Minister for Health Simon Harris is part of a breed of politicians who get into the game at a young age. He has never had a job outside of politics. Before running for election himself, he served as an assistant to Francis Fitzgerald. At the tender age of 25, Mr Harris was elected to the…
I have quite a few interesting interviews to pore over this week, with some new voices featuring and an older voice retiring. On last Thursday night’s Tonight Show (Virgin Media 1) I was impressed by writer and lecturer Dr David Thunder, who spoke of the media creating a narrative that served only the liberal side in…
Everyday Philosophy Philosophy is having a bit of a moment in Ireland. It became a Junior Cert short course in 2016, and there are moves afoot to make it a Leaving Cert subject. The Philosophy Ireland organisation is running more workshops every year, in schools, workplaces and prisons. Our President made the promotion of…
Have a Lullymore Christmas! With the Christmas holidays well and truly arrived, it’s that time of year where children finally get meet Santa Claus! Father Christmas will be greeting visitors, both young and old, at Kildare’s Lullymore Heritage and Discovery Park up till December 23. The 2018 Christmas visit will include a gift from the…
Black Friday is the new December 8! For many years there was a great Irish tradition of the pre-Christmas shopping season beginning on the Holy Day, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. People from all over the country would flock to Dublin or their nearest shopping town to take in the festive atmosphere.…
Dear Editor, I am very dismayed about a letter published last week (IC 29/11/18) which said that high profile human welfare charities are addicted to their public self-importance. The author, John Tierney, concluded: “But we must never forget the adage; charity should be given without being asked for.” I think this perspective is very cynical…
Advent Sunday: ‘Pray for children in Syria’ Pope Francis lit a candle, a symbol of hope, to pray for children affected by violence and war in Syria and across the Middle East. “Advent is a time of hope. At this moment I would like to make the hope for peace of the children of Syria, beloved Syria, mine,” the Pope prayed…
Pat O’Kelly Not surprisingly, December reaps its usual crop of Handel’s Messiah even if the work relates to Christ’s Passion and Resurrection as much as to His Nativity. Messiah covers the Church’s year from advent to advent with Christ Triumphant as its magnificent coda. Along with the Irish Baroque Orchestra, the choral group Resurgam,…
A Cork-based priest has condemned a vandalism attack of a nativity scene at one the city’s oldest ecclesiastical structures. Just hours after its unveiling on December 2, the Red Abbey Crib, located behind the railings inside the landmark abbey tower, was trespassed and vandalised. After the official light switch-on at the crib on Saturday night,…
Hannah Brockhaus Learning to pray well is a continual process, but should always start from a place of humility, as Jesus demonstrated in the Gospels, Pope Francis said today. “Even if we have been praying for so many years, we must always learn!” the Pope said. “The prayer of man, this yearning that is…
Michael Kelly
Brendan O’Regan
Ben Conroy
Colm Fitzpatrick