Joe Carroll Power Play. The Rise of Modern Sinn Féin by Deaglán De Bréadún (Merrion Press, €17.99) This valuable book is all, or nearly all, you need to know about Sinn Féin under Gerry Adams, as the party gears itself to enter the corridors of power after this year’s general election. The author, an experienced political…
The Life and Struggles of Our Mother Walatta Petros written by Galawdewos, translated and edited by Wendy Laura Belcher & Michael Kleiner (Princeton University Press, £27.95) Here is a really remarkable book on which to begin the New Year, a book that will open up for many a new horizon of Christian culture and faith.…
The Belgian spiritual writer, Bieke Vandekerckhove, comes by her wisdom honestly. She didn’t learn what she shares from a book or even primarily from the good example of others. She learned what she shares through the crucible of a unique suffering, being hit at the tender age of 19 with a terminal disease that promised…
Mags Gargan speaks to people involved in the weekly family Mass in St Aidan’s parish in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford Offering a weekly family Mass is a great opportunity for parishes to create an atmosphere where families feel part of the community of faith, especially children, who by participating in the ceremony gain a fuller understanding…
Olympian Kelly Gallagher is passionate about helping visually-impaired children in the developing world, writes Michael Kelly When one thinks of sports that Irish Olympians have excelled at in recent years boxing and show jumping are probably the first things that come to mind. But what about the winter Olympics? Most people draw a blank. It’s…
Christmas is over and the new year is here yet it’s not too late or even too early to make decorations for next Christmas. During the Christmas holidays, it can be easy to forget to make New Year’s resolutions when you are caught up in all of the festivities. Making your resolutions early in January…
Not long after reports about the dangers of eating processed meats died down had the media provided further cause for concern. New research apparently found that a typical Indian takeaway meal of a starter, main course and pilau rice can contain far more calories than an adult’s total daily requirements. The study of 280 Indian…
Transition Year students from Tuam describe a project to create a green space for their school We chose ‘The Power of Women’ as our theme for Transition Year 2015/2016. This theme was reflected in all our projects and assignments. In the ‘Build a Bank Challenge’ we introduced students to an influential woman every week. We selected these…
The poor, they say, we will always have with us. And it seems we’ll always have Rocky Balboa with us as well. How many incarnations has Sylvester Stallone’s ever-resilient pugilist had since his first appearance on our screens in 1976? In Creed he plays the mentor of a boxer called Apollo Creed whose father died…
Despite ‘diversity and fragmentation’, the quality of the past week’s dramatic offerings could draw a wide audience, writes Brendan O’Regan With the diversity and fragmentation of TV viewing it’s rare that one programme generates a high degree of anticipation any more, and rare that a large percentage of the viewing population would tune in to…
Peter Costello
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Mags Gargan
Michael Kelly
Erin Fox
Cathal Barry
Aubrey Malone
Brendan O’Regan