When is stealing, stealing?

Picture the scene. A girls' boarding school, circa 1996. A large number of tweens from the local primary school in costume, pacing the floor as they rehearse their speech and drama for the big exam. A locker open. A tantalising glimpse of a bag of mini Toffee Crisps, spilling over. SONY DSC Speech and [...]

Confirmation should be a conscious choice, not an automatic ritual

[polldaddy poll=8623303] The latest utterances of Pope Francis have rather ruined the reputation he was beginning to get among liberals; suggesting that Catholic women do not have to "breed like rabbits" while continuing to forbid the use of contraception confirms that yes, the Pope is a Catholic. The Bishop of Limerick, Brendan Leahy, has made the [...]

Someone to look up to

On Monday evening I was in Dublin to attend RTÉ's The Frontline as a participant from the audience. The show was about the Presidency and my contribution was about the absurdity of the political hoops prospective candidates must jump through, before they ever get to our ballot papers. Our only directly elected national representative [...]