There are barely enough priests to preach in Dublin's 199 parishes. According to Dublin's Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, “We have 46 priests over 80 and only two less than 35 years of age. In a very short time we will just have the bare number of priests required to have one active priest for each of our 199 parishes."

Irish comedian Tommy Tiernan took his joke too far when he went on an offensive Holocaust tirade at the Electric Picnic festival in Ireland.

The Archbishop of Dublin has criticized Irish comedian Tommy Tiernan for his so-called Jewish joke which has sparked a storm of protest. Speaking at mass on Tuesday, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said Tiernan's Sept 5. rant, when he described Jews as "F---ing Christ-killing bastards," was "offensive to all who feel revulsion concerning the Holocaust."

The new report on clerical child abuse in the Irish capital of Dublin contains allegations that certain priests were moved from parish to parish to protect them from the law.

Ireland was today bracing for a new "shocking and horrifying" report into clerical child abuse. Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin - who is trying to reform the Irish church - said the report would name up to 15 priests who abused at least 450 children over a 35-year period in Dublin. In addition, the report will also reveal - in detail - how Irish church authorities responded to the original allegations.

A prominent clergyman in the West of Ireland has revealed that Irish priests are literally dying off, and that the Catholic faith in Ireland will soon be ministered by a country of old men.

      DOZENS of victims of child abuse in institutions run by religious orders wept openly and with joy when President Mary McAleese apologized profusely to them on behalf of the people of Ireland for the suffering they had endured. In one of the most emotional occasions in the history of

Irish victims of abuse in Church-run institutions have inundated abuse helplines with phone calls since the publication of the Ryan Commission report of clerical abuse of children in Ireland.

With photo gallery: Thousands took part in a silent march through the streets of Dublin on Wednesday to express their solidarity with those who were abused by Church-run institutions.

Cardinal Sean Brady and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said Pope Benedict XVI was "very distressed" after their briefing on the Ryan Report and the state of the Church in Ireland after its publication.

Father Tim: This is Pope Benedict's moment Niall O'Dowd: We need more than his blessings Cardinal Sean Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, and

There was an extraordinary moment last week when the hardened lead presenter on an Irish television current affairs show almost broke down when reciting the abuse of a four-year-old boy placed in an institution in Ireland after his mother died. It showed that the report from the judicial commission into clergy child abuse in Ireland is horrible, and has truly affected everybody. The report is a stain on the country far greater than the recent economic collapse.

Conor O'Clery: It is a measure of how out of touch the Irish government is with public opinion that Catholic bishops have been more aggressive than government ministers in taking on the religious orders over compensation for abuse victims.

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin yesterday called for God's forgiveness of priests who have abused children. It was the second time during Holy Week that he referred to the scale of the child abuse which is expected to rock the nation and diocese when it is revealed in a report next month. At a Holy Thursday Mass, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said the shocking report by the

Thousands of children were abused by Catholic priests in Ireland over a 30-year period, a shocking report on clerical sex abuse is set to reveal. Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin warned that a massive investigation of Dublin will find children were subjected to horrific attacks between 1975 and 2004. He warned that the full horror of years of physical, sexual and psychological torture has not been recognized.

The Catholic Church in Ireland is in turmoil as Cardinal Sean Brady on Tuesday of this week backed the steadfast resistance by Bishop John Magee of Cloyne to demands for his resignation in the wake of his mishandling of allegations of clerical child sex abuse for almost a decade. Magee, a former secretary to three popes, has been subjected to a barrage of criticism since a Health Service Executive (HSE) report found he misled authorities when he said he was compliant with child protection guidelines. The HSE audit - itself severely criticized for its inadequacy - found he had not informed authorities, when he filled in an investigation questionnaire, that one of his priests was under investigation for abuse claims.

A RIFT has emerged in the Catholic Church in Ireland after 81-year-old Cardinal Desmond Connell initiated legal action to prevent documents handed over by his successor as Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, from being considered by a sex-abuse investigation.A government-appointed commission is investigating the handling by Connell and others of complaints of child abuse by clerics in the Dublin Archdiocese.The investigation is focusing on how church leaders handled complaints of abuse against a representative sample of 46 priests of a total of 102 found to fall within the commission's terms of reference.

It's a given that the ultimate member of the British monarchy, the Queen herself, will make her first visit to Ireland. The question is, when will that historic occasion take place? The Irish PM, Bertie Ahern, was asked his thoughts on the matter, and while be believes that Queen Elizabeth will eventually make the short hop over the Irish Sea, chances are it will be later rather than sooner. "We have had a number of visits from members of the royal family in recent years.

IT'S been widely observed that Ireland is now accepting immigrants the way it used to send them to other countries. There has been some head-shaking over these developments, which would have seemed unthinkable a decade or two ago. Of course, there has been some tension as well.