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…
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…
A New Ireland: Memories and Reflections of Cardinal Cahal B. Daly edited by Gemma Loughran, foreword by Archbishop Paul Gallagher (Veritas, €12.99 / £11.50) This little book was edited by Northern Ireland barrister Gemma Loughlan, who knew Cahal Daly from her days as a student. To mark the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement she…
Following Gluck’s death in November 1787, Emperor Joseph II appointed Mozart as imperial and royal court composer. Among his formal duties the composer was expected to provide music for court balls and other such state occasions and, to fit the bill, Mozart supplied over 30 minuets and German dances in a relatively short time. However,…
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…
Frank Litton War By Other Means: The Pacifists of the Greatest Generation Who Revolutionised Resistance, by Daniel Akst (Brooklyn / London: Melville House, $28.99 / £22.94 / €28.00) Paul Ricoeur, the French philosopher, observed that the state can be – has been – a source of great evil. Writing in the aftermath of…
Lavinia Fontana: Trailblazer, Rule Breaker, by Aoife Brady, with essays by Babette Bohn and Jonquil O’Reilly (National Gallery of Ireland, distributed by Yale University Press, €40.00 / £35.00) Exhibition: May 6-August 27; Rooms 6-10, Beit Wing | Ticketed, check opening hours online. Lavinia Fontana (1552 – 1614) was a remarkable artist of great achievement,…
I’m uneasy about repurposed churches – sad that worship no longer goes on there, what is left being like an empty shell. If its new purpose is something artistic it takes away some of the sting. The Sea Church, with Jesus prominent in its stained-glass window, is the venue for the Ballycotton Sessions (RTÉ Two,…
In The Laureate (15A), moody British poet Robert Graves (Tom Hughes) is experiencing writer’s block brought on by shellshock after being at the front in World War I. He invites aspiring American poetess Laura Riding (Dianna Agron) to live with him and his wife Nancy (Laura Haddock), an artist, in his country cottage (called, perhaps…
Brendan O’Regan
Peter Costello
Aubrey Malone