The Encyclopedia of Ireland

Everything you've ever wanted to know about one of the world's most colorful countries is now available in The Encyclopedia of Ireland, the most comprehensive book to date on all aspects of Irish life, culture, and history. Exhaustive in its coverage, the book encompasses the whole of Ireland — its islands and seas, its people both home and abroad — and provides facts about subjects from prehistory to the present.

This reference book contains more than 5,000 alphabetically arranged, newly commissioned entries by more than 900 contributors, along with more than 700 illustrations and maps, most in full color. The wide range of topics includes art, biography, cinema, current events, fashion, history, Irish language, literature, music, politics, religion, and sports. The book is filled with biographies of famous people of Irish descent — from St. Brigid, John F. Kennedy, and Edna O'Brien to James Joyce, Eugene O'Neill, and Bono. Also included are many often-neglected subjects, such as the role of women in Irish life and the contribution of Irish scholarship to science and philosophy.

Overseen by a distinguished editorial board and with introductory essays by Brian Lalor and Frank McCourt, this single-volume publication is the essential work of reference in its field, an indispensable and accessible resource for all those curious about the Emerald Isle.

"The breadth of the work is one of its strongest features....The more than 700 illustrations are beautiful, mostly in color, and add an important dimension....It is well written, beautifully illustrated, and massive in both physical size and content." Booklist

"A hard-to-put-down book. It sits by my elbow making it difficult for me to write these words. I want to get back to it, to go from page to page, topic to topic....You might be tempted to travel from front to back, stopping to feast here and there, but don't treat it like a book. It is a treasure. Better to dip and meander....This is a book that will settle many an argument and, I hope, send many a reader off on a journey." Frank McCourt, from the Foreword

The most comprehensive book to date on all aspects of Irish life, culture, and history encompasses the whole of Ireland — its islands and seas, its people both home and abroad.

The Encyclopedia of Ireland is the most comprehensive book to date on all aspects of Irish life, culture, and history. It encompasses the whole of Ireland — its islands and seas, its people both home and abroad — and provides fascinating facts about subjects from prehistory to the present.

The encyclopedia contains:

• Thousands of entries arranged alphabetically, from the Abbey Theatre in Dublin to Zozimus, a nineteenth-century balladeer;
• More than 700 illustrations and maps, most in full color;
• Coverage of art, biography, cinema, current events, fashion, food, history, Irish language, literature, music, politics, religion, sports, and more;
• Biographies of a wide range of famous people of Irish descent, including St. Brigid, Éamon de Valera, John F. Kennedy, Bono, Eugene O'Neill, Mary Robinson, and William Butler Yeats;
• Articles on often-neglected subjects such as the role of women in Irish life and the contribution of Irish scholarship to science and philosophy;
• Extensive cross-references and a full index.

Brian Lalor is the author of numerous books on Irish landscape, typography, and travel, including The Blue Guide to Ireland, The Irish Round Tower, The Laugh of Lost Men, and West of West.

Frank McCourt is the acclaimed author of Angela's Ashes and 'Tis: A Memoir.