The priest behind the decision to cancel the Reek Sunday pilgrimage for the first time in living memory, has said the unprecedented “treacherous” weather conditions put lives at risk. Fr Charlie McDonnell, administrator of Westport parish, first got a call at 5.15am on Sunday morning from the custodian of the chapel on the summit advising…

Staff reporter Readers of The Irish Catholic are invited to the launch of a new study guide to the Pope’s encyclical on the environment. Trocaire’s Executive Director Éamonn Meehan will launch the book authored by theologian Fr Eamonn Conway and The Irish Catholic journalist Cathal Barry in Dublin next week. The key document acts as…

Golf star Zach Johnson has credited God for his talent after winning the prestigious British Open this year. Speaking after his win at St Andrews at the 144th British Open, the US golfer said God had “blessed” him with the talent to play the game. “I feel like God gave me the ability to play…

Fr Aidan Troy poses for a selfie with newly married couple Mary McLaughlin and Martin Kealey at Holy Cross Church, Ardoyne in Belfast, at the first wedding the popular priest has celebrated in the North since his move to Paris in 2008. The Passionist came to prominence in 2001 when Loyalists protested against Catholic schoolgirls…

Limerick city priests have welcomed the announcement of the creation of 300 new jobs as a “boost for the city and the people”. Uber, an online on-demand car service is to hire 150 people by the end of the year and another 150 when the operation is up and running. It has also signed a…

The widow of a man who was killed while trying to be a “good Samaritan” has spoken of how her faith has sustained her. Jane Fitzsimons, whose husband Eamon Cronin was tragically knocked down and killed while trying to break up a fight, revealed it was her strong faith that kept her going. “My faith…

Staff reporter An Irish charity is set to welcome to Dublin this week a group of Kenyan children who are abandoned, orphaned and living with AIDS. Kenyan Orphan Aid will for the tenth time host the youngsters from the Nairobi-based Nyumbani home as part of the charity’s annual holiday project. The 21 children and their…

The Administrator of a well-known Dublin parish has refused to comment on plans that would see a large green space on the church grounds levelled to make way for a car park. Just weeks after the launch of Pope Francis’ encyclical calling on Catholics to show more care for the environment, Msgr Lorcan O’Brien of…