The Most Beautiful Villages of Ireland (Hardcover)

~ (Author), (Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Quaint, charming and predictably green. . . . The pages echo with tranquility in this composite masterfully photographed by Hugh Palmer. -- Veranda, Deborah Merck Sanders, December 2000

Product Description

Clusters of white cottages huddled in a fold between hills of an unbelievably rich green . . . villages of a single street, dazzling in their array of color washes and picturesque shop and bar signs. . . . Such are the villages of Ireland, the most beautiful of which are captured in Hugh Palmer's evocative photographs and Christopher Fitz-Simon's sensitive commentaries. Beautiful though many of the villages of Ireland undoubtedly are, they are also working, living communities. The vibrancy and warmth in a village bar or local shop proclaim a culture not yet submerged under mass tourism or the rash of vacation homes that have blighted so many of Europe's prettiest villages and robbed them of traditional ways. Following the divisions of the ancient provinces--Ulster, Leinster, Connacht, and Munster--the journey is full of fascinating rural gems, some famous and others less well known. There are the coastal villages of Cork with their handsome houses of many hues sloping down to a sea that so many Irish crossed to found other communities in the United States. Roscommon and Galway are proud of their medieval churches, while Ulster villages look toward the Atlantic and seem to be girding themselves against the rigors of the northern climate. Literary and historical associations abound, as in Ardagh, site of pre-Christian settlement and the place where Oliver Goldsmith was inspired to write She Stoops to Conquer. The latest volume in the best-selling Most Beautiful Villages series, this extraordinary visual and verbal record of the Irish village is completed by a guide to the most important sites, markets, hotels, and restaurants. 258 color photographs.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson (November 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500019983
• ISBN-13: 978-0500019986
• Product Dimensions: 12.5 x 10.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #46,426 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #5 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Travel > Great Britain
  #11 in	Books > Travel > Europe > Ireland
  #19 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Travel > Europe

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Breathtaking, March 17, 2001

By	absent_minded_prof (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This is a fantastic coffee table book. The photographer has captured so much color in each photograph, you almost expect some sort of visual explosion -- how can such a dynamically variegated palette be contained in a single picture?! The whitewashed cottages, the blue-green sea, the dun colored old castle walls... even the street signs are beautiful. I myself am half of Irish descent, and half of Italian descent. Although I must confess that in culinary terms, my Italian forebears had considerably more "on the ball" than my Irish ancestors, this book makes me appreciate some of the beauties that Ireland itself has to offer. It makes me determined to visit it at some point.

The book is divided into four parts. Each traditional ancient Irish kingdom has its own section -- Ulster, Leinster, Connacht, and Munster. Each section is also followed by a brief photographic essay, dealing with such topics as "Ancient Ireland," "Bar and Shop Fronts," and "Painted Villages." At the end, there is a useful map, a travellers guide complete with phone numbers and addresses of Inns and hostels, and a very handy little bibliography.

I would just like to also recommend, for anyone with an interest in Irish history, "The Atlas of Irish History" by Sean Duffy. It is out of print, but you should ask your local librarian if he or she can find it, using OCLC or inter-library loan. If, like me, you have Irish blood in you, you will be familiar with the feeling of being quite alienated from the broader sweep of European history prior to the settlement of America. I once looked in the index of an encyclopedia, and actually found more entries on Native Americans, who of course are considered to be a marginalized people, than I could find on the Irish. This book, and the atlas I recommended, can help remedy that situation, and "The Most Beautiful Villages of Ireland" can beautify any home. Two thunbs up -- check this one out.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Beautiful Villages of Ireland, January 12, 2009

By	K. Freday - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I recently purchased this book as a gift for someone who took two trips to Ireland several years ago and loved her trips there. She is no longer able to travel due to health reasons so I thought this book would bring back some wonderful memories for her. She loves the book and even though I have never been to Ireland, I would welcome the opportunity to go there after viewing the absolutely beautiful pictures in this book. Also included is information on traveling to Ireland; ie. places to stay, while there. I would definitely recommend this book.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Beautiful Villages of Ireland, January 13, 2008

By	Barbara A. Boyd (Peoria, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Perfect! Just what I had in mind and the person I gave it to liked it a lot! Great pictures!