Vincent de Paul: The Lazarist Mission and French Catholic Reform by Alison Forrestal (Oxford University Press, £70) Clear Vision: the life and legacy of Noel Clear, Social Justice Champion, 1937-2003 by Gerry Jeffers (Veritas, €16.99) Daire Keogh Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) is synonymous with charity and virtue, but, in Ireland his popular acclaim rests largely on the…
The GAA Immortals: 100 Gaelic Games Legends by John Scally (Black & White Publishing, €21.00) This is a compilation of biographical sketches of footballers, hurlers and team-managers who were household names in the GAA world during the last 100 years. The list of 55 footballers begins with Dick Fitzgerald. He won five All-Ireland championships for Kerry…
God is Stranger: What Happens When God Turns Up? by Krish Kandiah (Hodder & Stoughton, £9.99) Emily Keyes When people suffer tragedies, they often do one of two things with their faith: they either turn to it for comfort, meaning and healing, or they abandon it, saying they can no longer believe in or have a…
The Life and Times of Daniel Murray: Archbishop of Dublin 1823 – 1852 by Thomas J. Morrissey SJ (Messenger Publications, €27.00) Tom Morrissey’s latest book is one which everyone interested in Irish Church history has long looked for. It was as a pastoral bishop that the great Daniel Murray excelled. It is no exaggeration to claim…
Forged In Crisis: The Power of Courageous Leadership in Turbulent Times by Nancy Koehn (John Murray, £14.99) Joe Carroll The five ‘leaders’ discussed in this book are an unusual mix: the Antarctic explorer, Ernest Shackleton; US President Abraham Lincoln; anti-slavery campaigner and ex-slave, Frederick Douglass; German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer; and finally Rachael Carson, author of The Silent…
Philosophy of Religion: A Very Short Introduction by Tim Bayne (Oxford University Press, £7.99) Emily Keyes Christian theological scholar Don Cupitt says that philosophy is, at its heart, critical thinking, while academic philosopher Simon Blackburn thinks of philosophy as ‘a process of reflection on the deepest concepts, that is structures of thought, that make up…
Dirty Glory: Go Where Your Best Prayers Take You by Pete Greig (Hodder & Stoughton, £9.99) Emily Keyes In a world that seems increasingly ambivalent to religion and God, Pete Greig’s ‘24-7 prayer revolution’ is nothing short of incredible. Started in 1999, the prayer movement began as a humble gathering of young people curious to learn…
Fáilte Pope Francis … from the Children of Ireland (Columba Press, €14.99) This delightful book had its origins in a competition run by The Irish Catholic with primary schools all over Ireland encouraging young children to write a letter of welcome to the Pope on his visit in August this year to Dublin for the…
In the years immediately after the ending of the Great War, or the “War to save civilisation” as WWI was once called, Europe and then the wider world became aware of the existence in a remote village in Southern Italy of a priest for whom the most extraordinary claims, not just of piety, but of…
What We Talk About When We Talk About Faith by Peter Stanford (Hodder & Stoughton, £14.99) Emily Keyes Though religion implies community, it is easy to forget that religion is also an individual pursuit, with each practitioner possessing their own understanding of faith. This is what Peter Stanford, a long-time journalist for the Catholic Herald with…
Peter Costello