Catholic Church in Ireland

The Latest

Votes are counted in Dublin, Ireland, on March 9, 2024, after voters in the country went to the polls March 8 to decide on a pair of referendums proposing wording changes to the Irish constitution aimed at reflecting secular values.

Irish voters keep motherhood, traditional family in constitution

Mar 9, 2024

By Kate Quiñones, Shannon Mullen

Irish voters by large margins rejected proposed changes to the 1937 Irish Constitution. Read more

Maria Steen, an Irish barrister, makes the case for rejecting proposed amendments to Ireland's constitution.

Irish voters mull constitutional amendments downgrading traditional family structure

Voters in Ireland went to the polls today to decide on whether or not to strip from the country’s constitution... Read more

A mother and child

Ireland at a crossroads: Redefining family, motherhood on the ballot

Mar 5, 2024

By AC Wimmer

Proposed changes to the Irish Constitution would abolish “all reference to motherhood,” Ireland’s bishops argue. Read more

Newly appointed Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill made history Feb. 3, 2024, by becoming the first Catholic and first Irish nationalist to lead the country’s government in its 103 years of existence.

Catholic to lead Northern Ireland’s government for first time in history

Feb 5, 2024

By Tyler Arnold

First Minister Michelle O'Neill is a member of Sinn Féin and officially supports the reunification of the Republic of Ireland... Read more

Father Patrick Hughes shows how to make a traditional St. Brigid's Cross in County Cavan, Ireland.

Ireland celebrates 1,500th anniversary of St. Brigid’s death

Feb 1, 2024

By Courtney Mares

On Thursday, Ireland celebrates the 1,500th anniversary of the death of St. Brigid of Kildare, the Emerald Isle’s female patron... Read more

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Irish Medical Council strips directive banning ‘deliberate killing’ of patients

Jan 11, 2024

By Daniel Payne

The council changed its directive on end-of-life care to remove a line that said doctors should “not participate in the... Read more

St. Macartan's Cathedral in Monaghan, County Monaghan, Ireland.

Irish diocese to rely on laity to preside over funerals amid shortage of priests

Dec 19, 2023

By Joe Bukuras

A major vocation crisis could result in fewer than 10 active priests in the diocese in less than 20 years,... Read more

Shane MacGowan’s funeral Mass took place Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, at St. Mary of the Rosary Church in Nenagh, County Tipperary, Ireland.

Irish priest calls musician Shane MacGowan’s raucous funeral Mass ‘a scandal’ 

Dec 14, 2023

By Matt McDonald

The Mass included a live performance of “Fairy Tale of New York” and other nonreligious songs composed by the late... Read more

Shane MacGowan on June 16, 2016, in London, England

Hard-living Irish musician Shane MacGowan received last rites before he died, family says 

Dec 1, 2023

By Matt McDonald

MacGowan was raised a Catholic and often used Catholic imagery in his songs, though he did not practice the faith... Read more

When the Nazis occupied Rome for nine months following the fall of Mussolini, Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty created what came to be known as the "Rome Escape Line."

Irish president honors WWII hero Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty at the Vatican

Oct 20, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Ireland’s President Michael Higgins in a Vatican ceremony on Oct. 19 paid tribute to O’Flaherty, an Irish priest who hid... Read more

Killorglin Parish, Co. Kerry, Biodiversity Garden, September 2022.

Ireland’s bishops decide to return 30% of Church grounds to nature by 2030

Aug 27, 2023

By Anna Kurian

The Church in Ireland is implementing the encyclical Laudato Si’ by setting a goal for all dioceses and parishes: Make... Read more

Irish-American Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York celebrated Mass at a “Mass rock” in Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland, during a pilgrimage with roughly 40 people from the Archdiocese of New York on Aug. 21, 2023. Pictured left to right: Father Enrique Salvo, Cardinal Dolan, Father Stephen Ries, Monsignor Dennis Keane, Bishop Edmund Whalen, all from the New York Archdiocese.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan celebrates Mass at historic ‘Mass rock’ during pilgrimage to Ireland

Aug 23, 2023

By Francesca Pollio Fenton

New York’s archbishop tweeted a video of himself paying tribute to the Irish who had to escape to the woods... Read more

Only a few weeks before he died, 16-year-old Donal Walsh went on national television in Ireland to remind people of the value of life. He passed away on May 12, 2013. Today the Donal Walsh Live Life Foundation continues to promote life.

Legacy of Irish teenager who inspired a nation lives on 10 years after his death

Jun 10, 2023

By Francesca Pollio Fenton

Only a few weeks before he died, 16-year-old Donal Walsh went on national television to remind people of the value... Read more

An all-Ireland pro-life rally in Dublin.

Nearly 30,000 abortions in Ireland since referendum came into effect, pro-life group says

May 25, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Five years after Irish voters rejected the constitutional amendment that protected “the right to life of the unborn,” more than... Read more

Aidan Gallagher, director of EWTN Ireland, receives a blessing for the film “Faith of Our Fathers” from Pope Francis after the pope’s general audience May 3, 2023.

New EWTN film about Catholic priest in hiding receives blessing from Pope Francis

May 13, 2023

By Francesca Pollio Fenton

The film “Faith of Our Fathers” was recently shown at the Vatican to an international audience. Read more

S.O.S. Calvaires, a French lay group, restores a crucifix in France. The group says it aims to restore the artistic and religious heritage of France.

French lay group travels to build crosses and restore faith in Ireland

May 9, 2023

By Martin Barillas

A lay Catholic movement that restores Catholic monuments in France is in Ireland May 5–13 to build crosses with the... Read more

Critics of the Hate Speech bill worry that it could criminalize the speech of people such as author J.K. Rowling, who has said that "transgender women" are not actually women.

Hate speech bill advances in Ireland amid fears it would silence J.K. Rowling and the Church

May 2, 2023

By Kevin J. Jones

The bill bars incitement to violence or hatred against persons on account of protected characteristics. Read more

President Joe Biden and Father Richard Gibbons share an umbrella as President Biden touches the original stone from the apparition gable in the rain during a visit to Knock Shrine, on April 14, 2023, on the last day of a four-day trip to Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Biden has tearful meeting with priest who performed last rites on his son

Apr 14, 2023

By Tyler Arnold

“[Biden] was crying,” Father Richard Gibbons told the BBC. “It really affected him and then we said a prayer, said... Read more

Knock Shrine is the site of of an apparition of Mary, the Mother of God; St. Joseph, her spouse; and St. John the Evangelist in 1879.

Biden to visit Our Lady of Knock, Irish site of Marian apparition

Apr 13, 2023

By Tyler Arnold

During President Joe Biden’s four-day trip to Ireland, he plans to visit Our Lady of Knock in Knock, County Mayo. Read more

Protestant graffiti in Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1974, during The Troubles

Ireland marks anniversary of Good Friday Agreement as Pope Francis prays for peace

Apr 10, 2023

By Kevin J. Jones

Pope Francis and other Christian leaders called for prayer and a rededication to the peace secured in Northern Ireland by... Read more