What’s the latest batshit crazy religious news?  Well how about this American story that’s gone viral? In broad outline, it goes like this. A girl is trapped in the tangled [...]

An insider’s view of clerical control in Irish education

They drilled a small hole in the wall, said the Pope.

Collapse in vocations

Looks like time to wake up the Machine. All this talk of religious bigotry and madness reminded me of an old project that got shelved last year, and I suppose [...]

I wrote a post called Islamic Savages a few days ago, and some people thought I shouldn’t. Don’t know why. Some people said I should write about George Bush instead, [...]

Since we’re on a roll with this religious thing, let me just remind you that today is the Feast of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist. See? Those Catholics [...]

When I was small, my auntie used to take me to the churches around Limerick . It was great being a kid in those days. Spooky exorcist shit: plaster saints [...]

It’s a strange expression, isn’t it? Working class. What does it mean? I’ve always had a problem with it, even though I’ve always vaguely understood its thrust. It’s very British. [...]

For years, we have celebrated Good Friday by heading up to Lough Derg and going across the lake on boats, from Garrykennedy to Mountshannon. In keeping with tradition, we bring [...]