This is ostensibly a comprehensive study of the stone churches of the early medieval period in Ireland—an aim it fulfils admirably. But it is about much more than that. Rarely has one element of the Irish archaeological heritage been treated to such intellectual analysis and international contextualising. The period covered is often proclaimed as Ireland’s … Read more
Fundamental discussions are currently taking place, North and South, on the nature of the respective education systems. In the South, new Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn has hit the ground running with a proposal, first aired by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, for a forum to discuss ways and means of ending the Catholic Church’s near monopoly … Read more
The dust-jacket of Éibhear Walshe’s anthology of the Irish writings of the Anglo-Irish novelist Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973) reproduces a portrait of her by Patrick Hennessy, standing statuesquely in pale blue evening dress at the top of the grand staircase of her family home at Bowen’s Court, Farahy, north Cork. Bowen’s face, lit by a shaft … Read more
This attractive-looking edited collection brings together a team of geologists, scientists, archaeologists, conservationists and other researchers to produce a wide-ranging scholarly publication on Lough Swilly and its surrounding area in north Donegal. Its eleven chapters investigate such diverse topics as geology and geomorphology, history and archaeology, geography, aquaculture and conservation. The stunning photography on almost … Read more
This book is a tale of maps and a man—of maps because the author spent most of his working life in the Ordnance Survey of Ireland until he retired, having risen through the ranks to become director, but also of the man and his quests, desires and fears, from the time he grew up in … Read more