In Mitchelstown (population 3,744), 77% declare themselves as Catholic. In Killarney (pop 14,412), it is 66%. Bantry (pop 2,929) is 65%, while Kenmare (2,566) also returns 65%.
Just 14% across these four communities claim to have no religion whatsoever.
Many more people, apparently, have faith in a higher power than they do in democracy with our general election turnout falling to 59.7%.
With this potential audience, it seems an appropriate moment for Pope Francis to publish the first memoir from a sitting pontiff when his book, hits the shelves in 80 countries on Tuesday, January 14.
It will, say his publicists, cover “crucial moments of his papacy and some of the most controversial questions of our present times”.
It was originally planned to publish after the death of Pope Francis, who is 88. But the 2025 Jubilee, dedicated to forgiveness, spiritual renewal, and celebration of the church, was thought to be a good moment in a year when 30m of the faithful are expected to visit Rome.
In addition, Francis and his co-writer — the Italian publisher Carlo Musso — felt it was relevant to “the needs of our times”.
The work will cover the Italian roots of Pope Francis in his ancestors’ emigration to Latin America, and recount his journey to the present day which he describes as “a long, intense, adventure”.
The Pope’s previous books include , his reflections written during the pandemic lockdown, and , which was a series of interviews about historic events in the 20th century.
The Jubilee year was officially opened on Christmas Eve when Francis was pushed in a wheelchair to an ornate bronze door in St Peter’s Basilica and knocked on it to demand entry.
Over the next 12 months, pilgrims will pass through the door — which is normally bricked up — and receive the traditional benefit of a plenary indulgence, a form of forgiveness for their sins.
Rome is one of those locations where there is a rising anxiety about the impact of overseas visitors on local services and infrastructure. Questions have been raised about how the Eternal City will cope with demand from millions of extra people.
Rome has been given a facelift with monuments such as the Trevi Fountain and the Ponte Sant’Angelo spruced up. Roads have been redesigned. Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said it had taken a “little civil miracle” to get a new road tunnel finished in time.
Critics and supporters will be waiting to see if his book does address the controversies of the 21st century.
Last summer, he became the first pontiff to participate in the G7 summit, stressing the threats to humanity implicit in the Ukraine and Gaza wars; the risks to employment posed by AI, and changes in reproductive practices.
Then in September he called for higher taxes on billionaires and the establishment of a universal basic income.
We will need a plentiful supply of hope in 2025, and the choice of this word as his autobiographical title by Pope Francis is a prescient reminder of that fact.
Faith and charity are other qualities that will be required for the year ahead.