The Four Gospels: Following in the Footsteps of Jesus by Maurice Hogan SSC (Veritas, €14.99) This interesting book on the four Gospels seems to have grown directly out of the author’s own experiences. Fr Maurice Hogan is a Columban Father. After he was ordained, back in 1965, he went out to the Far East, working…
Tidings of Comfort and Joy: A Christmas Feast of Faith and Fun by Pam Rhodes (Hodder & Stoughton, £14.99) Pam Rhodes will be familiar to many as the presenter of that ever popular BBC offering Songs of Praise. This selection of hymns, poems and thoughts was intended for Christmas, but then Christmas is not just…
Padre Pio of Pietrelcina: a brief biography by Fr Francesco Napolitano (Columba Press, €14.99) Padre Pio was canonised by Pope John Paul II on June 16, 2002, to the great delight of his many devotees around the world, especially here in Ireland. Francesco Forgione, the new saint, was born in the village of Pietrelcina, near…
The ghosts of Lafcadio Hearn The Little Museum of Dublin has been running an exhibition devoted to Lafcadio Hearn, “the writer on Japan”, as the reference books once used to say. The revival of interest in Hearn in Ireland has been due to the enthusiasm of former ambassador Paul Murray, who through his biography of…
‘Despite all the talk of diverse views… there wasn’t much diversity’, writes Brendan O’Regan After a feast of music and drama over the holiday period it‘s back to troubling current affairs. The Big Questions returned to BBC 1 last Sunday morning. The audience discussed the new trend of free speech being stifled on college campuses.…
Joy (12A) A few short years ago, Jennifer Lawrence was just another ‘wannabe’. Today, she’s one of Hollywood’s most high-profile (and sought-after) stars. How has she essayed such a seismic shift so suddenly, going from jobbing actress to prestigious A-lister? She isn’t quite sure herself. “It’s a bit like a job promotion,” she says. “You…
The Life and Struggles of Our Mother Walatta Petros written by Galawdewos, translated and edited by Wendy Laura Belcher & Michael Kleiner (Princeton University Press, £27.95) Here is a really remarkable book on which to begin the New Year, a book that will open up for many a new horizon of Christian culture and faith.…
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…
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…
Peter Costello
Brendan O’Regan
Aubrey Malone
Greg Daly