Let’s Pop Over the Border to Ireland
Ireland is a beautiful place with lots of wild animals, many of which you won’t find here (and likewise, Ireland has no snakes – the common lizard is Ireland’s only reptile). Places to note include:
- The Cliffs of Moher stretch along County Clare’s western edge, battered by the sea and wind, and home to thousands of nesting seabirds, from puffins and kittiwakes to razorbills and guillemots. On a clear day, you can see the Aran Islands and Galway Bay.
- Killarney National Park has over 25,000 acres of woodlands, lakes, rivers and mountains. It’s the only place in the country where native red deer have survived since the last Ice Age. The landscape is alive with ferns, mosses, and wildflowers.
- The Burren stretches across northern Clare and southern Galway, one of Ireland’s most beautiful places: cracked limestone that bursts with wildflowers in summer (orchids and gentians).
- Connemara (County Galway) has mountains and rivers, and a wild coast with rocky islands, here you’ll find Twelve Bens mountains and wild ponies, along with rich birdline (golden plovers, merlins and even peregrine falcons).
- The Wicklow Mountains (just south of Dublin) have rolling moors and thick forests amid rain and morning mist, shaped by Ice Age glaciers, that left behind deep lakes. Lough Tay has dark water and white sand, and is known as ‘the Guinness lake!
Wildlife on the Emerald Isle
- With a beak as bright as a circus clown’s nose, puffins bring a splash of colour to Ireland’s cliffs. These seabirds (only found mostly in Northumberland in England) thrive here, only spending a few months on land to breed. In England, there has been a recent ban on sandeel fishing to protect dwindling numbers of both puffins and kittiwakes.
- Red squirrels in England are still endangered, but this country has got things right by rewilding pine martens (natural predators of greys) to keep nature in balance, without culls or laws banning wildlife rescues to help grey squirrels, as happens in England.
- Ireland has the same controversy with badgers, with many culled, despite solutions already known like stopping cattle-to-cattle transmission). In Northern Ireland, a Bill for badger culls got thrown out.
- Corncrakes are Irish birds with haunting raspy calls, related to coots and moorhens. They are almost extinct in England, with most numbers only found in Scotland.
One resident who adores the natural world is Paul Kingsnorth (who Aris Roussinos called ‘England’s greatest living writer’). His book Real England looks at how capitalism has eroded what we hold dear. He has since moved to Ireland, where he writes about wild saints!
Books to Read About Ireland’s Nature
Wild Atlantic Women is the story of a second-generation London Irishman who walks the 2500 km from Cork to Donegal, in the footsteps of 11 pioneering women. The journey begins with the author’s own great-grandmother (a lacemaker on Cape Clear Island (just off Cork, the southern most inhabited place on the Emerald Isle).
At a crossroads in her life, Gráinne sets out to travel Ireland’s west coast on foot. Walking through history, her journey reveals unexpected insight into travelling alone as a woman, the trappings of an ‘ideal life’ and emigrant identity. All against the backdrop and power of this great ocean.
Gráinne Lyons is a writer and documentary maker from London, whose Irish parents still live on the Emerald Isle. She holds an MA in Creative and Life Writing and a BA in English Literature.
Step Into Nature is a beautifully illustrated weekly Irish nature diary, showcasing intricate ecosystems of old stone walls, to a rare pink grasshopper resting on the seed head of a bird’s foot trefoil on Finnamore Lake in Lough Boora.
Hand-drawn sketches accompany beautiful photographs. Meet colourful fungi nestled in decaying leaves, unusual finds (candlesnuff, glistening inkcap, scarlet caterpillarclub). There’s a fungus called ‘yellow brain’ that feeds off fungi grown on fallen brunches plus orchids, robins and beautiful birdsong.
Rachel McKenna is a naturalist and architect who has spent the last five years observing, recording, photographing and drawing a diverse range of Irish wildflowers, insects and mammals.
An Irish Nature Year offers a daily meditation, in this illustrated yearbook, for you to enjoy 5 minutes each day exploring the mysteries of the seasons. From ‘weeds’ in the pavement cracks to surprising inhabitants of vacant lots to unusual finds alongside our shoreline and hedgerows, you’ll find Ireland’s natural world makes for great bedtime reading!
