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Bernard Maclaverty: A Novelist With A Catholic Sensibiliy., Eamon Maher Jun 2019

Bernard Maclaverty: A Novelist With A Catholic Sensibiliy., Eamon Maher

Articles

Like many others I would imagine, my first introduction to the work of the Belfast writer Bernard MacLaverty (born in 1942) was through the successful film adaptations of his first novel, Lamb, with Liam Neeson in the main role, and the highly successful ‘Troubles’ film, Cal, based on the novel of the same name. Nominated for several prestigious literary awards, a member of Aosdána, author of numerous well-regarded novels and short story collections, MacLaverty is nevertheless largely neglected in terms of the critical attention he has attracted. The shining exceptions are the essay collection, About Bernard MacLaverty: New …


The Half-Life And Death Of The Irish Catholic Novel : In A Country Renowned For Its Catholicism, It Is Unusual The ‘Catholic Novel’ Never Took Root, Eamon Maher Dec 2017

The Half-Life And Death Of The Irish Catholic Novel : In A Country Renowned For Its Catholicism, It Is Unusual The ‘Catholic Novel’ Never Took Root, Eamon Maher

Articles

In Underground Cathedrals (2010), the Glenstal monk and author Mark Patrick Hederman described artists as the “secret agents” of the Holy Spirit: “Art has the imagination to sketch out the possible. When this happens something entirely new comes into the world. Often it is not recognised for what it is and is rejected or vilified by those who are comfortable with what is already there and afraid of whatever might unsettle the status quo”. Reflecting on this position, one wonders to what extent Irish novelists have fulfilled the important role outlined by Hederman. In the past, they definitely did offer …


Catholic Guilt : Longing And Belonging In The Fiction Of François Mauriac And John Mcgahern, Eamon Maher Dec 2015

Catholic Guilt : Longing And Belonging In The Fiction Of François Mauriac And John Mcgahern, Eamon Maher

Articles

No abstract provided.


Faith In Our Fathers: Can You Believe In Fictional Priests?, Eamon Maher Jun 2015

Faith In Our Fathers: Can You Believe In Fictional Priests?, Eamon Maher

Articles

I was struck recently by an article that appeared in the online section ofthe Irish Times (November 14th. 2015). Written by a priest called Martin Boland, the piece was prompted by the publication of a novel by John Boyne, A History of Loneliness, which has as its main protagonist Fr Odran Yates, who is forced to live in an Ireland where the priest is more likely to be viewed as a paedophile or pariah than as a respected member of society. Clearly a novelist as disaffected as Boyne admits to being with the Catholic Church, would find it hard to …


Catholic Sensibility In The Early Fiction Of Edna O'Brien, Eamon Maher Oct 2014

Catholic Sensibility In The Early Fiction Of Edna O'Brien, Eamon Maher

Articles

No abstract provided.


Albert Camus And The Dilemma Of The Absent God, Eamon Maher Jan 2014

Albert Camus And The Dilemma Of The Absent God, Eamon Maher

Articles

The year 2013 marked the centenary of the birth of Albert Camus. In this article Eamon Maher considers Camus' writing on religion,focusing in particular on two novels, The Outsider and The Plaque. They offer a powerful analysis of the seeming absence of God from a world a suffering, a challenge for all who profess Christian belief.


Deciphering Irish Catholic Identities: Past And Present, Eamon Maher Jan 2014

Deciphering Irish Catholic Identities: Past And Present, Eamon Maher

Articles

This collection of essays, compiled and edited by Oliver Rafferty, is a significant contribution to making sense of the tangled labyrinth that is Irish Catholic identities. The plural is important here, as there are, in fact, multiple Catholic identities, something that is often forgotten in the rush to blandly link “Irish” and “Catholic”.


''They All Seem To Have Inherited The Horrible Ugliness And Sewer Filth Of Sex'' : Catholic Guilt In Selected Works By John Mcgahern (1934-2006), Eamon Maher Jan 2014

''They All Seem To Have Inherited The Horrible Ugliness And Sewer Filth Of Sex'' : Catholic Guilt In Selected Works By John Mcgahern (1934-2006), Eamon Maher

Articles

No abstract provided.


The Religious Landscape Of Walter Macken's Fictional Universe, Eamon Maher Jan 2014

The Religious Landscape Of Walter Macken's Fictional Universe, Eamon Maher

Articles

Eamon Maher lectures in the Department of Humanities, Technological University Dublin. He is director of the National Centre for Franco-Irish Studies.


Fifty Years Of ‘The Barracks’, Eamon Maher Mar 2013

Fifty Years Of ‘The Barracks’, Eamon Maher

Articles

John McGahern’s first novel, The Barracks , was published 50 years ago, thus marking the arrival of one of Ireland’s most significant writers of the latter half of the20th century. The following year, 1964, saw the book awarded the prestigious Macauley Fellowship, which allowed McGahern to avail of a one-year sabbatical from his teaching duties in Scoil Eoin Baiste in Clontarf.


Island Culture: The Role Of The Blasket Autobiographies In The Preservation Of A Traditional Way Of Life, Eamon Maher Jan 2008

Island Culture: The Role Of The Blasket Autobiographies In The Preservation Of A Traditional Way Of Life, Eamon Maher

Articles

The Blasket Islands, located off the west coast of Kerry, are remarkable for having inspired a flourishing literature, mainly autobiographical in nature, which is generally acknowledged as being of great anthropological value, as well as of significant literary merit. When one considers that the islands never had a population of more than around 160 persons (with an average of closer to half that number) during the years covered by the autobiographies, the existence of such an important chronicle of the simple and at times perilous life on these Atlantic outposts is all the more noteworthy. The language spoken on the …


Casting A Critical Eye On His Own Church : Heinrich Boll's ''The Clown'', Eamon Maher May 2007

Casting A Critical Eye On His Own Church : Heinrich Boll's ''The Clown'', Eamon Maher

Articles

Material reproduced by kind permission of Reality


Representations Of Catholicism In The Twentieth-Century Irish Novel, Eamon Maher Jan 2006

Representations Of Catholicism In The Twentieth-Century Irish Novel, Eamon Maher

Books/Chapters

No abstract provided.