Broadcaster and producer Andrea Hayes shares her experience of living with chronic pain In December 2013 I took a phone call that would change my life for ever. Having spent more than half of my life looking for an explanation for the constant pain I have had since my teens, it suddenly seemed as if…
Mags Gargan visits a rural Tipperary school for a special celebration to mark its students’ commitment to social justice The modern, bright and newly renovated Presentation Secondary School in Ballingarry, Co. Tipperary can be found tucked away on the outskirts of the village. With just over 200 students, the co-educational school is a small community…
Psychologists are trained from the earliest days of their studies to respect and love statistics. We are trained to keep an eye on trends and patterns. One way of doing this is through research. It informs our thinking and practice about what works for whom. Psychologists in clinical practice tend to note the frequency of…
The feast of St Bernadette is coming up next week on April 16. She is the patron saint of poverty, illness, piety, shepherds and sheperdesses. St Bernadette was born in Lourdes, France on January 7, 1844. The first of nine children, she came from a very poor family. As a little girl, Bernadette contracted cholera…
While it is still a topic many women are uncomfortable discussing, menopause is a normal part of life’s journey, writes Paula Mee and Kate O’Brien Paula Mee and Kate O’Brien Growing old is inevitable – it’s how we deal with it that matters. For many women in our youth-obsessed western world, a few lines and…
Sean Muldoon, Méabh Corrigan and Orlaith McGarvey address the issue of how to involve young people in parish life Why do the youth feel lost today? And why do our parishes find it so difficult to attract young people? With the increasing secularisation of society many young people are more interested in Snapchat, Facebook and…
Sweet Treats It may be hard to believe, but sometimes there’s some leftover chocolate after Easter. If the idea of eating one more mini egg makes you want to scream, then read no more. If you are a committed chocolate fan and could indulge in Easter eggs until the ends of days, then you will…
“What would you have done if you were there?” That is a question that has been posed many times in our house over recent weeks. The commemoration of the 1916 Rising has engaged us all and challenged us to think, to reflect and to explore our beliefs and attitudes. My daughter’s class have been involved…
Despite seeing terrible suffering, children’s hospital chaplain Sr Julie Buckley has never lost faith in God, writes Mags Gargan Sr Julie Buckley SMR is head chaplain at the Children’s University Hospital, Temple Street in Dublin. Originally from Cork she started off her nursing training in the Richmond Hospital, in Dublin, before returning to Cork to…
The demands of modern life can be all-consuming, making it hard to mute the distractions around you and receive God’s peace, writes Joyce Meyer Joyce Meyer Stress. It’s a word none of us really likes but we’ve all come to accept. The unfortunate but undeniable fact is that you and I live in a stress-filled…
Mags Gargan
Erin Fox
Bairbre Cahill