It’s been ninety-five years since Bill Gribbin was baptised and he is not only living out his Christian mission, as father, grandfather and great grandfather, but as sacristan of St Michael’s The Archangel parish in Belfast. Observing him prepare the altar and the incense for a requiem mass last week, it occurred to me, he…
Category: Opinion
How the political establishment shafted Maria Steen – Why a huge section of Irish people will now have no voice in this campaign
Maria Steen was blocked from the presidential election because the political establishment feared that she would win the arguments and potentially the presidential election. Maria is a bright, intelligent and articulate woman who would have made a big impact. More importantly she has a backbone and will stand up for what she believes in. That…
Celebrating the 150th Jubilee of the Divine Word Missionaries
Many people will know us from the Word Magazine, Christmas Cards and our Lenten and November appeals at Donamon Castle and Kairos Communications and our Language School at Maynooth. Founded by St Arnold Jannsen, in Steyl, Holland, we have been sending young Irish missionaries abroad since 1938 from our Donamon House in Co. Roscommon. Initially,…
The Presidency and Maria Steen – A plea to widen the choices on the ballot paper
Dear Editor, For the life of me, I cannot understand the stance of Independent members of the Oireachtas and local county councils. As Shane Ross remarked in last week’s Sunday Independent, the three-horse line-up to date for the presidential race lacks lustre and is second rate. Maybe Sinn Féin will pull a rabbit…
The self-help philosophy from the classical world
Self-help manuals are big business today (a book called Let Them continues to be a leading best-seller). One of the most interesting self-help philosophies, I’ve found, is Stoicism. Deriving from the classical world of Greece and Rome, the counsel of Epictetus, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius encourage us to accept what we cannot change and focus…
Integral Christianity: Celtic wisdom for today’s world at the John Main Seminar
The John Main Seminar 2025 comes to Balally Parish, uniting contemplation and service For more see the website here. From November 6-9, 2025, Balally Parish will host the John Main Seminar under the theme “Integral Christianity: The Vision of Celtic Christianity for the Crisis of the 21st Century.” The annual seminar is the most…
The day an ‘Anthrax’ package arrived at my office
Last week, a very unusual package, no, ‘unusual’ is not the word, a sinister and menacing package arrived by post at the office of the Iona Institute in Dublin city centre. It looked innocent enough, but upon opening it, some kind of white powder poured out on my desk, hands and floor. I guessed immediately…
Online and real-life threats to free speech
Ceann Comhairle, Verona Murphy, recently talked about the vast increase in threats to politicians. This includes intimidation to the extent that the police advised one politician to avoid venturing into the city centre and instead to stay in the environs of Leinster House. Ms Murphy also talked about fake profiles being set up online purely…
The State doesn’t trust parents to teach their children about sex
‘The gloves are off’ writes Senator Ronan Mullen with a government that refuses to ever acknowledge concerns or admit mistakes …leaves very little room for trust Over 2.5 million viewers on X heard Late Late Show host Patrick Kielty reassure fellow chat show host Jimmy Kimmel that “this is Ireland and you can say whatever the…
How have we come to this?
We’re killing the unborn, the elderly with few controls It is very hard to work out what the UK or Ireland’s values are now. Once Ireland was described as the land of saints and scholars, once there was a fundamental acceptance that human life was to be preserved and protected, save in the execution…

Martina Purdy




Mary Kenny

David Quinn
Breda O'Brien
Senator Ronan Mullen
Nuala O’Loan