Ireland’s largest women’s retreat this year was a “tremendous success”, according to organisers delighted by the presence of 250 women from Ireland and across Europe. Tipperary’s Emma Sisk, ground coordinator in Ireland for the US-based Blessed is She ministry, said the retreat at the Emmaus Centre in Swords, Co. Dublin, had exceeded expectations. “It was…
“Church archives and the records of ecclesiastical bodies such as religious orders of priests, nuns and brothers are what stitches together the rent and ragged fabric of Irish history,” says UCD’s Prof. John McCafferty, beginning an enthralling podcast on the Royal Irish Academy website, ria.ie. ‘In time of inquistion: preserving and using the archives of…
Dublin is to host a major retreat for women this weekend as the first international event held by the US-based ‘Blessed Is She’ movement. Originally planned to take place at a city centre location, huge demand meant the two-day retreat had to be moved to the Emmaus Centre in Swords, Co. Dublin, where Archbishop Diarmuid…
The widow of former Munster rugby coach Anthony Foley has said her faith has grown stronger since her husband’s death, and has helped her coped with his loss. Speaking on RTÉ radio, Olive Foley said: “I have a deep faith, and it’s probably even strengthened over the last couple of years and I do believe…
An Irish priest has praised his friend and colleague who was killed in South Sudan during a brutal attack last week. Fr Victor-Luke Odhiambo SJ was shot dead in the early hours of Thursday, November 15, when unknown assailants entered the Jesuit residence in Comboni. The assailants fled when other Jesuits in the residence, roused…
Ireland’s looming abortion law exposes key contradictions in left-wing thought, writes Greg Daly “Follow the money,” may be the most famous phrase penned by the legendary Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman, who died last week. Uttered by the mysterious ‘Deep Throat’ source in the 1976 Watergate blockbuster All the President’s Men, it’s useful advice and…
A medieval crozier newly on show in the National Museum is one of the most important in Europe, writes Greg Daly It seemed appropriate that the National Museum of Ireland on Dublin’s Kildare Street unveiled its latest acquisition, the so-called Prosperous Crozier, on the feast of Dublin’s patron saint, St Laurence O’Toole. Found in…
Parishioners should stand up for hundreds of millions of persecuted Christians by ‘turning their churches red’ later this month, Irish bishops have said. “On Red Wednesday, we remember the horrific reality of religious violence and intolerance in our world and we state definitively that those who do not respect freedom of thought, conscience and religion…
An Irish saint championed the idea of Europe in the Dark Ages and inspired today’s European movement, writes Greg Daly At a time when Europe’s future is uncertain and nationalist currents are on the rise, it’s worth reflecting on the ideas that first underpinned the European movement, according to Dr Alexander O’Hara. An honourary…
With the abuse crisis continuing to rock the Church at its highest levels, some thoughtful material is starting to be produced online grappling with the issues of abuse and concealment. Commonwealmagazine.org has published one of the most insightful and impassioned pieces in James Heaney’s article ‘Our myth, their lie’. “Ten years ago, I believed a…