It is projected that by 2030, the number of pensioners in Northern Ireland will exceed the number of school-children, a reflection of how fast the North is ageing. Breda O’Brien of The Iona Institute took part in a panel discussion on the BBC’s Talkback programme about what this means and whether it is a matter...
David Quinn was on the Hard Shoulder (Newstalk) on March 18, discussing whether younger people are prioritising pets over starting families. More precisely, he discussed how young people are delaying reaching the major milestones in life such as marrying and having children until they well into their 30s and sometimes they are not hitting these...
A new paper from The Iona Institute called ‘Religion, Marriage and Fertility: Shall the religious inherit Ireland?’ discusses how the decline of religious practice in Ireland is accelerating the declines in marriage and fertility rates in the country. In turn, this will make the ageing of our population, which is already well underway, even worse....
The new movie, ‘Small Things Like These’ centres on a Magdalen laundry in New Ross in 1985 and paints a very dark picture of the time. David Quinn appeared on Newstalk Breakfast to challenge this view of the 1980s. For one thing, he pointed out, the Magdalen laundry in question has closed almost 20 years...
There is some evidence that a mini-religious revival is occurring among some young men in America. Breda O’Brien of The Iona Institute was a guest on the Pat Kenny Show where she discussed whether this is happening, and why. You can listen to the item here.
New research from the UK seems to indicate that there are now more atheists than theists in the UK. David Quinn, of the Iona Institute, and Colin Morrison of Atheist NI, discuss the research on Talkback, BBC Radio Ulster. They debate whether the change is good or bad for society. David Quinn argues that it...
The Iona Institute launched its latest paper to widespread media coverage on Monday (Sept 30). The report, called ‘The rapid rise of ‘New Age’ weddings in Ireland: How should the Churches respond?’ was prominently covered in The Irish Independent (on pages one and three), and the author of the paper, Breda O’Brien, was interviewed about...
David Quinn was on RTE’s Today With Claire Byrne on Monday debating the future of religious schools with Aodhan O’ Riordáin of the Labour Party. David argued that the school system must reflect the wishes of parents, including for faith-based schools if that is what they want. Aodhan O’Riordain wants religion removed from schools completely. You can listen to...
The Department of Education is to survey parents to find out what, if any changes, they want made to the school system. This will include asking them what kind of ethos they wish schools to have, including a religious one. David Quinn was on the Hard Shoulder on Newstalk to discuss the planned survey. He...
David Quinn was on Newstalk Breakfast on June 6th discussing proposed changes to the primary school curriculum including the new emphasis on what amounts to political activism and also the removal of the aim of “fostering a sense of Irish identity”. You can listen to the item here.
