Given how fractious the Catholic internet has been of late, it can be surprising to find someone you might expect to have joined the camp of those attacking the Pope expressing an impressive docility, and a recognition that being Catholic is not simply a matter of believing Catholic things but of union with the Pope.…
Emil Nolde: “Colour is Life” : Beit Wing curated by Janet McLean and Sean Rainbird, National Gallery of Ireland, with Keith Hartley, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Exhibition runs until 10 June 2018. The latest exhibition at the National Gallery presents a selection of paintings and other works from the long career of German artist Emil…
A Year in the Life of Glencairn Abbey by Valerie O’Sullivan (Columba Books, €24.99) Though many people casually think of as a nun’s day as one of prayer and devotion this has never really been the case. For in their enclosed world laborare est orare – to work is to pray – has real meaning. This…
The Family Tree: Reflections for the World Meeting of Families 2018 by Anna Burke (Veritas, €7.99) Emily Keyes The World Meeting of Families, which comes to Dublin in August, is an international event occurring every three years that uses prayer, celebration and catechesis to stress the importance of family life in society. In preparation Anne Burke…
Over recent decades readers of academic books on history and archaeology, and even some ordinary mass market trade books, will have noticed the increasing use of the term ‘Common Era’ (CE) rather than the older BC and AD for describing dates, the system familiar for centuries. This new usage arose from the reluctance of some…
Dictatorland: The Men Who Stole Africa by Paul Kenyon (Head of Zeus, £17) Peter Hegarty Many millions of Africans have lived under tyrants, endured long years of oppression, and watched in enraged impotence as the dictators squandered public money on the erection of grandiose monuments to themselves. What explains the rise of strongmen in so many…
Some of the things I like about Sunday Sequence (BBC Radio Ulster) are the variety of items and the decent length of the show, facilitating thorough discussion. Last Sunday’s episode started with the state of charities in the wake of the Oxfam controversy. Andrew Dougal, a former charity CEO, mounted a robust defence of the…
The 90th anniversary of the Oscar ceremonies is being held this year in the Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles on March 4. Sadly, the possibility that home favourite Saoirse Ronan will reprise her Golden Globe victory for Lady Bird has been ruled out by the bookies. They make Frances McDormand the hot favourite for Three Billboards…
Family Histories of the Irish Revolution edited by Ciara Boylan, Sarah-Anne Buckley and Pat Dolan (Open Air, €24.95) J. Anthony Gaughan This collection of interesting essays concern persons who in one way or another were involved in the revolutionary years from 1913 to 1923. The essays are by relatives of these activists, some of whom were well-known,…
A Lost Tribe a novel by William King (Lilliput Press, Dublin, 2017). This novel derives from William King’s experiences as a clerical student and priest in the archdiocese of Dublin during the last fifty years. Through his character Fr Tom Galvin, a 70-something parish priest, he narrates the story of the Catholic Church in Ireland as…
Greg Daly
Peter Costello
Brendan O’Regan
Aubrey Malone