Parents of seven children out of a group of 30 want them to be part of non-religious ceremony. Photograph: ThinkstockA group of parents said they were “shocked” and “feel discriminated against” after a Catholic school initially declined their request to use the premises for a non-religious ceremony. Parents of children attending St Laurence O’Toole’s in Roundwood, Co Wicklow, had hoped to use the hall there for a secular ceremony in May to coincide with the school’s First Holy Communion ceremony, though the request was declined last month. Last month, she was told by the chair of the school’s board of management that the board “could not agree to your request”. Neither the school nor its board of management responded, but the Archdiocese of Dublin said it had advised the school last week to allow the ceremony to be held in the school hall.

Source: The Irish Times December 09, 2025 14:31 UTC