The Wrong Country: Essays on Modern Irish Writing by Gerald Dawe (Irish Academic Press, €22.95) Derek Hand Gerald Dawe’s collection of essays offers a very engaging assessment of Irish writing in the last 100 years. His survey of the scene, filtered through the lens of his being a lecturer and poet, brings enthusiasm to the task,…
The abortion bill is being rammed through the Oireachtas heedless of the views of huge numbers of voters, writes Denise Kelly Last week, the Government’s abortion Bill progressed with alarming speed through one of the most crucial stages of the parliamentary process, Committee Stage. It now returns to the Dáil where a significant proportion…
Refugees are “very scared” as they face been uprooted from their community or even being made homeless according to a representative of the centre’s residents. Naima Chaudhry, who is from Pakistan and has spent two years in the asylum process, said that the residents of Clondalkin Towers direct provision centre are fearful of the future,…
Midnight Mass was a top choice among the public when asked for favourite Christmas traditions to feature on this year’s Christmas stamps, according to An Post. Out of six traditions picked by the public through polls and messages shared online, there were “two very strong religious images” according to Anna McHugh, An Post’s head of…
The Archbishop of Armagh has said the suffering endured by the Irish – Catholic and Protestant – during WWI should act as an impetus for political leaders today to build a just and lasting peace in Northern Ireland. Archbishop Eamon Martin became the first senior Catholic leader to speak at an Armistice Remembrance Service when…
The new umbrella group, Suma de Actores Sociales (SUMAS), is calling Mexican citizens to stand up against efforts by president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador to legalise abortion, euthanasia and marijuana. SUMAS was launched in Mexico City and unites 700 organisations around the country. Juan Dabdoub Giacoman, a founding member, said the new group seeks “to…
Dennis Sadowski At the urging of the Vatican, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops will not vote on two proposals they were to discuss at their Baltimore meeting regarding their response to the clergy sex abuse crisis. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, USCCB president, informed the bishops as they opened their autumn general assembly…
Michael O’Leary: Turbulent times for the man who made Ryanair by Matt Cooper (Penguin Ireland, €14.95 / £14.99) Frank Litton Michael O’Leary stands out among Ireland’s entrepreneurs. Is this because of his great success? His personality? The fact that so many of us have flown with his airline? Matt Cooper’s account of this “prince among men” will…
Youth Space Gerry Doherty reflects on his spiritual journey with Youth 2000 “I want you to be happy, always happy in the Lord!” (Phil. 4:4) These were the words that have stayed with me since the night my 16-year-old self had first arrived at the Youth 2000 Summer Retreat in Cistercian College, Roscrea on August 16, 2014. I want to tell you why this phrase is…
Catholic bishops have urged help for half a million Congolese deported from neighbouring Angola under a crackdown on informal diamond mining. The bishops said they were alarmed by news of human rights violations by Angolan security forces and said the expulsion of “successive waves” threatened peace along the two countries’ 1,300-mile border. “Thousands of children,…