- Who’s cutting perfect circles in your roses?
- Which birds wear feathery trousers?
Whales can be seen from the headlands, as can basking sharks, the gentle giants of the fish world. Some of our plants and animals are bafflingly absent from Britain. Among these are the Kerry slug and Saint Patrick’s Cabbage.
Jane Powers is a nature writer and newspaper columnist who was gardening correspondent for many years for both the Irish Times and Sunday Irish Times.
Frog Routes, Polka-Dot Newts and Other Treasures of Other Nature will instil a love and appreciation for the natural world. You’ll learn about the origins of feral pigeons and primroses to endangered sea turtles. Witness the extraordinary mating rituals of frogs and hares. And discover the secret language of wild mice, in their epic daily battle to survive.
The antics that go on, honestly! Caterpillars that sing, squeezing body parts together to make a squeaky chirping noise, calling in ants for assistance and protection. Wood mice using sticks, stones and shells to make signposts for themselves, to a grove for a fresh spring feast. Life is unfathomably elaborate.
Anja Murray is an ecologist, environmental broadcaster and writer, who has devoted her career to the protection and restoration of nature. Her first book Wild Embrace was a bestseller in Ireland.
Beautiful Books on the Irish Language
Ninety-Nine Words for Rain (and one for Sun) meets the néaladóirí (cloud-watchers) and réadóirí (star-gazers) from our past who without the luxury of Met Éireann observed birds, trees and animals (plus markers on land and sea) for signs of changing weather.
The heron’s behaviour offered hints: Aimsir chrua thirim nuair a bhíonn an corr éisc suas in aghaidh srutha chun na sléibhte (when the heron flies upstream to the mountains, the weather will be dry). Fearthainn nuair a thagann sí an abhainn anuas (when she goes downstream, it will rain!)
Evoking countless shivery experiences on this Atlantic-swept Emerald Isle, this beautifully illustrated gift book uses Irish words to grasp an almost-lost world through the wisdom stored in the Irish language.
Manchán Magan is a writer and documentary-maker, who writes for the Irish Times and reports on radio. He lives in County Westmeath.
An Irish Word a Day is a unique book to teach us how to learn one word of this very difficult language each day. So in a year, you’ll have quite the vocabulary.
In England, many people have Irish heritage (especially in Liverpool), and considering our country is renowned for being complete rubbish at learning other languages, this is a book much-needed.
Wales and Scotland have their own languages (and so does Cornwall). So it’s about time we all learned a few words to get by in the Emerald Isle!
Around half the people in Ireland know how to speak Gaelic, as it’s taught in schools. But only around 72,000 people use it on a daily basis, usually in the far west and on remote islands.
By the end of this book, you’ll be able to start your day and greet others, including the spiteog (robin), building his spring nest.
Aon scéal agat? (any stories?)
Diabhal scéal muna bhfuil scéal ‘ad fhéin.
I’ve no story, unless you’ve a story for me yourself.
Hector Ó hEochagáin is a TV and radio presenter. He lives in Ireland (obviously!)
Homemade Irish Stew (with Vegan Stout!
This Mushroom Irish Stew (The Simple Veganista) uses mushrooms to replicate meat in this famous Irish dish. Packed with filling potatoes, veggies and herbs, this is a simple ‘pour everything in a pot and cook it’ recipe, with optional vegan Worcestershire sauce (no fish) to bring the flavours out.
Keep this recipe away from pets due to unsafe ingredients (garlic, onion, mushrooms). Read more on food safety for people and pets.
Just bin alliums (onions, garlic, leeks, shallots, chives) as like tomato/citrus/rhubarb scraps, acids could harm compost creatures. If using tinned ingredients, pop lids inside or pull ring-pulls back over holes before recycling, to prevent wildlife getting trapped.
Choose Artisan Vegan Stouts
This recipe uses Guinness (which is now vegan-friendly) but if you wish, you could use an artisan English stout like Shoreham Stout (brewed in Brighton) or Stroud Brewery. Alcohol-free vegan stouts include Check This Stout or Sober Brummie.
