There is a ceasefire finally in effect in the Gaza Strip, where Israel launched a horrific military campaign in response to attacks on the country’s south on October 7, 2023. On that day, Hamas fighters and their fellow militants assaulted Israeli settlements and fortified military outposts. They killed around 1,200 people, and over 251 others…

I once knew a widowed lady who was the mother of two unmarried sons. Both lived with her until the day she died in her nineties. Since they were infants, their mother did everything possible for them. She cooked their food, washed their clothes and did for adult men what they should have learned to…

I have sometimes been asked by people in Britain: why are the Irish the most passionately pro-Palestinian of any nation? Why has Gaza been so central, even obsessive, to Irish politics, discourse and public demonstration? Gaza has taken more time in the Oireachtas than any other issue touching overseas policy. It has been a central…

Northern Ireland can no longer be viewed as consisting of two groups, religiously speaking, namely the Catholic and the Protestants. What must also be added into the mix are the non-religious, who are growing in number. This is one of the main findings of a major new poll on attitudes to religion in the North.…

Maria Steen on how party control and arrogance have turned politics into a closed circle It is two weeks since I exited the presidential race, having received 18 of the 20 nominations required. In that short time, a lot has happened: what could have been a full line up of candidates – as in 2011…

If Dame Sarah Mullally, the newly-appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, has an Irish surname, it’s because she is married to an Irishman, architect Eamonn Mullally (they have two children, Liam and Grace.) Her appointment as the first woman to lead the Anglican Communion world-wide has been greeted as historic; yet the reaction has been ambivalent, sometimes…

I’m shopping for a church!” an American once told me. As a cradle Catholic, the notion seemed alien to me. Yet how many of us, followers of Christ, opt to choose and create a Church in our own image and likeness, to suit how we live? “I only believe half of it,” a well-known Catholic…

Patricia Routledge died recently. The much-loved British actor was best known for her portrayal of shameless snob, Hyacinth Bucket, although the character insisted that her surname was pronounced Bouquet. The comedy in the series, Keeping Up Appearances, was based on skewering her pretensions. Mrs Bucket had many catchphrases, including answering the phone (which she insisted…

The growing perception around youth and faith is that young people are slipping away from religion, or simply not engaging with it all. Meanwhile, university Catholic societies such as Newman Society (University College Dublin) and Laurentian Society (Trinity College) are holding steadfast in their faith, creating communities where young Catholics can socialise, voice questions and…