DUBLIN, Ireland – Besides a shortage of vocations, Irish priests are facing an even more harrowing kind of crisis.

DUBLIN, Ireland – Ireland's Catholic bishops have praised a Supreme Court decision in the country that will allow asylum seekers to find work while their status is being decided.

DUBLIN – Bronagh Matthews, an office manager in her 30s, lives on the rural edge of North County Dublin. She attended an all-girls Catholic high school and a Catholic college and still identifies as Roman Catholic.

DUBLIN, Ireland – Father John Sullivan was a prominent Irish Catholic convert who was known for his healing prayers, his consolation for the troubled, and his devotion to God.

LONGFORD, Ireland – In one Irish diocese, the number of active priests may halve in fewer than 15 years. As a result, Bishop Francis Duffy of Ardagh and Clonmacnois has aimed to prepare his flock to take on more active roles.

ARMAGH, Northern Ireland – The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland has urged Irish people and those of Irish descent celebrating St. Patrick's Day to remember the plight of migrants.

My parents gave me the name Patrick after St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

DUBLIN – The commission set up to investigate the treatment of unmarried mothers and their babies in Irish care homes during the 20th century says it has found "significant" human remains at the site of a former home in western Ireland.

DUBLIN – Aging priests across Ireland are increasingly falling victim to depression and mental health problems, an influential group representing Catholic clerics warned.

DUBLIN – The trustees of Ireland's national seminary have agreed to bring in a specific policy to protect whistleblowers after serious allegations were made about life in the college.

DUBLIN – Archbishop Diarmuid Martin confirmed that Pope Francis, or his successor, will visit Ireland in 2018 for the World Meeting of Families.

DUBLIN, Ireland - This Easter marks the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland against British rule, one of the most important events in Irish history.

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - Even though technically they’re in two different countries, Ireland’s two biggest cities, Dublin and Belfast, are a two-hour drive apart with no border checkpoint.

DROGHEDA, Ireland - Beyond the must-see sites and attractions like the Cliffs of Moher, Giant’s Causeway and the Guinness warehouse, there are many places in Ireland that are overlooked by tourists. 

A long-anticipated trip to Ireland, researching ancestors, a poignant story about children playing with a potato, even the name Barack Obama, all eventually led me to pondering the plight of Syrian refugees and the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace.