Ireland’s rivers and canals run through history, language and literature with a powerful pull on our collective imagination, and while they are corridors of wildlife, they have also been under siege by raging torrents. Rivers have always lured writers, and one of the best of a veritable flood of recent books is Liam Campbell’s Room for the River: The Foyle Catchment Landscape: Connecting People, Place & Nature (Merdog Books, £18).
The Foyle has shaped the culture and heritage of the northwest of Ireland from the earliest human arrivals to the present. In nine chapters, the author discusses intriguing topics including the poetry of rivers, fluvial landscapes, compromised sources, the river in time and place, and the linking of mythology and ecology as rivers were regarded as the prime source for tapping into a reservoir of wisdom. An engaging study, it is informed and enlivened with a rich source of quotations paying homage to writers such as Tim Robinson, Barry Lopez, William Least Heat-Moon and Robert Macfarlane.
The Foyle is also one of 15 rivers explored in Where the Waters Flow: The Stories and Lore of Ireland’s Rivers (O’Brien Press, €17.99) by Eithne Massey. The book ripples with history and folklore stating that each river and its valley is a world in itself, and a plea that rivers should be cared for in a much better way. They are, the author states, the lifeblood of the island and were the path taken by the first settlers as they ventured upstream from the coast into the heart of the country. She couples rivers together, such as the Lee and the Blackwater, the Corrib and the Moy, the Bann and the Lagan, as well as the Three Sisters: the Barrow, the Nore and the Suir.
The river Shannon is a leitmotif in Alanna Moore’s Legendary Leitrim: Exploring North-West Ireland (Python Press, €23). River crossings, symbolic riverside villages and towns are discussed alongside sites and buildings connected to the river. These include the Shannon Pot, the source on the Cavan-Fermanagh border, the Doon of Drumsna, and Jamestown, a strategic fording point. Inishmucker may have been named for the Black Pig’s Dyke and was an island site in the middle of the river, now connected to the mainland. After Drumsna ceased to be the terminus of river traffic, with navigation improved from the 1840s, Carrick-on Shannon became the big depot for trade on the water. Boats transported timber, cement, hardware and Guinness between Carrick, Dublin, Athlone and Limerick.
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The Silver River of Slieve Bloom (Offaly County Council, €20) by John Feehan explores the history, wildlife and ecosystem of a lesser-known mountain river. A geologist, botanist, author and broadcaster, this is Feehan’s third volume on Midland rivers. Chapters consider the geological background while subjects encompass booleying, grinding corn, trackways and roads, as well as the natural world and the built heritage. The illustrations are a combination of sketches, photographs and maps, while Bridgid Birney’s paintings of the Silver River Gorge near Cadamstown add an exquisite dimension.
Wild Waterways by Robert O’Leary (Merrion Press, €12) is a celebration of the natural world of the Dodder, one of Dublin’s three main rivers. The book, in English and Irish, is divided into the four seasons and has stunning colour photographs of birds such as the grey wagtail, treecreeper and jay, as well as butterflies, including the orange-tip, common blue and red admiral.
Rambling along the Royal Canal: A Journey into the Heart of Ireland (The Liffey Press, €24.95) by Tom Dredge is based on a 146km walk from the Liffey to the Shannon. He passes through villages and towns, over bridges and locks, eliciting stories in the spirit of serendipity from chance encounters with those living along the canal. Historical figures are brought to life, including John Toler, the First Earl of Norbury, who became The Hanging Judge of Cabra, and Robert Rochford, the Wicked Earl of Belvedere House. The author hunts down fascinating nuggets, including the story behind Deep Sinking. He is aware of the flora, reproducing colour photographs, and enjoys lively trivia on his personal canal camino.
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In a wider but still watery vein, Irish Folk Tales of Coast and Sea (History Press Ireland, £14.99) by Colin Urwin includes 44 myths and legends from all 19 coastal counties. Stories relate to incidents dating back 100 years, others were written by monks several centuries ago, while a few have roots dating to the Stone Age. The book reveals a world of mermaids and monks, cursing stones, phantom boats, maritime mysteries and the Westport smuggler, Ned Vaughan. A handsome, likable rogue with black hair and dancing blue eyes, he became rich through his illicit endeavours – but, curiously, most people did not consider him a law breaker.
Staying with the sea, Emma Byrne’s Famous Irish Mariners (O’Brien Press, €17.99) presents how Ireland and its people have been shaped by the sea. The lives of navigators, naval leaders, scientists, pirates, polar explorers and others are described in vivid detail. In the 20th century, the Allied sea commanders of both the United States and Britain were Irish: James Forrestal, US Secretary of the Navy, was second-generation Irish, and Andrew Cunningham, First Sea Lord of the British Admiralty, was born in Dublin. Aside from the stories of the people, the delightful endpapers outline the Beaufort wind scale numbers, wind speeds, sailor’s terms and sea conditions from calm to hurricane force.
