Stories from a Sacred Landscape, Crogham Hill to Clonmacnoise

Description

In this book, Caimin O'Brien looks beneath the monastic ruins of County Offaly. O'Brien draws on archaeology, history, poetry, folklore and legend to create vivid portraits of twenty-three sacred places within Offaly. He recounts the tales that surround the county's first saints and the monasteries they founded. Because four of the five ancient provinces of Ireland met in Offaly, its monasteries played a crucial economic and political role in Irish history. O'Brien follows the stories of Offaly's monastic foundations through tribal conflict, Anglo-Norman conquest, Gaelic Revival, the Reformation and on to the present day. Lavish illustrations make this book a visual feast. It features images of Offaly's monastic landscape by the internationally renowned photographer James Fraher. The book also contains full-colour photographs of the treasures produced in Offaly's monasteries, including exquisite gold, silver and bronze artworks and illuminated manuscripts. In addition, it highlights the artistry of monastic stonemasons and of the county's stained glass windows, many by Harry Clarke Studios.