Dr Patrick Rowan reviews a limited-edition book that chronicles one doctor’s working life in adverse social and medical conditions.
But the crowd called out for more
July 13, 2009 By
With the explosion of summer festivals over the last few decades, Dr John Wallace looks at the music event that began it all. We like festivals. They can generate fantasy and freedom. Some fans plan their music festivals from the time they throw out the Christmas tree. They look forward to their eventual emergence from [...]
Thumbin’ — the lost art of the Irish teen
July 4, 2009 By
Berna Cox writes that young people these days are missing some weird and wonderful experiences now that hitching a lift is no longer an option or a necessity. There is a generation on the rise who, despite thinking that they know everything and that their education is so much more sophisticated than that of their [...]
Changing seasons and eras at Trinity
June 28, 2009 By
Dr John Wallace looks at a new book on Trinity College Dublin and its progression through the acdemic year. Its history goes back much further, however, to 1166. The Trinity Year is a tribute to Ireland’s earliest university. Trinity College, unusually, is located in the middle of a capital city and is known for both [...]
Don’t waste your time and money at the checkout
June 19, 2009 By
Berna Cox says that she used to be a loyal shopper but she now sees the value in being able to go anywhere and buy anything without ‘thrift guilt’. A couple of years ago, I was doing my supermarket shopping one day and when I got to the checkout, I put my loyalty card on [...]
Form and function and on budget
May 18, 2009 By
Dr John Wallace looks at a ‘pop-up’ book that examines five buildings by one of the most innovative and important architects of our time — Frank Gehry. Architecture is a utilitarian activity because people have to live and work in buildings. But architecture is also a visual art, like painting and sculpture. The two processes [...]
Insights into the life of a careful correspondent
April 6, 2009 By
Dr John Wallace looks at an insightful new book that sees the publication of a selection of letters written by Samuel Beckett from 1929 to 1940. This book contains a comprehensive range of letters written by one of the greatest literary figures of the 20th century. The first letter of this volume is written to [...]
A rocky road ahead for Irish economy
March 2, 2009 By
A Rocky Road Ahead – Irish Economic Commentary was produced recently by Dermot O’Leary, Chief Economist in Goodbody Stockbrokers. Conor White outlines its main points. Recent concerns about Ireland Inc. have been centred on the ability of the Irish economy to cope with: (1) the ballooning budget deficits as a result of the sharp decline [...]
Surgeons’ secrets in the last century
February 20, 2009 By
Dr John Wallace looks at Barry O’Donnell’s new book, which reveals a few home truths about surgeons and surgery in Ireland . ‘Nothing, absolutely nothing, in the hospital’s experience had prepared it for what lay ahead.’ This is a story of surgery on a small island during the 20th century. The account starts in the [...]
The lost lives and loves of a silent generation
February 20, 2009 By
Bette Brown writes that Sebastian Barry’s award-winning novel, The Secret Scripture, should be read by everyone in the medical field. One might recoil from a novel set in a mental hospital in Roscommon as holiday reading. But Sebastian Barry’s The Secret Scripture recently became my inseparable holiday companion. While at once terrifying, it is also [...]
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