Potatoes have often been regarded as the symbolic food of the Irish, providing taste, nourishment and sustenance. Harnessing onto their usefulness, a Dublin-based charity has started a global initiative to bring needed potatoes to some of the most impoverished countries in Africa. Vita is a successful Irish NGO working with the world’s poorest people in…

Euthanasia and assisted suicide are two practices that are growing in popularity worldwide, with the Netherlands having seen a recent surge in the demand for euthanasia, as reported in The Guardian last month. Although euthanasia and assisted suicide are now legal in only a small number of countries, debate is ongoing in many countries, and…

With the season of winter now firmly in place, it is important to now take the correct safety precautions to combat against inconveniences, illness and injury. The winter weather boasts enticing imagery from Christmas gatherings to hot chocolate, but alongside these lucrative possibilities lies the threat of coldness and the negative consequences it can have.…

Colm Fitzpatrick explores how to cut down on costs this Christmas   Christmas often elicits imagery of family gatherings, present-sharing and festive cuisine, but behind this ideal hides many financial costs and burdens. Last year, Retail Ireland projected that the average Irish household spent over €2,500 on Christmas gifts, which may find their root in…

Youth Space Youth 2000 has been one of the main faith-building events that I have been to, writes Ruairí Ben McClintock   Growing up my mother and father always encouraged me to love God. My mother used to read to us children’s Bible stories and my father prayed with us every night. Every Sunday we’d…

It’s important to reach out to old people living alone this Christmas, writes Colm Fitzpatrick   Christmas is often associated with joy, thanksgiving and family. However, for over a third of older people in Ireland, this festive holiday will only elicit fear, sadness and isolation. Loneliness, an often ignored epidemic, is plaguing the cities, towns…

WMOF 2018 Martin Kennedy   People long for love that lasts. And such love is really possible. This is the good news at the heart of Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love) which Pope Francis invites us to embrace and share. The World Meeting of Families 2018 Parish Conversations programme is a resource available to…

Youth Space Niamh O’Sullivan, Rosa Geoghegan and Sarah Lennon   Holy Child Killiney is a school in the Le Chéile Trust and has a tradition of undertaking an Immersion Project with Fifth Year students which has involved travelling to Kenya and Kolkata. The initiative echoes the Christian ethos of the Le Chéile Mission statement and continues…

Feature Colm Fitzpatrick reports from a conference dealing with the complexities of ethics in sport   Gambling addiction, mental health awareness, the role of comedy and fond memories of our sporting past were among a vast array of talks and discussed at a conference this month exploring the relationship between ethics and sport. “Sport is…

Youth Space   Mairead Duffy reports on a trip to Medjugorje by Holy Trinity College, Cookstown and St Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon   It has been said that when our Lady wants you to go to Medjugorje she will call you. She most certainly called each and every member of our group. It has also been…