Guinness is not even Irish! The company is now owned by a big multi-national. But was founded by a man who was anti-Catholic (though to be fair, he did use profits to build peace). But when Ireland became independent, he would not let the new government use the harp logo, as he’d already taken it!
So the government simply turned the harp to face the other way. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the harp on the Irish government logos does indeed face the opposite direction, to the Guinness one!
We suggest enjoying this, whilst listening to Putumayo’s wonderful album Celtic Women!
Irish stew (A Virtual Vegan) is a one-pot hearty meal that can be made on the stove, in a slow cooker or in an Instant Pot. Vegan-friendly Guinness gives an incredibly rich, deep flavour to the gravy that is loaded with chunky, sweet, tender vegetables.
Make it with just the veg, or add some optional vegan “meat” or mushrooms to make it even more satisfying and flavourful!
The Turning Tide: A Biography of the Irish Sea
The Turning Tide is a beautifully-written biography of the Irish Sea. England is obviously not Ireland, but Cheshire and other parts of northwest England face this ocean.
Home to the rarest sea bird in Europe (which visits the coast each summer), this sea teems with life (seals, seabirds, sea turtles, whales and basking sharks).
Alas the Irish Sea is now full of oil refineries (therefore pollution), far too many wind turbines and is the most nuclear-contaminated sea in the world, no thanks to Sellafield nuclear power station (which will take several decades to decommission).
Ireland and the Isle of Man face the Irish Sea, along with a few areas of England: Birkenhead and Southport (both near Liverpool), Blackpool and a small stretch of the Cheshire coast and Barrow Island (in Cumbria).
Parts of Wales (including the Isle of Anglesey) also face the Irish Sea. Also found here are harmless basking sharks and the seabed is a rich habitats for crabs and lobsters.
The book equivalent of being hosted by a travelling storyteller, around a fire. Gwenno
The Irish Sea has found her bard. This is a dazzle of storytelling, an enthralling trove of history and a joyful work of travel and reportage, singing with the love of the sea. Horatio Clare
Jon Gower grew up in Wales and studied English at Cambridge University. A former BBC Wales Arts and Media correspondent, he has over 30 books to his name (in both Welsh and English). His other book The Story of Wales was published to accompany a landmark BBC series. He lives in Wales.
Birdland is a journey around Britain on the wing, charting the decline of birdlife over the last 50 years due to climate change and loss of habitat.
George Bernard Shaw (an Irish playwright who adored animals!)
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright (who lived with his wife in Hertfordshire), who wrote over 60 plays (including Pygmalion, which later was made into the film My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn).
Known for his strong political views (he was against organised religion), he was a vegetarian passionate about animal welfare. He also was teetotal, did not smoke, nor even drink tea or coffee!
Animals are my friends. And I don’t eat my friends. George Bernard Shaw
Apparently he ate a very frugal diet for the first 42 years of life, until he married (his wife was wealthy and a good cook, and would serve him vegetarian feasts until their 80s, when she died).
She noted that despite his healthy lifestyle, he had a very sweet tooth, and would enjoy rich chocolate desserts that the vegetarian societies would not have approved of!
George was pretty eccentric! He and his wife lived in a house in Hertfordshire, and he would orient his shed, so that it would rotate to face the light through the day, so he could keep writing!
Although he was the only writer to receive both an Oscar and a Nobel Prize for Literature, he credited the National Gallery of Ireland for almost all his education, not his school!
And he was so passionate about helping underprivileged people, that his dream was to create a new simpler alphabet, so it would make it easier for everyone to literate, to find jobs and income!
He did indeed create a Slavian alphabet (with more – 40 letters). But it never came to fruition, although purists still apparently use it today. We think it looks terribly complicated!
But there is no doubt that this wonderful man and writer, did all he could to make the world a better place. He died at the ripe old age of 94, not long after he fell and broke his thigh, while planting a fruit tree.
This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose, instead of a selfish little clod of grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. My life belongs to the community, I want to be thoroughly used up when I die.
Life is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment. And I want to make it burn as brightly as possible, before handing it on to future generations. George Bernard Shaw
