A Colloquia took place at the Institute of Political Studies, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon, earlier this month entitled ‘Restless World, Restless Democracies’. It was the third event in an annual series, the purpose of which is – as its chief organiser Prof. Lívia Franco put it – to serve as a laboratory for ideas. This…

The outcome of the Giggle v Tickle court case in Australia last week (c. May 14) is no laughing matter. Former film screenwriter Sall Grover set up the Giggle for Girls app for women to make contact with each other, and it used a facial recognition feature to screen out any men who tried to…

Since the introduction of the Munster round-robin championship in 2018, Waterford have failed to emerge from the province even once. Their only appearance beyond Munster came in the unique circumstances of the 2020 straight knockout Covid championship, when they reached an All-Ireland final behind closed doors. Once again, the Déise’s summer is effectively over before…

At the Provincial Chapter of 2016, the Irish Dominican Province faced a painful but necessary decision. Owing to a lack of vocations over the previous fifty years, it was decided that several communities—both in Ireland and abroad—would have to close. Some of these houses had histories stretching back almost eight centuries. It was a deeply…

Justice Minister, and possible future Fianna Fáil leader, Jim O’Callaghan made an interesting comment a few days ago when he said that our high rates of income tax are “imprudent, demoralising and contrary to the public good.” His reference to the public good was particularly interesting because he might as well have said the “common…

As a mother, I would do anything to spare my children unnecessary pain. Any parent knows the instinct to shield their child and the desire to absorb their suffering whenever possible. In many ways, this is what defines parenthood: the adult’s willingness to ‘suffer for’ a child’s good. Surrogacy, on the other hand, begins with…

Holly Cairns’s bill to amend abortion legislation in the Dáil this week has, obviously, prompted renewed debates about the termination of pregnancy. Leave aside the issue of the three-day ‘reflection period’ before the procedure, quite a few people are unsettled by the statistics: abortion in Ireland has risen from about 3,000 a year pre-2018 to…

As readers of this newspaper may recall, a resource was offered by the Irish Synodal Pathway for use during Lent this year. Baptised and Sent in Lent was presented as a “Reflection Programme” for parishes, schools, individuals and groups. As the title suggests, the resource was related to the previous Irish synodal document Baptised and…

For years I would meet all kinds of people in ‘The Green Room’ just outside the television studios. It was where BBC guests, were supposed to relax before going on air. I wondered why they called it that because it wasn’t actually green. It turns out this was an old theatre tradition, where walls were…