Irish Non-Fiction

In the early 1870s, an Irish cop named Thomas Byrnes developed new ways to catch criminals. Yet as policing became ever more specialised and efficient, crime itself began to change. Robberies became bolder and more elaborate, murd…

When Kerri and her partner M moved to a small, remote railway cottage in the heart of Ireland they were looking for a home, somewhere to stay put. What followed was a year unlike any other. Cacophony of Bone maps the circle of tha…

The Sea Area Forecast is broadcast daily on RTÉ radio at 6 a.m. and midnight. Foretelling fair days or fierce storms coming in across our seas, it has become a national institution - its hypnotic, rhythmic language as reassuring a…

100s of personal testimonials, 1000s of teachers, 100s of 1000s of pupils… all connected through one organisation, Cumann na mBunscol. Caoga Bliain ag Fás is a story of ‘ordinary’ men and women who did extraordinary things, and th…

This is the story of the incredible life of Dr. Aidan MacCarthy (1913-95) the only person to have survived the two events that mark the beginning and end of the Second World War. 

Seán French was first elected to Cork Corporation in January 1920 with a paltry 73 first preference votes. In the turbulent period that followed he was arrested in September 1922 and served 13 months in Newbridge Internment Camp a…

The conflict in Northern Ireland was one of the most devastating in post-war Europe, claiming the lives of 3,500 people and injuring many more. This book is a riveting new history of the radical politics that drove a unique insurg…

Six years after the National Gallery of Ireland was opened in 1864, the Governors and Guardians, at the suggestion of the then Director of the Gallery, Henry Doyle, decided to form a collection of Irish National Portraits. The imp…

From the author of the bestselling Motherfoclóir, Non-fiction Irish Book of the Year. What do we talk about when we talk about Irish? When we talk about saving or supporting a language do we mean the musical combination of syllab…

Breathing new life into Ireland's history once again, this carefully restored and colourised collection of wonderful black and white images captures the beauty of the nation's fascinating past. This sequel to the bestselling The C…

Simms and his team’s meticulous work are proof positive that well-built social housing can add immensely to the tone and style of a city. His work remains a touchstone and an inspiration.

Marking the centenary of Yeats’s Nobel Prize, a timely guide to the work of Ireland’s national poet and the changing Ireland he lived through.

The Irish Civil War ended in 1923. Eighty years on, documentary-maker Tom Hurley wondered if there were many people left from across Ireland who experienced the years 1919 to 1923, their prelude and aftermath. In early 2003, he re…

Leading journalist Matt Cooper examines the key players behind the scenes of Irish property ownership - who really controls the valuable land where we live, work and play and how did they acquire it? Who are the new foreign invest…

RTÉ Radio 1’s Sunday Miscellany is an Irish institution, a programme that has provided comfort, joy and entertainment to hundreds of thousands of listeners for over half a century. Arranged in calendar months and spanning the seas…

In every province and county in Ireland, GAA grounds are cornerstones of culture and community. They are imbued with history and their terraces echo with the sounds of decades, even centuries, of spirited sporting battles. In this…

Join photographer George Munday on a tour around the eccentric, beautiful, bizarre and eye-catching follies that decorate our island. Ireland possesses a wealth of follies - picturesque buildings erected to commemorate loved ones,…

Covering historic and current figures from the worlds of the arts, sport, business, politics and social activism, Black and Irish will also find space to celebrate everyday heroes-lesser known figures making a difference in Irish …

Fall in love with Ireland's dramatic mountains and rugged coastline in 50 unforgettable hikes. Roz Purcell has been hiking the length and breadth of Ireland for years with her enthusiastic community The Hike Life, exploring the be…

What makes a perfect pint of Guinness? What are the criteria for a great pub? And where can you find them? Ian Ryan, founder of Sh*t London Guinness and Beautiful Pints, can answer these questions and help you find a beautiful pin…

It is almost one hundred years since the Sam Maguire Cup was first awarded to the winner of the All-Ireland Football Championship, the pinnacle of sporting ambition for generations of Gaelic footballers. Here, we celebrate all the…

New, updated edition. Gaelic football is Ireland's native sport. Fast, physical, athletic and driven by local and national rivalries, it is a unique part of our heritage.Ray McManus and his team at Sportsfile are as passionate as …

At the Dublin Matrimonial Court in the blistering summer heat of 1876, mother of three, 43-yeard old Catherine Louisa Moore, Lady Mount Cashell, sits alone in an all-male courtroom of 'gentlemen'. Her husband, Captain Richard Spre…

For centuries, artists of all disciplines have expressed delight in nature through the highly skilled and captivating medium of botanical art. The distinguished contributions of Irish botanical artists include records of plants fr…

Bestselling author and psychologist Tony Bates has spent his career seeking to understand the lives of others. Here he turns his therapeutic eye on himself and describes the events and people in his own life that have made him the…

Jason Byrne is 17. With his leaving cert under his belt but no idea what to do next, who better to ask for advice than his dad, Paddy? There's a (very) short stint studying accountancy (he was asked to leave); a FAS course with ju…

A Quiet Space tells the story of the Sanctuary, a meditation centre for social change in the heart of Dublin.The Sanctuary aims to answer a hunger in people for spirituality, meditation, creativity and community – the four pillars…

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 i…

County Cork is the largest county in Ireland, with a heritage that has been recorded, celebrated and commemorated over many centuries. This book explores the historical curiosities within the county's sweeping river valleys, epic …

The sea has always been a part of Nuala Moore's life: her earliest memory is of jumping off her father's fishing boat in Dingle Harbour and swimming back to shore. Since then, she's swum in some of the coldest, most remote and dan…