Patsy McGarry

Patsy McGarry

Contributor

Patsy McGarry is a contributor to The Irish Times having spent over 25 years as the paper's Religious Affairs Correspondent. He previously reported for Magill magazine, the Irish Press, the Irish Independent and the Sunday Independent. He is the author of First Citizen: Mary McAleese and the Irish Presidency.

How could God allow human bodily functions?

In a Word ... Body

Church of Ireland seeks to allay concerns about past finances at Dublin parish where newly elected bishop was rector

Church says parish administration ‘suffered’ when Andrew Orr, recently elected as Bishop of Cork, was rector in Castleknock

I once asked Mam why she married my father. She said: ‘I took pity on him’

In a Word ... Birthday

Former IRA man seeks decree lifting excommunication over his 1950s Border mission

Cork man Jimmy Linehan (90) wants the Catholic Church to remove the censures imposed on Irish people ‘since 1169’

Dramatic drop in Catholic baptisms across island of Ireland

Iona Institute says falling birth rates account for about 60 per cent of decline, with secularisation accounting for the remainder

It must be hell to be handsome

A total lack of challenge or effort has to be bad for character

Are Ireland’s melting midlands becoming too hot to handle?

In a Word ... Opportunity

The sad backstory of Brian Friel’s outstanding Dancing at Lughnasa

In a Word ... Lughnasa

Maybe Larry could help Woodies get on top of their woeful ads

In a Word ... Advertisement

Condolences on RIP.ie: ‘Witnesses say St Peter sighed deeply and requested annual leave’

Apart from have a dig at the dead, others treat the form as something of a dating app

‘It it should be very Irish, not only Catholic, to be welcoming’: Massgoers on immigration

Massgoers in Dublin share their views on immigration. For some, the issue is personal

In a Word ... Expert

Frequently, ‘experts’ know as much about the future as do you or I

The secret to a long life: cigars, brandy, long baths and a world war?

In a Word ... Longevity

‘It happened before’: Irish-based priest unperturbed after excommunication by Vatican

Traditionalists have ‘irregular canonical situation’ with Rome, says Dún Laoghaire priest

‘Call me Ishmael, at your peril’: Classic novels with great opening lines – now improved

In a Word: Improvement