The poet Yeats (to distinguish him from the painter Yeats) was of the opinion that ”Words alone are certain good”. And so they are, but only if we know what they mean, and use them properly. The other day, in discussing the consequences of a burglary, a friend remarked to me that the Civic Guard…
Category: Books
The last of the Irish wolves
Wolves in Ireland: A natural and cultural history By Kieran Hickey (Open Air / Four Courts Press, €29.95 / £25.97) Christopher Moriarty Wolves are beautiful creatures, with many of the most attractive characteristics of the domestic dogs of all shapes and sizes which are descended from them. That is the current view of the majority…
A familiar question to many
Can I Stay in the Church? By Brian Lennon SJ (Columba Press, €12.99 / £10.83) This is a question which many people, aside from media personalities, must be asking themselves. The last couple of decades have certainly shaken many people’s faith and adherence. But being a Catholic is not entirely a matter of being in some…
Spreading the pilgrim word
The Dominican Way Edited by Lucette Verboven, with an introduction by Timothy Radcliffe (Continum, €14.55 / £10.99) From the prominence of his name on the cover, it might be thought by some potential readers that Fr Radcliffe had a larger hand in this book than he had. It is in fact the work Lucette Verboven,…
Recent books in brief
Kimmage Manor: 100 Years of Service By Patrick J. Ryan CSSP (Columba Press, €16.99 / £14.00) Fr Ryan has divided his life’s work between Africa and teaching in Kimmage Manor. He has also served, the times being what they are, as a parish priest. In this history he recounts the foundation of the mission house of…
Uncertain soul of Catholic literature
The Pen and the Cross: Catholicism and English Literature 1850-2000 By Richard Griffiths (Continuum, €33 / £25) Eamon Maher Richard Griffiths has probably been best-known up until now for his defining study The Reactionary Revolution: The Catholic Revival in French Literature, 1870-1914 (Constable, 1966). His latest publication deals with English literature’s close relationship with Catholicism…
Up for the match in every way
My Sporting Life By Jimmy Deenihan (Red Hen Publishing, €20 / £16.50) There is a unique link between politics and sport in Ireland. This is nowhere more apparent than in this autobiography by Jimmy Deenihan. Appropriately entitled ‘My Sporting Life’, it charts his successful transition from the playing fields to Leinster House and eventually ministerial office.…
The reassuring sounds of silence
A Sunlit Absence: Silence, Awareness and Contemplation By Martin Laird (Oxford University Press, €15.85 / £11.99) Angela Macnamara The key to unlocking doorways of prayer is in our own silence. We live in times when ”our attention is riveted to surface noise” and silence is difficult to achieve. Even though some people live alone…
Recent books in brief
Nature’s Way: A Sense of Beauty By Patrick O’Sullivan (Veritas, €7.99 / £6.80 pb) ”If spring came but once a century instead of once a year….what wonder and expectation there would be in all our hearts.” Longfellow’s words are the author’s inspiration as he awakens us to the beauties of nature which we usually take for…
The politics of a patriot priest in 1848
Father John Kenyon: The Rebel Priest By Tim Boland (Published by the author, ISBN: 9781901370362; €20.00 / £17.50) This is a splendid biography of the mercurial Father John Kenyon, a patriotic priest who should be better known today than he is. Kenyon was born on May Day 1812 in Limerick city. He was educated locally, entered…