Irish Non-Fiction

Did you know that bees have been around for over 100 million years? Or that the Brehon Laws included judgments about the rightful ownership of swarms? And why Irish beekeepers plant bluebells around their hives? From the perfectio…

Patsy Peril was born in 1943 in Coonagh, a small fishing community on the Shannon, not far from Limerick. His family fished from a traditional gandelow boat, using hemp nets. Further upriver was Ardnacrusha, the enormous hydro-ele…

In this wonderful selection, spanning fifty years of Seamus Heaney's correspondence, we are given access as never before to the life and poetic development of a literary titan - from his early days in Belfast, through his controve…

Jesuit priest and amateur photographer, Fr Francis Browne is renowned for his images of the Titanic. However, much less well-known are the pictures that Fr Browne took of Irish country houses over a decade from 1946 onward. At the…

Need a reason to feel mnásome? Look no further! For each day of the year, we celebrate Irish women, their extraordinary achievements and landmark victories. From stone-throwing suffragists, scientific geniuses and intrepid adventu…

In fact, two places called home …For over sixty years, Alice Taylor has lived in the village of Innishannon, the gateway to West Cork. But her childhood was spent on a farm in North Cork, near the Kerry border, and her memories of…

Bernard Phelan was working for an Iranian tour operator when he was arrested on false charges of spying on 3rd October 2022, becoming a political hostage. He shared "Satan's block" in Mashhad prison with political prisoners and dr…

A unique presentation of Irish country house interiors, combining well-preserved historic estates with adventurous contemporary restorations, celebrating some of the most characterful houses in Ireland. Forgoing the criteria of st…

This book identifies a representative selection of compelling and intriguing artworks by a range of around one hundred of the most challenging and vibrant artists from, or working in, Ireland or whose work addresses Irish landscap…

Loinnir: The sunlight sparkling on the waves, or the merriness you feel after early pints of stout in the morning.  When you speak in Irish, every word is a tiny poem that reveals a new perspective. The Irish language is our inher…

In the sequel to Seamus O’Rourke’s popular first memoir, Standing in Gaps, this innocent Leitrim lad finally flees the nest, briefly sampling life in New York, Dublin and London – before inevitably returning to his beloved, duller…

The Great Famine in Ireland is still a current and emotive subject which draws readers from all spheres. This book tells a story not merely unique to Cork, but of interest to the national population. Famine in Cork City explores t…

GBS was the first great brand – discover how he created this most modern of concepts. The fourth book in the Royal Irish Academy’s award-winning ‘Judging’ series looks at the legacy of George Bernard Shaw, Nobel prizewinner for li…

From the acclaimed, controversial singer-songwriter Sinead O'Connor comes a revelatory memoir of her fraught childhood, musical triumphs, struggles with illness, and of the enduring power of song.Blessed with a singular voice and …

The hilarious guide to the countryside you never knew you needed, from up-and-coming TikTok-and Instagram-hit comedian Killian Sundermann. Welcome to the countryside! A place of rolling hills, winding rivers and natural beauty. Or…

On Skellig Michael, thousands of birds appear and disappear, erecting towers, coming together in wings of movement which build and unravel over the empty sea.Often, no one else is there to stand beside me on the island. The mind w…

Martin Doyle, Books Editor of The Irish Times, offers a personal, intimate history of the Troubles seen through the microcosm of a single rural parish, his own, part of both the Linen Triangle – heartland of the North’s defining i…

An original and fascinating history of Dublin that tells the story of the city through its bridges. Dublin started life on the south bank of the River Liffey and for six or seven centuries that is more or less where the town staye…

The incomparable George Hamilton returns with a superb offering of travails and anecdotes spanning his five decades on our airwaves and on our screens, always at the heart of Irish culture. Picking up where his first offering, The…

At her death in 2020, Eavan Boland left a formidable body of work – poems and prose. Together they transformed Irish poetry and had a considerable influence throughout the English-speaking world. She was also a major essayist, who…

How do you feel about embracing Ireland's native tongue? At odds after a tricky relationship at school? Maybe you've given up, or don't know where to start? Well, is fada an bóthar nach mbíonn casadh ann - long is th…

If the past is another country – what happens when we revisit it, one day a year?Carlo Gébler has done just that. Here is the story of Ireland – from the tail end of the Troubles to the Good Friday agreement, to the glory days of …

For the first time ever, OUT OF SIGHT! explores the rich history of sport and leisure as experienced by Ireland’s blind and vision impaired athletes, their families, friends, and coaches, as recounted in interviews with Joe Geragh…

A highly illustrated and portable identification guide to the most common wild flowers and other plants. This innovative photographic guide covers the most common wild flowers and other plants found in Britain and Ireland, as defi…

In 1981, the Stardust nightclub in Dublin was a beacon for the city's nightlife - until it became a nightmare. On that fateful Valentine's Day the dance floor became a scene of horror, as flames engulfed the venue, claiming the li…

After being expelled from school for playing football for his country, fifteen-year-old Liam Brady travelled to London to join Arsenal, and soon became an indispensable part of their glorious 1970s team. Rightly considered one of …

John Moriarty was an original, a thinker, a poet, a mythologian. He was born and reared just outside the little village of Moyvane in north Kerry. Growing up on his parent’s farm he was attuned to the rhythms of weather and soil f…

A wonderful walk through the story of Moriarty’s childhood growing up on a small farm in north Kerry, and his lifelong engagement with traditional Catholic sacraments, taking as his point of departure Philip Larkin’s poem ‘Church …

Bannister is back! The author of the bestselling Proverbs in Irish and What’s That as Gaeilge? returns with another indispensable guide to the Irish language. This comprehensive compendium includes a thematic index and lists of sy…