The tide of faith is turning in Ireland: Generation Z, 18-29 year olds, are returning to the practice of the Faith. Eight years ago, only 7% of that age bracket attended weekly Mass; today it is 17%.   Deo gratias! The data behind those numbers is solid: Presenting a study on recent religious trends on the island of Ireland by Emily Nelson and Stephen Bullivant .

A new report s uggests that the decline of the Faith across the country may not have been as widespread as previously thought . Commissioned by the Irish bishops’ conference, co-authored by the religion statistician Stephen Bullivant, and drawing on data from the European Social Survey, a report entitled “Turning the tide? Report on recent religious trends on the island of Ireland” suggests that Ireland remains resiliently Catholic in the face of secularisation and that there

December 25, 2025. By CHRISTOPHER MANION We put Christmas candles in the windows of our home the other day. The custom began during Ireland’s Penal Days, when there was a price on the head of every priest. The candle would light a priest’s way through the dark to a house where he could safely celebrate Mass. It’s become a pretty universal decoration today, and secular types call it a quaint folk custom.   But since I’m Irish, it reminds me of how deeply my ancestors cherished

Some good news for the faithful in Ireland!

Founded by Cantillon-Murphy, his wife Grace, and other interested parents, Mater Dei opened in 2020 with 12 students . Today, some 60 students in secondary school, the equivalent of grades 7-12 in the United States, sit in its classrooms, where they receive lessons in the Catholic faith, Irish and the history and literature of Ireland, science and math, and a classical education. Additional students are enrolling in the school’s online and homeschooling courses or ordering it

Catholic education, which has changed over the centuries, must continue to evolve to help young people face the challenges not only of technology but of confusion about the meaning and purpose of life, Pope Leo XIV said .

This past Easter Sunday Mater Dei Academy was featured on Shalom World TV's 'Into the Light. ’ The documentary explains how Mater Dei Academy, the first classical Catholic secondary school in Ireland, provides a unique education centered on faith and classical learning. Founded in 2020 by like-minded parents, Mater Dei emphasizes the holistic development of students, focusing on body, mind, and soul. Their classical curriculum, infused with Catholic virtues, aims to cultivate

Irish culture is more than parades and leprechauns, as Connie Marshner joins Our Sunday Visitor .

The Catholic Church has a long and deep history in Ireland, but does the faith remain on the Emerald Isle? Connie Marshner joins Eric Sammons to discuss the matter on Crisis Point Hall .

Mater Dei Academy is part of this new era of rebuilding Ireland's Catholic educational legacy. Independent, lay-run, and unapologetically Catholic, Mater Dei offers the Irish a new model of Catholic education in Ireland . It is, in a way, a retrieval of Ireland's educational legacy that made a global impact.

Pádraig Cantillon-Murphy, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Mater Dei Academy, gave a brief interview to Tracy Sabol of EWTN News Nightly on the state of Catholic and classical education in Ireland and the work of The Saints and Scholars Foundation in the United States.

3/22/2023 "Even after decades of Ireland’s rapid societal secularization, encouraged in no small part by a brutal procession of the...

9/15/2022 The 2022 academic year at Mater Dei Academy has begun! In preparation for the new academic year, Mater Dei Academy has seen...

7/12/2022 The Foundation is pleased to announce the recipient of its Saints and Scholars Fellowship 2022: Margaret Killackey holds an MA...

The Wanderer.  March 15, 2022 By CONNIE MARSHNER The world is full of bad news right now, but there is a ray of hope in Ireland. It is widely known that in the space of thirty years Ireland went from being the most Catholic country in Europe to being the most anti-Catholic. How did that happen? In 1966 the voice of the Church on matters of morality was heard: The bishop of Dublin spoke out about indecency on television and the national TV station had to apologize. Twenty yea

A new movement aims to restore Catholic faith and education in Ireland and eventually Europe, with the creation of the country’s first-ever independent Catholic classical education schools .