Ireland

by Martin J. Dougherty

Ireland holds a special place in peopleâ€s hearts—even for many who havenâ€t been there. To some the appeal is its natural beauty, to others it is the history; to some it is the countryâ€s strong folk tradition, while to others the island seems to be a mystical place. The Emerald Isle presents 200 outstanding photographs of the islandâ€s most evocative and beautiful places, from miles of near empty beaches on the Dingle Peninsula to the Mourne Mountains in County Down, from County Corkâ€s pretty fishing towns to Dublinâ€s elegant Georgian streets and Belfastâ€s bridges. While some locations, such as the striking basalt columns of the Giantâ€s Causeway, may be familiar, others you may recognize only from TV series and movies such as Game of Thrones and Star Wars , but not have known that they, too, are to be found in Ireland. From Celtic settlements to the Vikings, from the Norman invasions to the islandâ€s relationship with Britain, each entry is supported by a caption explaining its fascinating history. Arranged by topics from beaches and coasts to hills and mountains, from forts and castles to religious places to towns and cities, and featuring entries from both the Republic and Northern Ireland, this is a stunning collection of images celebrating the islandâ€s natural beauty, culture, religion, and history.

Genres: Ireland, Nonfiction, Photography

224 pages, Hardcover

Published June 12, 2018

About the author

Hailing from northeast England, Martin J Dougherty is a professional writer specialising in military history. He has been at times a games designer, an engineer, a self-protection instructor, a teacher and a defence analyst. Martin has published a range of books covering topics as diverse as self-protection, medieval warfare and space flight, and has addressed international conferences on anti-shipping missiles and homeland security issues.

Martin's interests include martial arts and fencing. He has coached Fencing, Ju-Jitsu, Self-Defence and Kickboxing for many years at the University of Sunderland, and has competed to national level as a fencer. As a martial artist he holds black belts in Combat Ju-Jitsu, Nihon Tai-Jitsu and Self-Defence. Martin is a Senior Assessor with the Self-Defence Federation and an IL1 instructor/assessor with the Britsh Federation for Historical Swordplay, specialising in the Military Sabre and the Smallsword.

Reviews

[Philip]

Looks like all of my travel will be via armchair for the foreseeable future, but this is not a bad place to start. Beautiful book of mostly full-page photos with helpful but minimal captions, combined with a very reasonable price off of Barnes & Noble's bargain shelf. The only thing missing is a map or two that shows where the pictures (especially the landscapes and castles/monsteries) were taken, because it didn't take long for me to get lost in all the Donegals and Dingles and Ballybunions and Ballynacreggas.

Ireland was our last trip (October 2019), but we're hoping that it's not our last trip, if you know what I mean. Still, it's a day-to-day world right now, so who knows?

But in the meantime - pretty pictures and nice memories, and with Guinness in hand it's a far better way to pass an evening than watching the news...

[Justin]

FANTASTIC coffee table book! This was on sale in the bargain section of my local Barnes & Noble. I visited Ireland with my family just after 9/11. We had planned the trip for over a year and we almost didn't go because of the terrorist attacks on our country. But my aunt convinced me to go and I am so glad I did!!

Ireland was such a friendly and warm place and we got to see most of the countryside before our visit was over. This book reminded me of both my family and that trip. There are 200 pictures in this book and they are amazing!!

I would recommend highly to those who love good coffee table books and want to have something fun and interesting to look at.

[Betsy]

Lovely photos and informative blurbs of many different parts of Ireland! Nicely bound and presented, a pleasure to read.

[Laura Forner]

incredible photography, interesting tidbits, and a general sense of ‘wtf i’m seeing some of this with my own eyeballs in less than six months’
10/10 would read again

[Andressa Da Silva]

I use this instead of actually traveling

[Nicole]

Since I can't travel the world, this is the next best thing! Beautiful pictures!

[Molly Joyce]

4.75