The release of files for the 1990s and earlier in January previewed Archives and the making of history This year’s release was a poor year for anything not related to Northern Ireland and Arms decommissioning. The flood of 6,000 odd files relating to Northern Ireland affairs seriously unbalances the release of files in other departmental…
Celebrating the 150th anniversary of Sergey Rakhmaninov’s birth in 1873, the National Symphony Orchestra is scheduling a number of his works in late spring. These include his Paganini Rhapsody on May 5, Second Piano Concerto on May 12 and choral masterpiece The Bells, preceded by his tone poem The Isle of the Dead, on May…
Looking back over the Christmas programming I was on the lookout for something different, original and creative amidst the huge amount of repeats. Pick of the bunch for me was A Christmas Postcard: The History of the Nativity Story (Lyric FM Christmas week). Each morning there was a reflection with Scripture readings, dramatisation and music…
The gothic cathedrals of Europe are recognised as one of the glories of European art. Every year hundreds of thousands, in some cases even millions, visit such places as Notre Dame de Paris, Amiens, and Chartres – indeed the great rose window of Chartres is one of the wonders of human ingenuity in praise of…
A film year in review Gingerly we stepped out of Covid-19. We were hit with films that that were delayed – but not derailed – by the virus: Munich, Cyrano, Memoria, Cow. February brought A Journal for Jordan, The Eyes of Tammy Faye and a blockbuster, Jurassic World. I seemed to be watching these kinds…
TV & Radio Review 2022 I can still remember my unprintable language when I woke up on the morning of February 24 to hear that the long-dreaded Russian invasion of Ukraine had started. At the end of Newstalk Breakfast that day Cormac Smith, former advisor to the Ukrainian government, said “the fog of war has…
Some of our regular reviewers present their choice of a ‘Book of the Year for 2022’, a very varied and enticing selection covering a wide range of topics. Christopher Moriarty My choice for a book of the year falls upon Eoghan Daltun’s An Irish Atlantic Rainforest: A Personal Journey Into the Magic of Rewilding (Hachette, Books Ireland,…
Pick of the Season Cliff at Christmas BBC Two, Saturday December 17, 9.35pm Cliff Richard is joined by special guests for this festive TV show from Hackney Church in London. The multi-award winning artist performs some of his Christmas classics. A Christmas History of Sacred Music BBC 4, Saturday (night) December 17, 1.50am and Tuesday…
Selected by the book’s editor The Granite Coast: Dún Laoghaire, Sandycove and Dalkey by Peter Pearson (The O’Brien Press, €35.00) Explore Dún Laoghaire and its coastal surroundings as Peter Pearson reveals the story behind its transformation from rocky granite shoreline to grand Victorian ‘watering place’, to the bustling town it is now. With over 250…
North Circular Road has so many connotations for people, maybe we shouldn’t just see it as a road anymore but a connection point between different lifestyles and cultures. As one of the speakers in North Circular (15A, Irish film Institute) says, it may end at Sheriff Street geographically but in spirit it stretches to “the…
Peter Costello
Brendan O’Regan
Aubrey Malone