On the occasion of his retirement in 2018 as organist of Christ Church Cathedral Waterford, Dean Maria Jansson described Eric Sweeney as “a man of deep faith for whom music is his language with God”. Eric Sweeney’s final service coincided with the ordination to the Church of Ireland priesthood of former leader of the Green…
It was a week of ‘good example, bad example’ – concepts you don’t hear much about these days, though we constantly hear about the importance of ‘influencers’. It’s a term usually reserved for obscure ‘celebrities’ on social media yet good role models are still so important for inspiring the young and boosting flagging morale among…
Between two Hells: the Irish Civil War by Diarmaid Ferriter (Profile Books, €20/€24.69) Felix M. Larkin How does a nation mark the centenary of a civil war? This is a problem which we in Ireland have to confront in 2022. Prof. Diarmaid Ferriter’s advice in this book is that we “need to factor in restraint” and…
St Chinian University Comes of Age, by Paddy Masterson (Pegasus Press/Elliot Mackenzie Publishers, £10.99) Patrick Masterson served as president of University College Dublin from 1986 to 1993 and was president of the European University Institute in Florence from 1994 to 2002. His novels are the fruit of his first-hand and practical experience of how insignificant, first-world…
In My Mind’s Eye: Walking Among Ghosts by Brigid Kavanagh; stories and poems compiled and edited by Sean and Declan Kavanagh (€12.00) available online at www.buythebook.ie, or by contacting pettitmaggie955@gmail.com Sean Ryan This 300-plus-page book is an anthology of, and a tribute to, the writing of 95-year-old Brigid Kavanagh, who puts to good use her keen observations of…
Anne Yeats: The Everyday Fantastic National Gallery of Ireland; Exhibition runs until 9 October 2022, Room 11 Admission free (book a free general admission ticket in advance) Anne Yeats was the niece of Jack Butler Yeats, and those who have seen the tremendous show of his painting in the NGI should be sure not to miss…
Up to last Friday lunchtime I had never heard of Sir David Amess MP, and having heard all the wonderful tributes that followed his tragic death I wish I had. Shortly after lunch, news of the stabbing started trickling through on Twitter. I was listening to Sheelagh Fogarty (LBC) where it was the main topic…
Tom Sullivan’s evocative Irish language drama Arracht (12A) – the literal translation of the word is ‘monster’ – like Lance Daly’s Black ‘47 of a few years ago, has English subtitles. They may throw some people but it’s primarily a visual experience so they don’t over-intrude. Set in 1845 on the eve of the Famine,…
Ireland’s October music calendar is usually dominated by events in Wexford and, happy to relate, following last year’s Covid restrictions, the curtain will rise again on the town’s international opera festival next week. Reinstate Running from Tuesday October 19 to Sunday October 31, festival director Rosetta Cucchi has managed to salvage her 2020 plans and…
This is the second book by NUI academics Prof. Breslin and Dr Buckley in which they use advanced computer technology to “restore”, or rather add natural colour tones to photographs enlivening the original monochrome. I have my doubts about this technique, as have many historians and photographers. But looking through these pages I found images of…
Brendan O’Regan
Aubrey Malone
Peter Costello