Mags Gargan examines a social enterprise project which is tackling both food waste and food poverty In Ireland an estimated one million tonnes of food is wasted annually, while 1 in 8 people are suffering from food poverty. Within communities across the country businesses are throwing away perfectly good food, while local charities are struggling…

Nicole Turner Fourteen-year-old Nicole Turner shares her incredible journey as a paralympian I was born with a disability called hypochondroplasia, a form of dwarfism. At the age of five my parents sent me to have swimming lessons for safety reasons and then I joined a local swimming club in Portarlington, Piranha Swim Club where I…

Aileen Cox Blundell Baby-led feeding allows your child to explore food at their own pace and become a healthy eater, writes Aileen Cox Blundell Baby-led feeding works from the same principles as baby-led weaning. It begins when your little one is around the six-month mark and has started to show signs of being able to…

Mags Gargan talks to the new Pope John Paul II Award Co-ordinator Over 1,000 young people gathered in Knock Shrine last week to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Pope John Paul II Award. This was just a small portion of the over 20,000 teenagers who have completed the award since it was set up…

Mags Gargan visits the Sanctuary meditation and mindfulness centre, to learn about a programme helping struggling teens to find peace “I’m bored.” Two words any parent dreads, whether your offspring is a young child or a teenager. However, according to Caitriona McColgan, young people need to sit in their own boredom for the world to…

Sr Patricia Speight shares her faith journey with Mags Gargan One of the iconic images from Pope Francis’ trip to Kenya in 2015 was of an overjoyed Irish Franciscan Missionary Sister for Africa taking his picture from the crowd. Belfast-born Sr Patricia Speight found herself appearing in newspapers across the globe, but it was not…

Michele Howe Aging is difficult and caring for our elders is a skill many people are never taught, writes Michele Howe In all honesty, the first time our family was suddenly made responsible for caring for someone we loved, we didn’t do a very good job. We did, however, learn a lot. Some years later,…

Jennifer Roback Morse and Betys Kerekes Jennifer Roback Morse and Betys Kerekes of the Ruth Institute offer advice on how to meet your life partner We all want reliable love in our lives. In this, we are no different than people in any other time in history, despite the tatters of failed marriages all around…

Aoife Kehoe Religion is an exam subject I experience outside the classroom, writes Aoife Kehoe Religious education became an exam subject in 2008. Last year, 1,320 students throughout Ireland sat the exam. The curriculum presents 10 topics from which students must study four. In my class we studied four divergent and truly engaging themes. The…

Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind are celebrating 40 years of helping the blind, vision impaired and families of children with autism, writes Mags Gargan Imagine a boy who never plays. A boy who never talks. Who never laughs. Who has no friends. A boy who never hugs anyone, or shows any expression of love.…