Despite deep political fractures surrounding the issue, the British Parliament passed a bill which would halt most prosecutions for killings by militant groups and British soldiers during the Troubles.
Ireland
Posted inArts & Culture, Short Take
Notre Dame football plays in Ireland: A chance for unity for a divided campus (and country)
When Notre Dame meets Navy in a football game in Dublin tomorrow, it will give us all a chance to remember that old Irish adage: “There is no strength without unity.”
Posted inArts & Culture, Music
Some Catholics will never forgive Sinéad O’Connor for tearing the pope’s photo. Others will never forget its power.
Sinéad O’Connor, who was found dead in London on July 26, thwarted any attempt throughout her life to extinguish her creativity or her output.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Will a united Ireland celebrate a holiday that marks a Protestant victory over a Catholic king?
A proposal to make “the 12th” an all-Ireland holiday has not been not met with a warm reception. A former government minister described the popular response as “a mixture of diatribe and incredulity.”
Posted inArts & Culture, Film
Interview: ‘Miracle Club’ director on Lourdes, Irish guilt and the power of reconciliation
In ‘The Miracle Club,’ Thaddeus O’Sullivan is unafraid to explore more serious topics, such as abortion and suicide, and to reckon with the lingering effects of communal grief.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Census: Ireland is becoming less Catholic
Ireland is becoming less religious, and the percentage of residents who identify as Catholic is down to 69% according to census data. More people identify with “no religion” than in previous years.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
The Royal Family and their Irish neighbors: How Ireland will be represented at Charles III’s coronation
Sidestepping reservations individual party members must have about being associated with the pomp and ceremony of a very anti-republican spectacle, Sinn Féin hopes to demonstrate diplomatic gravitas and a mature capacity to lead all Ireland.
Posted inLast Take, Politics & Society
An open letter to America about gun violence, from a very concerned Irishman
I was a teenager at the time of the Columbine High School shooting. No one could mistake suburban Dublin for anyone’s utopia, but even then my friends and I could recognize that we might as well live in a different galaxy.
Posted inFaith, Short Take
60 years after JFK, another American Catholic president visits a changed Ireland
When J.F.K. visited Ireland in 1963, both Ireland and Irish-Americans celebrated the occasion. The visit of President Joe Biden this week inspired similar feelings—but in a situation far different.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Recap: Joe Biden goes to Ireland for serious diplomacy—and a family reunion
Mr. Biden’s visit is not just a symbolic endorsement of the Good Friday Agreement. The future of the accords has been thrown into doubt by the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union via its Brexit vote.