Martina Purdy
Law-breaking seems to be symptomatic of modern culture
On a grey rainy Belfast morning, not so long ago, a young boy came flying round the corner on an e-scooter – and I had to swerve the car to avoid him. I thanked God I did not hit him – or rather that he did not hit me.
It was a lucky escape for both of us. Consequently, I have become slightly obsessed with these ubiquitous vehicles. It is illegal to drive an e-scooter on public roads and footpaths, but this doesn’t deter young children – or grown men – from speeding around on them.
Recently I tried to politely advise a man in his thirties that he was breaking the law. I cannot repeat his response.
Of course, I’m not immune to the attractions of the e-scooter – it is relatively low cost and gets you quickly from A to B. But there is mounting evidence of injuries in the past two years to both riders and pedestrians – and in September the Police Service of Northern Ireland finally started to crackdown, seizing 65 e-scooters in one weekend.
Today
This law-breaking seems to be symptomatic of modern culture.
Just days ago, The Irish Mirror posed the question: should we be worried about rising lawlessness in Ireland? Or is it universal?
This should concern everyone, especially Christians, mindful of Christ’s warning about ‘end times’- and what Jesus told us to look out for. Along with famine, wars and earthquakes Jesus in Matthew Chapter 24:12 spoke on the Mount of Olives about an often overlooked sign. “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,” Jesus declared. “But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”
The word Jesus uses for ‘wickedness’ is ‘anomia’ – which can also mean ‘lawlessness’.
My e-scooter annoyance is mild compared to some of the lawlessness and criminal behaviour that prevails in Ireland and beyond”
Both lawlessness and wickedness are frequently on display these days, especially compared to just a few decades ago. I see it every time I switch on the television or go on social media – even the adverts can be dark.
That tabloid question cannot be easily dismissed.
My e-scooter annoyance is mild compared to some of the lawlessness and criminal behaviour that prevails in Ireland and beyond. Consider the spread of destructive riots in Italy and France, which involved a fatal shooting with multiple injuries near Paris.
Also shocking was the fatal arson attack in Birchwood estate, Waterford on October 13 – just the latest in a series of appalling acts of lawlessness. Four members of the English family were murdered including two children. Days later it was reported that three members of one family were murdered in Co. Louth. That same week a man in Manchester was on trial for stabbing his girlfriend to death after she admitted to aborting their twins.
In August, five teenage boys were killed while deliberately driving against traffic in Co. Kildare. And three women and a seven-year-old child were seriously or critically injured in the head on collision.
There has been a reported dip in murder and sexual offences in the first quarter of 2026. Still, in the first seven months of this year, eight women were killed in Ireland. Incidents involving weapons are on the rise – as are fraud offences. There is also a disproportionate number of sexual offences involving youth. Almost half of all recorded victims of sexual offences in Ireland are under the age of 18. This month, five youths appeared in a Dublin court month charged with alleged sexual assault on a young girl.
And, shoplifting in Ireland has risen by 47% over the past decade – and that is only what is reported. In the north of Ireland, retail staff have told me they do not tackle shoplifters as it is too risky.
And don’t get me started on the stench of cannabis – still an illegal substance, wafting through the streets of Belfast, even where children are present.
Change
This rise in lawlessness and wickedness goes hand in hand with society’s rejection of God. I visited Canada last week, where 120 churches have been destroyed in recent years. The Catholic Register reported that an attempt by Conservatives to increase prison sentences to a maximum of ten years, along with tougher penalties to aid the victims, was rejected by the Liberals.
For me, Toronto was a safe place to grow up – away from the Troubles back home. Senseless mass shootings were something that happened elsewhere, particularly on US soil. Not so anymore. There have been major mass shootings in Canada in the past five years.
Violence and homicide involving firearms in Canada has also risen substantially over the past decade. I was shocked last week when a contemporary confided that he had purchased a gun after a series of burglaries in his suburban neighbourhood.
Back in Belfast, I’m dodging e-scooters but am grateful that it remains a relatively safe city – despite ongoing tensions and the disgraceful race riots some months ago. Still, I am starting to pay more attention to those roadside warnings, displayed by apocalyptic Christians: “Jesus is coming soon!”
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Let them eat cake!
Over coffee in Toronto last week, a good friend told me she was going to a Gender Reveal Party. I was not sure how to react. I was still digesting the news that some 68 Irish TDs had actually voted to legally recognise “non-binary” identities. Thankfully it was defeated. But had the proposal from People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger passed, Ireland would have introduced a third X gender marker on legal documents and “gender recognition” certificates. What is a Gender Reveal Party, I asked my Catholic friend rather cautiously.
She was clearly thrilled – as her daughter and son-in-law are expecting her first grandchild. “Oh, it’s not what you think!” she laughed. “We are all getting together to have a celebratory cake and find out whether the baby is a boy or girl! It’s the opposite of woke!”
She explained that the baby scan results were sent, unseen, to a close relative who was bringing a cake that had either blue or pink icing inside. The mother-to-be cuts into the cake to discover whether it’s a boy or a girl. A novel idea! As for those far-left politicians in Sinn Féin, Labour and the Social Democrats who voted for the Non-Binary and Intersex Recognition Bill 2026, let them ‘eat cake’! (PS It’s a girl!)
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As All Saints Day approached, I was delighted to discover that a fellow parishioner, Luke McCann, has launched a new website called myholyhero.com to promote devotion to the saints. Subscribers are invited to choose an intercessor, pray and report miracles! There is even a section called “Holy Heroes in Waiting!” They include Servants of God Willie Doyle and Sr Clare Crockett and Blessed John Sullivan – along with two Belfast priests, Fr Hugh Mullan and Fr Noel Fitzpatrick, both shot dead by the British Army in the early 1970s while they ministered to their flock.
Luke, who works for Human Life International, said he hoped the dioceses would encourage schools to use the site to encourage prayer. “Everyone can pray for an intention,” he said, “trusting in a saint’s intercession to God.”