Patriot and Man of Peace
Peter Costello
A forgotten aspect of the Irish revival
Queen of the Hearth
The maturing vision of Mary Kenny
This is not an actual autobiography, for a hard working journalist has little time for that, leaving such things to politicians and pop stars. Rather it is a collection of articles covering Mary Kenny’s long and colourful career, her encounters with the famous and notorious in the events of her times, her special friends, and…
Against the tide
Peter Hegarty In a homespun, congenial account of his life as a priest and community activist, Harry Bohan poses searching questions about power and governance. Change – for the better, for the worse – is his theme: his adult life has coincided with a period of wrenching social transformation in Ireland. Consultation Change comes, in many…
Himself alone
J. Anthony Gaughan Arthur Griffith (1871-1922) is one of the unsung heroes of the independence movement. Dublin-born and a journalist by profession, his chief contribution to the struggle for independence was his political writing in the United Irishman and its successor Sinn FÈin. Griffith was an Anglophobe from his earliest years. He joined the IRB,…
Biography of a Brooklyn boy
Regular readers who enjoy Aubrey Malone’s film reviews will enjoy this biography of one of the last great stars of the old Hollywood system. Gore Vidal used to make fun of Curtis’s Brooklyn accent as deployed in The Black Shield of Falworth when he was a young man, but for many other people any amount of…
Linking culture and commerce
By the Books Editor The heated public debate in Limerick City over the up-coming of City of Culture year and its administration has caused both delight and dismay. It may delight those who think that too much in these hard time is spent generally by the state on the arts. But this is a short…
At the Praetorium: Good Friday Revisited A trilogy of one act plays by Sean Walsh (CreateSpace Independent Publishing, $9.99; digital edition $4.05)
Sean Walsh was formerly head of drama on radio at RTÉ. He has written a set of three plays about the events of Good Friday which adopts the unusual device of keeping Jesus off stage, and focusing on the ordinary people of the day, Roman officials, prisoners, the condemned. It is always difficult to see…
Shrines of our penal past
‘Were You at the Rock’: the History of Mass Rocks in Ireland by Tony Nugent (The Liffey Press, €10.95) The Mass Rocks of Killybegs: Ten Pilgrimages to Sacred Places in Killybegs Summer 2013 by the Killybegs Mass Rocks Committee (Killybegs Parish Office, €15.00 + p&p; tel.: 00353 (0)74 9731013) It is by one of those…
Philosophical insights unfathomed
Frank Litton These days we worry about how the social media is affecting our relationships. Is the diligent Facebook user dodging the task of sustaining friendships for a less demanding and rewarding electronic substitute? If Facebook does little for friendship, its ubiquity bears witness to the importance of the idea of friendship. Friendship is important.…