In the rapid turns of the news cycle, it is easy for some stories to be overlooked. Recently, the Catholic world has focused on the hospitalisation of Pope Francis—and rightly so. Yet amid these headlines, another message quietly emerged: a declaration of the Jubilee for Artists. In a homily written for the occasion, Pope Francis…
Perfectly reasonable for academics to call for Ireland’s neutrality to be kept under active review, writes Michael Sanfey There’s a song that used to be sung by football fans to taunt the rival team’s supporters – ‘Oh you’re all very quiet over there’. This ditty applies well to some Irish academics and public intellectuals who…
Travellers in the Golden Realm: How Mughal India Connected England to the World, by Lubaaba Al-Azami (John Murray, £25.00 / €30.50 ) This is a most arresting book, though not always for the reasons the author may have hoped for. It was, it seems, originally to be published under a different title First Encounters:…
Praying for vocations usually means praying for more priests. That’s a good and necessary effort, of course, because without priests, there is no Eucharist. But there’s another vocation that may be even more endangered. And what’s been happening in the Church – and in our culture – over the past few decades should prompt us…
This Glowing Place: New & Selected Poems by Pádraig J. Daly (Scotus Press, €15.00 / £12.50) John F. Deane This exceptional book has been long awaited, and thoroughly rewards the reader. The cover image, of the Liffey and the city in the glimmering twilight, reflects the ecology of the poet’s life and imagination, the inner…
Bill Dodds How are you supposed to have a happy Lent, a liturgical season that, to quote the glossary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “is the primary penitential season in the Church’s liturgical year, reflecting the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert in fasting and prayer”? The point is learning how…
Dear Editor, I was listening to R.T.E. recently and heard the article on the Gay Pride protest march in Cork. The Gay Pride person being interviewed commented that she was not impressed by the number of pubs displaying pride flags, who had no interest whatsoever in the gay movement, but were cashing in on the…
A Cavan woman facing a rare cancer won the Audience Choice Award at the Outsider.ie Olly O’Neill Most Inspiring Person 2024 awards. Brenda O’Keeffe is battling an incurable form of bone marrow cancer but hopes to run her 600th marathon by June this year. It was Ms O’Keeffe’s brother who nominated her for the Outsider.ie’s…
Peter Costello
Renata Steffens