For me Rosemary Power’s book provoked thoughts on a very different topic. There are insights of interest on every page of the author’s exposition. Yet there are comments one might question. She describes the churches in the Middle East and North Africa as on the ‘fringe’ of Christendom. But this was surely not the case:…
Living with Motor Neurone Disease: A complete guide edited by Dr Marie Murray, in collaboration with the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (Atrium/Cork University Press, €14.95/£12.95) Though first recognised back in the 19th Century, Motor Neurone Disease became more familiar a century later through the widely publicised experiences of the disease by such people as…
Come Drink at the Fount: Introducing the Carmelite Authors by Edmond Cullinan TOC (Veritas, €12.99/£11.99) Edmond Cullinan, a native of Dungarvan, and a priest of the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore, is currently vice-rector of the Pontifical Irish College, Rome. He is a member of the Third Order of Carmel and is also involved in…
The World of Books The picture which illustrates this article represents an old story-teller and his young listener as engraved as a tail-piece by artist Thomas Bewick, and comes from Ritson’s Robin Hood (1795), a celebrated collection of the medieval materials about that notorious British bandit. It is a charming scene, which I like to…
A Breath of Fresh Éire by Olga Balaeva (Beehive, €14.99/£12.99) Author and photographer Olga Balaeva is a new kind of Irish writer, representative of the emerging culture of a future island. Born in Moscow she is alive in several languages including Gaelic. She has already Ireland as gaeilge “a user friendly guide to the language”…
Peace Apart: Lasting Impressions of C.S. Lewis by Bishop Fintan Monahan (Veritas, €9.99/£8.99) This little book is the third in a series in which Fintan Monahan, the bishop of Killaloe, is evoking writers who have been important to him, and whom he wishes to encourage others to take up and read. The previous two books…
The poem (Page 36) was written a quarter century ago, at another time of conflict, but the new war in Eastern Europe has made it relevant again. Poster created by Brian Bourke. A limited edition, signed and numbered, in size A3 poster form, is available from Goldsmith Press, Newbridge, Co. Kildare, W12 X260; price €150 post free. …
The Monastic Heart, 50 Simple Practices for a Contemplative and Fulfilling Life by Sister Joan Chittister (Hodder & Stoughton, £22.99/€27.00) The kind of peace of mind and heart which poets and sages write about proves elusive for many of us these days. We need to remind ourselves, or perhaps for many of us, to actually…
The images from Moscow of the marking of Victory Day, with which the news is filled at time of writing, brought into my mind a fleeting thought that President Putin might like to know more about the evolutionary significance of the extinct Giant Irish Elk. That it has become extinct is only a part of…
Alberto Giacometti: Marvellous Reality, a bilingual catalogue edited by Émelie Bouvard and others (Grimaldi Forum, Monaco/Fondation Giacometti, Paris, €35.00) Exhibition Giacometti from Life, curators: Sean Rainbird and Janet McLean (National Gallery of Ireland); Catherine Grenier and Thierry Pautot (Fondation Giacometti), continues to September 4 2022, Beit Wing (Rooms 6–10). (Intending visitors need to book an exhibition ticket on-line.) It…