A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
Cork bishop seeks support for €1.2m cathedral organ appeal
The Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, the Rt Rev Paul Colton, has called on the people of Cork to support a €1.2 million appeal to rebuild a historic organ at St Fin Barre’s Cathedral. Bishop Colton said the organ was “central to the tradition of worship and music which has been synonymous with St Fin Barre’s”. Those who wish to get involved can sponsor a pipe of the new organ, at any level ranging from €20 to €500, with all pipe sponsors getting a commemorative certificate as well as having their names printed in a special donors’ book to be kept by the organ.
Gogarty not to run for Dublin mayor
Green Party TD Paul Gogarty has used his Twitter account to rule himself out of contesting the election for a Dublin mayor, writes Mary Minihan.
Mr Gogarty runs the party’s campaign to engage with citizens about the election, www.Mayor4dublin.ie
Yesterday’s tweet said: “Mayor4dublin.ie campaign continues. Your views please. Wish media would focus on issues rather than me as Mayoral candidate. Am NOT running.”
Launching the campaign in March, Mr Gogarty said he would be interested in campaigning to be Dublin’s first elected mayor.
Meeting hears of priests’ workload
The increasing workload on clergy and their growing isolation were discussed at a meeting of priests in Charleville, Co Cork, yesterday. “One priest explained he had said 21 Masses in eight days,” Fr Brendan Hoban, parish priest at Ballina, Co Mayo, said last night. It showed “a growing workload while numbers [of vocations] fall”. Forty clergy attended the Association of Catholic Priests’ second regional meeting.