Christopher Moriarty Woven Shades of Green: An anthology of Irish nature literature by Tim Wenzell (Bucknell University Press / distributed by Rutgers University Press, $US29.95/£24.95) As one of the many writers on Irish nature who is not included in this anthology, I have to declare an interest. The preface indicates that the omission…
Watching the news coverage last week, the atmosphere in Leinster House as the 33rd Dáil got under way was largely cheerful and celebratory – especially as we saw the newly elected TDs arrive in style or not, often with their proud families. However, on last Thursday night’s Nine News (RTÉ1) we saw things getting nasty…
It seems I can’t escape from Beethoven at the moment but then it is his 250th anniversary. A recent email from Gillian Hennessy of Cork’s Triskel Arts Centre tells me about its commemorative programmes. Supported by the National String Quartet Foundation, the final Triskel event takes place at lunchtime on Saturday, March 7 with the…
I Want Everything by Marta Bellavista, ed. by Emanuele Polverelli (Itaca Edizioni, Castel Bolognese, Italy, €15.00; contact e-mail: info@itacalibri.it) This is a collection of writings by a truly remarkable person. Marta Bellavista was born in Cesena in Emilia-Romagna in Italy on October 19, 1983. After classical studies she attended the Catholic University in Milan, where…
Well of Living Water: Jesus and the Samaritan Woman by Magdalen Lawler SND (Messenger Publications, €10.95) Connecting Lives: Interbelief Dialogue in Contemporary Ireland by Patricia Kiernan (Veritas, €17.99) The Samaritan woman at the well is a familiar figure, even to those whose memories of the gospels have grown dim. As Sister Lawler points out in…
Frequently in these pages contributors speculate and agon-ise over what is needed to make the Church healthy and vibrant into the future. No easy solutions there, but cheerfulness, positivity, purpose, service and innovation will go a long way. Sr Stanislaus Kennedy encapsulates all of the above and watching the excellent documentary Being Stan – A…
Jihad Jane (PG) The title of this engrossing documentary was the name given to a blonde, blue-eyed Texan woman called Colleen LaRose. She herself appears to have been the first person to use it. That fact led to many of her problems. She was sentenced to ten years imprisonment in 2009 for a plot to kill…
Katie: Poems for the Young and Young at Heart by Gabriel Fitzmaurice (Salmon Poetry, €9.00) Only recently Kerry poet Gabriel Fitzmaurice was saying a farewell to poetry. Or so he said. Now comes a little volume, which many of his readers, and many others too, will glad he has decided to bring out as a…
Days of the Blackthorn: Faction Fighters of Kerry by Seán Moraghan (Mercier Press, €16.99) In the early part of the 19th Century especially, faction fighting was a feature of rural life throughout Munster. The Catholic clergy were unable to prevent it, despite their strenuous efforts, local magistrates turned a Nelson eye on it and some…
The Enchantment of Mammon: How Capitalism became the Religion of Modernity by Eugene McCarraher (The Belknap Press / Harvard University Press, $US39.95/£31.95) Frank Litton This is a vitally important book, likely to attract considerable attention among critics and readers. I reckon it could have an impact similar to Alasdair MacIntyre’s After Virtue back in 1997. Certainly…
Brendan O’Regan
Peter Costello
Aubrey Malone