Over the last 20 years, the way in which homeless services are provided in Dublin and beyond has gone through significant change. We have moved from a position where a number of voluntary homeless service providers operated in relative independence from each other with limited co-ordination of effort and resources, to a position where the…
Category: Opinion
Letter From Greece
Jonathan Luxmoore Greece’s minority Catholic Church has deplored a parliamentary vote to allow same-sex marriage and child adoption, the first in a predominantly Orthodox country. “Our reaction is clear – the Church doesn’t accept same-sex marriage, and we’re surprised the government pressed ahead so quicky with this measure,” said Archbishop Josif Printezis of Naxos, Andros,…
Better to be safe than sorry, ‘Vote No’
Dear Editor, A USA lady bravely faced applause when she declared she sleeps with Bill Clinton every Christmas. She brought to mind people having a similar ‘durable relationship’ with our very own Taoisigh. All of this gains fresh relevance as our Government asks us to vote in a referendum, March 8. They say existing definition of…
A total ban on funeral eulogies seems cleaner
It’s probably the wrong thing to say, but I really enjoyed the State funeral of the late John Bruton, RIP. It was an occasion of deep sadness for his family and I did pray for them during the Mass, but I was also moved by the rituals of Church and State, so beautifully executed for…
This referendum may make us value mothers at home more
The Hollywood mogul, Sam Goldwyn, coined many amusing quotations still in currency – his way of declining an invitation was “Include me out!” He most famously set a maxim for our age when he suggested that public attention is always helpful – “Any publicity is good publicity.” It doesn’t turn out to be true in…
Veritas’ closure not a surprise
It came as a shock to many loyal customers when Veritas announced it is winding down by the end of the year, closing its seven stores nationwide and its three warehouses. The news is a big blow for its 80 staff, as well many Catholics who turned to it for religious books, gifts and educational…
Legal minefield awaits ‘durable relationships’ referendum
It is as if the Govt doesn’t really care about marriage, writes David Quinn The referendums on the family and on care are closing in fast. They are to take place on Friday, March 8. There has not been much of a debate so far, not compared with the 2015 referendum on marriage, much less…
Younger men and women are increasingly divided by politics
Instead of trying to ‘fix’ young men, maybe it’s time we gave them a break and listened to them, writes Michael Kelly Back in the innocent days of the 1990s, when there were only two sexes, US-based relationship counsellor John Gray wrote a best-selling book to try to help couples understand one another better and…
Govt forgetting people with disabilities
No progress has been made on substantive areas of disability rights, writes Dualta Roughneen On Wednesday January 24 this year, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters launched its report, ‘Towards harmonisation of national legislation with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’. The findings are stark. It is as if…
Church must invest in lay infrastructure
Over the weekend, Pope Francis announced the dates for the second round of the synod later this year. Bishops, clergy, religious and laity will descend on Rome from October 2 to 27 to consider once more how we can foster a co-responsible Church. ‘Co-responsible’ is a word that reeks of business-ese, but it points to…






Mary Kenny
Ruadhán Jones
David Quinn
Michael Kelly

