Gan Focal/Frugal Speech poems by Gabriel Fitzmaurice, illustrated with paintings by Brenda Fitzmaurice (Arlen House, €15.00/£13.50) Gabriel Fitzmaurice published his first book of poetry back in 1981, and he then combined his own writing with translations of other poets from the Irish. Eventually he was challenged to write himself in Irish. He published a bilingual collection…
Hand in hand with the preservation of the ancient ‘rainforest’ woods and the creation of new stretches of proper woodslands (not the poisonous pine forest that pass for forestry in Ireland – goes the promotions of schemes for the reintroduction of Ireland’s ‘lost beasts’. But the manner in which eagles and others are poisoned by…
Lights for the Path by John Sullivan (Veritas, €24.99/£22.20) John Sullivan was formerly Professor of Christian Education at Liverpool Hope University, of which he is now an emeritus professor. Hope University is a unique institution, formed out of three Victorian teachers’ training colleges in an ecumenical union which now prospers as a developing third level…
The Spiritual Journey of St Patrick by Aidan J. Larkin SSC, with a foreword by Archbishop Eamon Martin (Messenger Publication, €14.95/£12.95) Tomorrow all the world that is Irish will mark St Patrick’s Day, mostly in ebullient hoolies it has to be said, rather than calm and settled consideration. Well, that is the way of the…
The Book of the Skelligs, edited by John Crowley and John Sheehan, photography by Valerie O’Sullivan (Cork University Press, €49/£43.90) The Great Lighthouses of Ireland, by David Hare (Gill Books, €27.99/£24.99) The filming in the recent past of two episodes of the continuing Star Wars franchise has transformed the world-wide perception of the…
“Who founded Skellig monastery?” remains a moot question, as the lawyers say. The relevant contributors to this book have to admit that though the name of St Fíonán is associated with the early centuries of Skellig’s human history, who truly founded the monastery is an obscure issue. But it may be that light on this…
Dancing with Loneliness by José María R. Olaizola SJ Messenger Publication, (€12.95/£11.95) The author of this book is a Spanish Jesuit, who is presently head of institutional communications for the Society of Jesus in Spain (which means in effect, when you think about it, the whole Spanish speaking world, which I realised during the translation…
In a recent issue some remarks made by the authors of a book on the future of the concept of the parish suggest some confusion about the strange history of Dublin’s cathedrals. I know that many foreign visitors are certainly confused as to why the city has “three cathedrals”. Of course the older cathedrals, St…
Searching for Thaddeus: Images of a Forgotten Irishman in Ireland and Italy, by Patricia Curtin-Kelly (Liberties Press, €20/£18) This is an interesting and unusual book, which will perhaps lead readers into new places to explore, not only in the remoter parishes of western Munster, but also in northern Italy. It focuses on the city of Ivrea, a place…
The new national holiday on the first day of February has been judged a great success on its first celebration. Doubtless in the decades to come ways of celebration will become fixed and standardised, and we will all know what we can expect in the way of local events to celebrate the role of women…