Turner: The Sun is God, Exhibition at the National Gallery of Ireland, mounted in association with the Tate Gallery London; runs to 6 February 2023; Beit Wing, Rooms 6-10; tickets €5 (entry free on Wednesdays, 9.15-11.30 am) Curated by Niamh MacNally and David Blayney Brown Many years ago the English painter John Piper remarked that…
Ireland’s Call: Navigating Brexit, by Stephen Collins (Red Stripe Press / Orpen Press, €19.99 / £19.99) This new book by the Irish Times political columnist is a splendid account of how Brexit was hatched and has become a matter of grave contention. One of the main sources for Stephen Collins’ book is the diary of…
Lydia: A Story by Paula Gooder (Hodder & Stoughton, £16.99 / €19.99) A couple of weeks ago, over a Saturday lunch, we were discussing with a friend in her large rural garden, the question of those recent novels which mix history and fiction. The case in point was Colm Tobin’s book on Thomas Mann. I…
The tenure of Dr Sean Rainbird at the National Gallery ended in September. During his reign he was active in bringing to the Merrion Square Gallery a series of European derived exhibitions which were of immense interest, lively Continental experiences for visitors to enjoy. The Board of the Gallery announced back in August that the…
In the School of Saint Benedict: Benedictine Spirituality for Every Christian by Dom Xavier Perrin OSB (Gracewing, €11.99/£9.99) The author of this little book is currently the superior of Quarr Abbey, beautifully situated overlooking the sea on the Isle of Wight. This was where the Benedictines of Solesmes in Sarthe in the Pays de Loire…
Orpen at War: a novel by Patricia O’Reilly (The Liffey Press, €22.95/£19.95) This is an illustrated biographical novel featuring dozens of Sir William Orpen’s paintings and drawings largely of the Western front in the Great War, in which he was engaged as an official war artist. Orpen, even then recognised as one of Ireland’s most…
“Your Word is a Lamp on my Path”: Reflections on the weekday readings for the liturgical year 2022-2023 by Martin Hogan (Messenger Publications, €19.95/£18.95) Martin Hogan is the curate at Finglas, Finglas West and Rivermount. Readers can imagine just how busy he must be in his pastoral work. The service to the city comes after…
The Horse of Selene by Juanita Casey, with an afterword by Mary M. Burke (Tramp Press, €16.00/£12.99) We are so flooded these days with works of modern genius, that all too many books once admired, or widely read, or necessary in some way, are driven down into forgetfulness. These books from the past are the…
The Way We Were: Catholic Ireland Since 1922 by Mary Kenny (Columba Books, €19.99/£17.99) Mary Kenny’s new book is of great importance, and in its arrangement will enlighten many about what has become a controversial aspect of our recent past. The first section deals with the course of Irish history, basically since the founding of…
Rainbows and Windmills by Peter Tarleton Stewart (Columba Books, €14.99/£13.99) Peter Tarleton Stewart retired two years ago after 46 years as an active Anglican pastor and parish priest. From those long years of widely spread and varied experience not only among his parishioners, but also with students, the sick and imprisoned, he has seen many…
Peter Costello