This week the civilised world has been marking the fourth centenary of the death of William Shakespeare, poet, playwright and businessman. Universally admired he may be, but his works have suffered many vicissitudes over the years. The man himself began as a poet in a classical sense. The dramas came perhaps as a way of…

One Bold Deed of Open Treason: the Berlin Diary of Roger Casement 1914-1916 edited by Angus Mitchell (Merrion Press, €19.95pb / €70.00hb) W. J. McCormack A lamentable feature of this year’s 1916 commemorative programme has been its failure to establish comprehensive and reliable editions of the insurrectionary leaders’ writings in which “the mind of the Rising” might be…

Our Lady of the Nations: Apparitions of Mary in 20th Century Catholic Europe by Chris Maunder (Oxford University Press, £25.00) Marian shrines are of great antiquity. At Knaresborough near Harrogate in England a small shrine, dedicated to Our Lady of the Crags, still survives. Built by John the Mason in 1408, and now the property of…

Dissonant Voices: Faith and the Irish Diaspora edited by Conn McGahhann (Institute for Theological Partnerships Publishing, £10.00) This book presents a selection of the papers read at a conference held in the London Irish Centre two years ago. Diaspora is given a very wide interpretation for the topics range from the 17th Century exiles in Europe,…

The Seven: The Lives and Legacies of the Founding Fathers of the Irish Republic by Ruth Dudley Edwards (Oneworld, £18.99) Peter Hegarty Dudley Edwards’ richly-detailed book is the fruit of a lifelong interest in the 1916 Rising and the seven men who formed the military council which led it. She admires the seven, in varying degrees, without…

A Slanting of the Sun by Donal Ryan (Black Swan Ireland, €10.99pb) Anna Farmar There’s a wistful longing in many of the stories in Donal Ryan’s third book A Slanting of the Sun – for kindness, for a sharing of love, for forgiveness – as the narrators remember the turning points when their lives went awry and…

Gospel Reflections, For Sundays of the Year C: Luke by Donal Neary SJ  (Irish Messenger Publications, €7.99pb) In the post-Easter call for reflection, which ought to affect all parts of our lives, Fr Donal Neary’s little book will be very relevant, as we still have a good part of Year C to run. Fr Neary…

The murky trade in modern religious relics The urge to have a relic associated with some loved one, some hero, some person of great spirituality, is as an old as humanity. It is a quite understandable emotion. For Christians it may take on added dimensions, but they are not alone in their emotions. But as…

Shane O’Neill by Ciaran Brady (Irish Historical Association/UCD Press, €17.00) This is an account of a complex character who lived in a period when the fortunes of the leaders of Irish Clans could change frequently and sometimes with dire consequences. Shane O’Neill was born into the O’Neill Clan c. 1530. The O’Neills at that time presided over…

From Christendom to Americanism and Beyond: The Long, Jagged Trail to a Postmodern Void by Thomas Storck (Angelico Press, £11.95pb) Donal Anthony Foley From Christendom to Americanism and Beyond is a collection of essays written by Thomas Storck, who is a member of the editorial board of The Chesterton Review. In the past Storck has taught history at Christendom…