The Four Heavens: A New History of the Ancient Maya, by David Stuart (Princeton University Press, £30.00 / €36.00) This year as we are all too well aware is a year of special celebration in the United States, to many 1776 being “the beginning of America”. In my personal experience from living in the great…
Sergeant Lamb of the Ninth and Proceed Sergeant Lamb, two novels by Robert Graves (Penguin Modern Classics, £10.99 each) Oliver Wiswell, by Kenneth Roberts (Published in 1940, and though no longer in print, early editions are widely available on the internet) === Starting at the beginning of this month, the celebrations and ceremonies to mark the anniversary…
Having been in Blaenau Ffestiniog last week, it was interesting to see it turning up as the main location for Effi O Blaenau (15), a Welsh-language film showing at the Irish Film Institute from tomorrow. I only saw the town from the perspective of a tourist. In this graphic film, we see what lives are…
I was at a funeral last week, and once again I was reminded of the wonderful support priests provide to their parishioners in times of difficulty. This brought to mind an item I had heard earlier in the week. Today with David McCullagh (RTÉ Radio 1, Wednesday) featured three priests in active duty – Fr…
English Countess, Irish Earl: the social world of Frances, Countess of Clanricard, 1567–1632, by Bernadette Cunningham (Four Courts Press, €39.95 / £35.00). his biographical investigation of one woman’s life reveals a very great deal about the dangers, personal, social, political and religious that affected even the lives of the great in a “glorious” period…
Letter from America 1946-2004, by Alistair Cooke (Allen Lane / Penguin Books, €14.99pb / £25.00 hb) Here is a most enthralling book that echoes the great days of radio, when a human voice, albeit of a great journalist, could engage people with current affairs in a way that our snippy-snappy media does not in our…
Fountain of Living Water: Poetry, Prayers and Hymns of the Mystics of the Early Church of the East (Gracewing, £12.99 / €15.50) When many people read the gospels they think they are hearing the words of Jesus himself. But the gospels were written in a Greek dialect; Jesus actually spoke Aramaic. Here in Ireland we…
Last week I wrote about The Invite, a film that carried a 15s Cert but was more sexually explicit than most Under-18s ones in the past. Do such certs mean anything these days? It’s a long time since 1934, when Hollywood imposed a restrictive Code on films in an attempt to ‘clean itself up’ under…
It’s great to come upon a programme that’s inspiring, informative and well made. I got all three last Monday night with Heart of a Servant – The Father Flanagan Story (RTÉ One). It was a high-quality documentary about the Irish priest who founded Boys Town in Omaha, Nebraska. I knew the bare bones of the story,…
Gothic: Building Castles in post-Union Ireland, by Judith Hill (Four Courts Press, € 50.00 / £45.00) Castles have an immediate appeal to many people, myself among them. I can still recall as a special moment of my childhood my first visit with my family to Charleville Castle near Tullamore in a now long distant…
Peter Costello
Aubrey Malone
Brendan O’Regan