The History of the Church of Christ by Pierre Daniel-Rops (Cluny Media, in ten volumes, priced from $US 27.95/€25.50) Back in the post-war decades in Ireland, for many Catholics two authors stood out. One was the Jesuit Fr Frederick Copleston with his volumes of A History of Philosophy, which was perhaps a little too academic for…
“You Will Dye at Midnight”: Threatening Letters in Victorian Ireland by Donal P. McCracken (Eastwood, €20.00) The news media these days are filled with reports of threats of death and violence being made, not just against celebrities, politicians, media stars, bishops, and such like, but against even internet users careless enough to expose themselves to comment…
A Life in Medicine, from Asclepius to Beckett by Eoin O’Brien, foreword by John Banville (Lilliput Press, €25.00 / £21.00) Irish literature is filled with examples of leading medical men, who were also creative and bold litterateurs. One thinks of Sir William Wilde, Oliver St John Gogarty, J. B. Lyons and many others. As a medical…
Synodality and the Recovery of Vatican II: A new way for Catholics edited by Stephen J. McKinney, Thomas O’Loughlin & Beáta Tóth (Messenger Publications, €25.00) As the title suggests this is a book with a studied purpose, but whose intentions have been caught up with by the passage of events in a way the editors could not have expected.…
The Golden Thread: The Life and Gifts of Miss Frances Ellis by Patrick Heren (Gracewing, £20.00 / €25.00) The past it was once said is a foreign country: they do things differently there. And so they do as this interesting book about a major benefactor reveals. This is an exploration of a Catholic world Irish readers…
Sir William Orpen: A family legacy by Dominic Lee (Office of Public Works, €10.00) The Vision of a 19th Century Lensman Goddard Orpen 1852-1932 by Jeremy Hill (Monskgrange Archive, €65.00.) For an outing on a fine summer’s day, the house and estate of Farmleigh are a very attractive destination. At the moment, there are two exhibitions of…
Foreign Languages: Victorian language learning & the shaping of modern Ireland, by Phyllis Gaffney (UCD Press, €30.00 / £25.00) Though intended initially for an academic audience, Dr Phyllis Gaffney’s new book will have an appeal to anyone in any way interested in the evolution of modern Irish culture, not merely literary, but also social and…
Impressionism and its Overlooked Women, curated by Dorthe Vangsgaard Nielsen, and seven contributors (Ordrupgaard, €45.00 / £38.50) The special summer exhibition at the National Gallery of Ireland celebrates the women painters of the Impressionist movement in art. The just opened exhibition has been organised by Ordrupgaard in Denmark in collaboration with the National Gallery, and…
Emerging from the Mess, by Brendan McManus SJ and Jim Deeds (Messenger Publications, €12.95 / £11.95) The cover of this third book in the series begun with Finding God in the Mess and continued with Deeper into the Mess, brought to mind (for me at least) the words of St John Henry Neman’s poem (only later a hymn), written while…
Caribbean Slave Owners & Other Lesser-Known Histories from County Mayo, by Dr M. M. O’Connor (Published by the author at The Morrigan, Murrisk, Westport, Co. Mayo, €25.00) This is a book which only recently came to my notice, for it was not sent to us for review. Certainly the title captures your attention at…