The back-to-school routine doesn’t have to be a daunting military operation, writes Colm Fitzpatrick   It’s been a summer of late nights, gluttonous meals and relaxed rules, but with school just around the corner, the dread of dealing with tantrums from a pouting child is becoming more palpable. Every year, parents around the country must…

Personal Profile   Working in South Africa for almost 50 years, a Franciscan friar has been teaching and shepherding despite many challenges, including Apartheid, in a land that is very much “missionary territory”. He taught in the National Seminary of St John Vianney in Pretoria for 35 years in total, which was difficult in several…

Vegan and vegetarian diets are not necessarily the healthiest, writes Madison Duddy   The Economist dubbed 2019 ‘The Year of the Vegan’. With a continued increase in veganism, they might not be far off with their prediction. Over the past few years, more people have decided to adopt vegan and vegetarian diets for health and…

Youth Space Emma Tobin describes a memorable Croagh Patrick pilgrimage Viewed from the bottom, with five hours of sleep in one hand and a borrowed stick in the other, Croagh Patrick appears ridiculously unassailable. Mist chokes the summit, and the rock face that points out towards Clew Bay is nothing but craggy, vertical shafts of…

Dr David Carey discusses how to foster good behaviour in children   Children are not born with a neural template to engage peacefully with others. This is a skill that must be learned by interacting with the environment, aided by parents and caregivers, including, often very importantly, teachers. If we take some time to look…

Personal Profile Madison Duddy   I think that as Irish people, it’s part of our DNA to go out, and missionary work isn’t just about evangelisation. We evangelise through our development work with people,” says Sr Geraldine Henry, the Mission Development Coordinator for the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul. Belfast-born Sr Henry…

Madison Duddy explores how concert going can improve health   For many, music is a significant part of their life. The second people start their morning commute, the headphones go in or the car radio is switched on, bringing some fun to an otherwise ordinary morning. One does not have to be a singer, dancer…

Personal Profile Madison Duddy Such spiritual places of retreat will be needed to recover ground lost to the materialism of modern Ireland,” says Gráinne McGroarty, a Co. Donegal native who founded Grásta Dé, a group of hermitage sites within the Inishowen peninsula. Gráinne believes this hectic world wears people out physically and spiritually, and a…

Negative thoughts can cause more damage than you think, writes Madison Duddy   With stresses like work, family, friends, relationships and money, it’s hard to stay positive. Some days, people feel like it is just one thing after another. On days like that, when the alarm doesn’t go off, the car won’t start and coffee…

Personal Profile Madison Duddy speaks with Misean Cara Chairperson Justin Kilcullen   Clearly, the work of the missionary orders as represented by the Irish is actually coming to an end. You can see the numbers are declining slowly, but surely, some things evolve in a different way, and we have to be able to continually…