An exhibition at both the RDS and the RIA Though many people may be unfamiliar with the libraries of the Royal Dublin Society or of the Royal Irish Academy, both founded in the mid-18th Century, these hallowed institutions are currently mounting in succession a small but very interesting exhibition relating to the Dublin Great Industrial…
Category: Reviews
A good man in his day and for ours
A Love Surpassing Knowledge: The Spirituality of Edward King, by Michael Marshall, with a foreword by Archbishop Stephen Cottrell (Gracewing, £14.99) Gracewing for over 30 years has been providing books that explore aspects of Catholicism. But now they are broad minded enough editorially to find Catholicism outside the Catholic Church. Victorian Britain was the era…
Religious programmes showcasing the best of Ireland
In the last few weeks, I’ve been welcoming new religious programmes on RTÉ – this week I’m lamenting the departure of one of them. Life and Soul (RTÉ One, Sunday) had a very short run but it ended well with a particularly uplifting episode. ‘Unbroken’ told the inspiring story of Tiglin. Fiachna Ó Braonáin (of…
The young talent breathing life into the Irish music scene
Despite having already written about the Irish Freemasons Young Musician of the Year competition I am not making any excuses for continuing to spotlight young artists. This time I am drawing attention to the 2023 Top Security ‘Frank Maher Classical Music Awards’ held recently in the Royal College of Physicians in Dublin’s Kildare Street. The…
What could have been for Joyce, Nora and Italo Svevo
Penelope Unbound, by Mary Morrissy (Banshee Press, €15.00) When James Joyce and Nora Barnacle arrived in Trieste in 1904, Joyce left his inamorata sitting outside the railway station with their meagre luggage while he went into the city to find accommodation for them. In the city centre he intervened in a quarrel between some…
The will to turn the other cheek
Forgive: Why Should I and How Can I?, by Timothy Keller (Hodder & Stoughton, £10.00/€12.99) On May 19 this year, Pastor Timothy Keller died at his Manhattan home of pancreatic cancer. He was the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, and a widely read best-selling Christian writer. He did not care to…
Serving up good food to Washington’s eminent folk
Kathy White House: Kathy Buckley – Her Culinary Odyssey, by Vincent Carmody (€35.00, plus postage and packing, via Fitzsimons Printers Ltd., Shanagolden, Co, Limerick; tel.: 069-76-226; email: info@fitzsimonsprinters.ie). The White House in the US is one of the most storied houses in history. It was built between 1792 and 1800. The architect was Kilkenny-born James…
Keep a part of your day for deeper things
Quiet Times with God Devotional, by Joyce Meyer (Hodder & Stoughton, £10.00/€12.99) The daily round that we all plan is all too often disrupted by the simple fact that people can so easily communicate and that hour you set aside to make a cake or finally do something about that drain before winter is too…
A feast of drama to ease the dark evenings
Several drama series have been catching my attention of late – there are so many good ones it’s hard to keep track of them all. Time (BBC One, Sunday) is the second series of the prison drama by Jimmy McGovern, this time joined by Helen Black on writing credits. This series sees a change to…
The Kennedy family on film
As the race for the US presidency hots up, we’re confronted with the fact that we’ll possibly face a re-run of the last one. Regardless of one’s feelings about the merits of Messrs Biden or Trump, their prominence reflects the lack of young blood at the top of the political tree. I was only…

Peter Costello

Brendan O’Regan







Aubrey Malone