Cutting to the Point: Essays and Objections, 1994-2003

Desmond Fennell is one of Irelands most original and radical thinkers. For almost forty years, he has written lucidly and cogently on a variety of issues concerning Ireland and the wider Western world, often clashing with the liberal-revisionist ascendancy. It is ten years since his last collection of essays, Heresy. In this new collection, dating from 1994 to 2003, Fennell's subject matter ranges across a broad spectrum, delving into literature, art, history, religion, politics, nationalism, linguistics, academia and the media, as well as taking the temperature of Irish society and Western civilisation in general. The author also finds time to pause, as in his story of "a new friend suddenly lost", his account of a train journey across Europe, or his translation of a Rilke poem. Throughout, he writes with wit, reflection and an unwavering eye for things often left unsaid.

As Desmond Fennell states in his Preface, Cutting to the Point is "in the nature of an anthology, which means that my readers are invited to pick and choose as suits their palates. I believe that all of them will find meat to their taste; I have had their palates in mind when selecting the contents."

About the Author

Desmond Fennell taught History and Politics at University College Galway from 1976 to 1982 and English Writing at the Dublin Institute of Technology from 1982 to 1993. His books and journalism have dealt with contemporary culture and politics, travel and literature. Since 1997 he has lived in Anguillara outside Rome.