Ireland has a rich history of famous – and infamous – mariners: from our earliest navigators, who may have reached North America – by currach – a thousand years before Columbus, to daring polar explorers Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean.
Read the stirring adventures of Ireland’s seafaring women, from Granuaile to Kate Tyrrell, and naval leaders such as John Barry, who fought sea battles in the Americas.
Irish people have helped to shape marine science, including Francis Beaufort, who devised the scale by which we measure wind speeds, marine biologist Maude Delap and John Holland, inventor of the submarine.
In this new book, Emma Byrne looks at the men and women of Irish maritime history.
‘As an island nation, we Irish have a love and fascination for the sea. The first people in prehistoric times most likely came to Ireland by boat; since then we have sailed, fished, smuggled and fought our way through history and to every corner of the world, with the sea entwined in our DNA. It is a briny elixir that binds us.
There is no doubt that, for a small island nation on the very edge of Europe, we have punched above our weight when it comes to maritime achievement.
Like many of our island race, I have been fascinated by the sea from an early age. From peering into rock pools as a small child, to being in the sea scouts, to daily swimming and recreational scuba diving, I have spent as much of my free time as possible in the sea. The stories of these Irish mariners – some well known, some not so well known – were fascinating to research and I hope you’ll enjoy reading about them.’
Emma Byrne
Emma Byrne is an award-winning graphic designer and artist. She has illustrated many books, including Best-Loved Oscar Wilde, Best-Loved Yeats, The Most Beautiful Letter in the World by Karl O’Neill, a special edition of Ulysses by James Joyce and A Terrible Beauty by Mairéad Ashe Fitzgerald. Her other books are Irish Thatch and, with Eoin O’Brien, Best-Loved Irish Ballads.
Famous Irish Mariners:
