A sneaky marketing tactic has crept in during the last decade or so. Traditionally, there were 12 days of Christmas beginning on Christmas Day and ending on either the eve of the Feast of the Epiphany or the Epiphany itself. The Church counts a little differently, celebrating the Octave of Christmas, which ends on the…

Do They Know It’s Christmas has a fond place in my heart. I was a new graduate in 1984, and Bob Geldof’s righteous anger was intoxicating. Buying the single and watching Geldof brute force it into the charts felt inspiring. Band Aid, and its charity single, was, of course, followed by Live Aid in July…

The Federation of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) has decided to withdraw its missionaries from Europe at the end of this academic year. This sudden and surprising decision will have a concerning impact on the services they provide on campuses in Dublin, Cork and Belfast. FOCUS (which is unrelated to the Irish housing charity founded by…

Recently, I read a book, The Grieving Body. It mingles author Mary Frances O’Connor’s own experiences of death, particularly of her parents, with extensive research on the effect of grief on the human body. She also references other types of grief, including her own diagnosis of multiple sclerosis and the loss of her first spouse…

A recent announcement by The Pillar, a US online Catholic publication, caught my eye. It already offers what it calls ‘indefinite maternity leave.’ It keeps paying for  maternity leave until the mom is ready to return to work. It is now going to commit to paying 75% of all employee family adoption costs, and of…

Patricia Routledge died recently. The much-loved British actor was best known for her portrayal of shameless snob, Hyacinth Bucket, although the character insisted that her surname was pronounced Bouquet. The comedy in the series, Keeping Up Appearances, was based on skewering her pretensions. Mrs Bucket had many catchphrases, including answering the phone (which she insisted…

Ceann Comhairle, Verona Murphy, recently talked about the vast increase in threats to politicians. This includes intimidation to the extent that the police advised one politician to avoid venturing into the city centre and instead to stay in the environs of Leinster House. Ms Murphy also talked about fake profiles being set up online purely…

Primary schools have been in the news for months due to historic levels of underfunding, which the cost-of-living crisis has exacerbated. In general, primary schools in Ireland, 89% of which are Catholic, inspire high levels of trust and affection in local communities. There are some exceptions, most notably where schools are over-subscribed and parents find…

In May, a major survey carried out by Amarach Research on behalf of the Iona Institute found that Gen Z respondents (18-24-years-olds) are a lot more open to religion than their Millennial counterparts (25-34-year-olds). While  only 6% of those aged 25-34 consider themselves religious, this jumps to 17% among 18-24-year-olds. While this is markedly lower…