On St. Patrick’s Day, we have the opportunity to acknowledge the enormous contributions to the causes of peace and justice made by the Irish diaspora the world over.
Ireland
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
A St. Patrick’s Day question: What is the greatest novel ever written about Irish New York?
Chicago has James T. Farrell’s Studs Lonigan. New Orleans has John Kennedy Toole’s Ignatius J. Reilly. Boston has Edwin O’Connor’s ‘Last Hurrah.’ And William Kennedy’s Albany Cycle series has “ironweeds” like Billy and Francis Phelan. What, then, is the greatest book ever written about the New York City Irish?
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
‘The Secret of Kells’ proves that even in dark times, Ireland created beautiful things
When we create, we refuse to let darkness have the final say.
Posted inArts & Culture, Poetry
The timeless Celtic spirituality of John O’Donohue, poet and priest
John O’Donohue focuses on how paying attention to the outer landscape of our world cultivates the inner landscape of our soul.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Paul Lynch’s new novel offers complexity, not certitude
Paul Lynch’s ‘Prophet Song’ was inspired by the Syrian Civil War and the plight of those seeking refuge from the destruction and death occurring in Syria.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
The ghosts of James Joyce in Edward P. Jones’s writing
Both Joyce’s and Jones’s stories move us through tragic epiphanies that leave the soul, pained by paralysis, on the threshold of conversion.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Father James Martin: How I fell in love with Ireland
My trip was short but introduced me to faithful people, powerful history and a beautiful land.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Irish voters resoundingly reject proposals to redefine family, undermine motherhood
In the highest-ever “no” vote in Irish referendum history, Irish voters rejected amendments that would widen the definition of marriage and remove a clause that reinforced women’s role in the home.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Catholics, socialists and disability advocates all have concerns about Ireland’s proposed family amendments
The misogynistic language of the old Constitution may be removed, but in its place will be clauses that relinquish the state of any real responsibility to support family caregivers, critics say.
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
‘The Woman in the Wall’ is worth the watch—if only for the Irish history lesson
Lorna Brady has been traumatized by her time in a Magdalene Laundry in Ireland. But when she receives a mysterious note regarding the whereabouts of her missing daughter, she pushes past her trauma to reveal the truth.