Having been in Blaenau Ffestiniog last week, it was interesting to see it turning up as the main location for Effi O Blaenau (15), a Welsh-language film showing at the Irish Film Institute from tomorrow. I only saw the town from the perspective of a tourist. In this graphic film, we see what lives are…
I was at a funeral last week, and once again I was reminded of the wonderful support priests provide to their parishioners in times of difficulty. This brought to mind an item I had heard earlier in the week. Today with David McCullagh (RTÉ Radio 1, Wednesday) featured three priests in active duty – Fr…
The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field The Gospel Matt 13:24 Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; Matt 13:25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed…
I have just finished reading Pope Leo’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. It will take some time to digest it because of its depth and wisdom. Contrary to what many perceive as the encyclical being about Artificial Intelligence, the primary focus of the document is the human person as made in the image and likeness of…
Was the celebrity wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, the Kansas football star player, a good thing for the common good? On the one hand, it advertises the significance and meaning of matrimony, in an era when marriage is so widely in decline. And Simon Harris would scarcely have greeted the Taylor-Travis nuptials with…
At noon Mass in St Malachy’s Church, Bishop Eamon Martin remarked, “Our presence here in Belfast today will touch the hearts of many people…we thank God for the tremendous witness by so many of you – both to the preciousness and sacred nature of human life.” Bishop Kevin Doran’s en pointe homily asked, “How is it then that…people…
America has just celebrated its 250th birthday so it seems fitting to ask whether America, in net terms, has done more harm than good, or vice versa, over those years? For the average Irish person, the question will seem ridiculous. By the average Irish person, I mean those who don’t think primarily ideologically. These ‘normies’…
When we sit in the warmth of the sun, when we look on a cloudless blue sky, when we examine the intricacy of a tree in bloom, of a single flower, when we look on the face of a baby, we see the work of God and indeed it is good. We are much blessed…
For Fr Laurence ‘La’ Flynn, the memory of his ordination is full of light. It was July 4, 1976, the day the United States was marking the bicentenary of its independence. “I wasn’t invited to the celebrations in America,” he laughs, “so I went ahead with my own.” The summer itself, he remembers, was “particularly…
This year’s race for the Sam Maguire Cup has, by some distance, stolen the limelight from its hurling counterpart. Week after week, the championship has produced thriller after thriller, dramatic twists and genuinely remarkable performances and outcomes. The introduction of the new rules has completely transformed Gaelic football, opening up the game and injecting a…
Aubrey Malone
Brendan O’Regan
Mary Kenny
David Quinn
Nuala O’Loan