Hidden Irish Landmarks and Forgotten Stories in Stone
This is more than a handsome Irish architecture book; it is a ready-made invitation to look again. The mix of OPW landmarks and quieter ruins gives browsers a reason to travel, revisit familiar places and discover the stories held in stone.
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The Irish Aesthete: Buildings of Ireland Known and Unknown
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Hidden Irish Landmarks and Forgotten Stories in Stone
This is more than a handsome Irish architecture book; it is a ready-made invitation to look again. The mix of OPW landmarks and quieter ruins gives browsers a reason to travel, revisit familiar places and discover the stories held in stone.
- Book Synopsis
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Since 2012, Robert O’Byrne’s Irish Aesthete has shed fresh light on Ireland’s architectural inheritance. In this new volume, Buildings of Ireland: Known and Unknown, he turns his discerning eye to a remarkable selection of sites in the care of the Office of Public Works.
From celebrated landmarks like Castletown House and the Rock of Cashel to lesser-known ruins tucked down quiet boreens, these pages uncover a country layered with memory: grand houses and fragile abbeys, castles and gardens, round towers and forgotten churches. Some are familiar, many are not – but all are open to be seen, and to be understood anew.
With text and sumptuous photographs by O’Byrne, this book offers more than a guide: it is an invitation to travel, to look closely, and to discover the stories held in stone across Ireland.
‘In putting together the present book, making a selection was perhaps the greatest challenge … my wish is to offer a mixture of the familiar and the unfamiliar. This is a personal selection: someone else compiling the book might have made different choices. But it is intended to act as an introduction and a guide to the rich diversity of Ireland’s architectural heritage, a gazetteer that encourages readers to set out on their own voyages of discovery'.
Ideal for readers who:
- Are drawn to beautifully produced Irish heritage books focused on architecture, travel and cultural discovery.
- Plan to explore famous landmark houses, OPW heritage sites and hidden countryside ruins.
- Follow evocative photography and local history through stories deeply rooted in place and memory.
- Look for elegant non-fiction that inspires real-world exploration and weekend road trips.
- About The Author
- A former Vice-President of the Irish Georgian Society, Robert O'Byrne is today one of Ireland's best-known writers and lecturers specializing in the country's historic houses and gardens. He is the author of more than a dozen books, among them Hugh Lane: A Biography, Luggala: The Story of a Guinness House, Digging New Ground: The Irish Country House Garden 1650-1900, Left Without a Handkerchief and Romantic Irish Homes. For many years he has been a contributor to Apollo Magazine, The Burlington Magazine and the Irish Arts Review. During 2021/22 Robert curated a number of events, including exhibitions, lectures and a conference, all on the theme of Ireland's country house gardens for the Irish Georgian Society. In autumn 2021, his series on the same subject, Ireland's Historic Gardens, was shown on RTÉ 1 television.
- Product Details
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- ISBN
- 9781843519997
- Format
- Hardback
- Publisher
- The Lilliput Press, (11 June 2026)
- Number of Pages
- 302
- Language
- English
- Dimensions
- 210 x 160 x 30 mm
- Categories: