Mam an’ Me: Living a Life Time in a Day by Kieran J. Coote, with a foreword by Dr Marie Murray and an afterword by Áine Lawlor (Red Stripe Press, €12.99 / £11.00) The very striking cover on this book is a piece of art by Steve O’Neill, evocative of what happens with the onset and…
As I write this the Republic of India, the world’s largest democracy, is voting in a general election of a most complicated kind, with polling across the states in an extended series of ballots. This is the largest election in the world. By the time this article appears in print, unless something cataclysmic happens, and…
Glasnevin Cemetery is an important place, but at the same time one which is little known. How it came into existence has to be kept in mind.
The Holy Family in Egypt narrative by Nazmy Morcus, illustrated by Nazmy El-Kommos, with a preface by the late Dr Mamdouh El-Beltaguie, Minister of Tourism (Cairo: Ministry of Tourism, no price stated.). In the West Christians of all kinds are often unaware of the feasts and festivals of their Orthodox and Eastern brethren in faith.…
A Short History of Notre Dame by Ken Follett (Pan Books, £12.99 / €14.99) On April 15, 2019 a fire in the roof space of Notre Dame de Paris appalled those who admire Paris and love the Cathedral. That great medieval edifice, begun in the 12th century, is a dominant symbol of the history and culture…
Memory Near and Far by Éamon Flanagan CM (Published by the author at St Peter’s, Phibsborough, €6.00 plus postage; available directly nationwide from Veritas, and also through the Knock Shrine Bookshop.) It is appropriate that the impressive city church of St Peter’s in Phibsborough should be in the charge of The Congregation of the Mission,…
How We Survived and Surprised: A Collection of Writing by Polio Survivors in Ireland (Post Polio Support Group Ireland, €10.00 plus postage; contact Post Polio Support Group, Unit 319 Capel Building, Mary’s Abbey, Dublin 7; email infro@ppsg.ie; tel: 01 889 8920) From time to time in these pages we review books published in support of…
The River Healer and other stories: A Journey to the Heartland of America by Paddy Reid (Liberties Press, €19.99 / £18.99) During the long 20 years after the Second World War, the large American glossy magazines which circulated in Ireland then, such as Life, Look, Saturday Evening Post, Good Housekeeping, and House Beautiful brought Ireland a…
Spirit of Revolution: Ireland from below 1917-1923, John Cunningham and Terry Dunne (Four Courts Press, €24.95 / £21.95) The cover of this book is graced by a 1934 watercolour by Harry Kernoff, entitled Liberty Hall, Dublin, night: the street is scattered with a selection of typical working class Dubliners, a social group with which…
This year marks the centenary of ‘Fund for the National Collections of Ireland’, which may well be for many readers a little known organisation. But nevertheless it is an important body working for the preservation of the arts in Ireland and the records of the past. Recently Dr John Turpin outlined the history of the…