Dear Editor, What was not highlighted in the story of 1916 was the strong vibrant faith of the Irish volunteers. The Rosary was recited by all in the GPO and other rebel locations. Confessions were heard every day. The spiritual needs of the leaders were well cared for before execution by the Capachin priests. There is a great…

Dear Editor, As the Seanad election ballots arrive in our post box, as a registered voter I have taken the time to read through the lot. My husband and I graduated from different universities so we have the full range of issues on which each candidate is campaigning. Equality is high on the list of…

Dear Editor, While political parties in the Republic struggle to form a government, let’s remember that next month sees elections to the Assembly in the North. Of course, under the Good Friday Agreement the parties are in a mandatory power-sharing coalition, but voters must choose wisely. The push for abortion from so-called human rights organisations…

Dear Editor, Why do so few people attend Mass these days? Many no longer practice their Catholicism for a variety of reasons.  Most do not understand what the Mass is about. The readings are disconnected from what goes before and after each reading from the Old Testament. They are often read as though the reader…

Dear Editor, I was very heartened to read in Shaykh Umar Al-Qadri’s article in last week’s paper (IC 31/03/2016) that the Irish Muslim Peace & Integration Council had held a ‘Not in our name’ protest in Dublin and has launched guidelines on preventing radicalism. In the same issue David Quinn wrote that it was not…

Dear Editor, What an Easter weekend! With historic, cultural and religious ceremonies highlighting our national values. The planning, organisation and execution of the very many ceremonies and parades was such that the total effect was greater than the sum of its parts. This included the amazing transformation overnight of O’Connell Street in Dublin. While we…

Dear Editor, With the relations between the two main Christian Churches in Ireland so much improved over the last century, may I make a suggestion as to how this happy situation might be commemorated in a practical way in this centenary year?  I suggest that those two greatest historic Dublin monuments, Christ Church and St…

Dear Editor, It seems from Nuala O’Loan’s article The View (IC 17/03/2016) that the highly qualified and distinguished Commission for the Protection of Minors is being strangled in the way other benevolent bodies are, by having to get funding from the very people of whom they may be  most critical. Slow strangulation by poverty or the…

Dear Editor, Cathal Barry in your edition of March 3 is clearly hoping that Fianna Fáil forms the next government because he feels the majority of that party is not in favour of amending the Eighth Amendment. He also quotes Dr Ruth Cullen of the Pro-Life Campaign as having the same opinion. I would not be too sure.…

Dear Editor, I recently read your article ‘Practising gratitude’ in the Family &Lifestyle section (IC 10/03/2016). I congratulate the author, Wendy Grace because I think it is an excellent article, and it gave me a lot to think about. I liked the helpful suggestions provided by Wendy for families and indeed individuals to get into…