Jim Noonan OCD The Eighth Day, selected writings of Christian Bobin translated by Pauline Matarasso (Darton, Longman & Todd, £12.99) An inspirational French author, Christian Bobin is a prolific writer, producing over 50 books, in more than 30 years, and has been a bestseller (his books have sold over 200,000 copies per edition) in France for many…
Fighting Irish: The Irish Regiments in the First World War by Gavin Hughes (Merrion Press, €19.00pb, €65.00hb) This is an account of the Irishmen who fought in the ranks of the British army in World War I. The narrative includes descriptions of some of the killing fields of that horrendous war. Most of the Irish served…
The dangers inherent in sport are something we’re all increasingly aware of, not only in boxing and rugby but also American football, despite the amount of protective headgear the players wear. The subject takes on a dark complexion in Concussion (12A), based on a true story. Will Smith plays Dr Bennet Omalu, a Nigerian pathologist…
Brendan O’Reagan reports on the ‘totally unchallenging’ and ‘not very encouraging’ coverage on abortion It was a ‘funny enough’ kind of week, with Newstalk back continuing to drive the repeal the Eighth (Life Equality) Amendment as an election issue. I wouldn’t mind so much if the coverage was fair and balanced. They’ve gone so far…
Silence and Thomas Merton The Powerball Lottery in the USA has been much in the news recently, partly because of the huge prize on offer to the lucky winner, or it seems, winners: $1.6 billion. Just think of that in terms of aid for famine and flood victims. What could an individual not do with…
I was rather lukewarm about RTÉ’s new series Rebellion after the first episode, but hoped it would improve. After two more episodes I’m disappointed. Yes, it’s interesting and holds the attention but I often find myself getting annoyed with it, whether for the stilted dialogue, the sluggish pace or the gratuitous sex and crude language that rules…
John Henry Newman: A Portrait in Letters edited by Roderick Strange (Oxford University Press, £30.00) Over the centuries biography has changed. When James Boswell published in 1791 his landmark life of Dr Samuel Johnson, he revealed that he had adapted the new method of Rev. William Mason in his life of Gray, in allowing the…
Cometh the man, cometh the moment. Ever since Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated for an Oscar for his touching portrayal of Johnny Depp’s mentally-handicapped brother in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape in 1993 I’ve been wondering when the erstwhile Boy Wonder of cinema would slough off that bothersome tag. He’s threatened to do so in a raft…
John Wyse Jackson Windharp: Poems of Ireland since 1916 edited by Niall MacMonagle (Penguin Ireland, £20.00hb) A plethora of poetry anthologies has appeared in Ireland over the last few years. This latest one takes as its starting point the date of our nation’s foundation myth, 1916. Its editor, a teacher and broadcaster, is an old hand at…
The Real Archbishop Mannix from the Sources by James Franklin, Gerald O. Nolan and Michael Gilchrist (Connorcourt Publishing, AUS$29.95) Twelve biographies of Archbishop Daniel Mannix have already been published. They range from the hagiographic to the critical. The authors justify this addition to the list on the grounds that it is an account of Mannix based…
Courtney McGrail
Aubrey Malone
Brendan O’Regan
Peter Costello