Patrick Comerford
The viewing and reading figures for this blog has become overwhelming. These figures reached the 35 million mark shortly before mid-day today (1 May 2026). They passed the million mark four times last month, reaching 34 million shortly before mid-day on Wednesday (29 April 2026), 33 million last Saturday (25 April 2026), 32 million at the beginning of last week (19 April 2026) and 31 million earlier last month (8 April 2026).
This blog had already passed the million figure in readership numbers five times in March.
I have seen a phenomenal amount of traffic on this blog so far this year, and it continues to reach a volume of readers that I could never have expected when I first started blogging 16 years ago. Half the total hits (17.5 million) have been within less than seven months, since 18 October 2025. The total hits in March 2026 were the highest monthly total ever (4,523,648), and the figure last month were close to that, with 4,365,464 hits in April 2026.
At the end of last year, this blog had 21 million hits (31 December 2025). So far this year, there have been more than 15 million hits or visitors in 2026.
I first began blogging in 2010, and it took almost two years until July 2012 to reach half a million readers. Throughout this year and last, the daily figures continue to be overwhelming on many occasions. Of the 12 days of busiest traffic on this blog, one is today, three were last month (26, 29 and 30 April 2026), three were in March, three were in February, and two were in January 2025:
• 509,644 (29 April 2026)
• 465,843 (by 12 noon, 1 May 2026)
• 344,003 (30 April 2024)
• 323,156 (27 March 2026)
• 322,038 (26 April 2026)
• 318,307 (1 March 2026)
• 314,018 (28 February 2026)
• 301,449 (2 March 2026)
• 289,076 (11 January 2025)
• 285,366 (12 January 2025)
• 280,802 (26 February 2026)
• 273,022 (27 February 2026)
The number of readers continues to be overpowering and the daily averages have been about 145,000 or more hits a day last month. Ten years ago, in 2016, the daily average was around 1,000.
To put this figure of 35 million into perspective:
Donald Trump has claimed that he prevented a nuclear war between India and Pakistan and saved the lives of 35 millions of people. The nuclear-powered neighbours stepped back from the brink of an all-out war in May last year following their worst military escalation in decades which saw dozens of people killed in cross-border shelling as well as drone and missile attacks on both sides.
‘We’re proudly restoring safety for Americans at home and abroad. In my first 10 months, I ended eight wars,’ he boasted in his State of the Union address in February. ‘Pakistan and India would have had a nuclear war. Thirty-five million people, said the prime minister of Pakistan, would have died if it were not for my involvement.’
Saudi Arabia and Peru both have populations of about 35 million people.
Almost 35 million people – more than half of the 62 million people in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries – are foreign workers, according to a report from Aljazeera. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) collectively host nearly 35 million foreign workers from around the world, predominantly from South Asia.
Traditionally they have included labourers, building workers, household staff, security personnel, and cleaners. But they also include highly skilled workers in sectors such as banking, finance, technology, engineering, aviation, medicine and the media.
Starbucks recently agreed to pay over $35 million to New York City workers to resolve labour law violations, according to BBC reports.
Dublin Airport welcomed more than 35 million passengers last year (2025), with around 240,000 flights passing through the airport, according to the Dublin Airport Authority.
Ireland has launched a €35 million tender for a national cricket stadium in in Blanchardstown, Dublin, aiming to be match-ready for co-hosting the 2030 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The project includes a main oval, 4,240 permanent seats, a high performance centre, and player and operations facilities.
Construction must begin immediately upon contract award, with grass establishment alone taking up to three years to meet strict World Cup standards. A second tender covering the pavilion and further infrastructure is expected later.
35 million minutes is about 66 years, 6 months, and 16 day. In other words, if this blog was getting only one hit a minute, it would take more than 66½ years, from mid-1959, to reach today’s latest figure of 34 million.
I retired from active parish ministry over four years ago, on 30 March 2022. These days, though, about 120-140 people on average are reading my daily prayer diary posted on this blog each morning. A similar number have been reading my current series of postings on churches and local history in Staffordshire, and were reading my recent series of postings on the churches and chapels of Walsingham. I imagine many of my priest-colleagues would be prayerfully thankful if the congregations in their churches totalled 800-1,000 or more people each week.
This afternoon, I am truly grateful to the real readers among those 35 million hits on this blog to date, and in particular I am thankful for the faithful core group of 120-140 people who join me in prayer, reading and reflections each morning.
