Spirit of Revolution: Ireland from below 1917-1923, John Cunningham and Terry Dunne (Four Courts Press, €24.95 / £21.95) The cover of this book is graced by a 1934 watercolour by Harry Kernoff, entitled Liberty Hall, Dublin, night: the street is scattered with a selection of typical working class Dubliners, a social group with which…
Category: Reviews
St Joseph: the patron saint of fathering
Consecration to St Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father, by Donald H. Calloway MIC (Marian Press, £13.60) This is a book promoting devotion to St Joseph, making it very suitable reading in this week after the celebration of the Feast of St Joseph the Worker. The steadfast member of the Holy Family, Joseph…
Variety is the spice of life…
Castletown House, in Co Kildare, was the founding venue for the Music in Great Irish Houses Festival in 1970. It was soon joined by other stately homes, not least Russborough near Blessington in Co. Wicklow that was at the time the home of Sir Alfred and Lady Clementine Beit. Generous supporters of the arts, they…
Protests that get too close to the bone are silenced
Often there’s a TV series that is very good in its first season, but instead of leaving it at that they capitalise on the success and produce a second series. Sometimes it’s just inferior, perhaps because original ideas have run out, or the novelty value has worn off. Recently I’ve been keeping up with the…
The Centenary of the Friends of the National Collections
This year marks the centenary of ‘Fund for the National Collections of Ireland’, which may well be for many readers a little known organisation. But nevertheless it is an important body working for the preservation of the arts in Ireland and the records of the past. Recently Dr John Turpin outlined the history of the…
Democracy in today’s world: can it survive?
Democracy in today’s world: can it survive? Adventures in Democracy: The Turbulent World of People Power by Erica Benner (Allan Lane, £25.00 / €29.50) This short book by political philosopher Erica Benner is a timely meditation on the nature of democracy, both ancient and modern. It is timely because democratic values are under threat everywhere today,…
The tale of a high achiever
Margaret Anne Suggs is a professional illustrator. Some readers will already be familiar with her work as the illustrator of the ‘Pigín of Howth’ stories by Kathleen Watkins, and also Holy Shocking Saints with Sine Quinn. However, this new book seems to be a very personal project. She tells us that she has long held…
Cheap shots at Catholic education on RTÉ
Most TV services have a rake of channels down the list that few people ever watch. Most are happy with the Irish channels and the main UK services like BBC, ITV and Channel 4. But good stuff often lurks far down the list – eg Sky Arts and PBS America. Both are home to excellent…
McGahern’s leisurely swansong finally reaches the screen
“That blasted book near killed me,” John McGahern said to me of his final novel, That They May Face the Rising Sun. He put more of himself into it than any of his other ones. That’s saying something. It has now been made into a film (Cert 15). I didn’t ‘get’ the book when I…
Il Vagelo secundo Matteo: one of the most important religious films ever
At a recent press conference Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, speaking about the Vatican’s Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (as discussed last week in these pages), went out of his way to remind the reporters of the international arts press that it is 60 years since Pier…