The tragic figures for Irish abortions in 2021 were released recently but didn’t garner much interest on television and radio. Don’t frighten the horses? What got a little attention was the Minister for Health’s plans for ‘safe access zones’ around places providing abortion ‘services’. It would be more useful to have safe access zones in…

In the worst of pandemic times many people got comfortable with online Masses and for sure they were a brilliant opportunity to engage, but some got to like it so much that they didn’t return to in-person Masses when they could, finding it more meaningful at home. But that deprives them of community and the…

Of all the social justice issues that need attention human trafficking must surely be one of the most urgent. The issue was brought to the fore last week when athlete Mo Farah revealed that he had been trafficked into Britain at a young age. On Drivetime (RTÉ Radio One, Tuesday) presenter Cormac Ó hEadhra interviewed…

The story that intrigued me most in the media last week was the political upheaval in Britain – an engaging turmoil somewhere between high drama and low circus. So, it was timely for the recently returned Sunday Morning Live (BBC One) to look at the question of moral integrity and leadership. Former Conservative minister Edwina…

Last week saw the 100th anniversary of the start of Ireland’s Civil War. It’s not something most of us would want to celebrate, but it’s appropriate to mark or commemorate it – it was a significant event that we can still learn from, and an event that, unbelievably, still influences our politics today. It’s a…

The overdue and historical overturning of the Roe vs Wade decision in the US blew up in the media last Friday. The development was portrayed mostly as a bad thing, with some over-reactions downright apocalyptic. With a greater or lesser degree of subtlety presenters and interviewers showed where they stood and it was overwhelmingly pro-choice/pro-abortion.…

Conflicts between Church and State can cause a lot of grief to both, but can also help to clarify principles. These themes were explored in the rather unusual film Servants (Film Four, Tuesday). Set in a Czechoslovakian seminary during communist times, in 1980, it told the story of young seminarians resisting the imposition of state…

Recently I visited the exhibition relating to St Colmcille (aka St Columba) in the National Museum. It was modest enough but well-presented and informative. So, I was already in the zone for Colmcille – An Naomh Dána (TG4, Thursday). It was certainly interesting, but hard to figure out what was historical and what elements were…

Not being British or a monarchist I didn’t feel too drawn to the platinum jubilee celebrations in the UK at the weekend, but I dipped in to the coverage from time to time out of curiosity. The Platinum Party at the Palace (BBC One, Saturday) was certainly a spectacular concert – the light shows in…

Regular readers will know that I’m a big fan of media neutrality on controversial issues. There’s few more controversial issues than school shootings in the USA and sadly we had another such last week. The massacre at the primary school in Uvalde, Texas, dominated media news and current affairs in the last week. First there…