So, the Presidential election is well under way. For an office that is important, with inherent dignity, it has so far been an uninspiring, sometimes silly, even dirty, campaign. The Maria Steen factor was particularly noteworthy. At the early stages she was just one independent among many, sometimes not even mentioned in news reports about…
In Urchin (15), which is showing at the Irish Film Institute this week, we’re presented with a homeless young man, Mike (Frank Dillane), struggling with problems of drink, drugs and a general attitude of arrogance. He doesn’t seem to understand either himself or his life, lurching from one situation to another. When they turn against…
Séamus Murphy (1907-1975) Sculptor, a centenary album Edited by Peter Murray assisted by Clare Hennessy (Gandon Editions / Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, €39.00 + postage) This book was sent to us for review after some discussion with the editors at the publishers about titles that would be of interest to our readers. This account…
Seven is a special number for Catholics. We celebrate seven sacraments, avoid seven deadly sins, try to do the seven corporal works of mercy (or some of them at least!). Seven is a special age also. Children who reach the age of seven are said to become reasonable (though parents might not agree!). But no…
Ireland Bunreacht na hÉireann/The Constitution of Ireland (Government Publications Office, available both in printed form and as an online resource; Address: Jonathan Swift Street, Trim, Co. Meath, C15 NX36; website: https://www.gov.ie/opw/) It might behove us all in the present campaign for the office of President of Ireland to actually look at the 1937 constitution and…
Memorialising Émigré Dignity: The Cultural Heritage of St Anthony’s College, Leuven, Edited by Francis M. O’Donnell (Irish College, Leuven, €20.00) The Franciscan Irish College of St Anthony of Padua was founded by the rulers of the Spanish Netherlands, Archduke Albert and Infante Isabella, in May 1617. From the outset the main aim of the…
By Elise Allen Pope Leo XIV’s first wide-ranging interview confirms what many of us in Asia have already sensed in his first hundred days: the Holy Spirit has given us a shepherd who listens first, then acts. His calm presence and pastoral clarity echo Pope Francis’s legacy of a synodal Church, yet he brings his…
Brendan O’Regan
Aubrey Malone
Peter Costello