23.02.2026
Full House for Winter Madness in Dublin
Winter Madness drew more than 200 young people from across Ireland to Holy Trinity Rathmines on Saturday evening (February 21). The event, which is run by Summer Madness in conjunction with the Dublin and Glendalough Youth Council (DGYC), saw the church packed to capacity with young people and their youth leaders for a night of worship, prayer and games.
The speaker this year was Shane Maguire, youth pastor at St Catherine’s Church, Thomas Street, and worship was led by Oli Rea and the Summer Madness House Band. Joining Summer Madness and CIYD’s Simon Henry on stage to present for the evening was DGYC intern Molly Clarke.
Shane in his talk drew on the Parable of the Prodigal Son [Luke 15] focusing on the older brother who stayed at home and worked while the younger brother left and was lost.
In Luke 15: 28 we hear that the older brother was angry and refused to go into the party thrown to celebrate the younger son’s return. Shane said that the older brother felt resentment. He said that we can relate to that feeling of resentment which can leak into our relationship with God.
Shane said that the pain we hold, like the pain of the older brother, deserves compassion. The father responds: ‘My son you are always with me and everything I have is yours’. “The father does not rebuke, rather he reassures… Even when the older son is resentful, the father affirms ‘you still belong to me’. Resentment might create distance in our hearts between us and the Father but the Father’s response is always reassurance and love. Relationship is what he is after… God’s presence is more valuable than material rewards,” he explained.
He said that when Jesus told the parable he was addressing the Pharisees who were obsessed with the law and the Temple but in doing this they lost the joy of their relationship with God. He said that the parable ends unresolved and we never find out whether the older brother entered the house. He said the father does not force the older brother inside because God knows that love does not bully people into doing something they don’t want to do. Rather the door remains open and this, he said, was the love of God.
