Satires, rom-coms, sitcoms, documentaries, cartoons, blockbusters, art movies, actioners, screwball comedies, retro noir dramas, earnest social issue statements, experimental failures and sleeper successes…the year was the usual mixed bag of surprise hits and tired conventions. Two papal films were released: Pope Francis: A Man of His Word and John Paul II in Ireland: A Plea…
Have you ever wondered what it was like for Mary and Joseph to make the journey to Bethlehem? Or, for Jesus and his disciples to make the trip from the Galilee to Jerusalem? From the earliest times, Christians from all over the world have gone to the Holy Land to walk in the footsteps of…
Chai Brady hears about the disparity between Christmas before and after addiction One of the best Christmas presents a GAA star and former gambling addict ever received was the chance to see a “glimpse of the future”, and just how good it can be. Oisin McConville, a former Armagh GAA player, has often spoke…
We’ve been marking the centenary of women’s suffrage – when women over 30 in Ireland and Britain were entitled to vote for the first time, in 1918 (and women over 21 were entitled to stand for election.) An enlightened advance indeed: less well-known, or well-publicised, is the fact that the Pope of the time, Benedict…
Colm Fitzpatrick speaks with acclaimed singer and musician Nathan Carter It might be easy to think that a national celebrity who has even sang in front of two Popes might be tempted to have a decked out and lavish Christmas, but for well-known country singer Nathan Carter, the true luxuries of this festive day…
Even for those who don’t know his name, few artists in today’s Ireland are more closely linked with Christmas than Belfast-born PJ Lynch, recently the country’s fourth Children’s Laureate but perhaps best known to readers of The Irish Catholic for his work on the mosaic of Knock Basilica. 2016 and 2017 saw his delicate watercolours…
Christmas brings a “glimmer of hope and joy” to Christian families “terrorised” and driven out of their homes by ISIS in Iraq, according to Archbishop Eamon Martin. Speaking at a carol service in Armagh, Archbishop Martin told the congregation about his visit to Batnaya on the Ninevah Plains last week, and how he was brought…
It breaks my heart to think that this Christmas children will be born into homelessness, writes Sr Stan Christmas is a special time in the religious year as it marks the birth of Jesus. It is a time to celebrate this and a time to reflect. It is also a time we all think of our…
Australian Cardinal George Pell has been found guilty on five charges related to serious sexual misconduct involving two boys at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne in the 1990s. Cardinal Pell is expected to appeal the conviction. Sources said Cardinal Pell pleaded not guilty to all charges but was found guilty on December 11 by a…
Despite musical success The Priests ‘are the opposite of the Rolling Stones’, writes Chai Brady Even while rubbing shoulders with musicians as critically acclaimed as Rihanna, Tom Jones and more, The Priests look at it is as an opportunity towards an “encounter” and even a possibility to evangelise celebrities. Breaking the Guinness Book of…
Aubrey Malone
Michael Kelly
Chai Brady
Mary Kenny
Colm Fitzpatrick
Greg Daly