Ireland is an ancient land - beautiful, mythical, tragic - that casts its bewitching spell upon all who visit her. The long, troubled history of this island at the very edge of Europe is peopled with heros, villains, visionaries and gods conjured up among a breathtaking landscape of harsh mountains and swirling loughs, verdant pastures and a raw, jagged coastline. Richard Turpin's collection of photographs reveals a land and a people that, for all the bewildering changes of the recent past, the new-found prosperity and global profile, remain firmly in touch with this past. From the elegant Georgian squares of Dublin to the raucous horse fairs of Galway, from the dazzling traditional musicians of Clare to the peaceful Glens of Antrim, the book offers an evocative portrait of the Irish nation today, at once ancient and modern, familiar and strange. From the lush pastures of Tipperary, to the thrilling Atlantic-battered cliffs of Donegal, the myriad attractions of this small island are captured by Richard Turpin's images and Paul Lay's commentary.

Author Biography

Richard Turpin is a life fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and was the official photographer on the Society's Oman and Nepal expeditions. Paul Lay is a London-based journalist and travel writer and over the past fifteen years he has travelled extensively throughout Ireland.