Last week, I was in Cambrai, France, with colleagues from across the globe for a meeting of the executive committee of the World Union of Catholic Teachers. I have the privilege of serving as its academic advisor, and of all the meetings and organisations I attend, this one always stands out because its focus is…

So now, according to a new study, men are to blame for the dramatic fall in births all over Europe and the developed world. According to the report ‘Baby Bust’ (as opposed to ‘baby boom’), published by the Centre for Social Justice in London, the slow maturing of young men these days is what’s causing…

I was baptised in a converted aeroplane hangar – and I’m always ready for take-off, though sometimes I have crash-landed and messed up my baptismal gown! I was clothed in Christ at St Agnes’ Church, which was built in Belfast after the Second World War. I almost missed my take-off. “You’re too late,” the priest…

Last week we learnt of a male crèche worker accused of cruelty against children and assault. It follows several recently reported cases in the UK of men who have physically or sexually abused very young children, including babies, in childcare settings. In one Australian case last year it was reported that 1,200 children had to be tested for sexually transmitted infections.…

Over the last decade, calls to legalise and expand abortion in Ireland have repeatedly emphasised ‘choice’, with little recognition that this is a choice resulting in significant risks for pregnant women and the almost certain death of an unborn human being. However, recent court cases in which pregnant women lost their babies – not by…

The institutions that were a very common feature of Irish life for such a long time, and in which many abuses took place, are indelibly associated in the public mind with the Catholic Church. This is understandable to a certain degree because they ran so many of them, chiefly the industrial schools, the mother and…

In 1918, when Britain and Ireland were still politically conjoined, the vote was finally extended to women. Yet it was initially restricted to women over 30 years of age who were property owners. The male politicians who still held the reins were nervous of the ‘flapper’ element among younger women: fearful that those under thirty…

Dublin Zoo found itself in hot water last week following the launch of its ‘All Things Irish Takeover’ campaign to celebrate Mother’s Day and St Patrick’s Day. The source of the controversy was Dublin Zoo’s decision to feature a male drag artist in their Mother’s Day promotion. The image of a bearded man in a…

With First Communion and Confirmation season in full swing, the Education Nation podcast is turning its attention to the primary sector for a while. Next week’s guest is Seamus Mulconry, CEO of the Catholic Primary School Managers Association. This week, in the first of our ‘focus on primary education’ series, the spotlight falls on someone…

Fashions in baby names can be revealing. The CSO has an online facility where you can check the popularity of various baby names, although it only goes back to 1964. Patrick was the second most popular boy’s name in 1964, and stayed in the top three until 1974, and in the top five until 1990.…