Every Tribe: Stories of diverse saints serving a diverse world edited by Sharon Prentis (SPCK, £9.99) Myles na Gopaleen, in one of his contrary moods, used to wonder about whether the great Augustine was in life a black African (though he used words to that effect that cannot now be used). The saint was certainly born…
Christus Vivit / Christ is Alive, Apostolic Exhortation to Young people and to the Entire people of God by Pope Francis (Veritas, €4.99 / £4.31) The text of the post-synodal apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis, written in response to the Fifteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, on young people, faith, and vocational discernment,…
Mainly About Books by the books editor The fire which ravaged Notre-Dame in Paris shook not just France, but the whole word. The edifice was not merely just another site on the European tourist trail, it was a place which has rightly been seen as a mirror of the soul of France herself. Its…
Prayerful Ireland by Helena Connolly (Messenger Publications, €19.95) This richly illustrated book (mentioned briefly at Christmas time) is worth a longer notice, for as the summer days draw out (hopefully) the places she mentions may well be worth a visit. Her approach is suggested by the cover itself which shows an unusual view of Lough Derg,…
The River Liffey: History and Heritage by Christopher Moriarty (Collins Press, €21.99) Dubliners seem to take the Liffey much for granted. It has been flowing, Christopher Moriarty tell us in this very detailed account of the river and its course, for some ten millennia. It seems to have failed only once. In 1452, the old annals…
Mainly About Books by the books editor The other day I was reading a publisher’s announcement of a new book about 1916 (yes, another one, too late in the day we would have thought, with the centenary of the first Dáil upon us). In the article I came upon on a striking error. The…
The voyage of Italy: 200 years of travel guides National Gallery of Ireland 16 March – 15 September 2019 Room 11 | Admission free The National Gallery is currently showing selected items from the Sir Denis Mahon collection of guides and travel books about Italy. Naturally these were bought by the donor for the…
Unlocking the Church: The lost secrets of Victorian space by William Whyte (Oxford University Press, £18.99) In the past Christianity poured a great deal of art, energy and money into buildings. So much so that the cathedrals of the middle ages have come in a special way to symbolise for many the very nature of the…
Daniel MacDonald Painting and Pencillings Cork 1843-1844 (Exhibition at the Gorry Gallery; catalogue from Gorry Gallery, 20 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2) In the Lion’s Den: Daniel MacDonald, Ireland and Empire by Niamh O’Sullivan (Cork University Press, €20.00) The exhibition of Daniel MacDonald works recently at the Gorry Gallery in Dublin was the first time that the…
The Poor in Spirit by Yang Yakang (Unicorn Publishing, £30.00) This is an impressive album of reportage on the Catholics of the Patriotic Catholic Church in China, running to 168 pages with 70 images. The artist’s work bears comparison with the great masters of this genre, Walker Evans, Cartier-Bresson, Werner Bischof, George Rodger, and Marc…