When sport and faith compete
There are a lot of Sundays at Mass time when some truths may not be spoken out of fear of being devoured on social media or on a radio programme. So we tend to let obvious difficulties just slip by. […]
Enrolling for First Holy Communion means a lot more
On Oct 16th, at Enniskeane Church, fifty-one children were presented to prepare for their First Penance and First Holy Communion. This is the text of my me message to the boys and girls and to their parents at that Mass. […]
“What do you like about being a priest, Father?”
Sometimes — most often at weddings — people ask me what do I like most about being a priest. This puts me in a predicament: because I think they might expect me to say that the nicest part is being […]
French connections with Cork and Ross
[This article first appeared in The Southern Star in 2011.] The Rugby World Cup has focused some attention on things French this year and we have grown accustomed to hearing more frequent mentions of cities such as Toulouse and Bordeaux […]
The Fehily Family of Ireland and Boston — and the “Castletown Chapel” chalice in Enniskeane Parish
Local accounts in Castletown Kenneigh — of the villages in the parish of Enniskeane and Desertserges, Co Cork, Ireland — suggest that a Fehily family was involved in the building of St. Joseph’s Church, Castletown Kenneigh. Several sources and family […]
Ours is a land where scholars have tread
There’s a small marble plaque on the wall of the parish church at Enniskeane beside the Shrine to Our Lady. Until recently, the writing on it was very faded. (Thanks to Jim McCarthy who has cleaned and repainted the script.) […]
Fifty years pondering mass media
On this date (December 4th) in 1963, the bishops who had convened for the Second Vatican Council published the first two approved documents of the Council. The longer of the two dealt with the Sacred Liturgy (how the Church conducts […]
What’s another photo year!
It was an idea that floated around for several years but now it’s finally a print. I have compiled, designed and had printed a photo calendar for 2014 which I am selling in support of two worthy charitable causes. The […]