Ireland has some of the best dark sky reserves around and the longer nights beckon us out to appreciate them, writes Jason Osborne Always having had a fascination with space and all things celestial, I’ve been strangely looking forward to the encroaching darkness of autumn and winter this year, and the possibilities it presents for…
Personal Profile Sister Jean Quinn DW is surely doing for others as Christ did for us, her life’s work being that of uplifting people from homelessness, focusing on the spiritual as much as the material. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Sr Jean says that she comes from as deeply Catholic a background as they come:…
Mindful Living Thinking hinders the coming into awareness of the unconscious, including our awareness that the spirit of God dwells in us. It is through contemplative prayer that we are able to experience, albeit to a very different degree, the kind of experience Jesus had in prayer with his father. Christian dogma and doctrine, important…
Gerard Gallagher One of the daily rituals and traditions we have as a family is saying grace before meals when we gather at the table. This has continued over the years from when my children were young. It took place regardless of who was at the table, friends, grandparents, visitors and now girlfriends! There is…
Sweet Treats September is here, and for me that can only mean one thing – blackberry season has begun! They are excellent in anything from a brandy to a crumble, and here I suggest another way to use the humble berry. If you are feeling up to the challenge, source the blackberries from hedges or…
Amateur archaeologist unearths pre-Viking treasure in Denmark An amateur archaeologist has found 22 gold objects with sixth century symbols that could yield new details about pre-Viking peoples in Denmark, the museum that will house the treasure has said. Some of the objects have runic motifs and inscriptions which may refer to the rulers of the…
Packing school lunches can be a struggle, but there are ways to ensure even the pickiest eaters are healthfully fed, writes Jason Osborne I must have caused some headaches at times in my house as a child, so picky were my eating habits. It only dawned on me in adulthood what a monumental task it is…
A Parent’s Perspective I’m definitely not the only mother who feels a bit sad and weepy at the prospect of a return to some semblance of pre-Covid normality. It’s not that I don’t relish a return to normal life but I’m really going to miss having my two eldest daughters at home all the time.…
The kids were only back in school a few days before the inevitable message from school came through. A child in one of our kids’ classes had tested positive for Covid. We soon learned that it was not a child in our child’s pod, and so she could continue to go to school if we…
Personal Profile This has been a busy year for Fr Ger Jones of Ennis parish. Firstly, he celebrated 10 years as a priest this and now, following the elevation of Fr Ger Nash to be Bishop of Ferns, Fr Jones is stepping up to fill his shoes as diocesan secretary for Killaloe. “Fr Ger Nash…
Maria Byrne
Rory Fitzgerald