Books to Read About Ireland’s Natural World
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.
