Darren’s abuse by the priest ended when he was 11. His story remains one of the worst I’ve heard In an extract from his new book, the former Irish Times Religious Affairs Correspondent Patsy McGarry recounts the story of a victim of child sexual abuse perpetrated by notorious former priest Tony WalshSun Aug 25 2024 - 06:00
Cats: is there a more narcissistic, self-centred, self-satisfied mammal on Earth?In a Word: Have you heard the one about the Alsatian, the Corgi and the cat arriving at the gates of heaven?Mon Aug 19 2024 - 00:30
In a Word ... Word‘Words are like leaves and where they most abound, much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found’Mon Aug 12 2024 - 00:30
In a Word ... IronyI interjected in mid-conversation as my American friend told a story, to say 'you’re not serious!' It was as if I’d slapped herMon Aug 05 2024 - 00:30
Two Dublin city centre Catholic parishes to merge due to priest shortage St Mary’s Pro Cathedral parish and St Francis Xavier parish on Gardiner St are to become one from WednesdayMon Jul 29 2024 - 14:19
In a Word...DesiderataIn a Word: Despite having an air of ancient, distilled wisdom, it was written by American Max Ehrmann and first published in 1927Mon Jul 29 2024 - 00:30
Spiritan abuse survivor group raises concern statutory inquiry could set back justice and support programmes Restore Together writes to Minister for Education Norma Foley seeking urgent meeting to discuss terms of reference of any such inquiryFri Jul 26 2024 - 13:22
Scale of inquiry into sexual abuse in fee-paying private schools cannot be underestimatedPast experiences show that Government faces onerous task in getting to heart of what happened in schools such as Blackrock CollegeThu Jul 25 2024 - 06:00
Bishop Eamonn Casey was repeatedly given the benefit of doubtDespite being questioned by gardaí and removed from public ministry by the Vatican, Casey died without atoning for his alleged actionsTue Jul 23 2024 - 14:29
Neither Ireland’s Catholic Primate nor Pope Francis has ever denied Communion to anyonePontiff has been adamant bishops should avoid acting in a way ‘that is not pastoral’ and decline to ‘enter the political sphere’Mon Jul 15 2024 - 06:00
Priest group condemns refusal of communion to Cork TD who supported repeal of Eighth AmendmentBantry parish priest would not give Colm Burke communion and told him ‘you have been excommunicated’Sun Jul 14 2024 - 20:41
John O’Mahony believed ‘rivalry was the heartbeat of the GAA’, funeral toldAll-Ireland winning football manager remembered for his ‘fiercely competitive spirit’ and great love for his familyThu Jul 11 2024 - 20:08
In a Word...ClimateBaby Polar Bear came home from school one day and asked his mother whether he was really a polar bearMon Jul 08 2024 - 10:47
Tommie Gorman funeral told there was nobody he could not connect withFormer RTÉ reporter was ‘without doubt, a great talker’ and ‘walked with great nobility among us’Sat Jun 29 2024 - 19:24
Recommendations on assisted dying rejected outright by Catholic bishops Proposals for assisted dying legislation undermine ‘fundamental principle of civilised society’, says pastoral letterMon Jun 24 2024 - 00:30
In a Word...CollectiveFor instance, why ‘a murder of crows’? It seems too harsh. Or ‘an unkindness of ravens’?Sat Jun 22 2024 - 00:30
Incest, bestiality, genital mutilation and infanticide? Ban the Bible now!The Bible is pornographic under the definition set out in a 2022 Utah lawSat Jun 22 2024 - 00:30
Move to extradite man in his 80s to Ireland over alleged abuse at Spiritan school in Dublin More than 150 people have contacted gardaí about sexual abuse at schools run by religious orderFri Jun 21 2024 - 15:10
In a Word....RejoiceImagine the attention were Ireland to have a public holiday celebrating a fictional characterSat Jun 15 2024 - 00:30
Tuesday’s fire at St Michan’s Church not the first time the Dublin site was vandalisedArchdeacon David Pierpoint says mummified bodies have been ‘destroyed’ and ‘damaged beyond repair’Wed Jun 12 2024 - 17:35
Catholic Church child protection board received 252 abuse allegations Great majority of allegations arose from incidents that took place in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980sWed Jun 12 2024 - 17:03
Joe Joyce: The quiet man who was a great journalist, funeral toldThe author of 10 books and two plays ‘felt compelled to write’, his daughter recalledMon Jun 10 2024 - 18:58
In a Word...ArkThe rain may not have been continuous but when it happens it is relentless and disproportionateSat Jun 08 2024 - 00:30
School abuse inquiry: Survivors must wait to see report until after Attorney General reviewThe report by Mary O’Toole SC into allegations of abuse at Blackrock College and other schools has been delivered to Minister for Education Norma Foley on FridayFri Jun 07 2024 - 15:58
