ed. EC MARK WILLIAMS Princeton University Press $39.50 ISBN 9780691157313 Reviewed by: Angela Bourke Between Charles Stewart Parnell’s death in 1891 and the 1916 Rising, pre-Christian Ireland exercised a fascination that lies behind the present fact of Irish sovereignty. The years of cultural revival were saturated in the pagan past. Parents who broke with tradition … Read more
By Joe Culley James Kelly and Susan Hegarty (eds), Schools and schooling, 1650–2000: new perspectives on the history of education (Four Courts Press, €40.50 hb, 208pp, ISBN 9781846826283). Tony Bergin (hon. ed.), Journal of the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society, Series 2, Vol. 16 (€10 pb, 200pp, ISBN 9780993428913). Kieran Groeger, The little book of … Read more
The Gallery, Farmleigh House, Phoenix Park, Dublin 8 www.phoenixpark.ie By Tony Canavan Residents of Dublin tend to take Phoenix Park for granted, never questioning its origins or why this prime piece of real estate has remained in public hands. Many would be surprised to learn that it started life as a royal deer-park for Charles … Read more
Flights of angels Would You Believe? RTÉ1, 26 November 2016 Directed by Seán Ó Mealóid By Tom Lodge Images of the world’s first televised famine were broadcast on RTÉ during 1969. An hour-long documentary, Night flight to Uli (reviewed in HI 16.5, Sept./Oct. 2008), prompted the surge of public support that sustained Joint Church Aid, … Read more
Blue Raincoat Theatre Company Project Arts Centre, Dublin 27 February–11 March 2017 By Tony Canavan Blue Raincoat is one of Ireland’s longest-running theatre ensembles, with a reputation for innovative, imaginative productions. Shackleton is their latest, described as ‘a visual theatre piece, the tale of the Irish explorer Ernest Shackleton’s escape from the Antarctic is told … Read more