May Day is nearly here, officially marking the arrival of summer. The first thing to do for the celebration is to set up a mini grotto with a small statue or portrait of Mary, surrounded by May flowers. After setting up your mini grotto, you can take part in the May traditions celebrated in some…
Spokespersons for conservatism, and for Christianity, find it difficult nowadays to gain traction in the mainstream media. Left-liberal positions are in the ascendancy across a wide range of issues – reproductive rights, euthanasia and assisted suicide, religion in schools, immigration policies and more. Liberalism, as opposed to conservatism, traditionally prided itself on its greater tolerance…
Seán came home from school the other day with a fanciful tale: “I won thousands of pounds for my school today. Thousands! My drawing was the best in England and I’m going to be in the newspaper. It’s amazing. I can invite anyone I like to come to a special party when I get the…
Participants at a youth gathering in Dublin to celebrate the Year of Mercy describe their experience Last week Dublin’s RDS hosted a gathering of more than 500 Transition Year students from all over the island of Ireland, along with teachers, chaplains, priests, religious and volunteers, who came together to celebrate the Year of Mercy. This…
This columnist was shocked yet unsurprised to hear that Ireland is on course to become the most obese country in Europe, with Britain, within a decade. The perilous prediction outlined in a study published in The Lancet was reported by various news outlets recently. Irish men already have the highest body mass index (BMI) –…
Coming up to your first Holy Communion usually you will receive your very first pair of rosary beads. While you may pick up more sets of rosary beads as you grow up, the ones you receive on your Communion day are beads that you will carry with you for life. Therefore it is important to…
My dear father, Joseph Louis Conroy, Joe to most of his family and friends, died a month ago. No matter what age a parent is or how long they’ve been battling illness, whether sudden or unexpected, nothing prepares you for that final farewell. Although my father had been diagnosed with cancer some years ago, had…
I wrote recently about the impact it can have to identify with the story of others. Walking in the shoes of others can challenge us and help us to grow in faith. I have a book that I dip into on a regular basis called, All Saints – Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets and Witnesses…
Broadcaster and producer Andrea Hayes shares her experience of living with chronic pain In December 2013 I took a phone call that would change my life for ever. Having spent more than half of my life looking for an explanation for the constant pain I have had since my teens, it suddenly seemed as if…
Sean Muldoon, Méabh Corrigan and Orlaith McGarvey address the issue of how to involve young people in parish life Why do the youth feel lost today? And why do our parishes find it so difficult to attract young people? With the increasing secularisation of society many young people are more interested in Snapchat, Facebook and…
Erin Fox
William Reville
Cathal Barry
Maria Byrne
Bairbre Cahill