Every Tribe: Stories of diverse saints serving a diverse world edited by Sharon Prentis (SPCK, £9.99) Myles na Gopaleen, in one of his contrary moods, used to wonder about whether the great Augustine was in life a black African (though he used words to that effect that cannot now be used). The saint was certainly born…
Christus Vivit / Christ is Alive, Apostolic Exhortation to Young people and to the Entire people of God by Pope Francis (Veritas, €4.99 / £4.31) The text of the post-synodal apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis, written in response to the Fifteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, on young people, faith, and vocational discernment,…
Mainly About Books by the books editor The fire which ravaged Notre-Dame in Paris shook not just France, but the whole word. The edifice was not merely just another site on the European tourist trail, it was a place which has rightly been seen as a mirror of the soul of France herself. Its…
A Concise History of the Sunnis and Shi’is by John McHugo (Saqui Books, £20.00) John Bruton A few years back, very few Westerners would have been aware of the distinction between the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam. The aftermath of the invasion of Iraq changed all that. In a timely book, entitled A Concise History of…
Prayerful Ireland by Helena Connolly (Messenger Publications, €19.95) This richly illustrated book (mentioned briefly at Christmas time) is worth a longer notice, for as the summer days draw out (hopefully) the places she mentions may well be worth a visit. Her approach is suggested by the cover itself which shows an unusual view of Lough Derg,…
Listowel, a Printer’s Legacy: The Story of Printing in North Kerry 1870-1970, Vincent Carmody (Vincent Carmody, €35.00; ISBN: 9780992698898; email: info@listoweloriginals.com or call +353 (0) 87 966 7112.) This publication provides an account of the Cuthbertson family who conducted a printing business in Listowel for almost a hundred years. Robert Irvine Cuthbertson was born in…
Protestant and Irish: The minority’s search for place in independent Ireland Ian d’Alton and Ida Milne (Cork University Press, €49.00) This collection of essays provides a comprehensive account of Irish Protestants – their attitudes, the decisions they took and their role in public life – after the Irish Free State was established in 1922. Following the…
The River Liffey: History and Heritage by Christopher Moriarty (Collins Press, €21.99) Dubliners seem to take the Liffey much for granted. It has been flowing, Christopher Moriarty tell us in this very detailed account of the river and its course, for some ten millennia. It seems to have failed only once. In 1452, the old annals…
Mainly About Books by the books editor The other day I was reading a publisher’s announcement of a new book about 1916 (yes, another one, too late in the day we would have thought, with the centenary of the first Dáil upon us). In the article I came upon on a striking error. The…
The voyage of Italy: 200 years of travel guides National Gallery of Ireland 16 March – 15 September 2019 Room 11 | Admission free The National Gallery is currently showing selected items from the Sir Denis Mahon collection of guides and travel books about Italy. Naturally these were bought by the donor for the…
Peter Costello