Dublin archdiocese drops plans to locate Dublin’s Catholic cathedral on city’s south sideArchbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell announces ‘twin pillar’ strategy for Dublin city centreMon Jun 03 2024 - 16:58
In a Word...SnapperOne of my all-time favourite opening lines has to be “Yer wha’?” from Roddy Doyle’s, The SnapperSat Jun 01 2024 - 00:30
Archbishop of Jerusalem, on visit to Dublin, expresses delight at recognition of Palestinian stateChurch of Ireland dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough raise €216,000 for rebuilding of Al Ahli Hospital in GazaTue May 28 2024 - 20:14
Higgins ‘lectured us about the atrocities being committed by Israel’, says Chief Rabbi in IrelandJewish families in Ireland for ‘six, seven, eight generations’ report heightened tensionSun May 26 2024 - 22:04
In a Word … SeánHe has spent most of his adult life in the United States where he, with assistance from his wife Ann, has six childrenSat May 25 2024 - 00:30
Recognition of a Palestinian state ‘an act of pure folly’, says Irish Jewish leaderMove amounts to ‘rewarding of a terrorist organisation’, says chairman of the Jewish Representative Council of IrelandWed May 22 2024 - 12:23
Bishop describes as ‘shameful’ Church of Ireland rejection of motion on Baptism for children of unmarried mothersDefeated motion sought to ensure that child of an unmarried mother must not be refused sacramentSun May 19 2024 - 06:00
Religious group says dozens of properties made available for accommodation for refugeesMinister of State at the Department of Integration Joe O’Brien wrote to dioceses again in early March in an appeal to offer up vacant land and buildingsFri May 17 2024 - 15:21
Mary Banotti ‘worked fiercely for real change for Irish women’, funeral hearsFormer Fine Gael MEP ‘adored politics and the European stage was her Broadway’, says daughterThu May 16 2024 - 15:04
Bruce Arnold’s funeral: ‘What a time we’ve been through, from John McCormack to Bambie Thug’Mourners told how ‘multifaceted, tenacious’ journalist, who died aged 87, took a privacy case against the State which was ‘the final undoing of Charles Haughey’Mon May 13 2024 - 18:12
Motion on baptism of children of unmarried mothers defeated as Burke family interrupt Church of Ireland SynodGeneral Synod in Armagh suspended for 45 minutes after protest by family members of teacher Enoch Burke, who was employed in Church of Ireland Wilson’s Hospital schoolSun May 12 2024 - 12:53
In a Word ... Concert‘My wife and I are big fans of your Saturday In a Word column. My job is to read it out loud’Sat May 11 2024 - 00:30
‘Ireland is not full’: Church leader warns about populists who play with paranoiaChurch of Ireland Primate Archbishop John McDowell tells General Synod Ireland has been right to welcome migrants and asylum seekersFri May 10 2024 - 19:00
In a Word … MayMayday in Ballaghadreen will be a fragrant affair, with music, crafts, market stalls, food stalls, fair games and moreSat May 04 2024 - 00:30
‘We even feel the Lord has abandoned us’: Catholic Archbishop of Dublin addresses decline‘Our country has changed, our lives have changed,’ Dermot Farrell told event in DonnybrookMon Apr 22 2024 - 15:43
Not ‘pinko do-gooders’ but helpers and supporters - how volunteers power the Society of St Vincent de PaulThe charity - marking its 180th anniversary this year - relies on 10,000 volunteers to help the most disadvantaged cope with the rising cost of living and soaring rentsSat Apr 20 2024 - 09:00
A joey is the perfect description for a word within a word‘Masculine’ contains within it the word ‘male’. Another is ‘chicken’ with ‘hen’ within, and ‘honourable’ with ‘noble’ within. Isn’t that thrilling?Sat Apr 20 2024 - 00:30
‘The vast majority of Ireland’s Jewish community does not support Netanyahu’Is opinion shifting among Jewish people in Ireland on Israel’s actions in Gaza?Mon Apr 15 2024 - 06:00
In a Word...Good FridaySeamus Heaney was born on Thursday, April 13th, 1939. ‘Thursday’s child has far to go.’Sat Apr 13 2024 - 00:30
Catholic Church’s downsizing only the beginning as attendances and incomes declineChurch of Ireland has already merged many of the 26 dioceses established in 1111 AD at the Synod of Ráth BreasailWed Apr 10 2024 - 15:30
Two west of Ireland dioceses lose bishops as Catholic Church downsizesMove is described as most radical change to Irish church structures in more than 900 yearsWed Apr 10 2024 - 12:23
In a Word...CaesarYou still have an awful lot of fans out there. They gave me an insight into how you probably felt that March day in the forumSat Apr 06 2024 - 00:30
Pathway to top of Croagh Patrick almost complete after more than three years of workThousands of tonnes of rock and soil moved by hand to make mountain safe and faster to climbSun Mar 31 2024 - 16:39
