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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]