Irish saints are, of course, not the only ones to have curious associations with birds and animals. Two remarkable instances are the lives of the Northumbrian St Cuthbert, and the even more remarkable legend of the Father of the Church, St Jerome. These are worth contrasting with our Irish saints. St Cuthbert and the otters…
St Kevin and the birds The little monasteries of early Christian Ireland derived their monastic ideals from the desert fathers of Egypt. But instead of some cave or remote hill top such as was to be found in the Libyan desert or in Sinai, they remained faithful to the notions of the ancient Celts, whose…
St Brendan and the sea beasts Brendan of Clonfert must be the most famous Irish saint after Patrick himself. Today, whereas most of the Irish saints listed in the in the reference books are hardly known, Brendan stands out, and this is entirely due to his fame as a sailor. He is always ‘Brendan the…
In the Shadow of Vesuvius: a Life of Pliny by Daisy Dunn (William Collins, £9.00 / €11.90) The Natural History by Pliny the Elder, translated with an introduction by John Healey (Penguin Classics, €15.99 / £9.99) The Letters of the Younger Pliny translated by Betty Radice (Penguin Classics, £9.99 / €9.42) A life of Pliny? Yes please, I said,…
To Love and to Serve: Selected Essays Exploring the Ignatian Tradition by Brian O’Leary SJ (Messenger Publications, €25.00 / £23.00) From the beginning of his career as a priest and academic Brian O’Leary has been involved in exploring various aspects of spirituality, especially as they derive from the Ignatian tradition to which he himself belongs. Much…
Counsels of the Holy Spirit: A Reading of Saint Ignatius’s Letters by Patrick C Goujon SJ, translated by Joseph Munitiz SJ (Messenger Publications, €14.95 / £12.95) Counsels of the Holy Spirit promises in the blurb that “the lay reader will find [it] an accessible and practical guide to the core concepts of Ignatian spirituality”. Being myself a…
A City Imagined: Belfast Soulscapes by Gerald Dawe (Merrion Press, €19.95) Joe Carroll Gerald Dawe grew up in pre-Troubles sectarian Belfast, and this slim book is his third attempt to re-capture what today can seem a magical time when poetry and music were flourishing on narrow streets. As Dawe took his first steps as a…
Whistlestop Tales: Around the World in 10 Bible Stories by Krish Kandiah and Miriam Kandiah (Hodder Faith / Young Explorers series, £10.99 / €12.99) This well-intentioned book for younger readers highlights an increasing problem in today’s culture. With the disappearance of the classics (Greek and Roman) from the curriculum, and the ever-narrowing perspectives of history being taught, young…
Author in Chief: The untold story of our presidents and the books they wrote by Craig Fehrman (Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster, $30) Felix M. Larkin All US presidents since Truman – including Truman – have written books, and many earlier presidents have also. These books generally fall into two categories: campaign books that…
Fatima, the Family and Church: Mary’s Message with Prayers and Devotions by Timothy Tindal Robertson and Donal Anthony Foley (Catholic Truth Society, £3.50 / €4.20) This booklet is by two writers who have between them decades of work in promoting Fatima. In 2013 Pope Francis decided to hold a Marian Day in the Year of Faith…
Peter Costello
Ruadhán Jones