I told Seán that he is the best hurler in the county the other day. When you live on the Isle of Wight, you can make such bold statements, safe in the knowledge that Seán and I are perhaps the only hurlers in this particular English county. There is a GAA club across the water…
Down Syndrome (DS) is a genetic disorder named after the British physician John Langdon Down who identified it in 1866. It is estimated that there are about 7,000 people in Ireland with DS and one DS baby is born in every 546 births. About 6,000 babies with DS are born annually in America. Boys are…
A particularly early print deadline recently meant the number of hours’ sleep this columnist got the night previous fell well shy of the recommended amount. The amount of sleep needed to function the next day varies from person to person. While the average adult needs about eight hours of sleep each night, some people need…
It’s said that April showers bring May flowers. April showers also mean spending less time outdoors in the fresh spring air and more time indoors. A bit of rain can ruin a whole day out, but instead of letting it dampen your spirits, seize the opportunity to get creative indoors. Create your own colourful rain…
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…
It’s just a few more days until Easter Sunday and the much anticipated wait to tear the foil off your chocolate egg will be over. With the excitement over Easter eggs, it can be easy to forget the true meaning of Easter. Over the next few days, take your mind off the chocolate and turn…
Green Fingers “From sweet April showers, do spring May flowers,” said Thomas Tusser. We might get hail, sleet or snow, but ideally what we need now is warm showers and sunshine to get things really moving fast. If you are growing rhododendrons, azaleas or camellias on acid soil they will benefit from a general purpose…
Simon Flint describes his first three months as a VMM lay missionary teaching in Africa Simon Flint I came here in November into the searing heat of the warm heart of Africa as Malawi is sometimes called. My first month was spent with Damian and Bridgett who are both volunteers working with Network for a…
Post-natal depression can affect any mum, writes Alison Canavan, so don’t be hard on yourself or afraid to ask for help Alison Canavan There is no denying that having a baby is a very special time in a woman’s life. You want everything to be perfect and we all want to be great parents. We…
“Michael O’Sullivan was my great friend… but I don’t ever remember telling him that. The words that are spoken at a funeral are spoken too late for the man who is dead.” This scene from the 1998 comedy Waking Ned is one of my favourites. I can’t help but think there’s real truth in the…
William Reville
Cathal Barry
Erin Fox
Paul Gargan