The GAA and the War of Independence by Tim Pat Coogan (Head of Zeus/an Apollo Book, £20.00) The Gaelic Athletic Assoc–iation (GAA) promotes, across the whole island of Ireland, Gaelic football, hurling, ladies’ Gaelic football, camogie and handball. However, it does not concern itself solely with organising these sports. With the Irish language, Irish music and…
The Territories of Reason: Science and Theology in an Age of Multiple Rationalities by Alister E. McGrath (Oxford University Press, £25.00) Frank Litton The world is changing; nothing surprising in that. Change is the norm. What is interesting and even disturbing is the growing sense of disorientation. The maps that guide us fail. The political landscape no…
Mainly About Books by the Books Editor Since Donald Trump took office as President of the US, the world has been fascinated, indeed mesmerised, by his daily use of short tweets to express his changing opinion, his unfocussed anger at friends and enemies (often there seems little distinction), and announce, often daily, new and…
En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule by Édouard Louis (published in English as The End of Eddy) The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland has become a staple of the international political agenda. It is a gathering of the great and good in the picturesque setting of the Alps and brings together the world of politics,…
Gandhi: The Years that Changed the World 1914-1945 by Ramachandra Guha London: Allen Lane, 2018, £40 Patrick Claffey SVD In 1911 the British authorities decided to move the capital of their Indian Empire from Calcutta to Delhi. They set about doing this by creating a new district that came to be known as New Delhi. The work…
Medieval Pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela by Bernadette Cunningham (Four Court Press, €19.95) I never pass St James’s Gate in Dublin without thinking of that ancient city portal as the starting place of the medieval version of the Camino. It has long seemed to me those wishing to promote the way of St James here in Ireland…
A Century of Politics in the Kingdom: A County Kerry Compendium by Owen O’Shea and Gordon Revington (Merrion Press, €19.95) This is a comprehensive account of local politics and the democratic process in Co. Kerry across more than two centuries. It covers in fact the rise of modern democracy in Ireland, and its preservation, often against…
Aquinas and the Market: Towards a Humane Economy by Mary L. Hirschfeld (Cambridge, Mass. & London: Harvard University Press, £35.95) Money: In ‘Sireacht: Longing for another Ireland series’ by Conor McCabe (Cork University Press, £9.95) Frank Litton I was speaking to one of our eminent economists recently. He reported on a meeting of the American Economic Association. He found the…
The Book of Common Prayer: The texts of 1549. 1559, and 1662 edited with an introduction and Notes by Brian Cummings (Oxford World Classics, £10.99) Though its influence over English life and writing since the reign of the Tudors has been immense, almost as great as the King James Bible itself, the Book of Common Prayer, the…
The World of Books by the books editor With Twelfth Night, the Epiphany, Old Christmas and the Christmas of the Eastern Churches behind us wherever we are, the holiday season is truly past. The Christmas trees have come down, along with the lights, tinsel and holly, the cards received have been packed away as…
Peter Costello
Michael Kelly