300 years of Irish gazetteering

The official organ of the government of the Republic of Ireland is Iris Oifigiúil, which is in effect a state newspaper for the publication of important public notices. Those notices that name and shame large-scale tax defaulters are usually given extensive coverage in the media. Iris Oifigiúil commenced in 1922, the first year of the … Read more

Albrecht Dürer: first superstar of northern European art

Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) was the first superstar of northern European art. Vasari’s Lives of the artists (1568) describes Dürer as a ‘truly great painter and creator of the most beautiful copper engravings’. In typically chauvinist manner, the Florentine artist-historian further states that if Dürer had been born a Tuscan and had learned Italian technique fully, … Read more

The Norman Invasion of Ireland, Richard Roche, (Anvil Books, £9.95).

At the start of every academic year the university lecturer is faced with the task of recommending certain books to the new, eager crop of students taking his or her subject. Of equal importance, and frequently undertaken with even more enthusiasm, is the task of warning students off certain other books regarded as flawed, tainted, … Read more

James Barry (1741–1806): ‘The Great Historical Painter’

James Barry remains the most ambitious, controversial and important painter that Ireland has produced. He was also a neo-classical painter of major international significance, although not often given his due as such. His reputation for eccentricity, for extreme political views, and for intemperate and paranoid confrontations with the art establishment still overshadows his considerable achievements … Read more