Pat O’Kelly Following the première of Don Carlos at the Paris Opéra in March 1867, Verdi returned to his farm at Sant’ Agata in the Po valley. He found peace on the land he loved and where he planted trees, cultivated vines and bred his horses. Maybe he would now retire! He had often…
I doubt if it happens very often that guests appearing on an RTÉ programme say the Rosary on the way to the studio, but that’s exactly what happened last weekend. It was the Marian Finucane Show last Saturday morning (RTÉ Radio 1) when the special guests were Olive Foley, wife of deceased rugby player Anthony Foley,…
The Wrong Country: Essays on Modern Irish Writing by Gerald Dawe (Irish Academic Press, €22.95) Derek Hand Gerald Dawe’s collection of essays offers a very engaging assessment of Irish writing in the last 100 years. His survey of the scene, filtered through the lens of his being a lecturer and poet, brings enthusiasm to the task,…
Michael O’Leary: Turbulent times for the man who made Ryanair by Matt Cooper (Penguin Ireland, €14.95 / £14.99) Frank Litton Michael O’Leary stands out among Ireland’s entrepreneurs. Is this because of his great success? His personality? The fact that so many of us have flown with his airline? Matt Cooper’s account of this “prince among men” will…
Beautiful Thoughts for Beautiful Minds by John Scally (Currach Press, €14.99) For a long time I have valued collections of poems, short stories and essays as the best kind of bedside books. They provide just enough to allow the old brain to run down and come to rest, and to allow me to drift away into…
It’s seems almost obligatory these days for TV cops to be dysfunctional in their personal lives, even deranged at times. Defenders may say it’s gritty realism, accusers may call it destructive nihilism. I’ve been following Informer on BBC1, Tuesday nights, and the main policeman, Gabe, played with nuance by the versatile Paddy Considine, is certainly…
Widows (15A) Almost every line in this film is gold. And almost every character, no matter how small, is exquisitely drawn. A kind of distaff Goodfellas, it takes off when Harry Rawlings (Liam Neeson as, surprise, surprise, a villain) gets killed during a heist. Or does he? The money is burned. Or is it? These…
With the abuse crisis continuing to rock the Church at its highest levels, some thoughtful material is starting to be produced online grappling with the issues of abuse and concealment. Commonwealmagazine.org has published one of the most insightful and impassioned pieces in James Heaney’s article ‘Our myth, their lie’. “Ten years ago, I believed a…
A Flavour of Kylemore Abbey by the Sisters of the Community (Columba Books, €24.99) When this book came to hand, I turned over the pages to see what made this cook book different from all the others that flood the market. My attention was immediately taken by a recipe for Frangipane Mince Pies, the last one in the…
Living With The Gods: On Beliefs and Peoples by Neil MacGregor (Allen Lane, £30) Patrick Claffey Neil MacGregor, the distinguished British art historian and museum director, is currently the creator of the Humboldt Forum, a new centre for world culture in Berlin. Many will have seen exhibitions or read his books, including A History of the World…
Brendan O’Regan
Peter Costello
Aubrey Malone
Greg Daly