A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
Dominican priest raises issue of religious education among laity
While “the Irish are in most respects a very educated people, for many this certainly did not apply to the topic of religion”, Dominican Fr Joe Kavanagh has said, writes Patsy McGarry.
“Indeed, the prevailing thinking tended to see religious education as the preserve of clergy and religious, prompting the present archbishop of Dublin to speak of a large percentage of theologically-illiterate people in the church in Ireland,” said the moderator of the Priory Institute at Tallaght, Co Dublin. People were now asking questions that would not have been aired previously “and some of the ancient and entrenched attitudes of Irish Catholicism are being subjected to rigorous critique,” he said. Over 80 students of the institute graduated with qualifications in theology on Saturday.
Cork school wins choir competition
Presentation Secondary School, Ballyphehane, Cork City, has won the All-Island School Choir Competition 2010, the final of which was broadcast on RTÉ television last night.
President Mary McAleese and the Northern Secretary Owen Paterson attended the final in the Waterfront, Belfast.
Presentation College received a trophy and a cheque for £5,000 (€5,890). the three other choirs in the final received £1,000 each.
The four finalists were chosen at regional finals in Cork, Castlebar, Navan and Armagh.
Oldest man in Ireland dies at 106
Believed to be the oldest man in Ireland, Paddy Gleeson, O’Callaghans Mills, Co Clare, has died at the age of 106.
Following his last birthday on May 20th, the Office of the President confirmed that Mr Gleeson was Ireland’s oldest man. At the time, there were six women in Ireland older than Mr Gleeson, the eldest of whom was 108. He passed away at Raheen Community Hospital in Co Clare.
He received a presidential medal each year since his 100th birthday in 2004. In May, staff presented Mr Gleeson with his sixth medal from President Mary McAleese.