As we have just emerged from the turn-of-year celebrations, I thought it fitting to end on a more positive note that’s in keeping with the season. We live in a time where not even the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, will mention the indisputable reason for the season. Contained on the official Christmas…
Even though I didn’t experience it, early 1990s Ireland seemed to a time of great cultural and behavioural flux. Poring over documents in the archives I got an unmistakable sense that this was one of the most defining periods in Ireland in terms of the island’s widespread disavowal of life through a Christian lens and…
I don’t think young people truly grasp the controversy and hysteria that Sinn Fein provoked in certain parts of the UK and indeed Ireland. During its most acute stage, the voices of the leaders of the Sinn Fein party were censored in both Ireland and the UK as a result of a broadcasting ban and…
A longstanding Democratic Unionist Party MP has expressed his support for a Latin Mass pilgrimage reportedly under threat by Vatican guidelines set out in the 2021 motu proprio, Traditionis Custodes that curtailed celebrations of the Latin Mass, saying that “the Latin Mass prohibition is another example of a situation where believers are restricted in practising…
After reports confirmed that the Franciscan Friary in Clonmel was due to be closed on the first day of the year, Independent TD for Tipperary Mattie McGrath has decried the closure of a “fabulous institution” and said that he has written to the head of the friary to see if the decision can be reversed.…
Two Catholic education stalwarts have called the Catholic Religious Education Certificate “necessary” and “not a barrier” after a recently published RTE article asked whether or not the certificate was a barrier to diversity in teaching while outlining the experiences of a Muslim trainee primary school teacher who did not take it as she doesn’t want…
Garry O’Sullivan & Brandon Scott Dioceses are increasingly turning to shared funeral ministry as a consequence of priest shortages, with plans to develop the collaborative ministry at various stages of development in a number of dioceses. The Archdiocese of Dublin is very much ahead of other dioceses in terms of funeral ministry says Patricia Carroll,…
Catholic school leaders have praised the enormous work and generosity of school children and staff who throughout the country have been raising tens of thousands of Euro for those in need at Christmas. “Across the country, in schools large and small, pupils and staff are actively engaged in fundraising for those less fortunate. The type…
The annual Kilkenny Christmas Crib Walk, an event that has touched locals “very deeply” over the past 10 years, will return to the city on St Stephen’s Day. This year’s event will include a special prayer for peace in the Middle East and Bethlehem, calling on pilgrims to reflect on the ongoing conflict in the…
A member of Misean Cara, an Irish membership organisation supporting the overseas development projects of missionaries who work with poor, marginalised and vulnerable communities, has said that the organisation’s aid to South Sudan, the youngest country in the world, is “building-up” systems and commended the efforts of missionary priests committed to improving the lives of…