Occasional Scribbles

On a recent Sunday I attended Mass in a Dublin church. The priest spoke for between 10 and 15 minutes; I did not understand one word the man...

When the late Rabbi Hugo Gryn was asked where he was from, he replied:  “I was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, educated in Czechoslovak...

This week’s column in The Kerryman newspaper. Michael Commane Langston Hughes was an American poet, playwright, novelist. He was involved in...

There was a quote on this blog for today’s post from  HL Mencken (1880 - 1956) writing for the Baltimore Evening Sun on Sunday, 26 July, 192...

Below is Lara Marlowe’s column in the weekend edition of The Irish Times. It’s an excellent piece, a great read and tells the lie of Putin’s...

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald’s comment about what Gerard Hutch said about illegal immigrants is remarkable. Canvassing in the upcoming...

People who use public transport in Ireland will be aware that on trains and trams company personnel make random checks to ensure passengers ...

On this day, May 8, 2025  Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected the first American pope. From day one Pope Leo has stressed the import...

We all know how annoying and frustrating it is when calling our bank. Read the link below to discover how Robert Prevost’s bank treated him....

Fr Liam Gerard Walsh was born in New York on February 24, 1933. On completing secondary school at CBS, North Monastery, locally known as the...

This week’s column in The Kerryman newspaper. Michael Commane I think it’s ok to announce your birthday after it has happened; it would not ...

Fr Liam G Walsh OP died early this morning in Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital. An obituary to follow.  May he rest in peace. 

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz gave a wide-ranging interview on the popular Caren Miosga show on ARD German television on Sunday evening. ...

Before Donald Trump was elected president of the United States he claimed he would settle the war in Ukraine in close to 48 hours. He also s...

A quote from US Catholic lecturer/preacher (American spelling): “Let’s pray with renewed fervor for our newly elected leaders, including Pre...

The Irish Times yesterday ran a front page story on the price of butter in Berlin. The title of the story was: ‘Kerrygold is 65% dearer in K...

On this day, May 1, 1945 German radio announced the death of Adolf Hitler. The statement said that he had ‘fallen at his command post in the...

The Bike-to-Work scheme is a great idea and a wonderful incentive to get people out on their bicycles. Many bicycle shops say that over 90 p...

This week’s column in The Kerryman newspaper. Michael Commane I lived in Rome between 1974 and 1976. It sounds a long time ago, actually it ...

The first tickets for the Ryder Cup to take place in Ireland in 2027 went on sale on Friday. The first tranche were sold for €500 a ticket i...

Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live ever...

On this day, April 26, 1986 at 01.23 a chain of events in Reactor Number Four at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukrainian Soviet S...

US speaker Scott Hahn is talking in Dublin in late May. The day-long conference is being organised by the Irish Dominicans. The conference i...

It’s easy to throw names at people, it’s easy to say s/he is left wing, right wing, fascist, conservative, liberal and zillions more. In Tru...