Retreat from Revolution: the Dáil Courts 1920 to 1924 by Mary Kotsonouris (Irish Academic Press, €18.95) This book shows that Ireland did really undergo a revolution between 1919 and 1923. The old legal order was progressively undermined, delegitimised, and eventually overthrown. But it was not fully and formally replaced until the enactment of the Courts of…
Fearfully & Wonderfully: The Marvel of Bearing God’s Image by Dr Paul Brand & Philip Yancey (Hodder Books, £9.99; Kindle edition, £9.99) These days, with the daily news dominated by medical fears of all kinds and our inability to cope, many people all too conscious of the frailties of the human body and the effects that…
Conjugal Love: A Path to God edited by The Friends of Father Caffarel (€14.00; available from Married Spirituality, 66 Mount Albany, Blackrock, Co Dublin A94 AC81 at www.marriedspirituality.com ) Any discussion on this book must begin with Fr Henri Caffarel. He was born in Lyon, France, on July 30, 1903. From his earliest years he exhibited…
An appreciation by Felix M. Larkin Sr Margaret MacCurtain, who died on October 5, aged 91, was an outstanding academic historian, but was better known to the public at large as a feminist and social activist. She taught for 30 years in University College Dublin, where she was revered by generations of students. A member…
The Culture of God: The Syrian Jesus, Reading the Divine Mind, Sailing into the Divine Heart by Nadim Nassar (Hodder & Stoughton, £14.99) Anthony Redmond Nadim Nassar is the first Syrian Christian to become a priest in the Church of England. This is his first book and it’s well worth reading. He says of his life…
The Old Gunner and his Medals by Brendan Lynch (Mountjoy Publishing, €12.00; ISBN 978-0-9513668-3-7) Brendan Lynch’s novel, published at the age of 80, is (all going well) an Irish classic in the making. The novel never misses a step. From beginning to end it reads flawlessly as an account of a darker side of Irish history…
Celtic Studies in Europe and other Essays by Seán Ó Lúing (Geography Publications, €38.00/£29.99) This collection of interesting essays by the late Seán Ó Lúing, the noted scholar, can be categorised under three headings: autobiography, the Irish language and Higher Studies. Those on staff of the Institute of Advanced Studies are particularly valuable. They provide biographies…
The Identitarians: The Movement against Globalism and Islam in Europe by José Pedro Zúquete (University of Notre Dame Press, £32.00/$39.00) Frank Litton We live in an age of adjectives. While going back over past controversies, it is hard not to note how often adjectives are deployed to deflect, or halt argument. The commentariat are less concerned…
The Bible. A Story that makes sense of Life by Andrew Ollerton (Hodder & Stoughton, £14. 99; available in bookshops this month) The Bible, from Genesis to the Epistles, provides the common ground for belief for Christians of all tradition, East and West. And yet again, from East to West, they have drawn such varied notions…
Mainly About Books by the Books Editor While the country continues to struggle with the effects of the pandemic, the outcome of which is still unclear in its development, some are turning their thoughts to thinking about what needs to be done, especially in the Dublin region where the disease has been most dangerous. Planning…
Peter Costello