Murmurations, James Crombie ( hardback Oct 2024)
£22.99
A truly stunning book of photography for fans of this natural phenomenon .
In the dusk hours of a November evening in 2020, James Crombie set out for the shore of Lough Ennell, Co. Westmeath with no goal except to find a brief reprieve from the chaos of modern life. One of Ireland’s most lauded sports photographers, Crombie had spent months each year travelling the globe, snapping glimpses of sporting glory amid roaring crowds.
Once the pandemic arrived however, he found himself suspended in an unfamiliar moment of stillness, where his focus could roam beyond the pitch. When a close friend came to him in a moment of grief, the pair made for the lake. What Crombie found on the shore that evening - an undulating murmuration of starlings, dancing above the surface of the water - would change his life forever.
Desperate to capture the beauty of the murmurations, and to better understand this phenomenon and the surroundings of the lake itself, Crombie began a four-year journey, travelling to lake shore for over 100 days per year. In his efforts to capture the formations of the magical birds, Crombie managed to chart the stunning natural cycles of the lake and the surrounding countryside. An incredible combination of narrative and photography, this is a book about one man’s quest to capture the beauty of an Irish natural phenomenon, and about how our local environments harbour a wealth of beauty and complexity, if only we’re able to look closely enough.
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The Ponies At The Edge Of The World : A story of hope and belonging in Shetland.
A meditation on connection between humans and animals, and the homes we make in wild places. I was completely immersed' Katherine May, bestselling author of Wintering
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At a crossroads in her life, Grainne Lyons set out to travel Ireland's west coast on foot. She set a simple intention: to walk in the footsteps of eleven pioneering Irish women deeply rooted in this coastal landscape and explore their lives and work along the way. As a Londoner born to Irish parents, she also sought answers in her own identity.As Grainne heads north from Cape Clear Island where her great-grandmother was a lacemaker, she considers Ellen Hutchins, Maude Delap, Edna O'Brien, Granuaile and Queen Maeve among others from her unique perspective. Their homes - in places that are famously wild and remote - are transformed into sites of hope, purpose, opportunity and inspiration. Walking through this history, her journey reveals unexpected insight into emigrant identity, travelling alone, femininity and the trappings of an 'ideal' life.
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From the description of the BBC I Player documentary - search Litir Grea Dara ...
Scéal inspioráideach an dochtúra as Béal Feirste a thit i ngrá le bean agus é tréimhse sa Ghaeltacht, agus an bealach ar tháinig sé slán as campaí géibhinn na Seapánach le linn an Dara Chogaidh Dhomhanda. Casadh Frank Murray agus Eileen O’Kane ar a chéile i Rann na Feirste ar chúrsa Gaeilge. Cháiligh seisean mar dhochtúir agus liostáil sé in Arm na Breataine. Cuireadh go Singeapór ansin é mar dhochtúir leis an Arm. Thosaigh sé féin agus Eileen comhfhreagras litreach. Bhí sise ina múinteoir faoin am seo.
Tugann na litreacha agus an dialann a choinnigh Frank an-léargas ar an saol mar a bhí le linn an chogaidh. Ó am go ham, scríobhadh sé giotaí i nGaeilge. Bhí sé ina Cheann Feadhna ar an champa géibhinn a raibh sé féin ina phríosúnach ann i dtuaisceart na Seapáine.
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