A rare statue of the Irish saint of gardening and gardeners was sold for ten times the estimate at auction on April 9 in the UK. The value of the 15th Century medieval elm carved figure of St Fiacre was firstly estimated at £1,000-£1,500 but sold for the total of £15,750. The 83cm tall statue…
Vocation presented as a possibility to students during career night
The Vocations Team in Ferns Diocese provided information on this lifepath to students during a ‘careers night’ in St Peter’s College Secondary School, Wexford on March 12. Fr Billy Swan, Vocations Director and Breda Murphy from the parish of Kilrush, a member of the Ferns Diocesan Lay Vocations Council represented the diocese in the event.…
Chaplains gather in Dublin for annual symposium
Healthcare chaplains from across Ireland gathered for their annual symposium in Dublin last week. In its third year, the event gathered 137 chaplains from all the main hospitals, hospices and other care facilities in the Republic and Northern Ireland at The Gibson Hotel on April 2. Fr Dwayne Gavin, Head of Mission at Bon Secours…
Lough Derg prior pays tribute to local sculptor following his death
Lough Derg’s Prior Msgr La Flynn paid tribute to local sculptor Brendan McGloin who was the responsible for sculpting the threshold stone at St Patrick’s Basilica in the Station Island. Mr McGloin died on April 4 and was buried in St Ninnidh’s Cemetery, Bundoran on April 7. Msgr Flynn said that “apart from his widely…
LGBTQI+ people to gather in Limerick in response to Synod
A group of from the Dioceses of Limerick and Killaloe have been gathering “in response to the Universal Synod invitation to engage with those who feel ‘excluded or judged because of their marital situation, identity or sexuality’.” Aiming to create a welcoming environment where LGBTQI+ people, along with their family members and allies can meet,…
150 children Confirmed in Clane Parish last weekend
The Clane and Rathcoffey Parish celebrated the confirmation of 150 children last weekend. Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin Denis Nulty said that “Confirmation is a wonderful moment of encounter with the young confirmandi… I had two celebrations in Clane on Friday and one in Rathcoffey on Saturday.” This year, the bishop is “focusing on the life…
Kilmore Diocese on board of native forest plan
Cavan County Local Development (CCLD) are launching a pilot programme aimed to empowering local community groups to create small forests with a free training programme. The initiative ties well with Laudato Si’, Season of Creation, and the Bishops’ pledge to return 30% of Church grounds to nature said Patricia Keenan, Chair of the Diocese of…
Irish College priest laments Myanmar tragedy
Myanmar is facing the aftermath of a 7.7 magnitude earthquake which hit the country on March 28. Fr Simon Young, a Myanmar native priest who lives in the Irish College in Rome and spent the Summer of 2024 in Knock said the tragedy broke his heart. “Two cities, Sagaing and Mandalay have the largest number…
Young people should know who they are voting for – priest
Members of the DCU Chaplaincy and St Dominic’s Society in DCU visited the Government buildings with Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin Donal Roche. Fr Seamus McEntee, President of the St Dominic’s Catholic Society said this visit is important to give students the opportunity to see where the decisions for the Republic are made, and to bridge…
New community centre to open in former parish church building
St Margaret’s Parish Hall in Finglas, which was purchased by Fingal County Council in 2023 and renovated, will reopen at the end of April as a community centre. The parish hall had been in the centre of the community life for decades and when plans of selling the hall were announced in 2022, the community…