A Co. Cavan man is “delighted and humbled” by the generosity of farmers around Ireland contributing machinery for a farm school in Burkina Faso. Paul Connolly and seven others, spent over a week building a milking parlour near Pahin, Burkina Faso immediately after Christmas. The Cavan optician, whose business is part of the ‘Economy of Communion’…
The Government has been accused of misinformation over a controversial new rule insisting that schools provide alternative tuition for students who wish to opt out of religious instruction, despite not providing schools with new resources. The move has been severely criticised by the Religion Teachers’ Association of Ireland. According to the RTAI, which represents over 250…
A unique charity challenge As part of Trócaire’s Lenten campaign, the charity is challenging people to come offline and give up social media for 24 hours. The ‘Sign Up Sign Out Challenge’ takes place on March 7, and encourages everyone to stay off social media for a full day, and asks them to instead seek sponsorship and…
The decision by Irish financial institutions to sell tens of thousands of distressed mortgages this week will “undoubtedly” have an impact on efforts to tackle homelessness, an Irish charity has warned. After Ulster bank announced it will offload 7,000 distressed loans this morning (Friday 23) in addition to Permanent TSB’s (PTSB) 14,000 revealed earlier this…
A new plan to focus on Ireland’s religious heritage could lead to a massive influx of spiritual tourists from abroad as well as a rebirth of spirituality for Irish Catholics, organisers have said. Sharon Hearty from Lough Derg predicted that spiritual tourism in Ireland could even become the “new Camino”, a pilgrimage which saw more…
The decision to reappoint only two non-religious members of the Vatican’s child protection commission has been described as “disappointing” by leading advocate and former commission member Marie Collins, adding that this is “not a hopeful sign”. The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors was established in 2014 for a three-year period, closing on December…
Northern politicians need to fight for a Brexit that suits the people of the North, Derry’s Bishop Donal McKeown has said. “For the sake of peace on the island, as well as for the sake of economic development on the island, we need to have those who are elected in some sort of a process…
Well-known TV personality Norah Casey has taken on the task of raising around €15 million to finance the WMOF in August. Speaking on RTÉ’s Claire Byrne Live, the former dragon said Pope Francis had given her back her faith. “Like most Irish people I have a chequered history with Catholicism,” she said, going from “cradle Catholic”…
Pro-life organisations have scorned claims by the chair of the Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment that the committee could not find a single medical expert to make the case for retaining Ireland’s constitutional protections for the unborn. Speaking on RTÉ radio, Senator Catherine Noone said: “Nobody was willing to come forward, none who were…
The Department of Education circular introducing new rules insisting that schools provide alternative tuition for students who wish to opt out of religious instruction will have the effect of making religion an optional subject, and place huge additional pressures on state schools, according to the Chief Executive of the Cork Education and Training Board, Timothy…
Susan Gately
Chai Brady
Greg Daly
Colm Fitzpatrick