A leading pro-life campaigner in the North has been successful in her appeal against being convicted of harassing a former Marie Stopes clinic director. The case against Bernadette Smyth, founder and director of Precious Life, was thrown out after a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence that she pursued a campaign against Dawn Purvis. On…

Environmental activists hold banners after attending Pope Francis' Angelus in St Peter's Square at the Vatican June 28. Some 1,500 people marched to the Vatican in support of Pope Francis' recent encyclical on the environment. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Pupils from Ballinora National School in Cork, who for three years have been donating money given them at their Confirmations and money raised from cake sales to plant hundreds of plants and flowers at Marymount Hospice. Principal Mícheál Ó Draighneáin told The Irish Catholic that the exercise is a “concrete manifestation of themes in the…

Rome recognises Palestine After 15 years of negotiations, the Holy See has formally recognised the “state of Palestine,” signing a treaty that Rome hopes will help build improved relations between Israel and Palestine. The preamble to the ‘Comprehensive Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine’ recognises the right to self-determination of the…

The family of a deceased Christian Brother who was accused of child abuse in a now infamous RTÉ documentary, has gathered 100 statements from witnesses contradicting the programme’s allegations. In 2011, RTÉ paid substantial damages to Co. Galway priest Fr Kevin Reynolds and apologised for broadcasting false allegations in the programme Mission to Prey that…

Following the discovery in Co. Meath of what are believed to be the remains of Séamus Wright and Kevin McKee who were abducted and killed by the IRA, former NI police ombudsman Nuala O’Loan has appealed for information on the location of the remaining Disappeared. “The greatest problem is to persuade people to talk because…

Ireland saw an 87% increase in fatal farm accidents last year

Thousands are expected to attend the island’s biggest pro-life event of the year this weekend, with Dublin hosting the All Ireland Rally for Life. Now in its ninth year the rally is alternately hosted between Dublin and Belfast, and the Dublin event in 2013 saw an estimated 60,000 people march through the capital’s main streets.…

It beggars belief that Ireland could have more ‘emergency’ terminations in one year than England and Wales had in ten, writes Greg Daly

Local bishops have paid tribute to the three Irish people killed by a gunman in Tunisia and offered their prayers and condolences to their families. Bishop Michael Smith of Meath paid tribute to Lorna Carty, a nurse from Robinstown as a woman “known to, and loved by, very many people”. “The brutal circumstances of Lorna’s…