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.
Incoming Trinity Chancellor should ‘check sources’ Former President Mary McAleese has been accused of misrepresenting Pope John Paul II by giving the mistaken impression that he was a misogynist who justified rape. Speaking recently at Trinity College Dublin, the former President read from a section of a 1960 book by then Bishop Karol Wojtyla which…
Many tributes have been paid to the late Gay Byrne who died this week. He dominated much public debate in the second half of the last century and was a towering figure in broadcast journalism. In some ways, his television and radio programmes were a mirror being held up to an Ireland where many people…
‘Baptisms, marriages likely to disappear as priests become an endangered species’ was the dramatic headline in the Irish Independent this week. There was nothing new in the story and anyone who hasn’t noticed the declining number of priests in recent decades must be living under a rock. The report quoted a member of the Association…
Tourism chiefs were all over the airwaves this week as it was announced that the ‘Lonely Planet’ travel company had selected Galway as one of the top 10 cities in the world to visit in 2020. It was a rather convenient fit with the fact that the Government has pumped tens of millions in to…
Michael Kelly in Rome St John Henry Newman – who was canonised at the weekend – would have opposed Britain leaving the European Union, the man charged with promoting his sainthood cause has said. Speaking in Rome on the eve of the canonisation, Fr Ignatius Harrison insisted that Newman “would have been a Remainer”.…
It’s now 14 months since Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told Pope Francis that the Government felt it was time for a new covenant between Church and State in Ireland. Mr Varadkar hasn’t elaborated since and there is little to point to by way of evidence that he is either minded or capable of fostering a mature…
One of the great weaknesses of contemporary debates in Ireland is that few of them penetrate beneath the surface. Too often discussions rest solidly on ideology rather than a shared search for understanding. Take education, as an example. It is increasingly obvious that the thrust of policy in this area is to ensure that schools…
My dear mother Ann died peacefully at 3.37am on Sunday, September 22. I was blessed to be with her at the time, and while I never thought I would describe it as such – it was a beautiful grace. In the days that have passed so many people have been so kind and gracious in…
An elderly priest – long since gone to his reward – once recounted a story to me about his time as an ecclesiastical inspector. What we now call a religious education advisor, his job was to tour schools ensuring that children were properly prepared for the reception of the sacraments. On the whole my priest…
The Irish Catholic Editorial view Marches and demonstrations in the North have long been controversial and divisive. The ‘marching season’ was often a byword for violence and tension between the two communities. That’s what makes the huge pro-life demonstrations in Belfast at the weekend all the more remarkable. On Friday night, some 20,000 people…