Walking Ireland

A Course Called Ireland is the story of a walking-averse golfer who treks his way around an entire country, spending 16 weeks playing every seaside hole in Ireland. Along the way, he searches out his family's roots, discovers that a once-poor country has been transformed by an economic boom, and finds that the only thing tougher to escape than Irish sand traps are Irish pubs.

Ireland Vidal is the third generation to control Vidal Records, and she's on track to lead the recording company to greater heights. She's the youngest of an affluent, prominent family headed by her eldest brother, Gideon Cross—one of the richest men in the world. Despite her siblings' outsized shadows, Ireland has carved her own identity. But the clever, stunning beauty with fierce tenacity and a heart of gold has yet to find a man with whom to share her life—someone who doesn't need her connections to be successful.

It started in 1845 and lasted six years. Before it was over, more than one million men, women, and children starved to death and another million fled the country. Measured in terms of mortality, the Great Irish Potato Famine was one of the worst disasters in the 19th century-it claimed twice as many lives as the American Civil War. A perfect storm of bacterial infection, political greed, and religious intolerance sparked this catastrophe.

One evening in 1951, an itinerant storyteller arrives unannounced at a house in the Irish countryside. In exchange for a bed and a warm meal, he invites his hosts and their neighbors to join him by the wintry fireside and begins to tell formative stories of Ireland's history. Ronan, a nine-year-old boy, grows so entranced by the storytelling that, when the old man leaves abruptly under mysterious circumstances, the boy devotes himself to finding him again.

In the quiet chill of an Irish winter, Thomas McCabe, a retired everyman, wanders Dublin's streets, seeking purpose in the wake of an altered lifestyle. Each day, from the frost-kissed paths of St. Stephen’s Green to the bustling energy of O’Connell Street, McCabe observes the world with a keen eye, weaving stories for strangers and grappling with the weight of his own solitude. In this evocative novella, McCabe's daily walks become a canvas for reflection—on seasons that shift, a city that evolves, and a life that teeters between routine and revelation. As McCabe navigates Dublin’s...

Ireland is inarguably a beautiful, enchanted place. But its history is more turbulent, fascinating, and terrible than any other. From the first English presence in Ireland in the 12th century, through siege, rebellion, and civil war, to Irish ascendancy, home rule, and the present-day troubles, best-selling author Paul Johnson tells, with remarkable clarity and concision, the compelling story of this most remarkable island.

This audiobook is exquisitely and eloquently read by the author, Gabriel Byrne. Walking with Ghosts is the stunningly evocative memoir by Irish actor and Hollywood star, Gabriel Byrne. 'Dreamy, lyrical and utterly unvarnished' – Colm Tóibín As a young boy growing up in the outskirts of...

Come take a walk with a noble Frenchman as he traverses Ireland by foot just before the 1798 rebellion. Jacques-Louis Bougrenet de La Tocnaye is an amiable companion full of wit, humour, and intriguing ideas. His description of Cork is:I arrived at Cork, the dullest and dirtiest town which can be imagined. The people met with are yawning, and one is stopped every minute by funerals, or hideous troops of beggars, or pigs which run the streets in hundreds, and yet this town is one of the richest and most commercial of Europe. The principal merchants are nearly all foreigners, Scotch for the ...

The Celts have always been seen to walk between the world of the living and a world driven by magic, passion, and fantasy. To those who want to venture down the rabbit hole, Alastar MacTire takes us on a walk through the Celtic Nations starting with the struggling, passionate, magical Irish.

Hard Border goes to the very roots of the Irish boundary where, after decades of division and conflict, a fragile peace has prevailed since the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Post-Brexit, it will re-emerge as the only land frontier between the United Kingdom and the European Union. In his travelogue of the abandoned 50-mile route along the Ulster Canal, Darach MacDonald presents a close-up narrative history of Ireland.

Ireland travels through the centuries by way of story after story, from the savage grip of the Ice Age to the green and troubled land of tourist brochures and news headlines. Along the way, we meet foolish kings and innocent monks, god-heroes and great works of art, shrewd Norman raiders and envoys from Rome, leaders, poets, and lovers. Each illuminates the magic of Ireland, the power of England, and the eternal connection to the land.

This audiobook is exquisitely and eloquently read by the author, Gabriel Byrne. Walking with Ghosts is the stunningly evocative memoir by Irish actor and Hollywood star, Gabriel Byrne. 'Dreamy, lyrical and utterly unvarnished' – Colm Tóibín As a young boy growing up in the outskirts of...