The National Pioneer Ball was first introduced to the Pioneer calendar in 1997 by a group of young pioneers from Limerick. The ball was a great success and it soon became an annual event, with the location rotating between the different provinces and attracting an attendance of over 300 people nationwide. This year, the 20th…
Mags Gargan looks at activity camp options across the country to keep children entertained during the school break Lent is upon us and while it might seem early, now is the time to start planning how to keep children busy during the Easter holidays. Easter Sunday can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and…
The annual Solemn Novena To Our Lady of Perpetual Help in St Peter & Paul’s Church in Portlaoise will be held from Saturday, February 13 to Sunday, February 21. Every day during the novena different themes will reflect on the joys and struggles of life and petitions or personal prayers will be presented by all…
The Croagh Patrick Heritage Trail is hosting a three-day walking festival in conjunction with Mayo Roscommon Hospice with all proceeds going to the hospice’s new facility in Castlebar. The festival will take place over March 18-20 running from Balla to Ballintubber (20 km), then Ballintubber to Aughagower (21km) and finally Aughagower to Murrisk (21km). Registration is at…
Mags Gargan finds the celebration of Holy Week in Spain, has something to offer all the senses Spending Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Andalucia, a region in Southern Spain, is a true feast for all the senses, as communities gather to continue a centuries-old tradition of devotion. From small towns to major cities, the streets…
A member of the singing group The Priests, who features on this year’s Trócaire Lenten box, has praised the “incredible” generosity of Irish parishes in raising life-changing funds for the world’s most vulnerable. Fr Martin O’Hagan, Trócaire’s representative in the Diocese of Down and Connor, told The Irish Catholic that the “people of Ireland deserve…
A large number of couples are continuing to present for marriage counselling because of financial problems despite the country entering economic recovery. According to the latest figures released by ACCORD, the Church’s marriage care service, the number of couples citing financial problems as a reason for attending counselling doubled from 2007 to a peak of…
A parish priest leading a campaign to keep community hospitals open in three rural towns in Co. Donegal has criticised Government policy for “failing rural Ireland”. Fr John Joe Duffy, parish priest in Stranorlar described plans to remove long-term beds, or residential nursing beds, from the community hospitals in Lifford, Ramelton and Stranorlar for a…
Cabra West Parish in Dublin and Ballinaspeaig Parish in Cork have both received an award from Eco-Congregation Ireland (ECI) – a project of the Irish Inter-Church Meeting – for taking steps to ‘green’ their parishes in recent years. Ballinaspeaig was the first church in Ireland to become a Fairtrade parish. It has held a number…
The Family Centre at Knock Shrine, along with the gardening team, will plant a snowdrop this spring on the grounds of the shrine in memory of all deceased children enrolled in the Knock Book of Remembrance. On Sunday, February 7 at 3pm the bulbs will be blessed and all the deceased children and their parents…