"We need to convert the challenge posed by a lack of priests into an opportunity for greater lay involvement.”

There has been controversy about Amoris Laetitia. Some hardliners argue it has gone too far. Others say it hasn’t gone far enough. Some say it is ambiguous – Fr Éamonn Fitzgibbon, MIC.

The head of pastoral studies in Mary Immaculate College was speaking to the local media after the recent ‘Building Rural Communities – Lessons from the World of Sport’ conference in Thurles.

While the theme of the conference is around taking lessons from sport, which currently plays a huge role in rural Ireland, the conversation on the night will embrace broad issues affecting rural areas and trying to re-imagine ways to revitalise them.