Ireland's Generous Nature is the first ever comprehensive account of the historical and present-day uses of wild plant species in Ireland. It records a wealth of traditional knowledge about Irish plant use, knowledge that has been disappearing fast. More than 1500 wild plants are detailed in a systematic list, which gives both their Irish and English names. Many historical references have been included from a wide range of Irish literature. This lively and scholarly book shows how plants have been used in virtually every aspect of human life in Ireland: food, clothes, medicine, construction, drinks, veterinary medicine, human health and beauty, and even death.
How has Irish nature been studied? How has it been expressed in literature and popular culture? How has it influenced, and been influenced by, political, economic, and social change? These long-neglected questions are pursued in Nature in Ireland, a pioneering collection of original essays by leading naturalists, science writers, and cultural historians who bring us from the geological prehistory of Ireland to the environmental threats of the late twentieth century.
Expert up to date research and stunning photography on the history, distribution, identification and culinary value of the wild food plants of Ireland. Includes a wealth of information on their culinary value, including indicative recipes, dishes and preparations.
Call it a daily meditation on the world around us for nature-lovers and nature newbies alike, An Irish Nature Year gleefully explores the small mysteries of the seasons as they unfold – Who’s cutting perfect circles in your roses? Which birds wear feathery trousers? And what, exactly, is an amethyst deceiver?
This volume focuses on the tree, as a cultural and biological form, and examines the concept of folk value and its implications for biocultural conservation. Folk value refers to the value of the more-than-human living world to cultural cohesion and survival, as opposed to individual well-being. This field of value, comprising cosmological, aesthetic, eco-erotic, sentimental, mnemonic value and much more, serves as powerful motivation for the local performance of environmental care. The motivation to maintain and conserve ecology for the purpose of cultural survival will be the central focus of this book, as the conditions of the Anthropocene urgently require the identification, understanding and support of enduring, self-perpetuating biocultural associations. The geographical scope is broad with chapters discussing different tree species from the Americas and the Caribbean, East Asia, Eurasia and Australia and Africa. By focusing on the tree, one of the most reliably cross-culturally-valued and cross-culturally-recognized biological forms, and one which invariably defines expansive landscapes, this work illuminates how folk value binds the survival of more-than-human life forms with the survival of specific peoples in the era of biocultural loss, the Anthropocene. As such, this collection of cross-cultural cases of tree folk value represents a low hanging fruit for the larger project of exploring the power of cultural value of the more-than-human living world. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of conservation, biodiversity, biocultural studies and environmental anthropology.
The wild plants of Ireland have been bound up in our culture and folkore from the earliest times. They appear in the ancient Irish brehon laws and early nature poetry for which Ireland is famous. As with its companion 'Irish Trees', this book is illustrated with specially commissioned watercolours by Grania Langrishe.
Woven Shades of Green: An Anthology of Irish Nature Literature contains a wealth of literature from authors whose work focuses on the ever-changing natural world and beauty of Ireland. The anthology's collection features a range of literature that reflects that change beginning with the work of Irish monks and continuing with essays, novel excerpts, works of well-known writers like Yeats and Synge, modern Irish nature poetry, prose, philosophical nature writing, and a comprehensive list of environmental organizations in Ireland.
"From moss to moths, Anja Murray has conjured up an ebullient paean to our surrounding ecosystem - a sensuous celebration of nature.' MANCHÁN MAGAN 'A hugely important, and simply delightful, book.' EOGHAN DALTUN, author of An Irish Atlantic Rainforest OPEN UP TO A NOURISHING NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH IRELAND'S WILD WORLD. Wild Embrace is about cultivating curiosity and awe in nature, in a time of eco-anxiety and overwhelm. As ecologist Anja Murray opens our eyes to the hidden bounty of the land, sea and sky around us, we head out on a unique journey through the Irish landscape. She explores the joy of foraging, the marvels of Irish birds, the roles of our native trees in environmental regeneration, nature at night and in the city, and much more - including fascinating insights into our ecological past. With beautiful illustrations by Jane Carkill (@lamblittle), Wild Embrace awakens our senses to the everyday environmental wonders within reach, as we set out on a path to empowered change into the future.
