The story that intrigued me most in the media last week was the political upheaval in Britain – an engaging turmoil somewhere between high drama and low circus. So, it was timely for the recently returned Sunday Morning Live (BBC One) to look at the question of moral integrity and leadership. Former Conservative minister Edwina…

Last week saw the 100th anniversary of the start of Ireland’s Civil War. It’s not something most of us would want to celebrate, but it’s appropriate to mark or commemorate it – it was a significant event that we can still learn from, and an event that, unbelievably, still influences our politics today. It’s a…

The overdue and historical overturning of the Roe vs Wade decision in the US blew up in the media last Friday. The development was portrayed mostly as a bad thing, with some over-reactions downright apocalyptic. With a greater or lesser degree of subtlety presenters and interviewers showed where they stood and it was overwhelmingly pro-choice/pro-abortion.…

Conflicts between Church and State can cause a lot of grief to both, but can also help to clarify principles. These themes were explored in the rather unusual film Servants (Film Four, Tuesday). Set in a Czechoslovakian seminary during communist times, in 1980, it told the story of young seminarians resisting the imposition of state…

Recently I visited the exhibition relating to St Colmcille (aka St Columba) in the National Museum. It was modest enough but well-presented and informative. So, I was already in the zone for Colmcille – An Naomh Dána (TG4, Thursday). It was certainly interesting, but hard to figure out what was historical and what elements were…

Not being British or a monarchist I didn’t feel too drawn to the platinum jubilee celebrations in the UK at the weekend, but I dipped in to the coverage from time to time out of curiosity. The Platinum Party at the Palace (BBC One, Saturday) was certainly a spectacular concert – the light shows in…

Regular readers will know that I’m a big fan of media neutrality on controversial issues. There’s few more controversial issues than school shootings in the USA and sadly we had another such last week. The massacre at the primary school in Uvalde, Texas, dominated media news and current affairs in the last week. First there…

Dramas based on true stories can be fascinating, but mixing fiction and history can produce odd results. So it is with The Terror: Infamy (BBC Two, Fridays). The first series is still on repeat on RTÉ Two, Sunday nights, and is an absorbing but very grim story on the ill-fated expedition of Sir John Franklin…

Up to last week I’d never heard of a Mariathon before. Well, it’s a worthy fundraising drive by Radio Maria Ireland as I discovered when I dipped in to a few shows on the station during the week. It’s a great service for Catholic listeners and is widely accessible by Saorview, YouTube and its own…

Sometimes you get a strong sense that mischief is afoot – that was certainly the case when I heard early last week that a draft of the US Supreme Court judgement on Roe v Wade had been leaked to the media. With leaks you have to figure out who benefits, and in this case the…