The Art of Wild Swimming Ireland
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Now they are yours to explore too.

If the past is a foreign country, then Charlie McGettigan is the best of tour guides. His book takes us back to Ballyshannon in the 1950s, avoiding the clichéd golden summers where sweetness and light prevailed. Instead he takes us around the back of the set to show us a ‘warts and all’ view of Irish life in what are laughingly called ‘the good old days,’ where poverty and deprivation were made worse by a dominant clerical presence and an often brutal schooling system that together succeeded in driving many young people away from both religion and education. Charlie pulls no punches but nevertheless manages to avoid being bitter, mixing the hard stories with heart-warming tales of childish fun from the pre-electronic days when you had to make your own. His stories of the hard work and dedication that brought him musical success give a snapshot of the heady days of the folk scene in Ireland in the 1970s and the 1980s, when the country seemed to be full of folk and ballad groups vying for a slice of the action. If ever the old adage of achieving overnight success after thirty years of hard graft applied to anybody, it surely applies to Charlie.

Part memoir, part environmental treatise, as a wild forest bursts into life before our eyes, we’re invited to consider the burning issues of our time: climate breakdown, ecological collapse, and why our very survival as a species requires that we urgently and radically transform our relationship with nature. This is a story as much about doing nothing as taking action – allowing natural ecosystems to return and thrive without interference, and in doing so heal an ailing planet. Powerfully descriptive, lovingly told, An Irish Atlantic Rainforest presents an enduring picture of the regenerative force of nature, and how one Irishman let it happen.

In a book that can be followed throughout the year, or dipped in and out of to find ‘still points’ in times of distraction and worry, Brother Richard brings us on a transformative journey of meditation, poetry and sacred pause, enabling us to experience a sense of peace, happiness and belonging in our lives. ‘Still Points is a call to stop, to consider, to see the beauty and sacredness of ourselves in everyone and everything’ SISTER STAN

It is September, 1922. As the National Army closes in on the anti-Treaty stronghold of Rahelly House in North Sligo, 120 Republicans of the 3rd Western Division abandon their headquarters and retreat to the mountains. En route to a cave hideout in the uplands, six of the men are surrounded and captured. They would not survive one of the most brutal advances of the new Free State Army. Their deaths caused outrage and bewilderment across the county and essentially marked the end of the Civil War in Sligo. These men came to be memorialised as Sligo’s Noble Six.
This book looks beyone the well-documented accounts of the execution of Sligo’s Noble Six and explores the interwoven stories of their lives, their communities, their families, and their descendants. The men’s lives are illustrated through military archives, IRA dispatches, contemporary media coverage, and previously unpublished photos. Their memorialisation through poetry and prose, monuments and gatherings, has ensured that these six men live beyond the tragedy of their deaths.

By any measure, Cathal Brugha’s life was extraordinary: a member of the Gaelic League, Irish Republican Brotherhood and Irish Volunteers; a celebrated survivor of the 1916 Rising, despite multiple gunshot wounds; a crucial figure in the post-Rising reorganization of the Volunteers and Sinn Féin; speaker at the first sitting of Dáil Éireann and president pro tempore; minister for defence in the underground government during the War of Independence; passionate and acerbic opponent of the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921; a reluctant participant in the Irish civil war, having tried to prevent it; and that conflict’s first high profile fatality in July 1922.
Based on exhaustive research, this book challenges the often simplistic and reductive depiction of Brugha by providing a nuanced and multi-layered reappraisal of him. It chronicles his public and private life and the influences that shaped him; assesses his multifaceted involvement in the Irish Revolution and his uncompromising commitment to an Irish republic; contextualizes his relationships with contemporaries such as Michael Collins, Éamon de Valera and Richard Mulcahy; explores how his premature death at the age of forty-seven affected his young family and how his wife, CaitlÃn, upheld his political principles by standing as a Sinn Féin TD; and reflects on how Brugha’s indomitable patriotism was propagandized after his death. The result is a fascinating portrait of a complex, tenacious, and often misunderstood figure.



Rosses Point and Its Surroundings is an illustrated history of one of Sligo’s most celebrated coastal areas spanning centuries, from the early Christian period to the land confiscations of the 17th century, the development of shipping and other maritime industries.
It details the evolution of Rosses Point village from a traditional clachan settlement to a fashionable ‘watering place’ in the 19th century, examines the history of education on the peninsula.

