Michael Kelly is an award-winning writer and broadcaster specialising in religious and social affairs. Born and raised in Northern Ireland, he attended the Pontifical University St Patrick’s College, Maynooth where he obtained degrees in philosophy and theology and the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome where he studied social institutional communications. From 2002-2005 he was an Editor in the Central Information Service of Vatican Radio. In this role, he travelled with Pope St John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI on overseas trips. In 2005, he returned to Dublin to take up the position of Deputy Editor with The Irish Catholic newspaper, succeeding as Editor in 2012. He is a regular contributor to programmes on RTÉ, BBC, UTV, CNN and Al Jazeera. He also have extensive experience offering media training and coaching in the voluntary sector. Mr Kelly is a weekly columnist with Ireland’s largest-selling secular newspaper the Irish Independent and has been published in The Irish Times, the Irish Examiner, The Irish News, The Guardian, Our Sunday Visitor, Catholic World Report, the National Catholic Reporter and the National Catholic Register. He writes from Ireland for Catholic News Service of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Micheal finished his stint as Editor of The Irish Catholic in January 2024 and has taken up the position of Director of Public Affairs for Aid to the Church in Need Ireland.
Catholic parishes across Ireland have so far raised more than €3.25m for vital relief effort for Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion. Following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia on February 24, Church leaders in Ireland asked for a special collection in parishes across the island. This mainly took place over the weekend of March 26-27, as…
In our calendar, Holy Week is one which turns from triumph on Palm Sunday to breaking bread together on Holy Thursday, betrayal in Gethsemane, death and humiliation on a cross on Good Friday, the silence of Holy Saturday and ultimately the victory over the grave of Easter Sunday. On the first Holy Thursday at the…
The Archbishop of Dublin has announced major plans for every parish in the sprawling archdiocese to meet to see how they should best respond to a changed Ireland, insisting this must involve all parishioners. In a pastoral letter delivered this evening (Wednesday), Dr Dermot Farrell reflected on the synodal process that has been taking place…
A pilgrimage to the Holy Land is an opportunity for faith and culture to meet writes Michael Kelly The Irish Catholic is pleased to announce to new pilgrimages to the Holy Land this autumn. The first group, accompanied by Fr Eamonn Conway, will leave Dublin on October 1. The second group, led by Fr…
As a journalist, one of the great barriers to working as effectively as one would have liked during Covid-19 was the lack of ‘in person’ opportunities to meet. Many have hailed the revolution in communications brought about by zoom and other online platforms. Others have embraced the idea of working from home with an enthusiasm…
Editor’s Comment Pope St John XXIII was reportedly once asked by an impressed visitor to the Apostolic Palace how many people actually work at the Vatican. The Pontiff is reported to have quipped back: “Oh, about half of them”. The story is probably apocryphal, and I have since heard it said about many large organisations.…
The first group of post-coronavirus pilgrims in the Holy Land received a warm welcome, writes Michael Kelly It was with a certain sense of the unknown that 40 pilgrims set off from Dublin Airport late last month to make our way to the Holy Land. Regulations then in place (since thankfully dropped) meant we all…
When I made my Confirmation in 1990, our teacher excelled at helping us to memorise the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Each of us boys could rhyme them off one by one. Probably not to the same extent that previous generations could recite the catechism from heart, but certainly in a way that is probably…
Editor’s Comment As I write, a piece of legislation is making its way through the northern assembly. If passed, the legislation will seriously disadvantage Catholic schools by prioritising scarce resources towards what are commonly called ‘integrated’ schools. Catholic schools along with ‘controlled’ schools (in effect, Protestant schools) will be in second-place when it comes to…
Editor’s Comment There are few things that test faith as much as suffering and the presence of evil in the world. The Christian tradition has always recognised the reality of evil as a profound temptation against the Gospel message. The world we live in often seems very far from the one promised us by Faith.…