Ballintubber Abbey is set to receive €350,000 from the National Monuments Service for reconstruction and renovation of the 800-year-old church. Green Party TD Malcolm Noonan announced the contribution while visiting the Mayo abbey, where Mass has been celebrated for more than 800 years, July 22. He was “delighted” to announce the funding, as “the local…
Bishop Brendan Leahy has described former minister Des O’Malley as a man of “courage and decency”. The former leader of the Progressive Democrats was laid to rest following requiem Mass in Dublin on Friday. He represented Limerick in the Dáil for many years and served in numerous ministries, including the Department of Justice. On hearing…
Fr Charlie McDonnell praised the “support and cooperation” of priests and pilgrims in making the extended Reek Pilgrimage season a success. Traditionally, the last Sunday of the month – called Reek Sunday – was dedicated to making pilgrimage up Croagh Patrick. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been going ahead this year in an…
Church leaders have warned that unilateral moves by the British government to force the North’s Department of Health to introduce abortion services threaten the region’s peace process. Britain’s Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Brandon Lewis last week ordered the locally-elected government to make full abortion services available no later than March 31 next year.…
Traditionalist communities ‘shocked’ at new measures Ruadhán Jones and Chai Brady Pope Francis’ new restrictions on the celebration of the Latin Mass have “shocked” some Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) communities, but others warn the Church faced “the peril of division” if the Pope hadn’t intervened. Fr Liam Tracey, professor of Liturgy at Maynooth University told The…
Sacred Heart College Omagh wished runner Eilish Flanagan all the best, as she represents Ireland at the Tokyo Olympics starting July 23. Ms Flanagan studied at the Tyrone secondary school for seven years, winning a range of competitions, before taking up a scholarship in athletics in Adams State University in Colorado. She was selected to…
Priests involved in Irish airports have told of the difficulties aviation staff and airport communities have faced throughout the pandemic, describing the situation as “very, very difficult on people”, and have welcomed the cautious return to travel. “From a passenger point of view in the terminals there’s just so little happening,” Fr Des Doyle of…
In-person worship has yet to return to Irish prisons, the Irish Prison Service confirmed, even though a number of prisons are now fully vaccinated. Although public worship returned to the general population May 10, in-person worship is yet to take place in Irish prison settings. The Irish Catholic was told that the return of in-person…
The British government’s plan to ban all Troubles-related criminal and civil actions as well as legacy inquests, has been described as “deeply disheartening” and would “perpetuate pain” according to Irish bishops. The Primate of All-Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh and Bishop Donal McKeown of Derry both criticised last week’s announcement. Archbishop Eamon said that…
The Pope’s letter restricting the ‘Extraordinary Form’ has caused emotive responses, Ruadhán Jones hears Pope Francis’ decision to restrict celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) or ‘Extraordinary Form’ caused a predictable stir when it was released Friday, July 16. In it, he effectively rolled back the more permissive legislation introduced by Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI…
Ruadhán Jones
Michael Kelly
Chai Brady