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Giving Prisoners Hope

Image:www.thejakartapost.com As I write this the Annual Conference of the Association of Prison Officers are meeting in Sligo and some of the issues that have arisen were a subject of a news report headline. While I listened, I was further reinforced in my view that there are few things in life worse than the prospect… Read More

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A Visit to Knock

Last Saturday I was in the west of Ireland for the weekend and took the opportunity to pay a visit to Knock Shrine in Co Mayo.  The journey from Ballaghaderreen, where we were based, is a pleasant one through tranquil countryside.  We made our way past houses and shop fronts festooned with Mayo flags in… Read More

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Open Doors: Reopening of the Church

  It is certain that most people of faith are law-abiding, consequently in Ireland, there has been Church compliance with the Government’s severe regulations against public worship, even though all across Europe and indeed Britain, churches have opened much earlier for prayer and services. Throughout the long, long days of Lockdown, during the worst of… Read More

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Patrick, the Man Behind the Myth

Sometimes I find it really amazing to think that St Patrick’s Day is celebrated the world over.  The name of our national saint is known far and wide across the globe. Of course, it has to be acknowledged that what was primarily a religious feast day has become widely secularized. This year because we are… Read More

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St David and Wales

This week, on Monday the first day of March our neighbours, Wales celebrated its national day with the feast of St David. They have been observing this since the twelfth century. Today the festivities usually involve the singing of traditional songs followed by a Te Bac which is a special tea with bara brith, a… Read More

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Religion and Spirituality

When the Taoiseach, Micheāl Martin spoke to the nation on Tuesday evening, at one point he commented that the government did not want to interfere with the spiritual life of people.  This was in response to a reporter’s question with regard to people going to Mass. His response was interesting because going to Mass is… Read More

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Life after Covid19

This week we saw the beginning of what is referred to as the opening up of our country. Hand in hand with this is the notion of ‘the new normal’, a phrase which strikes fear in the hearts of some, intimating that things have changed irrevocably. I am still getting used to the idea of… Read More