Joe Carroll Power Play. The Rise of Modern Sinn Féin by Deaglán De Bréadún (Merrion Press, €17.99) This valuable book is all, or nearly all, you need to know about Sinn Féin under Gerry Adams, as the party gears itself to enter the corridors of power after this year’s general election. The author, an experienced political…
A Century of Life… Imagine That! by Máire Godfrey (Impress Printing, €15.00hb; contact mairegodfreyacenturyoflife@gmail.com). The provenance of this book is unique. It was written by Mrs Máire Godfrey as part of the celebrations to mark her 100th birthday. Owing to the extraordinary developments in medicine and the remarkable enhancement of physical and social conditions, the elderly…
The poor, they say, we will always have with us. And it seems we’ll always have Rocky Balboa with us as well. How many incarnations has Sylvester Stallone’s ever-resilient pugilist had since his first appearance on our screens in 1976? In Creed he plays the mentor of a boxer called Apollo Creed whose father died…
There can be few more surprising sights for Irish visitors to London than that of Oliver Cromwell in Parliament Square. Admittedly, unlike the nearby statue of King Richard I, Cromwell at least had a serious link with Britain’s parliamentary tradition. For many Irish visitors, however, it can seem bizarre and abhorrent that Cromwell’s championing of…
Despite ‘diversity and fragmentation’, the quality of the past week’s dramatic offerings could draw a wide audience, writes Brendan O’Regan With the diversity and fragmentation of TV viewing it’s rare that one programme generates a high degree of anticipation any more, and rare that a large percentage of the viewing population would tune in to…
Daddy’s Home (12A)
Although Christmas viewing did not have an ‘overt religious element’, Brendan O’Regan describes entertainment full of ‘joy, good humour, optimism and insight’
These days the Christmas story has become – with the star over the stable, the infant in the manger, the shepherds, the three kings and the wicked King Herod – so familiar that we rarely if ever look back to see what the Gospels actually say about the Nativity. It often surprises readers to find…
Recorded by Marco Polo, circa 1272
Some of our regular reviewers share with readers their choices among the books published this year, which most impressed them during their reading and reviewing through the course of 2015. The prices quoted are the publishers’ recommended prices, in either euros or pounds, and they may vary from outlet to outlet. FELIX M. LARKIN…
Aubrey Malone
Greg Daly
Brendan O’Regan
Peter Costello