Pat O’Kelly The last programme in the National Concert Hall’s 2018/19 International Series brought a welcome return to Earlsfort Terrace of the London Symphony Orchestra. Under the direction of its Milan-born principal guest conductor Gianandrea Noseda, the concert was almost extravagant in its soloists – French violist Antoine Tamestit, Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov and…
The Cultural Reception of the Bible: Explorations in Theology, Literature and the Arts by Salvador Ryan & Liam M. Tracey OSM (Open Air / Four Courts Press, €50.00) With essays by over 30 contributors from Prof. Thomas O’Loughlin to the poet John F. Deane, this compendium covers a very wide range of topics and eras. “The…
Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the end of the American century by George Packer (Jonathan Cape, £25/€30) Felix M. Larkin Richard C. Holbrooke, the subject of this biography, was a bombastic, egotistical, but immensely talented US diplomat who served at senior levels in the administrations of three Democratic presidents – Carter, Clinton and Obama. He…
The Battle of the Four Courts by Michael Fewer (Head of Zeus, £20/€28) Easter Week in the GPO has been the subject of many books, providing a day by day, almost an hour by hour, account of what happened, if not why. The siege of the Four Courts in 1922 has not been so lucky. Yet…
“Popular opinion,” began K. Albert Little on his Twitter account @cordialcatholic a fortnight ago, continuing, “whomever is running the @USCCB twitter account is pretty much singlehandedly restoring the confidence of the laity in the clergy. Also, did I use ‘whomever’ correctly?” Chicago-based Twitter stalwart Michael Bayer responded from @mbayer1248 astutely responded: “I can pretty much…
A few weeks ago in this column I lamented the false dichotomy between science and religion – someone must have been paying attention! Last Friday BBC Radio 4 launched a new series, The Secret History of Science and Religion, presented in an amiably cheerful fashion by Nick Spencer. It’s not exactly easy listening, and not easy…
Hunt Museum, The Custom House, Rutland St, Limerick Exhibition continues to September 30, 2019 The catalogue (€25) is available from the museum. The summer exhibition at Limerick’s Hunt Museum is just the thing for a family outing, a show which will introduce children and perhaps others to the delights of art. On display are paintings…
Yesterday (12A) A singer finds himself in a world where the Beatles never existed. This means he can sing their songs without fear of being accused of plagiarism – or sued for breach of copyright. Who could have dreamt up an idea like that? Either he deserves a special award or he needs to…
Picking up the Shards by Donal Murray (Veritas, €12.99 / £11.52) The author begins with a story about Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago. Before he died, in a conversation with some of his priests he said: “I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr…
A Bloody Dawn: The Irish At D-Day by Dan Harvey (Merrion Press, €14.95) Joe Carrol The author, a retired army officer, has done extensive research to establish the role played by Irish participants (from the North as well as the South) in the D-Day landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944. He has also included…
Peter Costello
Greg Daly
Brendan O’Regan
Aubrey Malone