Keith Earls started out in senior rugby as a teenage star and during the course of his long career has become one of the most admired and respected players of his generation. A British & Irish Lion at the age of 21, he is now closing in on his 34th birthday and still playing at the top of his game. He has won 93 caps for Ireland and played 179 times in the famous red of Munster.
He started every game of the 2018 Six Nations campaign that culminated in an Irish Grand Slam victory. A lethal finisher blessed with thoroughbred speed, Earls is the second-highest try scorer of all time for his country. With Munster he is one try short of the all-time total and looks set to break that record next season.
Behind the glittering success, there is another story to be told. He has achieved these milestones whilst being racked by private battles with his mental health for most of his career. A number of crises brought him to the brink of voluntary retirement from the game.
A long series of injuries have taken their psychological toll too. A native of Limerick city, Earls grew up in one of its most socially disadvantaged housing estates. Moyross was blighted by crime and violence and he did not escape unscathed from the surrounding fear and trauma visited upon his beloved community.
His natural sporting talent brought him into the privileged bastion of elite rugby union. His frank and fearless autobiography tells the story of his long struggle to reconcile the world whence he came with the world opened up by his brilliance with an oval ball. Earls has maintained a low profile throughout his career.
For the first time he will talk in depth and at length about the inner turmoil that went unseen by team-mates, friends and fans. It is a confessional, intimate and courageous story of the pain that was a constant companion to the glory.
9781914197093

They are the chosen few who have drunk from the chalice of immortality. They are the men and women who have been part of the 100 GREAT GAA TEAMS. For GAA fans, our great teams bring colour and richness to our lives.
When our team is on a winning streak it imbues us with a deep feeling of solidarity and a glow that uplifts the spirit. Great teams have that special power which energises and connects us. They inspire, make our hearts beat faster and let us dare to dream.
All the great and the good are here: Jim Gavin’s Dublin; Brian Cody’s Kilkenny, Mick O’Dwyer’s Kerry; Christy Ring’s Cork; Sean Boylan’s Meath; Ger Loughnane’s Clare; Mickey Harte’s Tyrone; Nicky Rackard’s Wexford; Galway’s three-in-row; Liam Sheedy’s Tipperary; Mayo’s team of the 50s and many more. 100 GREAT GAA TEAMS is a fantastic tribute to the great teams in football, hurling, camogie and ladies’ football that have thrilled fans down the years.
9781785303555

A moving and lyrical memoir about life, love and loss, from a true giant of Gaelic games. In a frenetic seven-year spell at the outset of his senior managerial career, Mickey Harte led Tyrone to four Ulster Championships and three All-Irelands.
It was a run that shifted football’s balance of power, changed the way the game would be played for over a generation, and cemented his reputation as one of the most transformative figures in GAA history. Then, in January 2011, the visitation of a shocking tragedy changed everything: Mickey’s daughter Michaela was murdered while on honeymoon in Mauritius, and the Harte family, grief-stricken, awoke to find themselves at the centre of an international news story. Devotion, the product of a collaboration between Mickey and author Brendan Coffey, is many things.
The story of a family’s decade-long struggle to come to terms with an almost unimaginable loss. A meditation on the ways in which faith, community, and sport can sustain us in our most difficult moments. And, finally, a portrait of one of Irish sport’s true icons, as he brings one legendary era to a close and steels himself for a final assault on the history books.
9780008473037

Description
‘In Irish there are so many great rain words and magic words and highly specific natural words (such as the material put on the hooves of donkeys to stop them slipping in ice), or words to communicate with animals, or evocative plant words, or the gorgeous words for different amounts of light in the sky, or words that hint at different ways of seeing colour, or twilight words … ‘ Manchan Magan is fascinated by words, particularly Irish words, with all of their complex meanings and associations and their connections to the natural world. Having enjoyed huge success with his bestselling book Thirty-Two Words for Field, Manchan now brings his infectious wonder and enthusiasm for the Irish language to a younger audience, offering delightful translations and explanations of animal, bird, fish, insect and nature words.
When you see the world through Irish, you see the world differently. Get ready to share the magic with this delightful book for readers of all ages.

Description
From the author of the hugely successful book Legendary Ireland, The Turning of the Year explores the Celtic division of the year, from Samhain to Imbolc, to Bealtaine, to Lunasa, back to Samhain. It examines the significance of particular times of the year and features re-tellings of various legends associated with them. The book will look at the close connection of the Irish with the land and with nature, bringing us on an exhilarating journey through the Irish seasons and the customs that welcomed each one in turn.

But 2020 brought new challenges to this solo lifestyle. We rose to the first challenge thinking that it would all be over in a matter of weeks. But no.
Instead came a series of on-again off-again lockdowns of different levels. This was a new, radical, solitary living experience which was really going to test our endurance and resilience. Would the coping skills we had already acquired see us through? But this was more a hermitage existence than we had ever experienced and it would really test our mettle.
Then, gradually, a realisation dawned that maybe there were things to be learnt from this unique situation? Might we discover a new understanding and appreciation of things previously ignored? Alice began to wonder how best to handle this new, solitary experience, and to document her progress though this most extraordinary year. This is her journey.

Description
Discover the fascinating world of Ireland’s diverse and astonishing collection of native wildflowers. This new edition reflects the many changes to our botanical knowledge since The Wildflowers of Ireland was first published in 2014. There’s updated information on the distribution of native wildflowers, along with more than 90 additional species, all beautifully photographed by the author.
For ease of identification, the species are divided into colour categories and within each category the species are grouped by, for example, the number of petals in the flower or whether the species carries its flowers in a cluster or a spike. In easily understood terminology, focus is put on the main identifying features of each plant, by colour, size, shape of flower, leaf, habitat, flowering season, and where in Ireland it might be found. This is a must for enthusiasts of all ages and levels of experience.