The sales figures for To Raise the Fallen place it as the Number 3* hardback non-fiction book in Ireland last week. That is a phenomenal achievement given the vast competition and the fact that this is Ireland in 2017. This is not about boasting or anything like that. I share this information because it shows that Fr Doyle is still relevant for people today. His writings have been met with a tremendous reception. Not only was he a brilliant writer, able to vividly capture the tragedy of war, but his charming personality and his spiritual insights and advice resonate with so many people today. His life and example are a good news story that need to be retold.

(*Due to a cataloguing error somewhere in the process, the book was not registered as a hardback for best seller list purposes, but as a paperback, hence the book will not officially appear on the best seller lists :-(. Nonetheless the sales figures mean that it was de facto the number 3 best selling hardback non-fiction seller last week…)