Our children always comment (or complain depending on how you look at it) that whenever and wherever we are on holiday we will end up in a cathedral, a church or a graveyard at some point of the trip. That was certainly true this year when we went to Italy. From little quiet chapels in…
Category: Your Faith
Irish among world’s lowest breastfeeding rates
Science of Life Prof. William Reville Human beings are members of a large group of animals known as mammals and all female mammals have mammary glands (breasts) that produce milk for feeding the young. This natural method of breastfeeding is scientifically well established as the optimal form of nutrition for babies and is enthusiastically…
Family News and Events
Annual Babywearing ‘Wear a Hug’ fair Babywearing Ireland is a not-for-profit organisation run by a network of volunteers all passionate about promoting safe babywearing and its benefits for both children and caregivers. It is a voluntary, community-based organisation with an nationwide network of sling libraries, meets and online support. The annual ‘Wear a Hug Fair’…
We need to talk about cancer
Cancer diagnosis rates are rising, but so too are survival rates, writes Mags Gargan Every 15 minutes someone in Ireland hears the words ‘You have cancer’. It is a disease that has touched every family in every community in Ireland. The rates of cancer diagnosis are rising but so too are survival rates. This year…
Music, fasts and exorcism with the Ethiopian Orthodox
A three-hour Mass probably wouldn’t go down well in the average Irish parish, but according to a priest from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Ireland, his congregation can’t get enough. It’s not only the length of Mass that makes Ethiopian Orthodoxy different. Almost all the liturgy is musical and has copious singing between the priest…
The plant growing season is not over yet
In times past September was seen as the end of the growing season. It was time to bed the garden down for the winter, but not anymore. Milder weather in autumn has stretched the growing season on into the year. Clip hedges such as beech and hornbeam now to keep them tidy until spring. By…
Demystifying the Church for young people
As the most recent census indicates, the number of young people today attending Church is in serious decline. Although many still identify as “spiritual”, the Church and its message is one that has been rejected by much of the youth in Ireland. There are, however, various ways in which young people can be drawn back…
Dad’s Diary
The summer holidays are gone too soon. Our freshly scrubbed children, in their brand-new oversized school jumpers, have been packed off back to school, proud to be elevated a year higher in the pecking order. Gone are the languorous days of summer, where time flows easy. The kids are happy to be back to school.…
Family news and events
Breast milk donations needed The Western Trust Milk Bank is located in Irvinestown, Co. Fermanagh, and is the only human milk bank in the country. It has provided help for hundreds of premature and sick babies both north and south in Ireland, since it opened in 2000. The service operates in a similar way to…
Are we oversharing our children on social media?
Most of us love sharing pictures on social media whether it’s a family party, a child’s first day at school, a First Communion or some other memorable occasion. I love photography and, since I was a little girl, I was fascinated by the idea of capturing moments in time that you could look back on…
Bairbre Cahill
William Reville

Mags Gargan
Chai Brady
Paul Gargan
Colm Fitzpatrick


Maria Byrne