Issue 3 (May/June 2012)

Magic lantern, panorama and moving picture shows in Ireland, 1786–1909 Film exhibition and distribution in Ireland, 1909–2010 Kevin and Emer Rockett (Four Courts Press, €45 and €55) ISBN 9781846823152, 9781846823169

Over the course of the eighteenth century there was an increasing focus on spectacular forms of entertainment, ranging from peep-shows and waxworks to magic lantern shows and theatrical effects, which prefigure the idea of ‘going to the pictures’. While many of these entertainment techniques remained experimental or confined to the élite, once the Irish-born Robert … Read more

The Great Famine: Ireland’s agony, 1845–1852 Ciarán Ó Murchadha (Continuum, €16) ISBN 9781847252173

On 15 June 1843, huge crowds congregated on a racecourse outside Ennis at a ‘monster meeting’ in support of the repeal of the Act of Union. Adhering to a template, the mass rally of rousing speeches was followed by a magnificent evening banquet in the town’s old chapel, where Daniel O’Connell compared the momentum of … Read more

Enigma: a new life of Charles Stewart Parnell Paul Bew (Gill & Macmillan, €24.99) ISBN 9780774744

The roads of early twentieth-century rural Ireland may have been safer for the fact that Parnell did not live to see the advent of the motorcar. According to a society hostess acquaintance, he was ‘always in a hurry; he could never wait for anything; to wait for a train was anguish to him, he would … Read more

Museum eye: St Audoen’s Church High Street, Dublin 8 staudoenschurch@opw.ie. +353 1(0) 677 0088 26 April–24 Oct., 9.30am–5.30pm by Tony Canavan

Of all the properties under the control of the Office of Public Works, St Audoen’s Church must be the most unusual, in remaining a parish church where services are still held, just as they have been for over 800 years. Not far from the much grander Christ Church Cathedral, St Audoen’s is perhaps just as … Read more

Bookworm

The forthcoming ‘decade of centenaries’ looks like being a busy time for publishers. Within that decade, the centenary of the Easter Rising seems to be getting singled out for particular attention. March saw the launch (in the GPO!) of the ambitious ‘16 Lives’ series, published by O’Brien Press. The first titles in the series (James … Read more