Abuse of poor contrary to Catholic teaching

Dear Editor, Thank you so much for your article ‘Children of the Famine’ (IC 23/03/2017) about the mindset that sustained the networks of social control independent Ireland inherited and developed from the British. Too often commentators act as though our clergy and religious were Vatican shock troops parachuted into Ireland, despite these supposed agents of…

Caring for our aging parents

Michele Howe Aging is difficult and caring for our elders is a skill many people are never taught, writes Michele Howe In all honesty, the first time our family was suddenly made responsible for caring for someone we loved, we didn’t do a very good job. We did, however, learn a lot. Some years later,…

How to solve baby sleep problems

Lucy Wolfe I am a sleep consultant and mum of four children. I work with families and children from birth to six years of age to establish positive sleep associations in the early days and to address frustrating sleep problems from six months onwards – without leaving a child alone to cry. First of all,…

Recent books in brief

Stations of the Cross Then and Now by Denis McBride  (Redemptorist Publications, £15.00) As Easter approaches Denis McBride’s new book is perhaps the sort of contemplative book which many Christians will want to read, in which the Via Dolorosa is explored and exemplified in modern terms, though it would be true to say that the…

Are the people always right?

Joe Carroll The World of Books Hillary Clinton won more popular votes than Donald Trump in the US Presidential election but he won more Electoral College votes under the system devised by an 18th-Century intellectual elite, some of whom were slave-owners. So is he the democratically elected President? Eamon de Valera did not believe the…

14 tips for marrying the right person

Jennifer Roback Morse and Betys Kerekes Jennifer Roback Morse and Betys Kerekes of the Ruth Institute offer advice on how to meet your life partner We all want reliable love in our lives. In this, we are no different than people in any other time in history, despite the tatters of failed marriages all around…

Parishes should turn off lights for Earth Hour

Eco Eye Sr Catherine Brennan SSL Now in its tenth year, Earth Hour 2017 takes place this Saturday, March 25 from 8.30-9.30pm. Earth Hour is the single largest symbolic mass participation event in the world. Born of the hope that people could be mobilised to take action on climate change, Earth Hour now inspires a…

Religious education is a ‘lived’ subject

Aoife Kehoe Religion is an exam subject I experience outside the classroom, writes Aoife Kehoe Religious education became an exam subject in 2008. Last year, 1,320 students throughout Ireland sat the exam. The curriculum presents 10 topics from which students must study four. In my class we studied four divergent and truly engaging themes. The…

Michael Davitt: the fulfilment of a career

Donal McCartney Michael Davitt: After the Land League 1882-1906 by Carla King (UCD Press, €50.00) Michael Davitt’s early career has been well documented, most comprehensively by T.W. Moody in Davitt and Irish Revolution 1846-82. It was Moody’s contention that Davitt, in his role as ‘father of the Land League’, made his most significant contribution to…