Impressionism and its Overlooked Women, curated by Dorthe Vangsgaard Nielsen, and seven contributors (Ordrupgaard, €45.00 / £38.50) The special summer exhibition at the National Gallery of Ireland celebrates the women painters of the Impressionist movement in art. The just opened exhibition has been organised by Ordrupgaard in Denmark in collaboration with the National Gallery, and…
It was one of those shocking moments when you’ll always remember where you were when it happened. I heard the first trickle of the news of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in the car on the way back from a concert last Saturday night. Then it was straight on to Sky News and CNN…
Emerging from the Mess, by Brendan McManus SJ and Jim Deeds (Messenger Publications, €12.95 / £11.95) The cover of this third book in the series begun with Finding God in the Mess and continued with Deeper into the Mess, brought to mind (for me at least) the words of St John Henry Neman’s poem (only later a hymn), written while…
Journeys of the Mind: A Life in History, by Peter Brown (Princeton University Press, £38.00) Peter Brown, a Dubliner, is probably the most famous historian of early Christianity alive today. This is his autobiography (although thus to pigeonhole it, is to do this magnificent book a grave disservice, for it is far more than just…
How we treat our children is something of a conundrum, but doing it well is surely a mark of how caring and genuine our society is. I observe how much we love our children, how most parents would do anything for them, even give their own lives if required. We see the unbearable grief when…
Dane Jeross: The Irish Private Eye who Operates Hollywood Noir Style, by Cyril McHale (Available from Amazon Media Eu: kindle edition, £9.99; paperback, £11.00.) Every classic Hollywood film is essentially a story and all of human life is to be found in those stories. They range from stories about the ‘Wild West’ to accounts…
The Best Loved Poems of Gabriel Fitzmaurice, with an introduction by Declan Kiberd (Mercier Press, €12.99) Those of us who remember Listowel Writers’ Week in its earliest days will never forget the singing and cajoling presence of a whipper-snapper young poet called Gabriel Fitzmaurice – there he would be in the foyer of the…
There are more twists and turns in The Weekend Away than the road from Dublin to Ballyjamesduff. It’s about a young woman who goes missing after a night out with her best friend in Croatia. Who’s responsible? At one stage I suspected four different people. It was none of them! Okay so it’s popcorn entertainment…
John Moriarty: Grounded in Story, Edited by Amanda Carmody and Mary McGillicuddy (The Lilliput Press, €25.00 / £21.50) The mystic John Moriarty is one of modern Ireland unique writers, but he achieved this position through a life of varied and equally unique experiences. John Moriarty was born in Moyvane, near Listowel, Co. Kerry, on…
Caribbean Slave Owners & Other Lesser-Known Histories from County Mayo, by Dr M. M. O’Connor (Published by the author at The Morrigan, Murrisk, Westport, Co. Mayo, €25.00) This is a book which only recently came to my notice, for it was not sent to us for review. Certainly the title captures your attention at…
Peter Costello
Brendan O’Regan
Aubrey Malone