The First Irish Cities: an Eighteenth-Century Transformation by David Dickson (Yale University Press, £25.00/€32.00) In this study Prof. Dickson selects ten Irish cities and towns, subjects them to a forensic historical analysis and illustrates in meticulous detail their evolution throughout the 18th Century. The urban centres he selects are: Belfast, Cork, Derry, Drogheda, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny,…
A Life of Sir Horace Plunkett by Maurice Colbert (Copies can be purchased directly from the author at: 086 821 9584, or email mcolbert@live.ie Price: €20+postage) This book brings to mind that passage in Gulliver’s Travels, where that hardy sea man is in dialogue with the king of Brobdingnag about the virtues of their respective nations. “And he gave…
With so much grim stuff in the media you’d need a few uplifting programmes every week to keep the spirits high. This past week the best of these for me was Nationwide (RTÉ One, Wednesday) a repeat of a special documentary presented by Colm Flynn on the work of Sr Ethel Normoyle from Lissycasey, Co.…
Looking at a BBC Prom, devoted to Stravinsky, on TV recently reminded me that this year commemorates the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death in New York in 1971. Igor Stravinsky was born into a musical family in Oranienbaum near St Petersburg in 1882. While his parents hoped he would become a lawyer Igor persuaded…
Saint Francis of Assisi and the wolf of Gubbio St Francis of Assisi, canonised in 1228, a mere century after his death, must be one of the most universally venerated saints in the world, a man widely respected beyond the Christian community. This is partly due to his special relationship with birds and animals. In…
Who will ever forget the summer of 2021 when both the weather and Covid-19 conspired to keep us out of cinemas? When we went back to them, all they seemed to offer us was horror. Old is a supernatural thriller from M. Night Shyamalan about a family who find themselves ageing at an alarming rate…
If there are, broadly speaking, two sides of an argument, I like to hear from both sides together. Too often inadequately informed or biased presenters just have one side at a time and are unable or unwilling to put the hard questions. So, I enjoyed the discussion on the Pat Kenny Show (Newstalk, Wednesday) between…
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…
Confession: I’ve developed a taste for dark thrillers – with plenty on Netflix, while Channel 4 has their Walter Presents series, where they show the first episode of a series on live television and then the full series online via All 4. Dark Stockholm Requiem (All Four) is one that is pretty dark, starting as it…
Normally I’d be very pleased to find a programme where the Rosary figured prominently but on the main channels this doesn’t happen very often. However, it was a mixed blessing on The 8th (RTÉ One, Wednesday) that much-hyped documentary on the repeal of the Eighth Amendment. It’s often said that the victor writes the history,…
Peter Costello
Brendan O’Regan
Aubrey Malone