Travelers' Tales Ireland

Travelers' Tales Guides

by James O'Reilly (Editor), Larry Habegger (Editor), Sean Joseph O'Reilly (Editor)

Travelers’ Tales Ireland reveals the heart and soul of one of the oldest and richest cultures in Europe. From its Celtic ancestry to its thoroughly modern economy, its predominantly Catholic faith to its thriving music and arts, Ireland is a top choice of Europeans seeking a friendly, cosmopolitan place to unwind, and Irish Americans seeking connections with their forbears. Experience the wonder of Ireland as you have always imagined it would be.
- Kayak among hidden islands with Brian Wilson
- Share a poignant moment with relatives you never knew you had with Brian Moore
- Dance with delight with Niall Williams and Christine Breen
- Encounter friendly con artists with Thom Elkjer
- Explore ancient ruins with David W. McFadden
- Climb St. Patrick’s holy mountain with Colm Tóibín
- Pilot your own boat up the River Shannon with Kent E. St. John
- Discover the root of "The Troubles" with Cecil Woodham-Smith
- Explore Jonathan Swift’s Dublin with Rebecca Solnit
- Walk the Kerry Way with Tim O’Reilly
- Share Heinrich Böll’s thoughts on Irish rain

Genres: Travel, Ireland, Nonfiction

424 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2003

About the author

James O'Reilly has been a traveler since infancy, and a storyteller almost as long. Born in Oxford, England, in 1953, he savors the early memory of walking as a five-year-old boy across the tarmac at Shannon Airport in Ireland and gazing up at the huge triple tails of the now-defunct Constellation aircraft. The smell of fuel and Irish fog and the amazing sight above him must have made a deep impression because he's been traveling willy-nilly ever since. After emigrating from Ireland to the United States, he grew up in San Francisco, where he was schooled by Jesuits, nuns and assorted yogis and eccentrics in the '60s. His eclectic education was formed as much by growing up in a large Roman Catholic family where he was the second of seven children as it was by being an omnivorous reader who was studying Eastern religion and meditation by his early teens. He traveled a great deal with his family - to Ireland, England, Scotland, and Canada - before heading off to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, where, among other things, he spent a semester in Salamanca, Spain.

At Dartmouth, James met his good friend Larry Habegger, with whom he has collaborated since 1982 on projects ranging from radio shows to mystery serials, newspaper and magazine columns to world adventure travel. Since 1985, O'Reilly and Habegger have co-authored the nationally-syndicated travel column "World Travel Watch." In 1993, they co-founded the publishing company Travelers' Tales with James's brother Tim, and have since worked on more than 100 books together, winning many awards for excellence, including the prestigious Lowell Thomas award for outstanding travel book. James has been an active member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) since 1990, and is a former board member of the Tibet Information Network.

James has visited over forty countries and lived in four. Among his favorite travel memories are visiting headhunters in Borneo, rafting the legendary Zambezi River in Zimbabwe, enjoying a meal cooked by blowtorch in Tibet, and hanging out laundry with nuns in Florence. He has made traveling with his own family a priority, and together he and his wife and three daughters have roamed all over Europe. He lives in Palo Alto, California, where he is usually conspiring to be somewhere else.

Reviews

[Bruce Reiter]

Since I am going to be traveling to Ireland this year I am trying to get a little further into the country and culture. This is a good book full of short perspectives on aspects of Ireland by several people. Some are native Irish. Others are people who have visited Ireland. Although the book is somewhat dated in terms of Tips for the Traveler, the stories are really outstanding. Discusses everything from the weather to sectarian politics. Loads of fun.

[A.J.]

Great book of short essays/stories about Ireland and its people. Reveals what the Irish are all about.
Be careful - you may get addicted to it.

[Tim]

My story "Walking the Kerry Way" appears in this book.

[Liz]

On my list of places to travel.

[Lisa]

I marked this as read, but I didn't finish it. It was interesting enough, but not enough to hold my interest. I still recommend it, but suggest that you flip through and read what interests you instead of reading cover to cover.

[Mariane]

Read that before I went to Ireland. These books are really good travel guides.