You know the way you sometimes get the impression that someone is trying to give you a hint, but you’re not quite sure. I felt that way when I saw two programmes flagged – about the last priests and nuns in Ireland – was this a nudge? Wishful thinking? An attempt at self-fulfilling prophecy? The…
Rural communities “must be resourced” if they are to accommodate asylum seekers with dignity, a Mayo-based parish priest has said. Following peaceful protests this week regarding a property in Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo which will house asylum seekers, Fr Denis Carney PP of Ballinrobe-Kilmaine told The Irish Catholic that the parish, the council and Government need to work…
The true story of Tuam children’s home may never be known, writes David Quinn Soon enough, the Tuam children’s home will be back in the news again. Exhumation of the bodies buried there will begin and a committee to advise on the process will convene very shortly. It is now 10 years since news of…
Tributes have been paid to the “dedicated and faithful” Bishop Patrick Walsh who served as the Bishop of Down and Connor from 1991-2008, following his death on December 28. Bishop Donal McKeown, Apostolic Administrator of Down and Connor, described him as a “gifted academic” who taught Mathematics at St MacNissi’s College, Garron Tower (1958-1964), served…
American order mourns loss of Irish sister Sr Mary O’Mahony OSF (formerly Sister Mary Cornelia) died in Assisi House on Sunday, December 10, aged 91. She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St Francis of Philadelphia for 72 years. Sr Mary is predeceased by her sister, Sr Nora O’Mahony, who was also…
In just five years, we will mark the bicentenary of Catholic emancipation. Four years after that, in 2032, it will be 1,600 years since St Patrick’s mission to convert the Irish to Christianity. Catholic emancipation, of course, marked a turning point in the fortunes of Irish Catholicism after centuries of brutal persecution and repression by…
A new deal on the State files annual release This year the reports on the State files’ annual release, which has become very much a fixture of the turnover between Christmas and the New Year, will take a different form as it appears in the pages of the papers and in other media. Rather than…
The Argentinian bishops’ conference is pushing the cause for canonisation of Irishman Alfonso ‘Alfie’ Lambe, with historical documents set to be delivered to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
As each New Year dawns, we marvel at the passage of time. We take stock of our lives, and how far we’ve come, and how far we have yet to travel. Time inevitably brings change. Yet few of us, as individuals, have changed nearly as much as this Irish nation in which we live.
President Michael D. Higgins has echoed Pope Francis warning against the “globalisation of indifference” in his message for Christmas 2023. In his message, the President reflected on growing global tensions due to wars in the Holy Land and Ukraine, as well as the dangers of the climate crisis. “We think in particular of all of…
Brendan O’Regan
Chai Brady
David Quinn
Michael Kelly
Peter Costello
Ruadhán Jones
Rory Fitzgerald