Green Fingers A recently published study from Germany is cause for great concern. It was a study of butterfly and diurnal moth species and was conducted in nature reserves over a 40-year period. It showed that of the 117 species recorded in 1840, just 71 could be found today. That is a 40% decrease.…
Medical Matters Coffee is one of the most widely drank beverages in the world and indeed in Ireland is consumed by about 75% of the population. While many of us are familiar with the caffeine boost we get from coffee, it is actually only one of up to 1000 bioactive compounds it contains that…
Looking at our own four, who now range in age from 17 to 23, I have always felt that Faith has been a positive, strengthening influence in their lives. From the beginning we wanted to raise our children as people of Faith and have made that one of the priorities in our life as a…
Families are being helped to grow together despite imprisonment, writes Colm Fitzpatrick Although to many imprisonment might seem like the end of the world, an Irish-based voluntary group are reimagining and reforming how families can cope and grow together in spite of these difficult circumstances. The Bedford Row Family Project is a Franciscan/Mercy initiative…
Children’s Corner By now the Christmas Day festivities of exchanging presents, singing hymns and gorging on mince pies will be over, and family and visiting friends will be enjoying relaxing and being entertained, especially if children are the ones performing. From dancing and singing to acting and playing an instrument, parents, aunties and uncles…
For weeks now, before Advent even started, I have found myself drawn to the image of John the Baptist. Now here he is, in our readings for the Second and Third Sundays of Advent. John, with his strange ways and his tendency to speak out, whether or not people welcome his message. John is driven…
Chocolate chestnut torte is just the Christmas dessert for those who can’t stand Christmas pudding, mince pies, and fruit cake. Rich and gooey, the texture is closer to a brownie than a cake. As it’s incredibly rich, a small slither will do the trick after a hearty Christmas dinner. Including orange adds to the festive…
Green Fingers As well as being a place that provides you with pleasure and peace, your garden should be a haven for a large variety of wildlife. From small mammals, birds and reptiles, to a huge range of beneficial insects and other invertebrates. By growing as wide a range of plants as possible, you…
My late father never got into too much of a fuss about Christmas. While the rest of us were dashing around like headless chickens, he always seemed to be his usual serene self. Whether his Christmas presents cost the earth or the offering was just a humble pair of socks or a scarf, his reaction…
“Tell me a story about when you were a boy.” That’s the unchanging instruction I have received from my eight-year-old boy at bedtime for weeks now. At first, I thought this was brought on by my father’s colourful stories of his childhood in Ballyvaughan, where fact and fiction intermingle fantastically. One recent story was about…
Paul Gargan
Dr Kevin McCarroll
Bairbre Cahill
Colm Fitzpatrick
Erin Fox
Maria Byrne