Vincent de Paul: The Lazarist Mission and French Catholic Reform by Alison Forrestal (Oxford University Press, £70) Clear Vision: the life and legacy of Noel Clear, Social Justice Champion, 1937-2003 by Gerry Jeffers (Veritas, €16.99) Daire Keogh Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) is synonymous with charity and virtue, but, in Ireland his popular acclaim rests largely on the…
The GAA Immortals: 100 Gaelic Games Legends by John Scally (Black & White Publishing, €21.00) This is a compilation of biographical sketches of footballers, hurlers and team-managers who were household names in the GAA world during the last 100 years. The list of 55 footballers begins with Dick Fitzgerald. He won five All-Ireland championships for Kerry…
The Holy Week and Easter season usually sees a considerable increase in religious programming and this year was particularly good. There were the old reliables like The Robe (BBC2) and Jesus of Nazareth (Sky Arts, and still impressive), but I like to look out for something different. One of the most high profile and innovative…
Michael Inside (15A) Prisons are places where small criminals become big ones. Such a transmogrification is demonstrated in graphic fashion in this tale of a meek 18-year-old from a North Dublin housing estate who’s given a two month sentence after being found with a stash of cocaine worth €2,000. Michael McCrea (Dafhyd Flynn) is a carrier…
God is Stranger: What Happens When God Turns Up? by Krish Kandiah (Hodder & Stoughton, £9.99) Emily Keyes When people suffer tragedies, they often do one of two things with their faith: they either turn to it for comfort, meaning and healing, or they abandon it, saying they can no longer believe in or have a…
In some ways, the Vatican’s speedy disavowal of reports ahead of Easter that Pope Francis had told the elderly Italian journalist Eugenio Scalfari Hell does not exist could not have been clearer. “The Holy Father Francis recently received the founder of the newspaper La Repubblica in a private meeting on the occasion of Easter, without…
The Life and Times of Daniel Murray: Archbishop of Dublin 1823 – 1852 by Thomas J. Morrissey SJ (Messenger Publications, €27.00) Tom Morrissey’s latest book is one which everyone interested in Irish Church history has long looked for. It was as a pastoral bishop that the great Daniel Murray excelled. It is no exaggeration to claim…
Forged In Crisis: The Power of Courageous Leadership in Turbulent Times by Nancy Koehn (John Murray, £14.99) Joe Carroll The five ‘leaders’ discussed in this book are an unusual mix: the Antarctic explorer, Ernest Shackleton; US President Abraham Lincoln; anti-slavery campaigner and ex-slave, Frederick Douglass; German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer; and finally Rachael Carson, author of The Silent…
Philosophy of Religion: A Very Short Introduction by Tim Bayne (Oxford University Press, £7.99) Emily Keyes Christian theological scholar Don Cupitt says that philosophy is, at its heart, critical thinking, while academic philosopher Simon Blackburn thinks of philosophy as ‘a process of reflection on the deepest concepts, that is structures of thought, that make up…
Dirty Glory: Go Where Your Best Prayers Take You by Pete Greig (Hodder & Stoughton, £9.99) Emily Keyes In a world that seems increasingly ambivalent to religion and God, Pete Greig’s ‘24-7 prayer revolution’ is nothing short of incredible. Started in 1999, the prayer movement began as a humble gathering of young people curious to learn…
Brendan O’Regan
Aubrey Malone
Greg Daly