Occasional Scribbles

The 'Thinking Anew' column in The Irish Times on Saturday. Michael Commane Channel Four, which is the UK's only public-ow...

In today's Guardian.   It's proving a dream story for the right-wing Catholic commentariat. Check out the far-right blog Rorate Cael...

President of the German Parliament and former German finance minister Wofgang Schäuble does not rule out  the possibility that Great Britai...

From Jean Vanier in The Tablet this week. Imagine if we lived this. "Jesus on the feast of the Resurrection looks at each one o...

Katarina Barley has been appointed minister for justice and consumer affairs in the newly formed German government. She is a member o...

Ireland expels a diplomat of the Russian Federation. Why? Was she/he caught in espionage or is it in solidarity with the UK? If Russia wante...

Why would one lock a bicycle in this position? Then again, it could be the work of a passerby. Spotted close to Dubln's Grand Cana...

This week's Independent News & Media Irish regional newspapers' column. Michael Commane Do you ever ask yourself what you...

A story in the current issue of The Tablet  tells of a Polish priest praying for the death of Pope Francis. Fr Edward Staniek prayed  fo...

BBC Radio 4's religious programme  Sunday today featured a topic on the role religious sisters played during the Troubles in Northern Ir...

New non-stop service from Australia to the UK begins today. Australian airline Qantas begins flying this Saturday from Perth to London. Flig...

Isn't it an amazing juxtaposition. People pass the back of the Guinness brewery in Dublin every day. All the tour buses pass this spot, ...

From yesterday's  Guardian. Russia’s ambassador to the UK has described Boris Johnson’s comparison of this summer’s World Cup to the Naz...

Yesterday the  United Kingdom's foreign secretary Boris Johnson said that "Putin will use the World Cup like Hitler's Olympics...

Two heartening quotes from Pope Francis: God's merciful hand is there to pull it out, if humanity would take it and Peripher...

This week's Independent News & Media Irish regional newspapers' column. Michael Commane Micko, not his real name, works at a was...

Last Monday former President of Ireland Mary McAleese spoke on radio about how her brother had been violently and sadistically abused by Fr ...

Okay, not much, but for Irish standards this sort of snow on March 18 is quasi-exceptional. And it's cold too, zero Celsius with a c...

A most unusual occurrence. In Germany tomorrow the railway stations of Leipzig and Halle will be closed due to poor weather conditions. Temp...

Mary Fitzgerald in an article in today's Irish Independent writes about new laws in Poland concerning the country's past relationshi...

The Thursday edition of The Irish Times  carries Donal's story of how Fr Malachy Finnegan treated him when he was a boy at St Colman...

Below is the editorial in The Tablet this week. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, provided...

Below is a link to an article in The Irish Times yesterday. It is written by Seamus Martin, a former Moscow correspondence for the paper. He...

Guardian columnist George Monbiot writes about his prostate cancer and his upcoming surgery. A brave man. The piece includes a funny...

Colette Browne writes in the Irish Independent today about the comments made by Mary McAleese over the last few days. She refers to what Fr ...

This week's Independent News & Media Irish Regional newspapers' column. Michael Commane Tuesday, March 6 was the anniversary of ...

Former President of Ireland Mary McAleese gave an extensive interview on RTE Radio's Sean O'Rourke Show today. She spoke about h...

One hundred years ago today the Russian capital moved from Saint Petersburg to Moscow. For the previous 215 years Saint Petersburg had ...

German Cardinal Karl Lehmann died today. He was 81 years of age. His death was the first item on German news bulletins today. German media s...

Had Cardinal Kevin Farrell allowed former President of Ireland Mary McAleese to talk within Vatican walls it is most likely that the confere...

Quotes from the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. There is no such thing as a former KGB man. Whoever does not mi...