Nationwide (RTÉ One, Saturday) featured a special programme on St Oliver Plunkett to mark the 400th anniversary of his birth. Presented by Colm Flynn, it was a concise but comprehensive overview of his life and death. We heard from Fr Mark Mohan, Parish Priest of Oldcastle Co. Meath, home of the Plunkett family – a…
Joe Duffy’s departure from Liveline (RTÉ Radio 1) last Friday was the end of a media era. Some will be sad, some will be happy. The final episode with Joe at the helm was rightly a cheerful and celebratory affair and the essence of it was well captured on Playback (RTÉ Radio 1, Saturday). Joe…
And so, it has been another rotten week for the right to life. Last week I ended with the proposed decriminalisation of abortion for England and Wales, and unfortunately it came to pass. This happened last Tuesday, getting the week off to a grim start. It proved yet again how permissive abortion laws are inevitably…
Last week I was writing about care of the elderly in nursing homes. This week, the caring was closer to actual home. Young carers were highlighted on The Pat Kenny Show (Newstalk, Tuesday) when the host spoke to two impressive young carers. Both were school-goers and came across as very mature for their age, not…
It must be hard for those with a secure home to fully appreciate the experience of homelessness. Gradually becoming homeless is bad enough, being yanked violently out of your home must be so much more heartbreaking. An historical example was outlined in the moving documentary Saving a Man – the Role of the Church During…
The polarisation and extremism typical of political discourse in the USA was shown once again last week by the awful murders of the young couple, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington. News reports showed the alleged perpetrator shouting ‘Free Palestine’, as if his evil act could further that…
It’s a truism to say that the News, as typically presented by the media, is depressing. After the euphoria of the papal election, it was particularly bad last week. Early in the week, on Sky News I saw news coming through of the Scottish Parliament voting in favour of ‘assisted dying’, just like the Parliament…
I could fill the whole paper reviewing how the media covered the Conclave and the election of Pope Leo XIV – it feels weird to write that name, but I suspect we’ll get well used to it. On Times Radio Breakfast (Tuesday), in a discussion on the Conclave, presenter Stig Abel reflected on the process…
When I heard that RTE Investigates was doing yet another abuse-themed exposé related to the Church, I thought, ‘Here we go again’. Broadcast of Christian Brothers: The Assets, the Abusers (RTÉ One, Thursday) was delayed after the death of Pope Francis. Perhaps they thought it would be tone-deaf to show it so soon after, or…
Easter is normally a pretty intense time for religious programming. This year however it was wall to wall religion in the media because of the death of Pope Francis. Last I wrote about my initial shock and sadness and initial reaction in the media. The week following was dominated by coverage of the Holy Father’s…