Frederic William Burton: For the 
Love of Art Exhibition curated by Marie Bourke, with essays by Patrick Duffy and others, edited by Claire Crowley (National Gallery of Ireland, €15.95) Thanks to RTÉ we know that ‘The Meeting on the Turret Stairs’ is Ireland’s favourite painting.  Yet experience tells us, too, that many who admire it are…

John Hearne: Architect of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland by  Eugene Broderick (Irish Academic Press,  €29.99) A study of all constitutions promulgated since the French Revolution in 1789, by the Chicago Law School,  found that the average constitution lasted a mere 17 years, before it was replaced. By that measure, the Irish Constitution, which will be…

Centenary / Comoradh Cead Bliain: Ireland remembers 1916 / Tugann Eire 1916 chun cuimhne edited by Ronan McGreevy (Government Publications, €25) Felix M. Larkin   Most people take the view that the centenary commemoration of the 1916 Rising was a “Goldilocks moment”. Whereas the 50th anniversary events in 1966 were too hot, and those for the…

Mors Britannica: Lifestyle & Death-Style in Britain Today by Douglas J. Davies (Oxford University Press, £30.00) Death: The Graveside Companion edited by  Joanna Ebenstein (Thames & Hudson, £29.95) Halloween, or rather the Eve of All Saints, has passed once again, and again with perhaps less religious observance than in past centuries. Halloween seems to date only from…

EARLY
 PERIOD The long line of biographical investigations of Martin Luther’s life, opinions, and teachings began with the memoir written by his friend and fellow reformer Philip Melanchthon. Indeed what is thought of as ‘Lutheran theology’ also began with Melanchthon, for though Luther was a powerful preacher, and a man of strong opinions, he was not…

Forgiveness Remembers: A Journey into the heart of God by Paul Farren & Robert Miller, forewords by Bishop Richard Chartres and the late Cardinal Cormac Murphy  O’Connor (Instant Apostle, £6.99) This is a small book with a big – and important – message. Paul Farren is Administrator of St Eugene’s Cathedral in Derry, and his friend…

Finding God in the Waves: How I Lost my Faith and Found it Again Through Science by Mike McHargue (Hodder & Stoughton, £9.99) Christopher
 Moriarty An intense reading of the entire Bible, following a deeply traumatic incident in his life, led the Southern Baptist author Mike McHargue to a spell of atheism which lasted for two years.…

Wounds: A Memoir of Love & War by Fergal Keane (William Collins, £18.99) Fergal Keane is well-known as a foreign correspondent, especially for his coverage of Africa and Serbia. His main area of interest is war and its effect on those who have been caught up in it. In his latest book he looks closer to…

Love, Henri: Letters on the Spiritual Life by Henri J. M. Nouwen, edited by Gabrielle Earnshaw,  foreword by Brené Browne (Hodder & Stoughton,  £10.99) Anthony
 Redmond
  Fr Henri Nouwen was one of the most prolific and important spiritual writers of the 20th Century. Since his unexpected death in 1996 his fame and influence as a spiritual writer…

Padre Pio: Irish Encounters with the Saint  by Colm Keane (Capel Island Press, €14.99) Author Colm Keane will be familiar to many from his earlier books exploring aspects of life, death, and spirituality. They have proved to be both very popular and, in the eyes of some, controversial. In his new book  he explores the life…