It’s the time of year for new programmes and the return of old shows. The most high-profile return was The Late Late Show (RTÉ One, Fridays). The pre-publicity was mighty, but some just said ‘meh’ and were bored. I’d say a huge audience tuned in just to see how the new host, Patrick Kielty, would…

In the broad Church that is Catholicism, there are so many strands of interest, even within the ambit of orthodoxy – some are big into ecology, some into life issues, some into social justice. When it comes to prayer and ritual there is also so much variety, so it ill behoves one tribe to snipe…

Samuel Goldwyn once said, “If you’ve got a message, send a telegram”. I’d add, if you want to preach, give a sermon. The new TV drama series The Woman in the Wall (BBC One, Sundays), three episodes in, is full of unsubtle messages and is certainly preachy. The story of the Magdalen laundries is mined…

I collect ironies, I even issue an #ironyalert on X/Twitter (ex-Twitter?) when I find them. There are some striking examples in relation to communication. Take the mobile phone for example – it promotes huge communication between friends, but can destroy communication with those who are in our company. How many times have we seen families…

It was good to see the theme of vocations getting prominence last week in the media. It was sparked by journalist Sean O’Rourke’s address to a gathering at Knock. He favoured encouraging young people to consider joining the priesthood. Stand-in presenter Jonathan Healy discussed the vocations crisis on the Pat Kenny Show (Newstalk, Friday). David…

I’m not a great fan of sumptuous costume dramas – sometimes there is too much costume and not enough drama. I was inveigled, not entirely against my will, to watch several episodes of Downton Abbey (Netflix). I found it very contrived, predictable and cliched. And yet because some characters and plot lines were interesting, I…

Going to Sunday Mass these days you can be demoralised by the lack of young people present. It’s great then to see young people enthused by their faith, and so it was on World Youth Day in Lisbon last weekend. So many of the events were impressive and I managed to follow many of them.…

True crime dramas can be riveting especially if you can’t remember the original story. The strangest things happen, plot developments you’d never accept in fiction. You just hope that events are accurately portrayed and that the real people involved are respected. The Sixth Commandment (BBC One, Tuesday) came to an end last week and it…