The Irish custom of “waking the dead” has long been thought off as a purely Irish tradition, and many would argue that this is, indeed, the case. However, if we look at paganism, spiritualism and other religions, it is not too hard to find similarities in their traditions with ‘waking the dead.“ They believe…

Throughout Ireland's lovely and storied countryside, visitors can find magnificent religious sites that are a testament to Ireland's glorious and tragic history. Some of the best known include the Rock of Cashel, St. Kevin's Monastery at Glendalough, and the ancient university of Clonmacnoise.

But in addition to these…

Na Mná / The Women

Ó am go ham, feicimid sna hAnnála tagairt do mhná céile agus d'iníonacha na cléire oidhreachtúla, mar sna samplaí thíos.

From time to…

As mentioned in Part 1, our ecclesiastical families married and had children.…

Are you descended from any of Ireland's hundreds of hereditary ecclesiastical families?  Many of us can point to our warrior and royal ancestors.  But how many of us know about our ecclesiastical ancestors?  

That's right.  Our ecclesiastical…

On Sunday August 6, 1911, readers of the Irish Sunday Independent opened their papers to read about a Dublin-born Irish-American who had been “sailor, tramp, shepherd, truckman, stevedore and tally clerk” before becoming a Buddhist monk in Rangoon, Burma  and working…

Things that have started running through my mind, such as why so many people have started to bash Gabriel Byrne so harshly. Bash him over what his thoughts are over the Catholic Church. Which indeed Mr. Byrne is right about in terms of the fact that, the Catholic Church is as a whole, a corrupted institution no?! The Catholic Church indeed remains a corrupt institution--I mean if one looks at things like "The Tudors," "The Borgias," "Pillars of the Earth," or indeed even the current…

By Joseph E. Gannon

In Drumcondra, County Dublin, on September 29, 1778, a daughter was born to the McAuley family. The McAuleys were one of the handful of Catholic families that had attained upper-middle class status during the years of the Penal Laws. They named their daughter Catherine. Before Catherine's days were done, she would…

By Joe McGowan and Gerry Regan

St. Malachy

Though he apparently struck out with the papal enclave's selection of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, one of Ireland's most beloved seers still carries an impressive track record of predicting Popes.

The man with the (usually) golden touch is Maelmaedoc Ó Morgair, or, as he is…

By Joseph Gannon

Many men become known as heroes for their bravery in battle, for their willingness to face death in an effort to kill the enemy and obtain an objective, or for helping win the war for their country.

They are often celebrated by millions of their countrymen and…