Jennings, Stuart B. (2011) The Irish Franciscans, 1534–1990. Church History, Vol.80 (No.3). pp. 687-689. ISSN 0009-6407

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Abstract

The year 2009 marked the eight hundredth anniversary of the foundation of the Franciscan order, and it is fitting that in this year there should be published this third and final volume tracing the history and contribution of the Franciscan friars in Ireland to this ongoing story. This volume consists of eighteen essays by fourteen authors and is divided into two distinct sections. The first (consisting of eight essays) charts the history of the Irish friars chronologically over the years 1534 to 1990, a period of considerable trauma for the people of Ireland encompassing the establishment of plantations, wars of religion, famine, and mass emigration. The second section of the volume celebrates the legacy of the Franciscans in Ireland by exploring a range of topics from historical and hagiographic writings to architecture, chalices, and missionary activities. As with many collections of independently authored essays, there are elements of repetition and overlap (especially in relation to the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries), but the overriding sense conveyed by the book is of the courage and adaptability of the movement to meet and overcome, often at considerable personal cost, these many fluctuations in fortune. The essays are well served by extensive footnotes, and an excellent bibliography and index at the end of the book direct readers to both primary and secondary sources for further research. The book would probably benefit, though, from a short glossary of terms to help general readers quickly navigate their way through some of the ecclesiological terms used throughout the essays.

Item Type:	Book Review
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BR Christianity
Divisions:	Administration > Chaplaincy
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Franciscan movement (Anglican Communion) -- Ireland -- History
Journal or Publication Title:	Church History
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
ISSN:	0009-6407
Book Title:	The Irish Franciscans, 1534–1990
Date:	September 2011
Volume:	Vol.80
Number:	No.3
Page Range:	pp. 687-689
Identification Number:	10.1017/S0009640711000977
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/40725

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