At various times over recent years I have worked with young people preparing for the oral Irish exam in their Leaving Certificate. Apart from the challenge of developing a level of fluency in Irish most of the students also face the challenge of developing and expressing their own opinions. Our education system does little to…
Michelle McGagh Michelle McGagh describes how she saved £22,000 in just one year “You’re not buying anything? At all? For a whole year?” This is the phrase that I’ve heard a million times, usually followed by: “I could never do that!” And it’s true, most people don’t want to give up spending and treating themselves…
Three feast days are approaching next week – all within just a few days of one another! The feast day you are probably most familiar is the feast of St Brigid on February 1. So you will no doubt be gathering bunches of rushes this weekend to make St Brigid’s cross. Traditionally, her crosses are…
Ireland never lets go of an Irish heart. The further we go from our homeland, the stronger it calls us home. French Canadians were never known for singing maudlin ballads lamenting the day they left Paris. English immigrants to Australia were not known to weep out of a heartfelt yearning for Suffolk. Yet we Irish…
Darragh McGann Darragh McGann describes how a year of loss and illness brought him back to God With the exception of two years, I have lived all of my life at home with my mother. My dad died before I reached the age of six and having been adopted as a baby, I didn’t have…
With the Christmas decorations long gone and packed away until next December, the home can feel a little bare without some festive spark. And it’s a long wait before you can start making Easter decorations. January can be a miserably long month, especially when Spring is yet to arrive. But you can welcome Spring into…
There are times in the Sunday liturgy when the priest has the option to read a shorter version of the Gospel. This Sunday is one of those times but I find myself hoping that priests around the country will opt for the longer version. Why? This Sunday we find ourselves in the early chapters of…
Annmarie O’Connor Taking a retreat from the internet can play a big role in reaching a happy medium in life, writes Annmarie O’Connor Mindless entertainment is a guilty pleasure – but when it creates a mental muffin top, then it’s time to cut back on the cognitive calories. A low-tech fast may appear gimmicky until…
Two giants of the football world who relied on their Catholic faith for success in 2016 have received top honours at the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) inaugural Best Football Awards. Portugese legend Cristiano Ronaldo was named the world’s leading player at a star-studded event in Zurich, Switzerland, last Monday night, while manager of…
It’s nearly the middle of the month and with the new year breaking in, it’s time for a fresh new notebook for storing all of your daily to-do lists. Keeping all of your to-do lists in the one notebook is a great way of looking back on everything you have achieved at the end of…
Bairbre Cahill
Erin Fox