Impressionism and its Overlooked Women, curated by Dorthe Vangsgaard Nielsen, and seven contributors (Ordrupgaard, €45.00 / £38.50) The special summer exhibition at the National Gallery of Ireland celebrates the women painters of the Impressionist movement in art. The just opened exhibition has been organised by Ordrupgaard in Denmark in collaboration with the National Gallery, and…
Emerging from the Mess, by Brendan McManus SJ and Jim Deeds (Messenger Publications, €12.95 / £11.95) The cover of this third book in the series begun with Finding God in the Mess and continued with Deeper into the Mess, brought to mind (for me at least) the words of St John Henry Neman’s poem (only later a hymn), written while…
Journeys of the Mind: A Life in History, by Peter Brown (Princeton University Press, £38.00) Peter Brown, a Dubliner, is probably the most famous historian of early Christianity alive today. This is his autobiography (although thus to pigeonhole it, is to do this magnificent book a grave disservice, for it is far more than just…
Dane Jeross: The Irish Private Eye who Operates Hollywood Noir Style, by Cyril McHale (Available from Amazon Media Eu: kindle edition, £9.99; paperback, £11.00.) Every classic Hollywood film is essentially a story and all of human life is to be found in those stories. They range from stories about the ‘Wild West’ to accounts…
The Best Loved Poems of Gabriel Fitzmaurice, with an introduction by Declan Kiberd (Mercier Press, €12.99) Those of us who remember Listowel Writers’ Week in its earliest days will never forget the singing and cajoling presence of a whipper-snapper young poet called Gabriel Fitzmaurice – there he would be in the foyer of the…
John Moriarty: Grounded in Story, Edited by Amanda Carmody and Mary McGillicuddy (The Lilliput Press, €25.00 / £21.50) The mystic John Moriarty is one of modern Ireland unique writers, but he achieved this position through a life of varied and equally unique experiences. John Moriarty was born in Moyvane, near Listowel, Co. Kerry, on…
Caribbean Slave Owners & Other Lesser-Known Histories from County Mayo, by Dr M. M. O’Connor (Published by the author at The Morrigan, Murrisk, Westport, Co. Mayo, €25.00) This is a book which only recently came to my notice, for it was not sent to us for review. Certainly the title captures your attention at…
The Captain and the Saint: The Story of St Oliver Plunkett, by Fintan Tracey (Published by Fintan Tracey, Drogheda, €10.00 plus €2.50 postage, direct from fintansfineart@gmail.com) Next year marks the 400th anniversary of the birth of St Oliver Plunkett. This little book by Drogheda-based artist Fintan Tracey is the first small droplet of what will…
Some Occasional Writings 2003-2024, by J. Anthony Gaughan (Kingdom Books, €25.00 / £21.50) Reviews and occasional writings are exactly that, articles written to meet a specific occasion. And yet since the 18th century such pieces have provided some of the finest and most entertaining writing available. I relish and reread such collections as Graham…
Fully alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times, by Elizabeth Oldfield (London: Hodder & Stoughton, £18.99 / €26.99) Elizabeth Oldfield directed the London based ‘think-tank’, Theos from 2011 to 2022. Established in 2006 with the support of Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor, the then Archbishop of Westminster and the then Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Theos researches issues…
Peter Costello