Latest Blogs
Taking a Tumble
Those who partake in ‘decommemorating’, in the form of pulling down statues or otherwise, frequently see themselves as agents of oblivion, determined to efface an undesirable memory. But in the very act of calling attention to an offensive monument, they are in effect agents of memory, unwittingly reviving remembrance of the memorial they seek to supplant.
Down on the Street
This article is adapted from the introduction to Reclaiming the European Street: Speeches on Europe and the European Union, 2016-2020, by Michael D Higgins, published by Lilliput Press. The streets of Europe, from Berlin to Bucharest but also including Dublin, have regularly been pounded during the ongoing pandemic by demonstrators of often very diverse kinds….
A Quare One
And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? … And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto…
Big Questions in Irish History
Reading an issue of the drb is like splashing happily in a pool of ideas. Maurice Earls’s dash across several centuries of Irish history, “No Myth No Nation”, is an exhilarating exploration. At moments, it might seem like a ballon d’essai but the essay is written with serious intent. One could imagine a whole module…
Taking Pains
Enda O’Doherty writes: The printer Robert Estienne (1460 or 1470-1520), whose shop was on the rue de l’école de Droit in Paris, was a man who believed in taking pains. According to the distinguished scholar of early modern publishing Anthony Grafton, Estienne, who was printer-bookseller to the University of Paris, employed ten “correctors” and…
Seamus Deane: 1940-2021
Luke Gibbons writes: When the organisers of “After Orientalism”, a major conference on the work of Edward Said, asked the great Palestinian writer and critic which world intellectual should be invited to give the keynote, the answer was immediately forthcoming: “Seamus Deane.” Those who were at the conference, at Columbia University in October 1996, will…
A Classical Education II
Enda O’Doherty writes: Many of us may be aware of the rather disparaging remark Shakespeare’s friend and rival Ben Jonson – a highly educated scholar himself ‑ made on the extent of the Bard’s classical knowledge: “And though thou hadst small Latine, and less Greeke …” This was often interpreted to mean that Shakespeare had…
The Reawakening
Slowly but surely – and barring sudden reverses in the progress we have made – Ireland will be returning to social and cultural life this month and next. From May 10th you can visit a bookshop and pick up a book you have previously ordered online (click and collect). From the following week you can…
What’s so good about normal?
During lockdown a range of our habits has been broken, and in some cases resuming them doesn’t seem something to look forward to. For many, contemplation of resuming even the simplest and most harmless of habits spurs the thought: I’m not really sure I want to do that any more.
Taming the Past
The terms ‘victim’ and ‘perpetrator’ are not mutually exclusive, in the present or in the past. History matters and cannot be ignored. But in trying to shape a peaceful future for Ireland we should be aware of the danger of too much history, in particular a one-sided obsession with past wrongs.
In the Name of Love
Ahead of Ireland’s referendum on the subject of extending marriage rights to same-sex couples, Una Mullally charts the development of the movement, one of the most rapid and transformative changes in Irish society over the last century, from its origins to the present day.
The Ignoramus ‑ In His Own Words
Almost 58 million Brazilians voted for President Jair Bolsonaro, a man who never hid his nastiness, illiberalism, backwardness and general political ignorance. There are many ways of studying ‘bolsonarismo’, but one of the simplest is just to let him and his cronies speak.