-“St. Bride Carried By Angels”, John Duncan, 1913, please click on the image for more detail. (I dated a Bridie with raven hair. But, of course you did Matt. ) -by Michelle Arnold, Catholic Answers “Imagine, in fifth-century Ireland, a young Christian slave. After years of servitude, this Christian was granted freedom, entered religious life, […]

-please click ‘Play’ -please click ‘Play’ /wp-content/uploads/2020/02/13-Dónal-Óg.m4a -an Gaelige, please click ‘Play’ My Donal Og, I love you, and you sail o’er the water Take me with you to be your partner ‘Tis at fair and market you’ll be well looked-after And you can sleep with the Greek king’s daughter First time I saw you […]

-Dingle, County Kerry -please click ‘Play’ At Oranmore in the county Galway One pleasant evening in the month’s of May I spied a damsel; she was young and handsome Her beauty fairly took my breath away She worn no jewels, nor costly diamonds No paint nor powder, no none at all But she worn a […]

-Wrenboys on Wren Day in Dingle, Ireland, please click on the image for greater detail /wp-content/uploads/2019/12/2-08-March-of-the-Dreoilin.m4a /wp-content/uploads/2019/12/16-The-Dingle-Set-Dance.m4a /wp-content/uploads/2019/12/17-The-Wren-In-The-Furze.m4a The wren, oh the wren; he’s the king of all birds, On St. Stephen’s Day he got caught in the furze, So it’s up with the kettle and it’s down with the pan, Won’t you give us […]

Like the sun quenched its first dawning The moon lost to the sea Like the dew lost unto the morning So you, my love, were lost to me I can hear now the pipers calling On that far distant shore And my tears now like leaves are falling And I will see your face no […]

-please click on the image for greater detail -by Dan Burke “We have no difficulty in realizing the moral grandeur of St. Patrick’s character, because it is revealed to us in all its features not only in his active life and labours, but even still more strikingly in his Confession. In the Confession, we see […]

(n.b. in the 2004 Martyrologium Romanum, St Dymphna’s feast day was moved to May 30.) Dymphna was the only child of a pagan king who is believed to have ruled a section of Ireland in the 7th century. She was the very picture of her attractive young Christian mother. When the queen died at a […]

(n.b. in the 2004 Martyrologium Romanum, St Dymphna’s feast day was moved to May 30.) Dymphna was the only child of a pagan king who is believed to have ruled a section of Ireland in the 7th century. She was the very picture of her attractive young Christian mother. When the queen died at a […]

(n.b. in the 2004 Martyrologium Romanum, St Dymphna’s feast day was moved to May 30.) Dymphna was the only child of a pagan king who is believed to have ruled a section of Ireland in the 7th century. She was the very picture of her attractive young Christian mother. When the queen died at a […]

Dominic Collins was born in the seaport town of Youghal, in County Cork, Ireland. His family was well established and respected and both his father and brother were mayors of Youghal. It was in the time of Queen Elizabeth and Anglicanism was the official religion and Irish Catholics were subjected to persecution from time to […]

Dominic Collins was born in the seaport town of Youghal, in County Cork, Ireland. His family was well established and respected and both his father and brother were mayors of Youghal. It was in the time of Queen Elizabeth and Anglicanism was the official religion and Irish Catholics were subjected to persecution from time to […]

-by Br Irenaeus Dunlevy, OP “Similar to the Irish people, St. Patrick moved from slavery to slavery. Looking at the life of today’s celebrated saint, we see three modes of slavery which are emblematic of the people he helped save. St. Patrick and his flock have been slaves to humans, sin, and Christ. The life […]

-by Br Irenaeus Dunlevy, OP “Similar to the Irish people, St. Patrick moved from slavery to slavery. Looking at the life of today’s celebrated saint, we see three modes of slavery which are emblematic of the people he helped save. St. Patrick and his flock have been slaves to humans, sin, and Christ. The life […]

-Ireland, 1450 In the Pale (in red), (An Pháil in Irish) or the English Pale (An Pháil Shasanach or An Ghalltacht) the predominant religion was Catholic, and the Catholics saw a growing threat from the Protestant-dominated government, a perception supported by their marked decline in participation within the kingdom’s government. English-born Protestants increasingly occupied positions […]

-Ireland, 1450 In the Pale (in red), (An Pháil in Irish) or the English Pale (An Pháil Shasanach or An Ghalltacht) the predominant religion was Catholic, and the Catholics saw a growing threat from the Protestant-dominated government, a perception supported by their marked decline in participation within the kingdom’s government. English-born Protestants increasingly occupied positions […]

-statuary of the “Murdered Mayors”, or more formally, the “Martyrs of Dublin”, Bls Margaret Ball & her grandson-in-law, Francis Taylor, which stands in front of St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.” -Mt 10:21 […]

-statuary of the “Murdered Mayors”, or more formally, the “Martyrs of Dublin”, Bls Margaret Ball & her grandson-in-law, Francis Taylor, which stands in front of St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.” -Mt 10:21 […]

Blessed Charles Mahoney. This Irish Franciscan was another victim of the evil Titus Oates. Charles Mahoney (alias Meehan) was born in Ireland around 1639/40. He and his three brothers, James, Terence and Christopher, were educated by their uncle, Fr Bonaventure OSF, who was guardian of St Anthony’s College in Louvain. Three of the boys, Charles, […]

Blessed Charles Mahoney. This Irish Franciscan was another victim of the evil Titus Oates. Charles Mahoney (alias Meehan) was born in Ireland around 1639/40. He and his three brothers, James, Terence and Christopher, were educated by their uncle, Fr Bonaventure OSF, who was guardian of St Anthony’s College in Louvain. Three of the boys, Charles, […]

In the centuries after Christianity came to Ireland, Roman Catholicism  thrived there. In the Dark Ages it was monks from Ireland, “the island of saints and scholars,” studying in Ireland and then moving out around Europe that helped preserve European civilization. But from the time that Henry VIII broke with the Church in the 1530s […]

Jn 5:11 My mother, lovingly, and with the best of intentions for me, used to remind me, frequently, as a child, “The lightning is going to strike you, Mashew!!”  Ostensibly, to keep the straight and narrow.  And, “If my children lose their faith, I have failed as a mother!”  NO PRESSURE!!! There is a severity […]

Jn 5:11 My mother, lovingly, and with the best of intentions for me, used to remind me, frequently, as a child, “The lightning is going to strike you, Mashew!!”  Ostensibly, to keep the straight and narrow.  And, “If my children lose their faith, I have failed as a mother!”  NO PRESSURE!!! There is a severity […]

“Why do the Irish so enjoy parades? True, everybody loves a parade, and we’re blessed to have an abundance of them here in New York City, but nothing seems to rival the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. This year alone I was invited to eleven of them just in the archdiocese alone, and another dozen from […]

“Why do the Irish so enjoy parades? True, everybody loves a parade, and we’re blessed to have an abundance of them here in New York City, but nothing seems to rival the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. This year alone I was invited to eleven of them just in the archdiocese alone, and another dozen from […]