Ireland's Catholic church, government clash over COVID-19 restrictions

FILE PHOTO: A general view of crowded street while retail reopens fully as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions continue to ease after an extensive lockdown period in Dublin, Ireland, May 17, 2021. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Five Roman Catholic bishops from Ireland's 22 dioceses are set to defy COVID-19 restrictions after instructing local parishes to hold communion and confirmation services this month, drawing a sharp rebuke from the government, which have pleaded with them to wait until they consider further easing curbs later this month.

Ireland has been gradually unwinding its third and longest lockdown and will only consider easing measures beyond a recent reopening of indoor dining at the end of August over concerns about the more infectious COVID-19 Delta variant.