Madison Duddy hears a chaplain’s advice to students returning home from college When every academic year comes to a close, students are forced to pack their things, leaving a life of freedom as they head for their hometowns. After the initial enjoyment of free food and clean laundry wears off, college students realise they…
Simone Weil once commented that it’s not enough today to be merely a saint; rather “we must have the saintliness demanded by the present moment”. She’s surely right on that second premise; we need saints whose virtues speak to the times. What kind of saint is needed today? Someone who can show us how we…
Everyday Philosophy Your humble columnist has encountered quite a few people who claim to be moral relativists. All of these people are wrong: not wrong to be moral relativists, but wrong in claiming that they actually are moral relativists. My contention – I know it’s a bold claim – is that no-one except a…
We – all six of us – have just come back from a holiday in the beautiful city of Brugge in Belgium. We had met in the airport in Dublin, delighted at the prospect of going away together. That evening, having settled into our AirBnB, we went out for a walk. Along by the canals,…
Personal Profile Madison Duddy At the age of 16, Co. Carlow native Julianne Donlon Stanz climbed Croagh Patrick where she and her peers had a “transformative encounter with God”. She felt like God spoke to her, so she wanted to strengthen her relationship with the Lord. During her education, Julianne realised she wanted to…
Sweet Treats Laura Anderson This simple dessert which means ‘cooked cream’ in Italian is luxurious, sweet and creamy with just the right amount of tartness coming from the mangos. Be sure to invest in some ripe, juicy mangos – it will make all the difference. This recipe relies on gelatin to set the cream.…
Don a daring face and do a duathlon Several kilometres of running, then cycling, followed by more running is definitely a testing challenge for any family looking for adventure, but it would certainly be rewarding to triumph over this physical feat. Ballyhale Shamrocks GAA club in Kilkenny has announced a brand-new event as part of…
Vintage clothes offer a solution to our ecological and fashion crisis, writes Madison Duddy In today’s world, fashion is one the largest polluting industries in the world. With severe ecological damage caused from ink that contaminates local streams to the unrecyclable plastic that ends up in the ocean or a landfill, dealing the fashion…
Questions of Faith If a spaceship landed on earth and we were greeted by extra-terrestrial life with our own intellectual and spiritual capabilities, how would the Church react? Assuming that these aliens came in peace, it’s fair to say that it would not contradict our Faith to baptise them. The Church has no official position…
Medical Matters Last week saw the signing of new legislation that will allow for the operation of a Medical Cannabis Access Programme in Ireland. The law allows a medical consultant to prescribe cannabis-based products for patients who suffer with any one of three specified conditions. These include spasticity due to multiple sclerosis, intractable nausea due…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Ben Conroy
Bairbre Cahill
Colm Fitzpatrick
Dr Kevin McCarroll