by John F. Deane Seamus Heaney famously said: “The biggest change in my lifetime has been the evaporation of the transcendent from all our discourse and our sense of human destiny.” Heaney was speaking out of a time when Christian faith was static, and had been static for centuries. Faith in Christ had only begun…
Voices from a Torrid Time by Séamus Connellan (Carlow Advertiser and Printing, Carlow; no price stated) This is a remarkable pictorial history of the revolutionary period from 1916 to 1923, leading to the emergence of the new Irish state. In more than 130 illustrations the author focuses on the major events in those years with…
Seven Voices of Joy by Lorcan Kenny (Veritas, €9.99) The Mindful Our Father by Thomas G. Casey SJ (Messenger Publications, €14.95) Lorcan Kenny is a priest of the diocese of Killaloe, where he has worked as a school chaplain for the last two decades. In another capacity he is also involved with a primary school…
The first great charity of this town: Belfast Charitable Society and its role in the developing city edited by Olwen Purdue (Irish Academic Press, €29.95/£24.99) The Belfast Charitable Society was established in 1752 for the purpose of raising funds to build a poorhouse and hospital for the poor of Belfast. The result was the building…
Religion & the Rise of Sport in England by Hugh McLeod (Oxford University Press, €34.00/£30.00) Prior to the World Cup which opened in Qatar on Sunday, letter which FIFA has sent to all 32 countries taking part asking them to “focus on the football” in Qatar rather than “every ideological and political battle that exists”,…
Maynooth College reflects on facing Life’s End Perspectives on Dying and Death edited by Jeremy Corley and others, with a foreword by Archbishop Farrell €14.95 /£12.95) This book represents, in my view, an interesting development in the teaching tradition of Maynooth, now of course a much larger and very different institution than it was back…
by Frank Litton A force for good? Reflections on neutrality and the future of Irish defence. Dublin: Afri 2022, ISBN 0-9511178-3-5 (Afri can be reached at 8 New Cabra Road, Dublin7, DO7 T1W2; email: admin@afri.ie) War once more in Europe, once more slaughter, devastation, lives destroyed. Once more efforts to make sense of it all,…
Disciples of Courage: Ten Christian Lives that Inspire by Brendan Comerford SJ (Messenger Publications, €19.95/£18.95) November has long been a month devoted to recalling the dead and to celebrating their achievements. With the constant pursuit of novelty and celebrity these days, such as Halloween and the commercialisation of the Dia de los Muertos (the Mexican…
Life in Abundance: Attractiveness of the Catholic Way of Life, by Eamon Flanagan CM (Kolbe Publications, €10.00). This collection of essays and poems contains a large measure of wisdom and useful information. But this is not all for also at the outset the author provides an excellent reading-list for those who wish to pursue what…
by the editors of Sacred Space (Messenger Publications, €7.95/£6.95) The season of Advent begins at the end of next week, so now is the time to acquire this little seasonal volume, from a long familiar source. Through the prayers and meditations readers will be reminded of the synodal journey on which the people of God…
Peter Costello