The Irish Farm in Colour by Michael B Barry and John Byrne (Gill Books, €27.99)
Sheep shearing, golden sheaves, a postman pushing his bike up the boreen. Historian Michael B Barry, and his collaborator, the photographer and colouriser John Byrne, have worked together again to bring us “not a technical tome but rather an attempt to capture the essence of Irish farming”. With 200 hand-colourised photographs, the pair capture the scenes and sentiments that shaped Irish rural life between the late 19th and 20th centuries. Poverty, physical hardship, eviction, emigration and land wars pack the pages but so too do scenes of community, connection, and humour. Alongside scenes of destitution is a landscape of comely maidens at “pattern dances”, donkeys carrying creels of turf, and a cup of tea at the Stations. “The human, natural and divine” of Irish rural life feature proudly in this terrific book. Brigid O’Dea
Edinburgh’s First Hibernian: The Mission of Edward Joseph Hannan by Mike Hennessy (Thirsty Books, £25)
The life of Edward Hannan, a Limerick priest who became an influential figure in 19th-century Edinburgh – and founder of Hibernian Football Club – is unravelled in a rigorously researched biography. Hannan was born in Ballingarry and followed a vocation to the priesthood. His life took him from post-Famine rural Ireland to a radical and bustling city. The religious, cultural and political exchanges between Ireland and Scotland are epitomised by Hannan’s life story. A painting, Mass in a Connemara Cabin, gifted to him by the artist Aloysius O’Kelly, now hangs in the National Gallery, Dublin. In considering Hannan’s legacy, the author states that although he is unaware what the qualifications required by the Catholic Church are, if it was up to him, he would make Hannan a saint. Paul Clements
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What’re We Like? (Chokmah Group, £20)
Books from and by a locality uniquely capture something of the flavour of that world. What’re we like? is a commemoration of Dundalk priest, Fr Tom Hammill via individual tributes, photos, as well as poetic and liturgical remains. A final appreciation is from Archbishop Eamon Martin’s funeral homily, sharing the refreshment that Fr Hammill’s spiritual life brought to him personally. As with any local study, interest in this book will be strongest among those already connected with its subject’s life and ministry. Readers might also wish for a stronger editorial line that avoided repetition across individual contributions, but this stands as an authentic picture of a life lived with love and integrity and its impact on a locality, as well as the church more broadly. Andrew Roycroft
