Eamonn Holmes breaks down when talking about his late father in emotional interview belfastlive.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from belfastlive.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Q. Can you tell us something about your background?
A. My wife Carmel and I were married in 1978. As a home economics teacher in Our Lady of Mercy Secondary School, she was a working mother for 35 years. We have eight children, five girls and three boys. Now we have 12 wonderful grandchildren. I was called to the Bar in 1976 and practised until 2012. I was elected to Belfast City Council in 1985 and became Lord Mayor in 1997. In 1998 I was elected SDLP MLA for North Belfast, and retired from politics in 2016.
Q. How did you come to faith
A. I absorbed Catholicism from my parents and family as a child and felt very much at ease in embracing its teaching and beliefs. However, they were not unquestioning of aspects of the Church. That healthy critical approach was further developed at St Malachy s College in Belfast. It was there that my Catholic faith was shaped and matured. I had the great fortune to be taught religion by the late Fr Desmond Wilson. He was an inspirational communic
Bishop of Derry calls for transfer test solution to help most disadvantaged Bishop of Derry, Dr Dónal McKeown 11 January, 2021 01:00
A solution needs to be found on transfer tests that prioritises those most disadvantaged by lockdown, the Bishop of Derry had said.
Dr Dónal McKeown said parents were very worried and children were being dragged from one test date to another.
However, some of its schools have already pulled out and the Post-Primary Transfer Consortium (PPTC), including many Catholic grammars, has cancelled its tests.
Speaking on BBC s Sunday Politics show, Dr McKeown said he and Archbishop Eamon Martin had flagged up last May the need for grammar schools to consider a different way of transfer in 2021.