Housing is the “biggest obstacle” facing couples preparing for marriage in Ireland, Bishop Denis Nulty has said, as new figures from the CSO show the country’s marriage rate has fallen to its lowest recorded level outside the pandemic years. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Bishop Nulty, who is head of the Accord Catholic Marriage Care Service, said the…
An estimated 13,000 visitors travelled to Knock Shrine last Saturday for the 41st All-Ireland Rosary Rally. This made it the largest gathering of Catholics in Ireland since Pope Francis’ visit in 2018. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Cork secondary school teacher and MC for the event Christine O’Hara explained why the rally drew the interest…
More than 5,000 people across the Diocese of Cork and Ross participated in the Eucharistic Procession on Sunday, celebrating 100 years of the long-standing diocesan tradition. Speaking ahead of the celebration to PJ Coogan on Cork’s 96fm Opinion Line podcast, Bishop Fintan Gavin, youth ministry coordinator Sheila Kelleher, and Canadian student Sophie Pettapiece, who is…
“How can Ireland call itself a civilised society today?” Baroness Nuala O’Loan has asked, echoing the words of Pope Leo in his address to the Spanish Parliament this week. The Pope asked what future can our societies have if life ceases to be recognised as a fundamental value, and if a community leaves in the…
Human rights in Ireland are due to be examined again in the upcoming periodic review by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) later this year. Several organisations have now published their submissions to the Council including one by 23 NGOs from the LGBTQI+ sector, co-authored by TENI, the Transgender Equality Network Ireland, LGBT Ireland…
Dear Editor, Your editorial, ‘The Synod that forgot to save the Church’ (The Irish Catholic, May 28 2026) raises important questions about the future of the Church in Ireland and the role of the Irish Synodal Pathway within it. But its emphasis is misplaced. In May 2025, when the newly elected Pope Leo XIV spoke…
The rain fell steadily on Cork on Corpus Christi Sunday, but it did little to deter the more than 5,000 people who gathered at the Cathedral of St Mary and St Anne to mark the centenary of the city’s Eucharistic Procession. As the Blessed Sacrament emerged from the cathedral, the crowd followed Christ in the…
For obvious historical reasons, the vast majority of primary schools in Ireland are Catholic. The same applies to about half of secondary schools. The national school system arose out of the parochial schools. The vast majority of Irish people prior to independence in 1922 did not want to send their children to State schools because…
As a parishioner, I had always thought of the Church in terms of structures. I had thought of clergy, parishes, and committees as part of the physical buildings themselves. I had thought of churches built of stone and mortar, institutions that had stood for generations and carried the faith through centuries. But being part of…
On a press trip to Disneyland some years ago, I met a man who took his children to Mass every Sunday even though he had no faith. Why go? I asked. “Because it is good for my children,” he said. He liked Catholic values. This man came to mind as I listened to Maedbh King…
David Quinn
Martina Purdy