Picasso’s long life of creative achievement Of all 20th century artists the work of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) is perhaps the most easily recognised. But for the ordinary gallery goer getting to see his important works of art usually involves a great deal of travelling from Paris and Madrid to Moscow and Tokyo and other far-flung…
The Best-Loved Poems from the Irish, selected translations of Gabriel Fitzmaurice, introduction by Alan Titley (Mercier Press, €14.99) These days when there is clearly an official drive to make us all more conscious of the Irish language, there yet remain as great many people for whom ‘the Irish’ remains a closed world. Here in…
In these years of self-publishing many books reach a literary editor’s desk which would be of great interest to a limited audience, which have little appeal for a general publisher. Anything sent into The Irish Catholic will be considered for review; though the Books Editor cannot enter into correspondence about why a title might be turned away.…
The Gospel of Irish Music, by Julie McCabe-Johanning (Atlantic Papers, €16.49) Traditional Irish music is one of the most important identifiers of Irish culture that exists for many people. In its various forms, both highly commercial and warmly local, it has literally conquered the world. However, we do not think of it in association with…
Séamus Murphy (1907-1975) Sculptor, a centenary album Edited by Peter Murray assisted by Clare Hennessy (Gandon Editions / Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, €39.00 + postage) This book was sent to us for review after some discussion with the editors at the publishers about titles that would be of interest to our readers. This account…
Ireland Bunreacht na hÉireann/The Constitution of Ireland (Government Publications Office, available both in printed form and as an online resource; Address: Jonathan Swift Street, Trim, Co. Meath, C15 NX36; website: https://www.gov.ie/opw/) It might behove us all in the present campaign for the office of President of Ireland to actually look at the 1937 constitution and…
Brian Friel: Beginnings, by Kelly Matthews (Four Courts Press, €29.95 / €24.95) A problem with many modern literary biographies is that their authors hurry over the subject’s earliest years in their haste to get to the years of success and fame, as if failure and obscurity were not a possibility. By contrast this book especially…
Dublin’s Stained Glass: A guide to the finest twentieth-century windows, by David Caron (Four Fours Press, €29.95 / £24.95) This is a book which will give delight as well as insight to those who enjoy nothing more than exploring our great tradition of stained glass, largely created since the beginning of the 20th century.…
England’s Thousand Best Churches, by Simon Jenkins, with photographs from the Country Life archive (Allen Lane, £50.00; also available in paperback) This is not strictly a new book, but it is one which is very relevant to an important discussion for today: what is the future of our churches here in Ireland? Some readers will like…
Shadows + Reflections: The Irish National War Memorial Gardens at Island Bridge, by Annie Dibble and Angela Rolfe (Gandon Editions, €25.00 / £22.00) When my wife and I were small our respective fathers were only too happy to take their families down rural side roads to inspect a monument or two. However, the Irish…