People tire of the negativity, this week there was some good news

After covering some contentious issues in the last few weeks, I’m back on a positive trail this week. There have been some good news stories.

On Morning Ireland (RTÉ Radio 1, Tuesday) Aaron McElroy reported from the ordination of young priest Fr Stephen Sherry in Monaghan. An increase of interest in vocations was noted along with a slight increase in ordinations. Bishop Cullinan of Waterford and Lismore said of the figures – “they are not huge but they are steady”. There were nine new priests this year compared to six in 2025. Fr David Vard had been the youngest back in 2017 and was glad to pass on that honour. We heard from new seminarian Finn McDonnell. He didn’t expect to be on this path, having given up practising, but then re-connected with his faith when studying at third level.

There was more good news on Morning Ireland (RTÉ Radio 1, Thursday) when we learned that an effort by the Social Democrats to expand our abortion regime failed in Dáil Éireann the day before, by a sizeable margin, 85-30, with 36 abstentions, including all Sinn Féin TDs. Yet there is no ground for complacency, as it wasn’t some sort of pro-life epiphany – some of the voting was pragmatic. The report was very brief and no unreservedly pro-life TD was quoted, whereas three others were.

Reporter Colm Flynn is often a bearer of good news, so it was fitting that he was interviewed on Hope in the Media (Radio Maria, Wednesday). Presenter Donal O’Sullivan-Latchford spoke to Flynn for an hour and, despite the length, interest didn’t flag at all. I had first come across him in an excellent programme Life & Soul (RTÉ One) a few years ago, and he told of the time when he worked full-time for RTÉ. However, his journalist career began much earlier – when as a school-goer in Ennis he produced a local publication, Colm’s Newsletter – collecting and disseminating news in his neighbourhood. He was “bitten by the bug”, fascinated by the content and the technology. In those days, he never thought he’d be working for RTÉ, BBC and eventually for Catholic station EWTN in Washington.

Sometimes, when pitching a programme to commissioning editors, he was met with the line that the programme would be WBD – worthy but dull! He was more inclined to believe positive faith stories would be “worthy and bright”, and felt instinctively that people would be interested. That’s certainly true of his work with Nationwide (RTÉ One), where positive stories find a natural home. Recently, I reviewed one such episode presented by Flynn – about Ireland’s humanitarian response to the Chernobyl disaster. He was impressed by Adi Roche when making that programme, and it led to a longer piece for BBC. Asked what keeps her going, she said it’s her faith, as we got a sense of charity work “through the prism of faith”.

He works in a non-confrontational way, believing that people tire of the negativity. This was clear when his interview with some Belgian DJs went viral. They had smashed some Christian statues on air – a thoughtless gimmick, it seemed, and in an interview for a radio conference, Flynn gently challenged them on this and they admitted they’d never do it to religious symbols of Islam or Judaism. Despite the good-humoured tone of the interview, a debate in parliament and a subsequent apology from the Belgian public service broadcaster, Flynn was accused by the conference organiser of causing division and hatred! All his other interviews were removed. One commentator called him a “far-right journalist” – a handy insult indeed. He did find anti-Catholic elements in the media, which was an eye-opener for him, and felt that newcomers to media work would be put off if they were people of faith.

His own faith journey also figured – faith in the family, service as an altar boy, admiration for missionaries in his family. He acknowledged the bad stuff that goes on in the Church, but felt the positivity outweighed it. Wherever he found trouble in the world in his journalist travels, he found the Church working hard at the heart of it, seeking improvement and solutions. He spoke of the wonderful faith-inspired people he met, from famous people like Andrea Bocelli and Michael Flatley to the young woman who had a ground-breaking face transplant after harming herself and became subsequently an advocate for life.

Would we had more of those advocates, especially in Dáil Éireann!

Pick of the week

On the Road
EWTN, Monday, May 25, 10.30pm
Discover more about the Cause for the Canonisation of Fr Willie Doyle, taken up in Ireland, and how Fr Doyle’s Cause is proceeding with the opening of the Diocesan Inquiry.

Nationwide
RTÉ One, Wednesday, May 27, 7pm
On the 40th anniversary of Knock, Ireland’s fourth-busiest airport, Colm Flynn tells the remarkable story of Monsignor Horan and the runway that transformed the west of Ireland.

Daniel O’Connell – The Emancipator
RTÉ One, Wednesday (night), May 27, 1.45am
Narrated by Domhnall Gleeson, offering a fresh exploration of the life and enduring impact of one of Ireland’s greatest figures.