There was a brief golden period early in Francis’ papacy when mainstream media looked to be trying hard to report on Catholic matters in a genuinely informed and informative way. Not in Ireland, of course, but in Boston, where John Allen was signed by bostonglobe.com and in New York, where Frank Rocca has been plying…
Well, here we go again. When allegedly liberal social change is being advanced some elements in the media oblige by pushing carefully selected personal stories, imbalanced discussions and the full panoply of media bias strategies. It felt like the latest variation of this last week when Liveline (RTÉ Radio 1), with guest presenter Katie Hannon…
A Bloody Week: The Irish At Arnhem by Dan Harvey (Merrion Press, €14.95/ £12.99) Joe Carroll Arnhem is the latest in the series of books in which Dan Harvey, a retired Irish army officer, recounts the exploits of Irish combatants in well-known battles. But the attempt to seize the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem…
The Brigidine Sisters in Ireland, America, Australia and New Zealand, 1807 – 1922 by Ann Power (Four Courts Press, €60.00) In this comprehensive study Dr Ann Power discusses all aspects of the lives and ministry of the Brigidine nuns and in doing so tells us a great deal about the making of modern Ireland. Bishop Daniel…
Beard Theology: A holy history of hairy faces, told by the Church Mouse illustrated by Dave Walker (Hodder & Stoughton, £12.99) We now live (at least in some Western countries) in an age of beards, if the five day stubble so many sport can be called beards. These unshaven faces are derided by others as mere…
Mainly About Books by the books editor At the beginning of the month the Brexit controversy took a surprising literary turn, which is worth a few considerations. Prime Minster Alexander Boris Pfeffell Johnson began it. (It is a sign of the sad times we live in that the mere use of a politician’s full…
St Patrick in his Own Words by Joseph Duffy with a new foreword by the author (Veritas, €12.99) This is not exactly a new book, but a reissue of a book for which there will be a noted demand, by both academics and general readers. It contains, with an appropriate introduction and notes, all the surviving…
The Pope’s visit to Africa received minimal coverage on mainstream media. BBC and RTÉ did cover the Mass attended by a million people in Madagascar last Sunday, while US Catholic channel EWTN filled the gap with a range of programmes during the week and over last weekend. Last Thursday I particularly enjoyed Pope Francis in…
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood (18) For many people, the 60s didn’t end on December 31, 1969, but rather on August 8 of that year. That was the date Charles Manson and his ‘family’ butchered a number of people in 10050 Cielo Drive, Los Angeles. The most famous of these was the 28-year-old actress…
The Glory and the Burden: the American Presidency from FDR to Trump by Robert Schmuhl (University of Notre Dame Press, $25 /£20.35) Felix M. Larkin Robert Schmuhl, professor emeritus of American Studies and Journalism at the University of Notre Dame, is well known in Ireland for his contributions to Morning Ireland on RTÉ Radio 1.…
Greg Daly
Brendan O’Regan
Peter Costello
Aubrey Malone