Thirty years ago, as a postgraduate student completing my master’s degree in education, I was invited to choose an area of ‘comparative education’ to research. It was not a decision to take lightly since the essay would form a significant part of my overall assessment profile. I was 22 years old, a newly qualified teacher,…
After the defeat of their extreme abortion proposal just before Christmas that would have allowed abortion on request up-to-birth, Ruth Coppinger and Paul Murphy barely paused for a breath before returning with another bill, this time focused on removing the life-saving three-day wait before an abortion takes place. The abortion law requires that a period…
Experience, wrote CS Lewis, is a brutal teacher. And former politician Peter Mandelson, who has been disgraced over his ties to notorious sex offender and human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, once taught me a lesson. We were both attending one of those awful receptions for “the great and the good”. I was there as a BBC…
A disobedient child used to be called ‘bold’ in Ireland, ‘naughty’ in Britain and ‘méchant’ – which can also mean ‘bad’ or ‘nasty’ – in France. Occasionally, the more forgiving term ‘contrary’ might be applied. And bold children were slapped for their wilfulness or sent out of the classroom to be given a humiliating scolding.…
Movies, documentaries and books can leave an indelible impression on the mind. When they deal with historical subjects, and especially when they deliberately play on the emotions of their audiences, they can give people a highly distorted view of the subject under examination. For example, if you went along to see the movie Small Things…
It wasn’t when Vandalising Ireland hit No.1 on Amazon Ireland and in the National Book Charts that I realised that something special was happening, even though for the book to achieve that milestone based on word-of-mouth alone is almost unheard of. Rather, it was when people began posting images of their orders from all around…
After Mass on the last Sunday before I left Union Hall for Canada, two ladies approached me. They asked how I could justify six months’ sabbatical in the light of the shortage of priests. I suggested now was the time to get away, before the shortage got even worse! I haven’t changed my mind. In…
It’s a topical question, perhaps! Many years ago, when visiting a school in the days leading up to Ash Wednesday, I spoke with the children about making a sacrifice during Lent. I asked them what they were doing and the answers were understandably predictable. “I’m giving up sweets”, said one. “Fizzy Drinks”, said another, and…
Everyone blames ‘misogyny’ for the Jeffrey Epstein scandal – since his treatment of young girls, and women in general – was blatantly abhorrent. Epstein’s awful emails may yet bring down the British Prime Minister – because he appointed an Epstein crony, Lord Mandelson, as Ambassador to Washington. The Epstein scandal has seriously damaged the British…
In Islamic thought, there is a concept called Ahl al-Kitab, meaning People of the Book. This primarily refers to Muslims, Jews and Christians, believers who have experienced divine revelation and codified it in a book. While there are large differences in how these three faith traditions understand the role of their sacred texts, books are…
Eilis Mulroy
Martina Purdy
Mary Kenny
David Quinn
Breda O'Brien