The Spanish Camino has undoubtedly been the European tourism phenomenon of the 21st century. Seeking meaning beyond materialism and recourse, for a time at least, to a freer and less controlled way of living, the numbers completing this mystical Spanish trail have risen from fewer than 100 in 1967 to almost 500,000 in 2024. This…
Category: Feature
Ireland’s stars collaborate in upcoming Biblical film
This Lent season, a new animated film will retell the life of Jesus Christ. The King of Kings, featuring an all-star cast including Pierce Brosnan (Pontius Pilate), a Drogheda man, Kenneth Branagh (Charles Dickens), from Belfast, Oscar Isaac, Uma Thurman, Mark Hamill, Ben Kingsley, and Forest Whitaker, the film offers a new perspective on the biggest…
Prayers, exorcism and a remarkable reverence in Athlone pilgrimage
Louise Rosingrave Athlone came to a standstill on St Patrick’s eve, for a public reaffirming of faith in the from of a Eucharistic Procession. More than 1,000 Catholics travelled from all four corners of the country to accompany Our Lord Jesus Christ through the streets. The Procession, which follows similar events in Dublin last…
GAA giant admits he would struggle as a teenager now
Seán Óg Ó hAilpín’s life has been anything but ordinary. Born in Rotuma, some 600km off the coast of Fiji, with a native mother and his father hailing from Fermanagh, he moved to Ireland as a child and carved out a legendary hurling career. Neither Fiji or Fermanagh a hurling stronghold as the old saying…
The pressures of modern hurling: ‘We expect so much from these young men’
Séamus Hickey has seen hurling from nearly every angle – player, mentor, and now observer. A former Limerick hurler, he was a tenacious defender, winning Young Hurler of the Year in 2007 and representing his county for over a decade before becoming an eventual All-Ireland winner in 2018. But his insights into the game extend…
Catholic social teaching as a guiding light
Christian social justice work has generally become more politicised over the last decade, Dr Anna Rowlands warns. A month ago, the new US Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, achieved what most theologians fail to do in a lifetime: to make Thomas Aquinas and St Augustine headline news. Following an interview on Fox…
Darach Honan: A life beyond hurling
Born and raised in Clonlara, Co. Clare, Darach Honan’s life has been shaped by both his love of hurling and the strong sense of community that defines his home. The once towering full forward, one of the most recognisable of Clare’s All-Ireland winning team in 2013, is known not just for his black and red…
A unique Dominican way of living
It is just standard for students to share houses/apartments with other students while in college, however, that’s not the only option. The Dominican Sisters, Cabra are providing an alternative to that, opening a house in Harold’s Cross to young women who would like to live in community with Sisters. Sr Eileen O’Connell and Sr Eilís…
Crossmaglen’s guardian: From oppression to glory
Growing up in Crossmaglen, Co. Armagh during the turbulent 1980s, Paul Hearty’s world was shaped by more than just Gaelic football. The shadow of the Troubles loomed large, with the border town finding itself at the very centre of the sectarian conflict. The colossal British army barracks also cast a dark cloud over the very…
‘What we were doing was right’
Msgr Raymond Murray had an uphill battle exposing human rights abuses, writes Martin O’Brien This in depth interview with Fr Raymond Murray was first published on November 14, 2013. It is being republished following the death of Fr Murray on February 25, 2025. “It was all about breaking the wall of silence,” explains Armagh priest…