Books & Ebooks

Dún Laoghaire

Conan Kennedy’s Dún Laoghaire is different, both as a book and as a place. As a book it is interactive, with QR links throughout to bring the reader to further info, and as a place it is different because the town is essentially, the writer’s home town…as distinct from all the other home towns he’s lived in around the world. A combination of history,with a bit of comment, plus a selection of different walks in the area and (as usual with Conan Kennedy) a number of very interesting old photographs from his collection. This completely new 2020 edition (supported by DLRCC) is expanded to include many paintings of the area by local artists, both historic and contemporary.)

ALEXANDER'S THERMOMETER

The true story of a double murder that took place in County Dublin’s Dalkey in 1948. Three well known (then and now) middle class local Irish families were caught up in the tragedy, as was an innocent New Zealander. A scandal then, but not spoken of since. Until now.

ATTIC.STUFF.WRITE

Following up on the writer’s bestselling A Walk on The Southside this book results from a rummage through his attic where he discovered things about his life and loves and travels that he had forgotten. And didn’t really want to be reminded of some of them. But here they are. From Ireland, the UK, Sweden, Africa and the United States. Memories

Ancient Ireland, Visiting the places

A companion book to Ancient Ireland The User’s Guide, (below), this new title is a listing, country by county, of hundreds of locations of interest. Includes extended entries on the major sites of Boyne Valley, Tara, Eamhain Macha, Rathcroghan and Ceide Fields. Web friendly interactive with QR links to further information sources.

ANCIENT IRELAND, THE USER’S GUIDE

Now in its fourth reprinting, this title has become a standard guide to Ireland’s ancient past. “Forget the leprechauns”, it says on the back cover, “this is the real deal”. And so it is, very popular with tourists.

KILLINEY CO DUBLIN

Genealogical/Local History interest. Based on a petition raised by “workingmen” in the 1890’s, this book tracks the families of those who signed, who they were, and what became of their children and grandchildren. One of whom turned out to be a top man in present day RTÉ!

NORTH MAYO

Regional guide to part of the Wild Atlantic Way, this is “a listing of interesting and ancient locations, phone and tablet friendly with full GPS coordinates”.

The Church of St Andrew's

One of the most important churches in Dublin, now a tourist venue. But, once a church, always a church. The stones hold its history and the ground around its graves. The book includes a listing of the people buried there. Among them Vanessa, Dean Swift’s mistress. Her story here. And a look at Mollie Malone, her statue outside the door, in bronze. If only it could talk!

WHAT EXACTLY IS A DUBLINER?

An A to Z of Dublin, investigating streets and areas and aspects of the moderncity, with humour and introspection, with local history and modern info thrown in, the author trying to establish what exactly makes a ‘Dubliner’ these days. Is proving popular with visitors and residents alike

DALKEY

Local guide to one of Dublin’s top tourism destinations, full colour, heavily illustrated, does what it says on the cover, offering “a little bit of history, and a little bit of guide, plus interesting old photos”. One of Morrigan’s top sellers.

First published 2017 in association with Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council Sold out and reprinted in second edition now in 2018

A WALK ON THE SOUTHSIDE

The back cover says it all! The original edition sold in many many thousands, reissued now, a new opportunity to find out why.

ROSENEATH

SANDYMOUNT CO DUBLIN The life of a wealthy Victorian/Edwardian family in a wealthy suburb of Dublin. Told in pictures, both paintings and photographs, for simple reason that one member of the family was a noted photographer, and his sister an artist. His photos, her paintings. “A beautifully presented book”.

EMER

The story of a portrait, painted in provincial Ireland in 1940s, exhibited in the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin, then its journey through the generations of descendants of the sitter, to Ireland, UK, and Canada.

GUIDE TO DUBLIN 1890

James Joyce was 9 years old. Charles Parnell had only died the previous October. And Patrick Pearse had just started his first term at the Christian Brothers in Westland Row. But this book is not really about the, It’s the ordinary city, a facsimile of a guidebook published in that year. And illustrated now with photographs of…ordinary people.
Dubliners. Some of their stories. Adding up to some of the story of the city.

MEMORABLE DUBLIN HOUSES

First published in the early 20th century, This guidebook goes from street to street, pointing out individual houses, telling of their onetime occupants, famous, infamous, rememembered now, or forgotten. Reproduced with its original pen and ink drawings of an (almost) vanished city.

IRISH NAMES

First published in 1890 as ‘Special Report on Surnames in Ireland, this is a comprehensive listing of the names, showing their origins and meaning, and particularly interesting for genealogical and family history researchers, detailing the locations on the island of Ireland where the names occur.

THE COUNTY OF MAYO 1837

The original ‘topographical dictionary of Ireland’ contained ‘historical and statistical descriptions’ of the cities, towns and villages of all of Ireland. This publication now is a compilation of all the entries dealing with locations in County Mayo. A major chapter on the county overall is followed alphabetical entries ranging from A to W, plus hundreds of places in between.

"I BROUGHT YOU THIS LITTLE COOKBOOK FROM IRELAND..."

A book of traditional Irish recipes, first published over fifty years ago, but many of the recipes are much older than that. A time when money was short, exotic ingredients unheard of, and food was pretty good and wholesome.

AN AFRICAN ABC

In early 1900 a Dublin artist was stranded in South Africa by the Boer War. She whiled away some time by producing this alphabet book for a nephew. Illustrated with sketches of African life, this is a true period piece, based on a copy recently discovered in Toronto Library.

The Colour of Her Eyes

A girl arrives from London. She comes out of the station door and walks along by the sea in an ordinary town, an ordinary English seaside town. Then she rents herself a flat in an ordinary street, a street by the name of Canada Grove.

But it’s not in Canada, it’s in Bognor Regis in Sussex. And why is she there? The answer is in The Colour of Her Eyes, this much acclaimed story of crime, suspense…and love. Click video below to see where the story takes place. (And watch to the end, video stops right outside the girl’s house !)

Long FREE EXTRACT available at AMAZON

The snake dancer of sati choura

Dublin, today. An investigator is approached by an older woman. The job… to track down a missing man whom she describes as her nephew. The investigator suspects that the missing man is actually a lover, but a job’s a job and he takes on the assignment. This brings him to unexpected places, far away from modern Dublin. India in Victorian times and ships across the oceans. And his searching involves his own present-day girlfriend, an accountant in a Dublin insurance company. And the strange connections between her and a temple dancer of long ago.

Long FREE EXTRACT available at AMAZON