RTE Radio 1’s ‘This Week’ programme aired a report yesterday by Elaine Keogh asking ‘Are Remote Religious Services here to Stay?’
In-person religious services are currently prohibited in the Republic of Ireland, which is under level 5 lockdown restrictions.
Drawing on the results of my survey of faith leaders on the island of Ireland during the Covid-19 pandemic, I contributed to the programme, noting that the pandemic had accelerated trends that were already underway towards blended online and in-person services.
You can listen to or download the RTE report here or below.
The programme also features contributions from a couple who livestreamed their wedding from Louisiana, Presbyterian Rev Stephen McNie, Shaykh Umar al-Qadri, chief imam of the Islamic Centre of Ireland, Fr Noel Keogh, rector of St Joseph’s Redemptorist Church in Dundalk, and people who would normally have attended St Joseph’s annual Novena to St Gerard.