Imagining Alternative Irelands in 1912: Cultural Discourse in the Periodical Press Brian Ward (Four Courts Press, €50) Felix M. Larkin Historians should always be conscious of the importance of contingency in shaping events. As the distinguished American historian David McCullough, biographer of John Adams and Harry Truman, says: “Nothing ever had to happen the way it happened.…
The Living Gospel: Daily Devotions for Lent 2018 by Ann M. Garrido (Ave Maria Press / Alban Books, £2.99) The Feast of the Nativity just over, and the New Year hardly begun, then the mind of the Church turns towards Lent, which begins less than three weeks from now, Easter being this year on…
Alfie: The Life and Times of Alfie Byrne by Trevor White (Penguin Ireland, €20.00) Almost alone, Alfie Byrne survives in the larger public memory as the quintessential Lord Mayor of Dublin, almost a ‘Mr Dublin’. The chance play of politics meant that he filled the office for a decade, between the three man commission…
The Kilderry Files a novel by Maurice Manning (Currach Press, €14.99) This novel is set in the pre-and post-Vatican II period. An elderly Irish bishop dies and his successor discovers in his papers US stocks and shares worth millions of dollars. Wishing to dispose of these without questions being asked as to their source,…
The World of Books by the Books Editor At this time of the year many people are thinking about and booking their summer holidays. Not many I suspect, planning that annual stay in the sun- drenched Umbrian region of central Italy, will be considering its connection with Lough Derg and with the medieval shrine…
Brexit & Ireland: The Dangers, the Opportunities, and the Inside Story of the Irish Response by Tony Connelly (Penguin Ireland, €20) Joe Carroll Tony Connelly is RTÉ’s European Correspondent based in Brussels. He reports on EU affairs with clarity and precision and he analyses developments as they affect Ireland with insight and detachment. In other words…
Quality Time at St Chinian by Patrick Masterson (Liberties Press, €14.99) Many people have enjoyed Ronald Searle’s The Terror of St Trinians and its sequel of comedy films. With an unmistakable reference to it in the title, Masterson provides a foretaste of this debut novel. Just as Searle described the eccentricities and idiocies of the staff…
Collusion: How Russia Helped Trump Win the White House by Luke Harding (Guardian / Faber. £14.99) Peter Hegarty It’s no secret that Vladimir Putin supported Donald Trump in the recent presidential election. The two men are kindred spirits, white nationalists who dream of returning their countries to past greatness. They have cooperated, and more closely than is…
Journey of Ten Thousand Smiles by Patricia Keane (Rebuild for Bosnia, Monasterevin, €16.95; for over the phone sales call 045 532 410) In November 1996 I accompanied Fr Kevin Doheny, CSSp, on a journey from Medjugorje to Sarajevo. He had been a missionary in Biafra, where there were thousands of displaced people and refugees after…
The Post Office in Ireland: An Illustrated History by Stephen Ferguson (Irish Academic Press, €26.99) At this time of the year over Christmas and the New Year we come to appreciate the post, which brings messages of love and peace and presents from relatives and friends all over the world, some not seen in person…
Peter Costello