Parnell and his times ed. by Joep Leerssen (Cambridge University Press, £30.00) Felix M. Larkin It is often difficult to find an appropriate print outlet for a scholarly paper prepared for a particular occasion or otherwise in a very specific context. The fruits of much research and reflection are thereby lost. A volume like this is,…
On Tuesday of last week the sad story of the healthy baby aborted in Holles Street Hospital was the main story on RTÉ News at Nine, a welcome acknowledgement of a high profile casualty of repealing of the Eighth Amendment. Next morning on Newstalk Breakfast presenter Ciara Kelly mentioned it first in her review of…
In Reasonable Hope: Philosophical Reflections on Ultimate Meaning by Patrick Masterson (Catholic University of America Press, $34.95pb/ £22.99; if required a case bound edition is available at £99.00) In this study Patrick Masterson poses the question: ‘What does it all ultimately mean?’ In effect he is asking what is the purpose of our lives? The response…
Joyce the Student: University College 1898-1902, Dublin by John Kelly (Gleoiteog Press, €15.50/£12.99) During June an air of Joycean enthusiasm descends on Dublin, with all kinds of events — and even non-events in the eyes of some — taking place. This year, however, a local writer makes a real contribution by the publication of a book,…
Up From the Ashes: A Syrian Doctor’s Story of Sacrifice and Hope by ‘Dr A’ with Samara Levy (Hodder & Stoughton, £16.99/€19.99) Anthony Redmond This is a truly incredible and inspiring story of a Syrian Christian doctor who decided to stay in his country and help as many people as he could after the horrific war…
It’s always good to see a new channel being launched, though the level of welcome depends on the quality. GB News (more opinions than news actually), which launched last week, has been described as ‘right-leaning’ or ‘anti-woke’ and has been compared by its detractors to being like Fox News (I hope it isn’t!). One of…
As at the time I was a devotee of soprano Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, I made my first visit to the Salzburg Festival to hear her singing the roles of the Marschallin in Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier and Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte. Like Der Rosenkavalier, the Cosi performance was all one could hope for under…
To Kidnap a Pope: Napoleon and Pius VII by Ambrogio A. Caini (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, £ 20.00 / €24.00) Frank Litton Of all the themes in European history, the relationship between Church and state, religion and politics, has had the greatest impact in making Europe what it is. With the French Revolution,…
God is Not a White Man: And other revelations by Chine McDonald (London: Hodder & Stoughton, £16.99 / €19.70 ) Kevin Hargaden Have you ever noticed the way tights are marketed? The hosiery section of Marks and Spencer is an unlikely place to experience a revelation, but God can use any means to illuminate us. Dispatched…
Revolutionary: Who Was Jesus? Why Does He Still Matter? edited by Tom Holland (SPCK Publishing), £19.99 / €23.99 It is a very popular question today to ask ‘who is X’? The answer expected is one that must, in a few short sentences, sum-up exactly who X is. That is an ambitious target, so to add on a second…
Brendan O’Regan
Peter Costello
Ruadhán Jones