Irish Non-Fiction Books

In Scandal Work: James Joyce, the New Journalism, and the Home Rule Newspaper Wars, Margot Gayle Backus charts the rise of the newspaper sex scandal across the fin de siècle British archipelago and explores its impact on the work …

Do indigenous peoples have an unassailable right to the land they have worked and lived on, or are those rights conferred and protected only when a powerful political authority exists? In the tradition of John Locke and Thomas Hob…

Beneath our feet, in our hedgerows, trees and under our seas lies a complex community of beings that goes unseen and unheard by us humans. Soil is the stuff of life itself, bustling with microbes, fungi, beetles and earthworms tha…

She Died Young is the literary work of an astonishing mind in which intellect, madness, art and raw honesty unite. It is as far from a ‘celebrity memoir’ as you can get. With humour, honesty and a poetic sensibility, Brenda Fricke…

'The Essential George Boole: Logic, Love and Legacy' is a captivating portrait of a brilliant mind and the family that shaped him. George Boole, a largely self-taught genius, as a youth mastered multiple languages and scientific d…

In The Gaeilge Guide, Mollie Guidera - Ireland's leading online Irish teacher and creator of the hit platform 'Irish with Mollie' - brings her joyful, down-to-earth approach to the page in a book guaranteed to spark your connectio…

This book features thirty-eight sites which contain collections of the finest and most interesting - and in several instances, little known - twentieth-century stained glass in Dublin city and county; the majority of the windows w…

Irish Names is a fascinating exploration of Ireland’s rich naming heritage, offering nearly nearly a thousand authentic names drawn from the annals, genealogies, mythology and historical literature of early medieval Ireland. Caref…

Meet the néaladóirí (cloud-watchers) and réadóirí (stargazers) from our past who, without the luxury of Met Éireann at their disposal, observed birds, trees, animals, as well as markers on land and sea for signs of weather change.…

“IT ALL STARTED WITH MY BALLS.” So begins Colm Tóibín’s fabulously compelling essay, laced with humor, about his diagnosis and treatment for cancer. Tóibín survives, but he has entered, as he says, “the age of one ball.” The secon…

Executed by a British firing squad on May 12, 1916, for his role in organizing the Easter Rising, James Connolly was one of the most prominent radical organizers and agitators of his day. As a labor organizer, Connolly stressed th…

Rosita Sweetman tells with irresistible dry humour the story of how she fled from a turbulent upbringing into a relationship that became marked by emotional abuse. Set against the backdrop of mid-20th century Ireland, her narrati…

An intimate and evocative celebration of the life and legacy of music and political icon Sinéad O’Connor, featuring writers including Neko Case, Sinéad Gleeson, Rayne Fisher-Quann, Porochista Khakpour, and more.  More than thirty …

Through the Lens of Time: The Horgan Brothers' Ireland 1890-1940 Step back in time through the extraordinary photographs of The Horgan Brothers, who captured Ireland during its transformation from British rule to an Independent Re…

Great Irish Walks and Hikes is your ultimate guide to exploring the breathtaking landscapes of Ireland on foot. This book is a treasure trove for both seasoned hikers and casual walkers, offering a curated selection of fifty trail…

Anne Marie Allen was fifteen when she was accepted onto a cookery school course that promised real qualifications and a future in the career of her dreams. Seeking a better life, she moved to the calm and peaceful countryside of t…

How far would you go for the missing?Blending private and public history, cultural analysis, family memoir, and autobiography, Clair Wills explores profound questions about memory, loss, motherhood, and emigration. She traces a hi…

Into the world of 1950s Ireland - a lushly green, windswept landscape studded with holy wells and the decaying country houses of a vanished ruling class - arrives Ithell Colquhoun. An occultist and a surrealist painter, Colquhoun'…

In The 50 Best Family Hikes in Ireland, Mairéad Furlong and Fergal McLoughlin share their experiences of climbing more than 200 of Ireland’s mountains with their child (who is currently eight years old), drawing on their expertise…

What is it like to run for election? How do public representatives deal with the cut-throat competition from their rivals – and their own running mates? What’s the Dáil bar really like? And why, given the almost constant abuse tha…

A raw and powerful memoir of addiction and recovery, across three continents and multiple drugs, from early childhood through adulthood.Following an obsessive mind trying (and failing) to find relief, The Black Pool is a gripping …

An updated and abridged edition of Bono’s bestselling memoir, including a new introduction by the author, Stories of Surrender is an unforgettable love story, a tribute to fatherhood, friendship, faith and music. Honest, irreveren…

'Arriving in West Cork to cover the murder of Frenchwoman Sophie Toscan du Plantier, our man on the ground was local journalist Ian Bailey. His level of insight into the killing was extraordinary . . .' So began the journey of jou…

The complete translations of the poet Séamus Heaney, a Nobel laureate and prolific, revolutionary translator.Séamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf, published in 1999, was immediately hailed as an undisputed masterpiece. A few yea…

Lonely Planet's Best Road Trips Ireland reveals 34 incredible escapes - with maps - so you can experience the freedom of the open road. Get ready for a road trip like no other and discover unforgettable drives across Ireland that …

Rough Beast is Máiría Cahill's harrowing story of her life and of what she went through at the hands of what is now Ireland’s largest and richest party. That story is told here for the first time in full detail and with unsparing …

Explore the hidden gems of Ireland with Ireland’s Curious Places, a captivating guide to 100 of the island’s most curious, intriguing and quirky locations. This book takes you on an unforgettable journey off the beaten track, thro…

In January 2013, the nation was horrified when Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe was murdered as he carried out a routine cash-escort duty at the Lordship Credit Union in Dundalk, Co Louth. Aaron Brady, the chief suspect, fled to the…

Around Ireland saunas have become new hubs of community as thousands of people are being drawn to the powerful forces of fire, water, steam and sweat. Sweathouse threads together the 3,000-year-old tradition of sauna in Ireland an…

Irish history and folklore is rich with proverbs and sayings of old, full of timeless wisdom that still has resonance and truth today. This beautifully designed hardback brings together a whole host of these sayings and proverbs o…