Ireland Archives - Catholic Herald

Ireland

August 27, 2021

The Rise and Fall of Christian Ireland Crawford Gribben Oxford University Press, £25, 352 pages _________ There is a growing literature about the demise of Irish Christianity. The latest comes from Crawford Gribben of Queen’s University, Belfast. It is called, simply, The Rise and Fall of Christian Ireland and it is a broad, sweeping, readable

Open letter demands Irish government commit to not banning public worship

May 07, 2021

An open letter circulating among people of faith in Ireland demands that the government commit to “never again impose a blanket ban on public worship.” The letter, addressed to the Taoiseach (prime minister), calls on the government to respect “the fundamental right of freedom of religion” in accordance with the Irish constitution and international law;

All Ireland that Froze for Want of Europe

May 02, 2021

A long read by Michael Duggan on the Irish novelist, Francis MacManus, who "could write about the Catholic faith in a way that was tender but committed, welcoming 'the winds and rains of grace which blow from eternity through the gates of the sacraments upon the human creatures of this narrow world'."

Taoiseach announces plan to allow public worship to resume in Republic of Ireland

April 30, 2021

Beginning on May 10, the government will allow religious services to resume, with a limit of 50 people in attendance, regardless of the size of the worship space or whether worshippers have been vaccinated.

Scottish bishops disturbed by criminalisation of Mass attendance in Ireland

April 28, 2021

"Recent developments that penalise the celebration of Holy Mass have been disturbing not only to the Irish Bishops’ Conference but also to the Bishops of Scotland," says Bishop Hugh Gilbert, President of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland. "We all recognise the need for restrictions to protect the common good of all people in a pandemic but to enact legislation that criminalises those who gather to celebrate Holy Mass is indeed extreme and unjust."

Saying goodbye to God

April 01, 2021

The Best Catholics in the World is an account of Ireland’s Catholic past and above all the legacy of the scandals and how we should deal with them.

Reading, writing, rebellion

April 01, 2021

For a century, modern Irish Catholic writers have pushed against their faith  – and yet drawn on it, too

People should be free to worship publicly as lockdown eases, say Irish bishops

March 11, 2021

Bishops have urged the Irish government to ease restrictions on public worship as the country’s severest restrictions plan to be eased.