Month: December 2017

Top boxer knocked-out by poverty in Kenya

Irish boxer Carl Frampton spoke of the heartbreaking scenes he witnessed in Kenya after travelling to the country with Church charity Trócaire. Mr Frampton, a world champion boxer from north Belfast, travelled with his wife Christine, and said he would never forget what he had seen. Recalling an incident he witnessed in which a toddler…

Family News and Events

Marriage – An Unlikely Blessing Marriage’s benefits are hardly something The Irish Catholic has skimped on extolling in the past, but one thing perhaps neglected in these pages is how it may lower the risks of developing dementia. A study of worldwide studies suggests that single people are between 24% and 42% more likely to…

Out & About, In Short

DIT chaplaincy celebrates Luas opening Celebrating the opening of the new Luas line at the Grangegorman campus of Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), the Pastoral Care and Chaplaincy Service at DIT are offering “a vibrant week of events” from December 11-14 in St Laurence’s Church. Admission to all events is free and begins on Monday 11…

Embracing a day of rest

As Poland votes to outlaw Sunday trading, Susan Gately wonders whether Ireland might follow suit Late last month, Polish MPs approved a bill aimed at phasing out Sunday trading by 2020. The bill which has been passed in the lower house of Poland’s parliament, restricts Sunday shopping to the first and last Sunday of the…

Dad’s Diary

“Tell me a story about when you were a boy.” That’s the unchanging instruction I have received from my eight-year-old boy at bedtime for weeks now. At first, I thought this was brought on by my father’s colourful stories of his childhood in Ballyvaughan, where fact and fiction intermingle fantastically. One recent story was about…

Children’s books for Christmas

This week we present a selection of books available this Christmas time for smaller children and young adults.  Younger children The President’s Glasses Peter Donnelly Gill Books, €14.99 This must be the delight of the season for both children and parents. It presents the president as slightly forgetful – well it comes to us all.…

A Year in the Life – Glencairn Abbey

The Sisters of St Mary’s Abbey celebrated their new book  ‘A Year in the Life – Glencairn Abbey’ on Saturday with an Advent Service.  The book was launched by Mairéad Lavery, editor of Country Living, with Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan.  Also present was Mother Marie Fahy, Abbess of Glencairn Abbey and Dom Richard Purcell, Abbot of…

Christmas appeal to conquer fear

The Church’s overseas development charity Trócaire have launched their Christmas 2017 appeal with a new video entitled ‘Until Love Conquers Fear’. The video highlights the plight of all those facing fear this Christmas, and the work Trócaire does to respond to those in need. The director of Trócaire, Éamonn Meehan, said: “The people we work…