Hand in hand with the preservation of the ancient ‘rainforest’ woods and the creation of new stretches of proper woodslands (not the poisonous pine forest that pass for forestry in Ireland – goes the promotions of schemes for the reintroduction of Ireland’s ‘lost beasts’. But the manner in which eagles and others are poisoned by…
Recently reminiscing on my time on the council of the now defunct Music Association of Ireland, I recalled qualms being raised about engaging cellists for the association’s members’ meetings and country tours. A cry would go up “cellists don’t draw”. However, two recent events at the National Concert Hall proved otherwise. A solo recital by…
A Commonwealth of Hope: Augustine’s political thought by Michael Lamb (Princeton University Press, £35.00 / US$29.99) Frank Litton We are told that the world is divided into those who see the glass half-full and those who report it half-empty. This seems to be the case with politics. For many, perhaps the majority, all goes well. The…
Darkness Between Stars by John F. Deane and James Harpur (Irish Pages Press, Belfast, €24.99/£22.00) Thomas Macarthy This book is an entirely unexpected project. Two poets of seniority and assured reputation have come together to publish the poetic faith essence of their many-volumed careers. Deane is a Catholic poet who once studied for the priesthood and…
The actress Loretta Young, whose career started as a child and spanned decades, was a huge advocate of Catholic causes. The money she donated to some of them came from an unusual source – swear boxes. She arranged for these to be installed on the sets of films she was starring in. The idea was…
St Patrick’s Day has become more of a secular celebration than a religious one. The ‘St’ is often dropped and the horrible ‘Paddy’s Day’ has accelerated the process. And yet the spiritual side has co-existed, happily or uneasily. It’s always open to Christians to celebrate the spiritual side and ensure that in their families due…
The Politics of God: The Rise and Rise of Political Religion by T. P. O’Mahony, foreword by Dr Mary McAleese (Veritas, €19.00) T.P. O’Mahony was for many years the excellent Religious Affairs Correspondent for The Irish Press. After its demise, he has continued to comment on religious topics worldwide for many other publications as well as…
Lights for the Path by John Sullivan (Veritas, €24.99/£22.20) John Sullivan was formerly Professor of Christian Education at Liverpool Hope University, of which he is now an emeritus professor. Hope University is a unique institution, formed out of three Victorian teachers’ training colleges in an ecumenical union which now prospers as a developing third level…
The Spiritual Journey of St Patrick by Aidan J. Larkin SSC, with a foreword by Archbishop Eamon Martin (Messenger Publication, €14.95/£12.95) Tomorrow all the world that is Irish will mark St Patrick’s Day, mostly in ebullient hoolies it has to be said, rather than calm and settled consideration. Well, that is the way of the…
What’s that I was hearing about Macho of the Day? Oh wait, it was about Match of the Day on BBC One, and the odd controversy (provisionally resolved by Monday) about who should present it. On Times Radio Breakfast last Saturday morning Hugo Rifkind, on board to plug his own show for later that morning,…
Peter Costello
Aubrey Malone
Brendan O’Regan