Unplanned star Ashley Bratcher talks to Chai Brady about Christmas, Faith, the film and ‘intimidating’ workplaces   US pro-life film star turned producer Ashley Bratcher, who made waves after starring in a contentious film about abortion, opened up about her devout Faith that shapes every part of her life and how the Christmas season for…

State Papers Secrets of the powers that be   In 1989, Mrs Eileen Barrington, the wife of the eminent lawyer Donal Barrington, who was the niece of Harry Boland, the associate of de Valera executed during the Civil War, wrote to Brian Lenihan, then Minister of Foreign Affairs, seeking his help with a family mystery.…

State Papers Echoes of the past from the archives   The annual release of files often reveal historical ironies in the private papers of the state that how perspectives on events and individuals in public life change constantly. In the summer of 1989 Cardinal Bernard Law made a pilgrimage to Ireland to visit the shrines…

State Papers Secrets of the powers that be   In 1961 the Eighth Duke of Leinster, Gerald FitzGerald, then living in England, presented the Royal Dublin Society with a 16th-Century relic of his family in the form of the Geraldine Rent Table that had once stood at Carton, and later at Kilkea Castle. It came…

The Irishman who leads the Vatican office responsible for processing abuse complaints has revealed that if he were a layman with a son abused by a priest, he’d probably stop going to Mass. Msgr John Kennedy also said that his office has seen a record 1,000 cases from around the world this year, including from…

State Papers Echoes of the past from the archives   This year interesting files were in very short supply. One file, in a delivery remarkable short of literary items, was certain to catch the attention of a books editor. A file on Anthony Cronin was devoid of interest so few were the items in it.…

State Papers Echoes of the past from the archives   Over April 19-23, 1989 President Hillery and his wife made a state visit to the Holy See. This went off very well, as is the usual case with state visits. But in the papers dealing with the invitation, an official in the department of Foreign…

State Papers Secrets of the powers that be   During the late 1980s there was great concern about the role of sport in society and the creation of a National Sports Centre. The government commissioned a special report on the possibilities of developing sport in one of the released files, dealing with the role of…

Chai Brady speaks to Malachi Cush about recovery, prayer and New Year hopes Gaining consciousness and looking up at the sky after his body had been dragged and torn in an horrific event, a renowned Irish musician and broadcaster thought his time was up, but the prayers of the Faithful were on his side. Malachi…

State Papers Secrets of the powers that be   Capital punishment in Ireland passed into history in 1990 – having already been largely made redundant. However, in tidying up the related files in the Department of the Taoiseach two files were revealed, which are now released and which cast an interesting perspective, not only on…