January 12, I tabled a motion at Cork City Council welcoming the Dáil’s narrow rejection (73–71) of proposals to allow abortion on request up to viability and remove the three-day waiting period. Further, the motion called for meaningful supports—financial aid, housing, childcare, counselling—and a cultural shift to ensure every baby is truly cherished and welcome.…

In this Jubilee year celebrating the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis, we Capuchins are called to renew and reflect. To renew in ourselves what it means to be a follower of Francis and to reflect on how this becomes real for us today.  Francis teaches us how to do this. From the…

During a recent RTÉ radio interview with Brendan O’Connor, Mairead McGuinness was quizzed inter alia about European Union (EU) issues. The former European Commissioner, former First Vice-President of the European Parliament, and erstwhile Fine Gael Presidential candidate, gave a spirited defence of the EU. Conceding that it needed to be much more agile, nonetheless she…

Few lessons from my days at primary school stand out, but I do remember one class very clearly. A grammar lesson that was really about inclusive language and equality. Our teacher told us that the word “chairman” was wrong. It should be chairperson, and “his” should be “his or hers”. This appealed to my sense…

A Washington State school is under criminal investigation after a 16-year-old female wrestler called Katie Keeler was sexually assaulted by a male athlete during a wrestling match. Katie Keeler’s mother can be heard giggling over the video she is recording on her phone of her daughter’s wrestling match. She has no idea that her daughter…

As I write this, my Fianna Fáil colleagues in the Seanad are bringing forward a motion to debate Online Safety. I don’t doubt their good intentions, but the text of their motion is too deferential towards the Government, the EU and Big Tech. Artificial Intelligence is reshaping our world, they say, and the Government has…

On this week’s Education Nation podcast, we turned our attention to one of the pinch points of our education system, perhaps the most pressurised and least understood roles in Irish education: school leadership. More specifically, the conversation focused on the lived reality of principals and deputy principals in post-primary schools. Our guest, Rachel O’Connor, a…

The Edict of Milan, issued in February 313 by Constantine the Great and Licinius, stands as one of the most decisive turning points in Christian history. By granting religious tolerance throughout the Roman Empire and restoring confiscated Christian property, the edict transformed Christianity from a persecuted minority faith into a legally recognised religion. Its impact…

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…