Mass for Ann Widdecombe in St Teresa’s Church, Clarendon St, Dublin tomorrow, Wednesday 15th July at 12.45 p.m. All are welcome. Please forward. Ann visited Leinster House in June 2015 at the invitation of the Oireachtas Human Dignity Group and addressed a number of TDs and Senators.   All who met her could only be taken by her honesty, integrity, wit and sense of fun.   May she rest in peace.

Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan, in an EU Committee meeting complains that she is prevented from being able to speak in Irish, implying there is no translation service available for Irish speakers. She is told, on the spot, that there is, (compliments of the European taxpayer). She then says she can't do it because she didn't prepare. The proverbial 'dog that caught the bus'.

During tributes today in @UKHouseofLords to Ann Widdecombe I paid tribute to her principles, kindness and intelligence - grounded in her Faith and Patriotism. From different political traditions we celebrated when we agreed and when we disagreed we respectfully learned to handle differences without rancour. Ann became a great friend and was Godmother to one of my children. In the House of Commons she and Sir David Amess became close friends. I am deeply shocked that both have been murdered. I hope that justice will now prevail and that in a toxic climate of hatred and hate speech we will learn the importance of respecting difference. Watch tributes in full:

As a columnist for the Catholic Herald, I’m thinking back to my adolescent days, doing sponsored walks to raise money for @amnesty. It’s hard to find a more perfect example of Antonio Gramsci’s legendary strategy of the "long march through the institutions".

This was flagged to me right after the commissioning of the 64th Naval Cadet Class, Irish Navy. Neither the Minister for Defence, nor a deputy minister bothered to attend. A civil servant came instead, to represent the minister. The minister was away at a conference, not sure what more pressing engagements the deputy ministers had. Then they wonder why morale and retention is a problem for the Navy and Defence Forces. I know that this minister and her deputies genuinely just don't get it, don't understand why the commissioning of your military officers is a 'must attend'. It has no meaning for them, they don't identify with it, nor with the military. This was a profound mark of disrespect, so much so that I wasn't even sure I should draw attention to it. As a country, its just not serious, it's embarrassing but on top of that, it's downright insulting.

Foreign owned absentee solarlords PCRE (Omnes Capital) continues to tell this parish on its live project website that there will be no negative impact on local property prices. That is a bold claim, and it now looks even harder to defend in light of both the wider evidence and what local people are hearing first-hand. At Sunday’s community meeting, a parishioner described a private valuation report on his home, and the broad findings are serious: heavy construction disruption, inverter hum, a fundamental change to the rural character of the area, and a family home at the heart of the proposed Bellville footprint being directly and materially affected. This is not about scare tactics or slogans about “community benefit”. It is about whether people are being asked to accept a project that may alter the character of an area, damage amenity, and put real pressure on nearby property values. In a mortgage market, these things absolutely matter and have very real consequences. If a lender believes a development could reduce a home’s market value, it affects collateral, risk and loan-to-value. There is a direct financial issue for ordinary homeowners. And yet this project is still being sold by @power_capital and @OmnesCapital as though those consequences can be brushed aside. They cannot. Rural families do not live on a spreadsheet in an office in Paris or Dublin, and they should not be expected to accept secrecy, spin and a one-sided narrative dressed up as consultation. If a project is going to occupy land, change views, introduce industrial infrastructure, and depress property and land values, the public deserves honesty about the consequences - not comforting lines that collapse under scrutiny.

Foreign owned absentee solarlords PCRE (Omnes Capital) continues to tell this parish on its live project website that there will be no negative impact on local property prices. That is a bold claim, and it now looks even harder to defend in light of both the wider evidence and what local people are hearing first-hand. At Sunday’s community meeting, a parishioner described a private valuation report on his home, and the broad findings are serious: heavy construction disruption, inverter hum, a fundamental change to the rural character of the area, and a family home at the heart of the proposed Bellville footprint being directly and materially affected. This is not about scare tactics or slogans about “community benefit”. It is about whether people are being asked to accept a project that may alter the character of an area, damage amenity, and put real pressure on nearby property values. In a mortgage market, these things absolutely matter and have very real consequences. If a lender believes a development could reduce a home’s market value, it affects collateral, risk and loan-to-value. There is a direct financial issue for ordinary homeowners. And yet this project is still being sold by @power_capital and @OmnesCapital as though those consequences can be brushed aside. They cannot. Rural families do not live on a spreadsheet in an office in Paris or Dublin, and they should not be expected to accept secrecy, spin and a one-sided narrative dressed up as consultation. If a project is going to occupy land, change views, introduce industrial infrastructure, and depress property and land values, the public deserves honesty about the consequences - not comforting lines that collapse under scrutiny.

Declan Ganley (@declanganley) diagnoses the problem on SPUC TV: "The culture is broken. It is a culture that is opposed to life. We see it with abortion, we see it with the onward march of euthanasia."

📢 Community Update Huge thanks to our local elected reps who came out last night to Monivea Community Centre and stood with us. Turnout was brilliant, despite the sunshine and the All-Ireland semi-final on, so many of you still made the time to show up. That says everything. The message was loud and clear: this community isn't going anywhere. Our children are growing up here, and that's not up for negotiation on anyone's spreadsheet. This isn't over by any stretch, but it's changed. It's no longer just about stopping a project. It's about repairing the division this has caused between neighbours and lifelong friends across the parishes. Stopping it is the baseline. Healing and reuniting our community is the real goal. Thank you all. 🙏 @power_capital @OmnesCapital

I had the honor of working for Lindsey as a Judiciary Committee staffer. What struck me most was his seemingly limitless energy and his ability to quickly master any issue. I’m grateful for the chance to have learned from him. May he rest in peace.