Today marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Sr Clare Crockett, Servant of God, who died in an earthquake while in mission in Ecuador on April 16, 2016. To mark the milestone, HM Television started a 10-day countdown on their YouTube channel, releasing one video about the Irish nun per day. The clips feature…
“An additional 36 infant remains have been recovered [from the site of the former Mother and Baby Institution in Tuam, Co. Galway] since the last technical update”, according to a new report, as forensic excavation of the site continues. The ‘Technical Update 6’, reporting findings from January 29 to March 31 and released on April…
Trump’s nationalism could be seen during the fuel protests, said ACP priest, Fr Roy Donovan. “The Irish flags on tractors and trucks, and people carrying the flags. It’s kind of the narrow nationalism of Trump, that kind of far-right stuff. It’s very intimidating.” For the priest, “The racism put out during the protests and the…
Teachers must draw a clear line between their professional role as educators and as advocates for specific causes, writes Sandra Adams A recent Irish Times article by teacher Conor Murphy presents itself as a defence of empathy in education. In practice, however, it reads as an uncritical endorsement of a worldview that downplays the significance…
In this second article I shall continue with an examination of challenges facing Ireland in a security and defence context but first I need to say a little more about the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). NATO’s woes As I wrote in a piece for this newspaper in July 2024, NATO has had its share…
Few days in the GAA calendar carry the same weight as a Munster final. Each year, the coveted Mick Mackey Cup is lifted amid a swirl of colour and noise, the roar of a rapturous crowd rising to meet the moment as the province’s hurling champions are crowned. While Gaelic football may dominate much of…
It’s over two years since Pope Francis launched the Synod on Synodality and to many it seems at this point to be all about assemblies, working groups and reports that float high above the lives of the man and woman in the pew. The publicity and the posters are a rapidly fading memory. The idea…
Pope Leo’s election on May 8, 2025, coincided with the commemoration of the Blessed Martyrs of Algeria. Among them are the seven Trappist monks of Tibhirine, murdered in 1996, thirty years ago. Pope Leo will pay tribute to the 19 martyrs who were killed in this mostly Muslim nation. We reprint part of Luca Attanasio’s…
Two years ago, I found myself doing something I never imagined— competing at the All-Ireland Fleadh in Wexford as part of a marching band. Our Comhaltas branch in Scotland, made up largely of first-and second-generation Irish diaspora families, has always had a strong presence at the Fleadh. Traditionally, the branch had members who competed in…
One year on from the passing of Pope Francis, the world feels, in many ways, more fragile than it did when he left us. Conflict has deepened in parts of the Middle East. Political discourse has hardened, with the rise of polarisation, nationalism and, at times, outright hostility. Multilateral cooperation—so essential to addressing global crises—appears…
Renata Steffens