Pope Francis in Ireland: Commemorative Souvenir by Mags Gargan and the staff of The Irish Catholic (Columba Books, €24.99) Pope Francis in Ireland (Veritas, €4.99) Joy of Love, a family perspective by Gráinne Doherty (Veritas, €7.99) The recent congress and the visit of Pope Francis, despite what was mooted in advance by critics, passed off very well. Certainly…
Following the Pink Ribbon Path by Mary Redmond Ussher (Columba Books, €14.99) This book reminded me in a way of Markings, Dag Hammarskjöld’s only book. Hammarskjöld described his book as “a sort of White Book concerning my talks with myself – and with God”. Both have the same commonplace book structure of the author’s thoughts mingled with…
Plagiarism was the last thing on my mind when, in the winter of 1986, I received a phone call from my friend Fr Michéal O’Doherty. He was then a curate in my native Listowel, while I had a similar appointment in Dublin. He said he had just read a novel entitled Noon-Day by an author named Robert…
What with the crazy scenes at the McGregor fight last weekend and the strident shrieky protests at the US Senate vote on Judge Kavanaugh (the two events had a lot in common!) I needed some confirmation that civilisation and decency remained durable. And where better to receive this than Nationwide (RTÉ1). Last week there were…
Pat O’Kelly Two recent Dublin events marked significant occasions. The first brought the Irish première of James MacMillan’s Stabat Mater as the closing concert of New Music Dublin at the National Concert Hall. The second came with the retirement, after 42 years devoted service, of Prof. Gerard Gillen as organiste titulaire of the Pro-Cathedral.…
Jamie Cooks Italy by Jamie Oliver (Michael Joseph / Penguin, £26.00) Jamie Oliver is perhaps one of the most popular TV chefs of the moment. But he has moved from the costly ingredients and exotic notions to helping ordinary families make the most of what they can afford to cook at home, or have to eat at…
The Triumph of Christianity: How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World by Bart D. Ehrman (One World, £20.00) Recently we have had several histories of early and medieval Christianity written from a very traditional Catholic point of view. These have in their way been very reassuring, but perhaps only by passing over darker passages in the…
Spoilt Rotten: Memoirs of Jack McKenna by Jack McKenna (North Kerry Literary Trust, €15.00; contact St. Johns Arts & Heritage Centre, The Square, Listowel, Co. Kerry; tel: 068-22566) This autobiography, by a novice author as old as the century, is a valuable local history written from an urban perspective. For many years the author was in charge…
Pope John Paul II in Ireland: A Plea for Peace (12A) Did the 1979 visit of Pope John Paul II to our shores eventually impact on the Good Friday Agreement that saw “the force of argument”, as this fascinating documentary puts it, replacing “the argument of force”? Or as Seamus Heaney said, helped “hope and history rhyme”? It frames his visit in the context…
Soldiering Against Subversion: The Irish Defence Forces and internal security during the Troubles, 1969-1998 by Dan Harvey (Merrion Press, €19.99) Joe Carroll The role of the Defence Forces (the army, naval service, and air corps) in ensuring that the Troubles in Northern Ireland did not spill over into the Republic and undermine the stability of the…
Peter Costello
Brendan O’Regan
Aubrey Malone