The longer the book went on, the more convinced I was that I had not read it before, but then I found on the bottom of page 189 a note in my pencilled handwriting. Continue reading
Filed under Book review …
Two Books to Make us Think
What it really meant to be poor and how to survive it. And a book about a priest who fathered a child with nun. Continue reading
On Rereading The Country Girls
I decided to read classics I had not read, and to reread some that I had. I was interested to see if books I had loved on a first reading when I was young, remained beloved. Continue reading
Should We Forget and Vote for Them?
Two new books about the IRA bombing campaigns of the 70s and 80s. Continue reading
This Happened in Ireland. Read and Weep
The Magdalen Laundries from someone who was in one from the age of 11. Continue reading
Scéalta Eile-Irish short stories with translations, a review
She is following suit with many other Irish language writers who seem to be more and more releasing bilingual books of Irish and English, these being a very helpful resource for the language learner and those of us who shift between these two languages regularly and enjoy them both. Continue reading
The Irishman who Shot the Duke of Edinburgh
The author, Simon Smith, is a filmmaker who has recorded stories from around the world, and that background is seen in the writing as he fills in little details and concentrates on the lives, likes and troubles of the main characters. Continue reading
Remembering Hugh O’Flaherty
With honours from the US, Britain and Israel, he is almost forgotten in Ireland, sixty years after he died. Continue reading
Hidden Cargoes by Chris Arthur
Hidden Cargoes is a substantive work of research and creative analysis that also reads like a gentle musing on life by a favourite relative. Continue reading
St Manchan’s Shrine
Though the shrine was built in the early twelfth century, Saint Manchan died in AD. 644. Contextual evidence allows the authors to point to possible reasons the saint’s life and work might be commemorated years later by such craftsmanship. Continue reading
Tinteán 