With the Saville Report, the City of Derry and Northern Ireland now have a document that has, in the main, satisfied the families of the victims who were shot dead by the British Army in 1972. The families and other citizens of the Bogside have for years said that they knew the truth. But the [...]
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David McWilliams: Review of the Outsiders
Irish economist David McWilliams takes to the stage this week at the Abbey’s Peacock Theatre in Dublin for a rather unorthodox theatrical offering – a 90 minute monologue on what’s wrong with the Irish economy, why our political leaders and civil servants aren’t getting Ireland out of the mess, and what might be done to [...]
Norman Hamilton Takes Presbyterian Post: Moderating a Shared Future?
Norman Hamilton was installed as the new moderator last night at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. A pastor for the past 22 years at Ballysillan Presbyterian, in a tough part of north Belfast, Hamilton can speak from experience about the urgent need for improved community relations. In his first speech as [...]
The Ryan Report and Irish Catholicism One Year On
In the recently published book, The Dublin/Murphy Report: A Watershed for Irish Catholicism? (Columba Press, 2010), Fr Enda McDonagh writes (p. 113): ‘Given the spate of commentary on and of proposals for Church reform which have followed the Ryan and Murphy Reports of 2009, there is bound to be little new to say or to [...]
Social Justice Ireland & ‘An Agenda for a New Ireland’
Earlier this week, the NGO Social Justice Ireland (SJI) published ‘An Agenda for a New Ireland,’ a 250-page socio-economic review of what went wrong in Ireland, what hasn’t changed, and what state and citizens might do to improve living on this island. The entire text of the document is available on-line. The Irish Times’ Jamie [...]
Atheism in the Public Square: Marginalised or Militant?
Are atheists marginalised in our public conversations, even in the largely secular West? Last week, atheists had their first ever official visit to the White House. Sixty representatives from the Secular Coalition for America met with officials and discussed issues ranging from child medical neglect, military proselytizing, and faith-based initiatives. USA Today reports that ‘this [...]
Evangelicals & Gay Rights in Ireland: Evangelical Alliance’s Surprise Support for Civil Partnerships Bill
One issue that is sure to bring Christian voices out in the public sphere is gay rights. The overwhelming impression that one gets is that Christians are opposed to extending gay rights, particularly when it comes to marriage or civil partnerships. A surprising exception to this has been the Evangelical Alliance in the Republic of [...]
About me
Welcome to Building a Church Without Walls, a website for people who are excited about how Christianity is developing in the 21st Century. I am a Lecturer and Coordinator of the Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation Studies Programme at Trinity College Dublin at Belfast (the Irish School of Ecumenics).
Please note this is my personal site. All views are my own and are not representative of TCD.
