A new Gallup poll indicates a decline in religious affiliation in Ireland. Fifty years ago, Ireland was one of the most religious countries in Europe, but according to a recently released poll, taken by the Gallup International in 2011, Ireland now ranks among the top ten atheist nations worldwide. These results are a huge shift from the last poll, in 2005. In the six years … [Read more...] about Is Ireland Losing Its Religion?
Church
The Heart of Hearts Rests in Dublin
By Irish America Staff
The remains of the martyred Saint Valentine are enshrined at Dublin's Whitefriar Street Church. Each year on February 14 and in the days and weeks leading up to Valentine's day, visitors flock to the Carmelite Church on Whitefriar Street in Dublin to visit the shrine of St. Valentine. The shrine consists of an altar, above which stands a life-size statue of St. Valentine. … [Read more...] about The Heart of Hearts Rests in Dublin
What’s The Story With the Nuns?
Mary Pat Kelly visits the nuns of her old novitiate to talk about the work they are doing and the Vatican investigation into their lives. With a green pen and a grateful smile I began to sign my book, Galway Bay, purchased by the woman who told me she was a nun. “To Sister Mary,” I wrote in the flowing hand I imagined authors used. “Stop,” she said. “You’re scribbling.” Ah – … [Read more...] about What’s The Story With the Nuns?
The Legacy of Church-run Mother and Baby Homes in Ireland
In the wake of the Ryan and Murphy reports*, both released in 2009, often the memories of the children, women and workers involved have taken a sideline to the question of who is to blame for systemic abuse. But while the Irish public attempts to heal from this broken past and demand justice, more stories are on the verge of disappearance: those of the unknown women and babies … [Read more...] about The Legacy of Church-run Mother and Baby Homes in Ireland
Sisters of Charity: After All These Years
By Marilyn Coles Lownes
St. Patrick’s Day is always an important day for the Irish in New York and the 2009 St. Patrick’s Day Parade was a very special one for the Sisters of Charity. Not only was it the first time that they marched in their own congregational contingent, but the 248th parade was dedicated to the Sisters in recognition of their “200 years of dedicated service to the Poor of New York … [Read more...] about Sisters of Charity: After All These Years