Category: Irish News

Former Taoiseach donates money to Dublin churches

Former Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave has left more than €33 million in his will, including €6,000 for Masses to be said for his soul. The Dublin politician, who died last October aged 97, had inherited the property from his father, WT Cosgrave, the first prime minister of the Irish Free State, and refused to sell it…

Health Minister accused of ‘serious ignorance’ after Church criticism

A theology scholar has said Minister Simon Harris expressed “serious ignorance” about Church teaching after criticising a bishop’s decision to stop an atheist politician from being a Confirmation sponsor. After reports that Minister of State John Halligan was barred from being a sponsor because of his atheism and public promotion of repealing the Eighth Amendment,…

Northern pro-lifers lament SDLP’s conflicted stance

Pro-life campaigners have reacted with scepticism to the SDLP’s decision to retain its pro-life policy while allowing members to campaign for pro-choice policies. The party decided at a conference on Saturday to adopt a formal position of being pro-life, but with individual members allowed to choose their own stance on abortion as a matter of…

Mental health among youth is major concern

The founder of the suicide prevention charity Pieta House has said it is important to remember the human stories behind mental health statistics. New figures have revealed that almost 17,000 children between five and 17 are waiting over a year to see a psychologist. The charity’s founder Joan Freeman said that many parents and children…

News in brief

Well-known
 church
 reopens
 Knock Parish Church and Apparition Chapel reopened on Friday, May 18, after having been closed for months for refurbishment works. Both the church and Apparition Chapel have been closed since last October to make way for complete refurbishment. Speaking about the refurbishment, Fr Richard Gibbons, PP, Rector of Knock Shrine said: “The Parish Church…