A Belfast-based law firm has served pre-action correspondence on the Department of Education regarding its Initial Teacher Education Bursary Scheme, whose eligibility criteria excludes approximately 120 current students training to teach STEM and Irish-medium subjects at St Mary’s University College and Stranmillis University College. Phoenix Law is challenging the eligibility criteria of the bursary scheme,…
10 million children will die by 2030 because of aid cuts Extreme poverty in the world could have been ended had the USA and other countries not reversed their oversees aid policies in 2025, the head of the charity and NGO Trócaire has said. Sean Farrell, who took up the position of CEO of Trócaire…
Calls have been made for more public displays of Catholic faith after worshippers braved persistent rain for the third annual Dublin Eucharistic and Marian Procession on Sunday. Organiser Karen Brady said the Croí Íosa team had already been approached by people asking when the next procession would take place, while others told them they would…
Former RTÉ personality, Mary Kennedy, said she “would love to see women priests” during her opening talk at Knock Novena. Ms Kennedy was the first guest speaker at the 2026 Novena, talking on the theme of ‘Faith in full view’. Ms Kennedy said that “faith is part of our daily lives, and it’s never going…
The new Bishop of Derry has urged Catholics to view the upcoming Synod as an opportunity to evangelise and to bring back those who have “walked away”. Bishop Michael Router, who is part of the National Synod Team, and steering committee, rejected the notion that it is a “talking shop” with an agenda to change…
Around 300 people gathered for the final Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral on Sunday before the historic Dublin church closed for major restoration works expected to last around two years. Fr Kieran McDermott, Administrator of the Cathedral parish, said the turnout reflected the strong attachment many people still have to St Mary’s. “We estimated that…
A briefing from the Iona Institute based on data from Catholic dioceses in Ireland found that there has been a 30% drop in Catholic baptisms across the country over the past ten years. A majority of the decline can be accounted for by a falling birth rate, which has decreased by 18.8% on the island…
A parish priest has called for better communication between clergy, undertakers and parishioners after an experience that left him questioning whether ministry is drifting from relational to transactional. Writing in his Notebook column for The Irish Catholic, Fr Martin Delaney describes visiting a woman in his parish monthly for several years, bringing her Communion, and attending…
“For all our technology and all our progress, many people seem more restless than ever,” said Bishop of Raphoe Niall Coll during the National Novena to our Lady of Knock on August 15. Both Bishop Coll and Bishop Kevin Doran spoke at the annual Novena this year about technology’s impact on our everyday lives. “We…
Cork secondary school teacher Christine O’Hara, who started a Rosary Group in her own school of Coláiste Chríost Rí in 2022, has created a set of PowerPoints to help fellow teachers and parishioners introduce the Rosary in their schools. Speaking to The Irish Catholic about the idea, Ms O’Hara said she believes “it is a…
Renata Steffens
Martina Purdy