Not that long ago people would have been amazed and puzzled at the way some elements in society today are going ballistic over gender. Gender Wars (Channel 4, Tuesday) tried to get to grips with the issue, but I suspect viewers were still amazed and puzzled. The main focus was on philosophy lecturer Kathleen Stock…
Last week the National Symphony Orchestra and Royal Irish Academy of Music announced a joint venture entitled ‘The NSO Concerto Project’. While that may be a slight misnomer, the idea behind the enterprise is, and hopefully will continue to be, a fruit bearing amalgamation. Under the baton of Gavin Maloney, the inaugural event had four…
A Kerry Odyssey: The Boer War and Great War Experiences of John J. Moore, by Martin Moore (Gabha Beag Publications, Tralee, €24.00/ £20.99) This is a fascinating account of the remarkable military career of John J. Moore, written by his grandnephew. It is a remarkable record of an Ireland we have almost lost sight…
This Listowel interior (pictured), a water colour rather than an oil, painted in 1842, is a picture with a story. It is attributed to a Miss Bridget Maria Fitzgerald (1817-1905), a lady with some local reputation as a painter. It was come upon by the distinguished art historian Dr Anne Cruickshank, who photographed it in…
The Tilson Case: Church and State in 1950s Ireland, by David Jameson (Cork University Press, €39.00/£33.99) The Tilson Case hit the Irish public in the Holy Year of 1950. The West was over-charged with feeling, almost hysterical. In Hungary Cardinal Mindszenty had been imprisoned. The Korean War was in full swing, with the potential for…
The “meet-cute” is a hallowed tradition in Hollywood romances. It’s how the hero first encounters the heroine. In The Little Mermaid (PG), a live action re-imagining of the Hans Christian Anderson classic directed by Rob Marshall, it acquires an innovative spin, occurring after a shipwreck when disgruntled Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) has his life saved…
With so much emphasis on razzamatazz in the media, with so much having to be big, loud, brash, and celebrity focused, it’s great to see something low-key and dignified. The Centenary Commemoration of the Civil War (RTÉ One, Sunday) certainly fitted that description. The ceremony was short, with no speeches – the centre-piece was the…
Mary, Founder of Christianity by Chris Maunder (One World, €21.99/£18.99) Over the recent decades the role of women in the first centuries of the Church has come under more critical examination. One result of this, arising also from developed views of the role of women in society today, has been the demand for the ordination…
Most weeks you get a at least one good new documentary on television. Last week there were two. Inside the Hospice (Virgin Media One, Wednesday) was so moving and intense, an affirmation of the value of palliative care. The film makers got access to several hospices including those in Harold’s Cross and Wicklow and several…
Comments on the margin By the books editor The other week, in a review of Bill Manley’s insightful book on the world’s most ancient book, recording the moral maxims of the ancient Egyptian sage Ptahhapt from about 2,400BC, I remarked that it set off in my mind a train of thought, but I postponed writing…
Peter Costello
Aubrey Malone
Brendan O’Regan