The gothic cathedrals of Europe are recognised as one of the glories of European art. Every year hundreds of thousands, in some cases even millions, visit such places as Notre Dame de Paris, Amiens, and Chartres – indeed the great rose window of Chartres is one of the wonders of human ingenuity in praise of…
Some of our regular reviewers present their choice of a ‘Book of the Year for 2022’, a very varied and enticing selection covering a wide range of topics. Christopher Moriarty My choice for a book of the year falls upon Eoghan Daltun’s An Irish Atlantic Rainforest: A Personal Journey Into the Magic of Rewilding (Hachette, Books Ireland,…
Selected by the book’s editor The Granite Coast: Dún Laoghaire, Sandycove and Dalkey by Peter Pearson (The O’Brien Press, €35.00) Explore Dún Laoghaire and its coastal surroundings as Peter Pearson reveals the story behind its transformation from rocky granite shoreline to grand Victorian ‘watering place’, to the bustling town it is now. With over 250…
World of Books This time of the year is the major occasion for people to buy books of all kinds, but especially for younger readers. There is fierce competition among the publishers, so it is easy to overlook interesting, even important books in the piled high melee. In these pages today we make some suggests for…
Seven Voices of Joy by Lorcan Kenny (Veritas, €9.99) The Mindful Our Father by Thomas G. Casey SJ (Messenger Publications, €14.95) Lorcan Kenny is a priest of the diocese of Killaloe, where he has worked as a school chaplain for the last two decades. In another capacity he is also involved with a primary school…
Religion & the Rise of Sport in England by Hugh McLeod (Oxford University Press, €34.00/£30.00) Prior to the World Cup which opened in Qatar on Sunday, letter which FIFA has sent to all 32 countries taking part asking them to “focus on the football” in Qatar rather than “every ideological and political battle that exists”,…
Maynooth College reflects on facing Life’s End Perspectives on Dying and Death edited by Jeremy Corley and others, with a foreword by Archbishop Farrell €14.95 /£12.95) This book represents, in my view, an interesting development in the teaching tradition of Maynooth, now of course a much larger and very different institution than it was back…
Disciples of Courage: Ten Christian Lives that Inspire by Brendan Comerford SJ (Messenger Publications, €19.95/£18.95) November has long been a month devoted to recalling the dead and to celebrating their achievements. With the constant pursuit of novelty and celebrity these days, such as Halloween and the commercialisation of the Dia de los Muertos (the Mexican…
by the editors of Sacred Space (Messenger Publications, €7.95/£6.95) The season of Advent begins at the end of next week, so now is the time to acquire this little seasonal volume, from a long familiar source. Through the prayers and meditations readers will be reminded of the synodal journey on which the people of God…
Pondering President Putin’s remarks on Russia’s role in history, I have come to think that some of Putin’s seemingly strange views might possibly be explained by the maps he used as a schoolboy. Like so many educated people around the world, his picture of the world has been seriously distorted by the types of school…