Eamon Maher The year 2011 continued the painful decline of the Catholic Church in Ireland. The publication of the Cloyne Report was followed by an unprecedented attack on the Vatican by the newly elected Taoiseach — and practicing Catholic — Enda Kenny. For the leader of the Fine Gael party to claim that the…
Across the country, participants at this year’s World Youth Day (WYD) have reunited to celebrate Christmas together with lively, youth-centred liturgies. About 500 people attended a youth Mass in St Michael’s Church, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, organised by Clogher Don Oige, the diocesan youth ministry group. ”Following an evaluation after WYD, the young pilgrims wanted…
Prime Minister David Cameron’s King James Bible speech Edited for length. Full length speech on www.irishcatholic.ie ‘It’s great to be here and to have this opportunity to come together today to mark the end of this very special 400th anniversary year for the King James Bible. The Bible is a book that has not just…
Perhaps, like Dickens, we will say it was the worst of years, but it was the best of years too, for like every other year it was mixed in blessings and in worries. But, some leaves from my diary remembering interesting experiences of the year In February, I visited Cambridge at the invitation of Professor…
The View Child abuse sadly appears to be widespread in all societies, writes David Quinn A major report into the problem of child abuse in the Catholic Church in Holland was published in the run-up to Christmas. The report brings us closer to being able to answer such questions as whether the problem was…
Chef Neven Maguire tells Mags Gargan about the joys of a family Christmas Does Neven Maguire cook the family Christmas dinner? It is perhaps an obvious question to ask an award winning chef, but it is hard to resist, and the answer is of course he does. ”We had 35 in our house for…
Fr Chris Hayden on searching for a destination for Ireland Remember when the M50 was being widened? Remember the national running commentary on the traffic chaos that arose from what was, metaphorically, an attempt to service an aircraft while it was flying. Some of the chaos was probably avoidable, and the pandemonium that prevailed…
The Tullamore Gospel Choir has just concluded another successful year, Paul Keenan writes It says something of a parish choir when it not only keeps 70 members passionately involved throughout a busy year but can also maintain a long waiting list of prospective singers. This, however, is the impressive boast of the Tullamore Gospel…
Mags Gargan visits a homeless service offered by Crosscare, the social care agency of the Dublin archdiocese This is Elizabeth’s first Christmas in her own home in quite a number of years. She is an elegant, dignified, well spoken lady that completely shatters the stereotypical image of a homeless person. She is perhaps the…
Trócaire’s regional manager for Latin America, Sally O’Neill tells Mags Gargan that Christmas is a time for togetherness Christmas for Trócaire’s Sally O’Neil no longer means the snowy hills of County Tyrone, but the tropical heat and humidity of Honduras in Central America. ”I don’t miss having a white Christmas,” she says, ”I have…
Mags Gargan
Mary Kenny
David Quinn
Paul Keenan