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West Cork: A Place Apart
Welcome to the spirit, moods and amazing views of the wonderful world of West Cork, truly a place apart. A world of stunning landscapes, craggy cliffs, colourful villages, wild bogland, glorious harbours, fabulous beaches, and rocky mountains; West Cork stands apart as one of the most desirable places to live, work, and visit. The famous spots are all here: Mizen and Beara, with their extraordinary seascapes; Baltimore and Schull, beloved of sailors from all over the world; Gougane Barra, with its timeless peace - and many, many more. There are secret places too, off the beaten track, and the book takes the reader down many side-paths and byways to hidden corners and unexpected treasures, sharing on the way some of the legends and traditions of this region - and always the most wonderful and heartstopping scenery. From a writer and photographer team who lovingly share their responses to the region they are lucky enough to call home: Jo Kerrigan, historian and journalist with national and international publications, and Richard Mills, multiple award-winning press and wildlife photographer.
- GenresTravel
160 pages, Hardcover
First published September 6, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 19, 2011
West Cork: a Place Apart is a book that haunts me, and it isn't about some far-off, distant place, it is about the place where I live.
Jo Kerrigan is a local West Cork girl who went away and made an international reputation, then returned to write for the Irish Examiner and the Evening Echo and make all our lives better. "Winding green lanes and chuckling streams, mysterious lake dwellings and secret valleys, drowned forests and misty mountains: this, surely, is the region JRR Tolkien had in mind when he created Middle Earth."
That's prose you want to lick, because it is so true. I live among all this beauty, look out on it from my front door, from my study window, and cycle in it daily -- but Jo makes it new for me.
Richard Mills arrived in West Cork from France when he was sixteen, and became the Examiner's distinguished photographer. He is an international prize winner in several disciplines for his photographs of the landscape, flaura, fauna and people of West Cork. If there is a scene of Ireland that haunts your memory, chances are it was planted there by a photograph Richard took. I shan't stick my neck out and pretend to know what makes a photograph by Richard Mills better: he has a different way of seeing that grabs hold of you, and creates an image so poignant it won't let go again. You look at a photograph by Richard of a landscape you know, you look up at the view, and it is a new scene, with a different light shining on it. It's a form of artistic magic.
A book of lovingly selected photographs by Richard Mills is already an occasion for the cognoscenti, but enriched by Jo's equally evocative prose, it becomes so enticing, you want to get close enough to wrap yourself around it. West Cork: a Place Apart is a book so luscious, it is good enough to eat.
Jo Kerrigan is a local West Cork girl who went away and made an international reputation, then returned to write for the Irish Examiner and the Evening Echo and make all our lives better. "Winding green lanes and chuckling streams, mysterious lake dwellings and secret valleys, drowned forests and misty mountains: this, surely, is the region JRR Tolkien had in mind when he created Middle Earth."
That's prose you want to lick, because it is so true. I live among all this beauty, look out on it from my front door, from my study window, and cycle in it daily -- but Jo makes it new for me.
Richard Mills arrived in West Cork from France when he was sixteen, and became the Examiner's distinguished photographer. He is an international prize winner in several disciplines for his photographs of the landscape, flaura, fauna and people of West Cork. If there is a scene of Ireland that haunts your memory, chances are it was planted there by a photograph Richard took. I shan't stick my neck out and pretend to know what makes a photograph by Richard Mills better: he has a different way of seeing that grabs hold of you, and creates an image so poignant it won't let go again. You look at a photograph by Richard of a landscape you know, you look up at the view, and it is a new scene, with a different light shining on it. It's a form of artistic magic.
A book of lovingly selected photographs by Richard Mills is already an occasion for the cognoscenti, but enriched by Jo's equally evocative prose, it becomes so enticing, you want to get close enough to wrap yourself around it. West Cork: a Place Apart is a book so luscious, it is good enough to eat.
February 3, 2011
I would love to go there someday, but even if I never do it in person, I feel like I have been there already through Jo's beautiful book.
July 1, 2013
West Cork - A Place Apart is a love story by a gifted writer and a talented photographer about their beloved home of West Cork. They know and savor every nook and cranny of this part of the world, the flora and the fauna and the fables. It's not just a picture book, it's a book with pictures, and what photos they are. Jo Kerrigan is a born storyteller with a silver tongue and Richard Mills has a wonderful eye for the landscapes and inhabitants of this little corner of the Emerald Isle, where life seems to proceed at a slower pace and the old spirits still abide. If Brigadoon exists, it is here.
If you have a soft spot in your heart for Ireland, this book is a must. One could wander the countryside with this tome in hand as a gentle guide to the history and landscapes and people one encountered.
And luckily for those who enjoyed this book, a new one is soon to be published by this exceptional creative team on the lore and legends of the region, rooted in very real places. Banshees anyone?
If you have a soft spot in your heart for Ireland, this book is a must. One could wander the countryside with this tome in hand as a gentle guide to the history and landscapes and people one encountered.
And luckily for those who enjoyed this book, a new one is soon to be published by this exceptional creative team on the lore and legends of the region, rooted in very real places. Banshees anyone?
April 16, 2018
Shades of old time radio. And that part was fun, but I never felt like this was going anywhere.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews