New releases…
MAY 2025
Insect Portraits – Capturing the personality of (mostly) Irish insects - Lisa Clancy
Insect Portraits is a captivating collection of portrait-style photographs that reveals the remarkable ‘personalities’ of (mostly) Irish insects and offers a glimpse into the fascinating world of scientific research using these extraordinary creatures. From bomb-sniffing moths to bacteria threatening to feminise entire insect populations, and flies that have lost their ability to hunt yet still need to present a dead insect as a nuptial gift – along with the ingenious, almost comical strategies they’ve developed to overcome this evolutionary misstep – this collection promises to transform how you see insects, if you’re not already a fan.
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Shot in the stunning Burren region of County Clare and surrounding counties, this book celebrates the natural world while unveiling the rich, often surprising, and entertaining lives of insects – creatures so easily overlooked.
At a time of devastating biodiversity collapse, it serves as a powerful reminder of the value of these misunderstood beings, nuisance as they can sometimes be, by showcasing their charm and unexpected lighter side.
JUNE 2025
Ireland in Iceland Gaelic Remnants in a Nordic Land - Manchán Magan
In this richly illustrated journey, Manchán Magan traces the forgotten presence of the Irish in Iceland;
monks and migrants, storytellers and shapeshifters who helped shape a land we’ve long imagined as
purely Norse.
Through language, lore, place names, DNA, and landscape, Magan uncovers the traces of Gaelic life woven through
Iceland’s sagas and stones. With curiosity and care, this book reveals how two island nations, once deeply connected,
share more than we’ve been taught to remember. Ireland in Iceland offers a new perspective on ancestry, belonging,
and the lasting traces of culture carried across oceans.
bulb moment
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Ireland in Iceland is the second in a series of illustrated books Manchán is publishing with Mayo Books Press, exploring cultural similarities and resonances between Ireland, India, Iceland, and the Aboriginal cultures of Australia. Ireland in Iceland is illustrated by Aodh Ó Riagáin/ Oreganillo.
DECEMBER 2024
Western Ways - Remembering Mayo through the eyes of Helen Hooker and Ernie O’Malley - Cormac O'Malley and Christy Barron
Mayo Books Press are delighted and honoured to reprint this timeless collection.
In 1938 Irish Republican Ernie O’Malley returned home to Mayo with his American wife, artist Helen Hooker, wanting to give their children a life close to the land and the sea. They made their home at Burishoole Lodge on the northern shore of Clew Bay and began to farm the land as well as researching and photographing life in the county.
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In Western Ways this unique photographic record has been drawn together, along with Ernie’s writings, to provide a fascinating picture of the people of Mayo, their daily existence and the rugged but beautiful landscape that shaped their lives. These extraordinary images open the door to a time long gone, but one that is hauntingly captured in the photographs of Helen Hooker and Ernie O’Malley.
