Every so often in world politics, someone comes along who is a game changer and it is very exciting to be alive to witness it – particularly when that someone (within the space of a week) manages to quote St Augustine, St Thomas Aquinas and Pope St John Paul II. I write of course about…
The programme for government 2025 was finally revealed last week. After long negotiations a pact was agreed between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and nine Independent TDs. Having examined the programme, I admit to being flabbergasted at its total disregard of the results of last year’s referendum and the ramifications this has for children and their…
This week, many parents will be breathing a sigh of relief as their little ones go back to the classroom, but for some Catholic parents, there is anxiety too. Just last weekend, in a meeting with about 2000 Italian parents and educators, Pope Francis warned Catholic educators against bullying, stating that it prepares students for…
Advent is a time of preparation, when we slow down a little, anticipate what is ahead and prepare for what is to come. As I read about the funeral of Mary Regan in Co. Carlow a few days ago, I was reminded of the similarities between Advent and the funeral mass as celebrated in the…
Last week, we held another national election. It was a case of nothing changed, utterly no change, and yet something terrible was born – and boy, it was not beautiful: Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Sinn Féin – a three-headed Cerberus guarding the gates of Dáil Eíreann. For all the concerned talk on the national airwaves…
As the politicians of Ireland take to the streets in preparation for the forthcoming election, the fallout and post-election analysis from the US continues. A resounding victory for President Elect Donald Trump, and ignominious defeat for current Vice President Kamala Harris, have made for pages and pages of political post-mortems. While there are major differences…
As I am writing this column, the final ballots in the US election are yet to be cast. The result appears to be hanging in the balance, with polls suggesting that those favouring one candidate over the other are almost evenly divided. Like many observers, I have watched with interest the somewhat tumultuous nature of…
Motherhood – the relationship between a woman and her child – is one of the most basic realities of human existence. It transcends cultures, time, and geography. Artists in the western tradition have returned time and again to that most familiar and iconic image: that of the Madonna and Child. So accustomed are we to…
It is just a month since the resounding defeat of the two referenda put to the voters by the government, but one wonders has the government learned anything. Last Saturday, at the SIPTU Early Years conference in Liberty Hall, Minister for Children, Roderic O’Gorman, doubled down on ignoring stay-at-home mothers and families who wish to…
Last Saturday morning at 9am, the counting of votes began on the ‘family’ and ‘care’ referendums held the day before. Soon results started to trickle through from count centres around the country. By 10am political journalists were calling it: it was a No vote in both referendums. Following the announcement of the massive defeat, the…