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…
Despite the Covid-19 Level 3 restrictions, the RTÉ NSO continues its season at the National Concert Hall. Playing without audience and behind closed doors, the concerts are being broadcast on RTÉ Lyric fm and streamed live on www.rte.ie/culture on Friday nights at 7pm. The current series brings the welcome return of principal conductor Jaime Martín…
Last week I ended my column on the Trump-Biden Presidential debate. I wasn’t happy. I expected more from the Vice Presidential Debate, (RTÉ News Now, Sky News, CNN) on Wednesday night of last week and it was certainly an improvement, more civilised. The candidates, Mike Pence and Kamala Harris were more courteous, even gracious at…
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…
There have been quite a few changes on radio for the autumn season, with presenters moving around in a kind of media musical chairs, but some things stay the same. And so I was glad to see the recent return of The Leap of Faith (RTÉ Radio One) to its Friday night slot, with Michael…
While the new NPHET restrictions are of course necessary to get to the bottom of this whodunit we call Covid-19, they do raise the old questions of why the familiar fall guys (churches, cinemas, etc.) have again been targeted. Is the elephant in the room not the secondary schools? They opened in late August and…
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…
Brendan O’Regan
Peter Costello
Aubrey Malone