There has been, obviously, much discussion about the role of women in the national sphere recently; but one of the groups drawing least attention is what we might call ‘the tribe of widows’. When I was involved, with others, in forming the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement in 1970, the position of widows was one of…
History teaches the sources of war and suffering
“Thankfully, it’s not my field of expertise, so I don’t have to write about it,” I heard a journalist remark last week, in relief. He was referring to the Gaza-Israel conflict, how agonising it is, and how difficult it would be to produce a balanced commentary on these terrible events. On the one hand, the…
Are strict childhoods a thing of the past?
So, my cousin and I fell to talking about how differently children are brought up these days in contrast to our childhood, or even to our time as younger mothers – a perennial topic among grandmothers. Modern parenthood focuses on giving children choices, and letting them voice their needs freely. Children should not be coerced…
This referendum may make us value mothers at home more
The Hollywood mogul, Sam Goldwyn, coined many amusing quotations still in currency – his way of declining an invitation was “Include me out!” He most famously set a maxim for our age when he suggested that public attention is always helpful – “Any publicity is good publicity.” It doesn’t turn out to be true in…
Michelle O’Neill – symbol of social change?
There’s a theory that if women ruled the world, the world would be a nicer, kinder place – and politics less confrontational. It hasn’t always been borne out by female leaders from history, who, from Catherine the Great to Margaret Thatcher have included warrior queens and steely autocrats. But now, Stormont is carrying out a…
St Brigid has been rebranded for our time…
For some time now, we’ve been told that Ireland is becoming ever more secular, and thus, faith symbols must be removed from public spaces. Mother Mary Aikenhead may have founded Irish nursing, but her portrait no longer graces the hospitals she established. And yet, surprisingly, we now have a new public holiday – this weekend…
Why Paul went out of fashion (But why I think he’s fascinating…)
What do the Scottish poet Robbie Burns and St Paul the Evangelist have in common? As I’ve only recently learned, they share January 25 as their special day. The Scots eat haggis and drink whisky on ‘Burns Night’ to commemorate their national bard, who so memorably authored ‘Auld Lang Syne’, and ‘To a Mouse’. St…
Can ‘love thy enemy’ ever compete with ‘Jihad’?
We are currently within the octave of Prayer for the Unity of Christians, and seldom in recent history has the spirit of Christian unity appeared more needed. Yet as I sat listening to a gentle homily about how Jesus Christ means peace – peace in our hearts, peace with our neighbours, and in the world…
No country for old moans
It’s been pleasing to see a revival in the old Irish tradition of celebrating January 6 as ‘Nollaig na mBan’, the ‘women’s Christmas’. Although it had been a country tradition, I don’t think it was very widely observed in Dublin, where January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany was known, traditionally, as ‘Little Christmas’. The…
‘Mr Europe’ and his Catholic faith
Jacques Delors was sometimes called “the Father of the Euro” – he successfully promoted the single currency (which marks its 25th birthday this year.) This week, President Macron will perform a national ceremony in Paris to honour M. Delors, who died recently aged 98. Influential He was a hugely influential personality as President of the…