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…
Dear 2023, A few years ago, I wrote a letter to your older sister, 2020! I wondered what she had in store for us and hoped that we might be able handle whatever she had to offer. I wondered about the months she held in her hand and what they might bring. I asked her…
‘Vivid’ history of women religious launched A “vivid” account of the experience of women religious in Ireland from 1530-1700 was launched at the Poor Clare Monastery, Galway, recently. The book, Irish Women in Religious Orders, 1530-1700, is the first comprehensive study of the lives and experiences of women religious for that period and shows how…
You can’t please everyone as Pope. John Paul II didn’t (and he’s a saint!), Pope Francis doesn’t and Pope Benedict XVI certainly didn’t. Probably that is a very good thing, since to lead with conviction and courage always risks upsetting people – particularly what Pope Francis describes as vested interests and ecclesiastical elites. On the…
The consecrated women who cared for Pope Benedict XVI in his retirement gently stroked his hands before his body was carried on a red-covered stretcher to a van for its last journey to St. Peter’s Basilica. The women, members of Memores Domini, along with Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the late Pope’s personal secretary, and Dr Patrizio…
Brendan O’Regan
Michael Kelly