16 Lives: Tomas Kent by Meda Ryan (O’Brien Press, €14.99)
Courtney McGrail
World News in Brief
Priest murdered in Brazil A murder investigation is underway in Brazil after a priest was discovered apparently stabbed to death on a roadside in Rio de Janeiro state. Fr Francisco Carlos Barbosa, 37, was pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes parish in the district of São Benedito in Nova Iguacu, and was last seen driving in the area.…
Mark November properly
Dear Editor, With the approach of Hallowe’en, we see lots of ugly masks, witch outfits, vampire costumes etc. in the shops. Perhaps we could do something to counteract the superstition and occult association with Hallowe’en, the eve of All Saints. Last year some people placed Rosary beads on their front door for the month of…
Childcare and the Swedish model
Dear Editor, Minister Katherine Zappone’s childcare scheme unfairly discriminates against stay-at-home parents. This is both unfair financially and disastrously flawed socially. The scheme sees parents who are both earning the median industrial wage, with two children in daycare, increase their previous yearly net income of €32,542 by €1920 (after tax and childcare costs). Meanwhile, a…
Shameful treatment of Ardoyne priest
Dear Editor, When I first looked at the front page of my latest edition of The Irish Catholic and saw the photograph of the ‘Ardoyne priest verbally abused during marching protest’, I was at first unmoved by what I incorrectly viewed as an unsurprising example of loyalist bile directed towards Catholic Fr Gary Donegan. How…
We need plain facts of what constitutes life
Dear Editor, How can we live in a society where a man like Donald Trump is permitted to berate the world with his bigotry, let alone run for presidency of a so-called ‘superpower’? Trump reminds me of the drunk who torments punters down the local, spouting out nonsense and ignorance that nobody wants to hear.…
The future of Europe imperilled?
Europe in Crisis. Studies Special Issue, Autumn 2016 (Messenger Publications, €10)
The peelers in the local barracks
The Royal Irish Constabulary: A Short History & Genealogical Guide by Jim Herlihy (Four Courts Press, €24.95)
Elected representatives should show sensitivity
Dear Editor, I could not agree more with Michael Kelly’s editorial comment (IC 6/9/2016) that “what is hidden by badges proclaiming Repeal the Eighth is the horror of what the phrase actually means”. Some political parties and even the Minister for Children, Katherine Zappone TD, seem to be oblivious to how provocative it can be…
We need plain facts of what constitutes life
Dear Editor, How can we live in a society where a man like Donald Trump is permitted to berate the world with his bigotry, let alone run for presidency of a so-called ‘superpower’? Trump reminds me of the drunk who torments punters down the local, spouting out nonsense and ignorance that nobody wants to hear.…