I’ve long been a fan of Bruce Springsteen’s music, and was aware of some religious elements in his work – for example those traditional Gospel songs he recorded for his Seeger Sessions album. In fact at one stage one of his guitars featured an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, an image that adorned his…

This week we were reminded several times of the great work done abroad by Irish missionaries and lay volunteers over the years, an ongoing legacy we can be proud of. On Today With Sean O’Rourke, RTÉ1 Tuesday of last week, two award-winning missionaries impressed. Sr Cora O’Richardson had lived a full life – had studied…

Documentary may not be the most popular genre, but done well can have quite an impact. Powerful and well-made as it was, it’s hard to see what effect The Disappearedwill have (RTÉ 1 Monday, BBC 4 Tuesday, last week). Darragh MacIntyre certainly re-opened the controversy about the people were ‘disappeared’ in Northern Ireland in the…

The heroic monsignor and marriage debates

Brendan O’Regan seeks evidence of media bias

Brendan O’Regan looks at comedy offerings of the week

I finally caught up with TG4’s series Pobal ag Guílast Sunday night. A review of Ireland’s relationship with religion, it started well with coverage of last year’s Eucharistic Congress but unfortunately it then fell back on lazy film making, stereotypes and clichés. And so there were lots of black and white clips of former Archbishop…

Televised debates dominated ahead of the Seanad Referendum, writes Brendan O’Regan

Brendan O’Regan considers offerings for the new season