Pope Francis’ marriage exhortation is a rich source of advice for families, writes Julie Kavanagh In the coming weeks, many parishes across the country and beyond will begin to host a series of parish conversations as part of their preparations for the World Meeting of Families 2018. This series will give anybody who wants to…
Monkey see, monkey do. Small children are shaped, more than anything, by example. As life underwent a metamorphosis with the arrival of children, many old habits and hobbies had to go by the wayside. Playing guitar was of the few things that survived into this chaotic new epoch. I found I could continue to play,…
There is a psalm that I have loved for many years and even more so since I became a mother. It is psalm 139: “It was you who created my inmost self, and put me together in my mother’s womb; for all these mysteries I thank you: for the wonder of myself, for the wonder…
A Parent’s Perspective In the coming weeks and months we’ll be hearing a lot about the Eighth Amendment and the right to life of our smallest human beings. It’ll be a tough time for anyone who puts themselves out there to speak on all the issues involved. I’m a bit of a social media…
My mother turned 70 last weekend. The coming months are brimful of celebratory events with her vast coterie of friends and family. Yet she was slightly ambivalent about the day itself, perhaps because she has sadly lost some close friends in recent months. In the end, she decided to book a nice hotel in Dublin, and…
Over the Christmas holidays our daughter Méabh had a few friends from college visiting. One came up from Clare, another from west Donegal. To my delight they spoke Irish – all the time. Now Méabh had done all her schooling through Irish but was never great at chatting with me in Irish. Somehow Irish was…
Children’s Corner Performance arts are an excellent way to gain confidence in yourself and can also be very enriching and creative. One ancient art form that dates back to the time of the Pharaohs is juggling, which has thrived throughout the world in places like China and even Siberia. Although there are various forms…
WMOF2018 Brenda Drumm As we continue with our preparations for the World Meeting of Families 2018, parishes will shortly be offering the first of six parish sessions as part of our Amoris: Let’s Talk Family, Let’s be Family programme. The first theme that parishes will be looking at is ‘The Reality of Family Life…
Kilkenny church is a major attraction Would-be historians in the family aren’t the only ones likely to be thrilled by a visit to the former St Mary’s Church in Kilkenny. Now the ultra-modern Medieval Mile Museum, the 13th-Century former church is Kilkenney’s newest visitor attraction, packed with medieval artefacts and treasures, and the starting point…
“Mummy’s always vomiting,” my three-year-old daughter told her preschool teacher merrily, “vomit, vomit, vomit, all day long”. “Oh, is she now?” said her teacher, with a smile and a knowing glance in my direction. The teacher had surmised correctly; there was indeed a baby on the way. However, we didn’t want to tell the children…
Bairbre Cahill
Maria Byrne
Colm Fitzpatrick