The 17 Irish Martyrs by Mary McAleese (Columba Books, 2022). Thomas J. Morrisssey On 27 September 1992, Pope John Paul II beatified sixteen Irishmen and one Irish woman. They are the 17 about whom sometime president of Ireland Dr Mary McAleese writes in her latest book. Each one of them chose to die a martyr rather…
Naming of the Bones by John F. Deane (Carcanet Press, £12.99/€14.95) Thomas McCarthy A founder of Poetry Ireland and Dedalus Press, as well as Secretary-General of the European Academy of Poetry, Achill native John F. Deane is highly unusual among our great humanist horde of world poets in that he has remained a man of…
There are a number of films available on Amazon dealing with the theme of sexual and other types of abuse. It’s a subject we hear quite a lot about nowadays. While the material doesn’t generally make for comfortable viewing it’s something we shouldn’t shy away from. Miss Violence was widely acclaimed at the Venice film…
I used to avoid television dramas based on true stories – impossible to know what was added for dramatic effect, and the ending, if you were lucky enough to get a satisfying one, was often known already. Recent dramas have changed my mind – these shows are really well made, there are satisfying twists and…
A world after Liberalism: Philosophers of the Radical Right, by Matthew Rose (Yale University Press, £20.00/€25.00) Frank Litton Samuel Francis was a well-respected voice in conservative circles in the United States. He won several national awards for his column in the right-leaning Washington Times. Until, that is, 1995 when he went too far in his…
Teresa Ball and Loreto Education: Convents and the Colonial World 1794 -1875 by Deirdre Raftery (Four Courts Press 2022) Frances Ball was born in Dublin on January 9, 1794. John Ball, her father, was a wealthy Dublin silk merchant. Although a convert, he was at that time one of the most prominent Catholic citizens of Dublin.…
Tolkien’s Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages by Holly Ordway (Word on Fire Academic, €25.00 / £20.99) There is a widespread belief that JRR Tolkien, the famous Catholic author of The Lord of the Rings, was against all things modern. Whether it was industrialisation, morals or literature, the narrative goes that he gave credence to…
Journey’s End: The Truth about Life after Death by Colm Keane (Capel Island Press (€14.99 / £12.99) In classical times some Greek philosophers likened the soul to a butterfly erupting from the very different chrysalis. The implication was that the “next life” of the human soul is likewise so different that it cannot be imagined…
Travelling on Titanic with Father Browne by EE O’Donnell SJ, foreword by Dr Robert D. Ballard (Messenger Publications, €25.00 / 23.00) Published last week, to mark the 110th anniversary of the sinking of RMS Titanic, this evocative collection shows Frank Browne’s photographs taken on the leg of the ship’s maiden voyage from England to Queenstown.…
Kansas-born mezzo Joyce DiDonato returned to the National Concert Hall (NCH) recently as part of its International Concert Series 2022. The impeccable instrumental ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro accompanied her again, this time directed by young Russian conductor and harpsichordist, Maxim Emelyanychev. Strangely-lit Entitled EDEN, the evening was a strangely-lit staged event where a circular centrepiece…
Aubrey Malone
Brendan O’Regan
Ruadhán Jones
Peter Costello