The 17 Irish Martyrs by Mary McAleese (Columba Books, 2022). Thomas J. Morrisssey On 27 September 1992, Pope John Paul II beatified sixteen Irishmen and one Irish woman. They are the 17 about whom sometime president of Ireland Dr Mary McAleese writes in her latest book. Each one of them chose to die a martyr rather…

Naming of the Bones by John F. Deane (Carcanet Press, £12.99/€14.95) Thomas McCarthy A founder of Poetry Ireland and Dedalus Press, as well as Secretary-General of the European Academy of Poetry, Achill native John F. Deane is highly unusual among our great humanist horde of world poets in that he has remained a man of…

A world after Liberalism: Philosophers of the Radical Right, by Matthew Rose (Yale University Press, £20.00/€25.00) Frank Litton Samuel Francis was a well-respected voice in conservative circles in the United States. He won several national awards for his column in the right-leaning Washington Times. Until, that is, 1995 when he went too far in his…

Teresa Ball and Loreto Education: Convents and the Colonial World 1794 -1875 by Deirdre Raftery (Four Courts Press 2022) Frances Ball was born in Dublin on January 9, 1794. John Ball, her father, was a wealthy Dublin silk merchant. Although a convert, he was at that time one of the most prominent Catholic citizens of Dublin.…

Tolkien’s Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages by Holly Ordway (Word on Fire Academic, €25.00 / £20.99) There is a widespread belief that JRR Tolkien, the famous Catholic author of The Lord of the Rings, was against all things modern. Whether it was  industrialisation, morals or literature, the narrative goes that he gave credence to…

Journey’s End: The Truth about Life after Death by Colm Keane (Capel Island Press (€14.99 / £12.99) In classical times some Greek philosophers likened the soul to a butterfly erupting from the very different chrysalis. The implication was that the “next life” of the human soul is likewise so different that it cannot be imagined…

Travelling on Titanic with Father Browne by EE O’Donnell SJ, foreword by Dr Robert D. Ballard (Messenger Publications, €25.00 / 23.00) Published last week, to mark the 110th anniversary of the sinking of RMS Titanic, this evocative collection shows Frank Browne’s photographs taken on the leg of the ship’s maiden voyage from England to Queenstown.…

From the first century Christians and others have been interested in visiting the Holy Land and seeing the places associated with the life and death of Jesus. This is especially so at the pivotal feasts of the year, at Christmas and now at Eastertide. In the early days this was a once-in-a-life time journey and…

The San Damiano Cross: An Icon of the Crucifixion by Madeleine Stewart (Conard Press, €12.00 / £10.50; ISBN 978-1-9161432-0-3; orders to conardicons.com) Madeline Stewart, who is an accredited expert on icons and their interpretation lives in Northern Ireland, but mentally she is a well-travelled global person through her explorations of icons of the Orthodox tradition.…

Limerick: Snapshots of the Treaty City and County 1840–1960 by Tom Donovan and Vincent Carmody, forward by JP McManus, preface by Matthew Potter (Poundlane Publications, €35.00/£30.00) Limerick is a much-storied city which traces its origin back to its establishment by the Vikings in 821. The authors take just a snapshot of that history, zooming in on…