Sir William Orpen: A family legacy by Dominic Lee (Office of Public Works, €10.00) The Vision of a 19th Century Lensman Goddard Orpen 1852-1932 by Jeremy Hill (Monskgrange Archive, €65.00.) For an outing on a fine summer’s day, the house and estate of Farmleigh are a very attractive destination. At the moment, there are two exhibitions of…
Foreign Languages: Victorian language learning & the shaping of modern Ireland, by Phyllis Gaffney (UCD Press, €30.00 / £25.00) Though intended initially for an academic audience, Dr Phyllis Gaffney’s new book will have an appeal to anyone in any way interested in the evolution of modern Irish culture, not merely literary, but also social and…
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…
Peter Costello