Saving the State: Fine Gael from Collins to Varadkar by Stephen Collins and Ciara Meehan (Gill Books, €24.99/£22.50) Representatives of CumannnanGaedheal, the National Guard and the National Centre Party established Fine Gael on September 2, 1933. Eoin O’Duffy, leader of the National Guard – also known as the Blueshirts because of the apparel of its members –…
Old Ireland in Colour by John Breslin and Sarah-Anne Buckley (Merrion Press, €24.95/£22.90) The idea of this book will delight many people, and it should prove to be a huge Christmas time bestseller. The creators have taken a wide range of historical photographs, some very familiar already in monochrome, others little seen. These have been colourised,…
The World of Books By the books editor The announcement that Peregrine Cavendish, the 12th Duke of Devonshire, based in England, has presented the celebrated Book of Lismore to University College Cork, comes as a delightful surprise. In effect, some might say, it give Munster an ancient book to play off against Leinster’s Book of…
It’s all a bit of a blur, a fog of red and blue as numbers like 253 and 214 flit through my mind and phrases like ‘without proof’ invade my consciousness. No, it’s not a dream or a hangover, just too many late nights watching US politics. When Donald Trump was elected president of the…
Inspiring Faith Communities: A Programme of Evangelisation by Michael Hurley (Messenger Publications, €12.95/£11.95) Inspiring Faith Communities: A Programme of Evangelisation: a Booklet for Renewal in the Holy Spirit by Michael Hurley (Messenger Publications, €4.95 / £4.50) These two books together make up a way forward for renewal. It is built up around three points that seem essential…
I have mentioned Beethoven’s 250th anniversary at various times during the year but another composer’s significant anniversary should also be remembered. The one in question is that of Louis Vierne, maybe better known to church organ enthusiasts than general music lovers. Born in Poitiers in the west-central region of France on October 8, 1870, his…
JFK: Volume 1: 1917-1956 by Frederik Logevall (Viking, £16.99) Felix M. Larkin John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s reputation has held up remarkably well in the 60 years since he was elected president of the United States. In the polls that US historians periodically carry out to rank their presidents, his place has settled just inside the top ten –…
Wandering Wicklow with Father Browne edited by Robert O’Byrne (Messenger Publications, €19.95/£18.95) The latest volume in the series of books drawn from the files of one of Ireland’s greatest photographers under the auspices of the Irish Jesuits is one of the best, for several reasons. It has a limited subject, finely produced. It was been edited…
Fearfully & Wonderfully: The Marvel of Bearing God’s Image by Dr Paul Brand & Philip Yancey (Hodder Books, £9.99; kindle edition, £9.99) These days, with the daily news dominated by medical fears of all kinds and our inability to cope, many people all too conscious of the frailties of the human body and the effects that…
The World of Books By the books editor Just over a week ago, to men driving along a mountain road around Saint-Martin-Vésubie (see the Nice-Matin newspaper’s website for its report of October 24, 2020), were astonished to encounter a pack of wolves straddling the road ahead. These it seems were not truly ‘wild wolves’. They…
Peter Costello
Brendan O’Regan