I’m usually pleased to see Irish people achieve renown and an international status – from historic figures like Msgr O’Flaherty to contemporary ones like Colm Toibín or even the bumptious Michael O’Leary of Ryanair. But it’s only recently dawned on me that a sensational Irish celebrity brand now enjoying global recognition are – a bunch…
For almost 54 years the families of five people who were shot dead around 10pm on Sunday, July 9, 1972, have fought to establish what happened that day. A short IRA ceasefire had just ended. Soldiers were stationed in Corry’s Timber Yard in Belfast’s Springhill/Westrock area. An inquest a year later returned an open verdict.…
I attended a double book launch in Renehan Hall, Maynooth College, on April 18. The authors were Dr Mette Lebech of the Faculty of Philosophy, Maynooth University, and Dr Robert McNamara of the Faculty of Philosophy, St Patrick’s Pontifical University. When the official proceedings were over, we dispersed to mix and mingle. Having happily paid…
When Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton stepped up to address the 39th Annual Conference of the Joint Managerial Body (JMB) this week, she did so against a striking backdrop. The Europe Hotel, overlooking Killarney’s Lough Léin and framed by the McGillycuddy Reeks, offered a majestic setting. But lurking beneath the depth of the still waters…
The Taoiseach Micheál Martin was asked a simple question this week by reporter Ben Scallon: “Do you believe that a child can be transgender?” He answered definitively, with the confidence of a man who knew the party line: “Yes, I do believe.” He then went on to pontificate: “There are young people in life who’ve…
While the British parliament was engaged in debating the Assisted Dying Bill (which ran out of time last week, and therefore fell) – a personal and dramatic story emerged to capture public attention. Wendy Duffy was a former care worker in the West Midlands of England, although, by her own admission, she came originally from…
Maybe I am simply getting grumpier with age, but I find myself increasingly exasperated by the constant comparisons between young people today and how they ‘used to be’. According to this narrative, they are distracted by mobile phones, shaped by influencers, dulled by streaming, addicted to gaming, captive to algorithms, morally adrift, socially awkward, unable…
Like most parishes in the country, we recently celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation. As the day approached, I had mixed feelings. I had no worries about the Liturgy and knew that the teachers in the local school had been preparing with the boys and girls. I had no reason to believe the children were not…
Pope Leo XIV is just back from a trip to several African countries which is already best remembered for remarks he made on the way there, and on the way home. As has been the papal custom going back to the days of Pope John Paul II, Pope Leo took questions from journalists. Those questions…
The online publication of the 1926 Census, available to all without charge, is a great achievement by the National Archives, and its director, Orlaith McBride. As the writer Joseph O’Connor has commented – it “will bring revelation and amazement to Irish people all over the world, a sense of belonging when we most need it.”…
Mary Kenny
Nuala O’Loan
David Quinn