The world of books The present controversy over state prosecutions for blasphemy has raised once again unresolved issues concerning our libel laws, issues which really need to be settled once and for all. On the matter of blasphemy, the law has nothing to do with the Christian Churches, but is rather an attempt to mollify…

In the century since the events on the plateau near the village of Fatima a multitude of books have been published dealing with the apparitions, and the coming century will undoubtedly bring many more. But many of these books merely provide summaries and comments, rather than new information. Many of the commentaries are couched in…

Selected Prayers by Pope Francis (Veritas, €4.99) Prayer, according to Pope Francis, helps a person to keep their faith in God, and to entrust themselves to him even when they do not understand his will. “Prayer brings you to hope,” the Pope adds. “And when things become dark, with more prayer there will be more hope”– …

The World of Books There is an old saying that one should not judge a book by its cover. But that is exactly what I propose to do. Or rather to judge the publishers and promoters of the volume, rather than the author of the text. That will be left to another hand. The book…

A Man Sent by God: Blessed John Sullivan SJ by John Looby SJ (Messenger Publications, Beatification souvenir hardback edition, €14.95, paperback €9.95) This Saturday in ceremonies at the Jesuit church in Gardiner Street,  the Venerable John Sullivan will be raised to the status of Blessed, another stage on the path to his eventual canonisation. This…

Felix M. Larkin The Easter Proclamation 1916, a comparative analysis by Liam de Paor (Four Courts Press, €14.95pb) The words “Easter Proclamation” in the title of this book are singularly ill-judged. They evoke the sacred Easter Proclamation, the Exsultet, sung at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night and so they reinforce the identification of…

Ordinary People: Dennis Dinneen’s Photographs at the Douglas Hyde Gallery Denis Dinneen: Small Town Portraits text by Kevin Barry, with 32 monochrome plates (Douglas Hyde Gallery, €10.00pb) Dennis Dinneen (1927–1985) earned his living as a publican and taxi driver in Macroom, Co. Cork. But as a side line he also acted as a local photographer,…

Living Stream of Catholicism: View of the Catholic Church Through the Centuries by Eamon Flanagan (St Pauls, £7.95) The author sets out to highlight the living stream of Catholicism throughout the centuries and this he achieves in prose and poetry.  At the outset he divides world history into a number of segments which will be…

Inside the Monkey House: My Time as an Irish Prison Officer by John Cuffe (Collins Press, € 12.99) John Cuffe dealt with some of the most depraved and violent people in this country during his 30 years as a prison officer, between 1978 and 2007. During his long years in Arbour Hill, where the worst…

Felix M. Larkin Ireland: The Autobiography – One hundred years in the life of the nation, told by its people ed. by John Bowman (Penguin Ireland, €25/£20) Shakespeare’s stage Irishman in Henry V, Captain Macmorris, famously asks “What ish my nation?” He answers his own question with these words: “Ish a villain, and a bastard,…