Department of Health showing that 10,852 abortions took place in a single year represents a 280% increase since the law changed following the 2018 referendum. This amounts to a national tragedy and is a far cry from…
The voice, and the specific vocation and charism of women are needed in the Church now more than ever, said Archbishop Eamon Martin during Mass at the Shrine of St Brigid at Faughart, Co. Louth, marking the saint’s feast on February 1. “St Brigid is certainly an inspiring example of the indispensable contribution that women…
Exclusive Ireland has lost the equivalent of 300 primary school classrooms in a single year due to abortion, according to the Bishop of Achonry and Elphin, Dr Kevin Doran, who has warned that the consequences are now being felt in school closures and declining enrolments across the country. Citing official figures showing that 10,852 babies were aborted…
Lifelong advocate for the homeless, Sr Colette Hickey, founder of Good Shepherd Cork, which works with women and children at risk of homelessness, celebrated her 108th birthday on January 31, making her one of the oldest living persons in Ireland today. Edel House emergency accommodation, founded by Sr Hickey in 1972, said she is “a…
Laoise de Brún has accused the Irish media of “manufacturing consent” on contested social issues, arguing that “they prepare the ground for Government policy by manufacturing consent and amplifying the official narrative around the issues of the day”. Writing in this paper about her experience campaigning on gender policy, Ms de Brún says that after…
Martina Purdy
Renata Steffens