Has the time come to abolish the concept of a written Constitution? As clause by clause is unpicked from our present Constitution – first composed in 1937, and with added amendments since – a self-evident truth emerges: what is accepted as a general good in one generation will often be dismissed as an outdated irrelevance…
From her own point of view, Josepha Madigan’s decision to lead prayers in Mount Merrion church recently – in the absence of a priest – was a bold career move which has brought benefits. She will have realised this when she saw comments on social media, and letters to the papers from people saying they…
Some people are stroppy and rebellious when they are young. They proclaim themselves red-hot socialists and challenge the inherited traditions of their society. Then, as time goes by and they gain experience in life, they begin to revise or modify some of their youthful opinions. Shouting “property is theft” – the famous anti-capitalist slogan coined…
A friend and colleague suggested to me a short time ago that I should consider writing a book about nuns – since the majority of nuns are now ageing, and in the fullness of time will depart this world. Had I but world enough and time, I would indeed embark on this endeavour. But because of…
A retired nurse died last month in a small hospital in Deal, Kent and many local people paid tribute to her. She was Mrs Maureen Bane, aged 76, and she had been the team leader coping with the victims of the IRA attack on the Deal bandsman in September 1989. On the morning of September 22,…
When Vincent Browne appeared last Sunday at the end of the Listowel Writers’ Week festival he was greeted like a rock star. The very spacious ballroom of the Listowel Arms Hotel was crammed to bursting point with his fans, and cheers greeted almost his every pronunciamento. Vincent was chairing a meeting called ‘The Absurdity of…
There were many who found the street celebrations after the abortion referendum somewhat distasteful, and this extended to the British media, even among those who endorsed Repeal. In the Daily Mail, Richard Littlejohn wrote that “while the Irish referendum result is welcome, I found the near hysterical reaction to it pretty nauseating”. A correspondent to…
If I were asked to preside over, or contribute to, a humanist funeral, or a “naming ceremony” for the children of non-believers, I would have to respond that I was not the appropriate person, since I am a Catholic Christian. Yet it seems that some atheists or agnostics, when asked to sponsor a child for…
One of the most striking Tweets I saw – in connection with the Referendum debate – was from a young man who said he was deeply “angered” to notice that so many pro-life demonstrators were women. At least he noticed that fact. It’s a point which has been either studiously ignored or entirely missed by…
Ireland has been named one of the most equal societies in the world, but one remaining field of inequality, we are told, is between the young and the old. About 60% of the wealth of the State is in the hands of those over 55, even though this age-group is just less than a quarter…