BOOKS
Books
Tales from a Wicklow Tea Room 1898-1960
Beehive Books 2023
This book tells of a tea room in a tiny mountain cottage run by the McGuirk family from the 1880s to the 1960s, and those who met and took teas there during the most momentous years of Ireland’s history. Visitors were asked to sign a visitors’ book, and poets, artists, writers, scientists, politicians, lawyers and representatives of every aspect of Irish society, can be found in the eight of these books to survive. The books are full of their comments, together with drawings and poems by significant poets and artists, and Michael Fewer tells their stories.
J.B. Malone
SOUTH DUBLIN LIBRARIES 2021
No one explored the valleys, rivers, cliffs, mountains and woods of South Dublin and Wicklow as tenaciously and as comprehensively as JB Malone, and no-one knew these places better. What he discovered on his mountain treks gave him so much joy and satisfaction that, wanting to share what he had found, he attracted many Dubliners into the hills through nearly 4,000 newspaper and magazine articles and four books. He pioneered Ireland’s network of way-marked walking routes through his development of the Wicklow Way and other routes, he was influential in the establishment of the Wicklow National Park, and through his many articles on the streets and buildings of Dublin he drew attention to the vulnerability of our urban landscape.
A Natural Year
MERRION PRESS 2020
In A Natural Year, critically acclaimed travel writer Michael Fewer celebrates the everyday wonder of Irish nature in these beautifully written diaries, observed from his homes in south Dublin and rural Waterford, in which he delights at the startling beauty and extraordinary complexity of the natural world through the tranquil rhythms of the passing seasons.
‘Michael Fewer, long an eloquent observer of the Irish landscape and wildlife...his daily encounters with the natural - and cultivated - world around him have a close but unforced awareness that rewards a slow, absorbed read.’
The Battle of the Four Courts
HEAD OF ZEUS 2018
The Battle of the Four Courts is a meticulous, compellingly readable reconstruction of those three summer days that ignited the Irish Civil War – the defining event in modern Irish politics. Michael Fewer has a sure command of the political and military history of those years, and a mastery of the architectural and technological aspects of the battle, through which he shows that the accounts of many historians about some of the events during the battle are, at best, inaccurate. His recreation of this tragic episode is an intimate, detailed and essential addition to the literature of the Irish Revolution.
‘A compelling blend of political and military history places the reader at the heart of the action and leaves them wanting more.’ Andrew Lynch, Irish Independent.
'A fascinating blend of political, military and architectural history, this book places the reader in medias res in the company of a large dramatis personae.’ Paul Clements, Irish Times
‘A compelling blend of political and military history places the reader at the heart of the action and leaves them wanting more.’ Andrew Lynch, Irish Independent.
'A fascinating blend of political, military and architectural history, this book places the reader in medias res in the company of a large dramatis personae.’ Paul Clements, Irish Times
Europe's Atlantic Fringe
ASHFIELD PRESS 2017
Michael Fewer describes a journey along the fringe of Europe, 8 degrees west of Greenwich, from Lagos in southern Portugal to Horn Head in north-west Ireland. He tells the stories of the people and places of the Atlantic edge, the rich historic and prehistoric heritages that link them, their shared pasts, their similarities and their differences. The book is rich with his descriptions of flora and fauna, topography and architecture.
My Naturama Nature Journal
(WITH MELISSA DORAN), GILL 2017
Following the bestselling Naturama Michael Fewer and Melissa Doran return with an activity book that encourages young readers to discover the magic of nature right on their doorsteps.
Hellfire Hill: A Human and Natural History
SOUTH DUBLIN LIBRARIES 2016. Illustrated with the author's maps and drawings.
A result of forty years exploring Hellfire Hill, the nearest hill to Dublin city, this book is a celebration of the enjoyment it has given Michael Fewer, through its rich natural history, its long human history, and the glory of its fresh air and long picturesque views. Written to tempt others to come and walk and revel in its green slopes, Michael describes the animals, birds, plants, trees and historical sites that can be seen on a stroll around the hill.
Naturama
(WITH MELISSA DORAN), GILL 2016
This breathtakingly exciting new children’s book, written by Michael Fewer and illustrated by Melissa Doran, introduces boys and girls to Ireland’s flora and fauna with every changing season. Discover the magic of nature right on your doorstep, from the back garden to the local park and the countryside. Even the smallest garden is a vast canvas of nature with its worms, insects, flowers and birds. Listen to the blackbird’s song, spot an madra rua in your local town, discover why the ash tree is good for making hurleys, count a snail’s 27,000 teeth, watch stags fight and spot jellyfish at the seaside, laughing as you discover the meaning of their Irish name, smugairle róin! With Naturama you will discover the magic of every Irish season.
So put your boots on – it’s time to go outside!
So put your boots on – it’s time to go outside!
Thomas Joseph Byrne: Nation Builder
(WITH JOHN BYRNE) SOUTH DUBLIN LIBRARIES 2013
Lavishly illustrated with contemporary photos, many not previously published. This is a biography of a true nation builder, an architect whose work, vision and quiet influence had far-reaching results in a broad range of aspects of Irish life in the first half of the 20th century. During a busy career in South Dublin Rural District Council, the Local Government Board, the Local Government Department and the Office of Public Works, his achievements included close involvement in the improvement of standards and design of local authority housing, the reconstruction of important buildings after the War of Independence and the Civil War, and the ushering of Irish architecture into the age of aviation and radio communications.
To acquire a copy of this book, go to www.southdublinlibraries.ie and click on ‘bookstore’.
To acquire a copy of this book, go to www.southdublinlibraries.ie and click on ‘bookstore’.
Michael Fewer’s Ireland: People, Places, Walking and Wildlife
ASHFIELD PRESS, 2011. ILLUSTRATED WITH THE AUTHOR'S PHOTOGRAPHS
Michael Fewer has been exploring Ireland and writing about his travels for many years. In this book he eloquently describes some of his walking experiences, dealing with aspects of flora, fauna, history and people he has encountered, seamlessly weaving in commentary on subjects such as folklore, rural planning and Irish traditional music. Stories of his favourite places are related, and he tells of treks he has undertaken, both solitary and in the company of good friends, laced with the drama of frightening climbs and the joy and inspiration he derives from the natural world.
Rambling Down the Suir, The past & present of a
great Irish River
ASHFIELD PRESS, 2009. ILLUSTRATED WITH THE AUTHOR'S PHOTOGRAPHS
In this lavishly illustrated publication Michael Fewer explores the 183 kilometre-long River Suir from where it rises in the Devil’s Bit Mountains in Tipperary to where it enters the sea at Waterford Harbour. He describes a journey through space and time, peopled with Viking plunderers, Norman colonists, Gaelic lords as well as 19th century industrialists, 20th century bridge builders and modern farmers. The sheer abundance of extant evidence of the Suir’s former importance is remarkable: the river has an impressive density of prehistoric monuments, earthworks, castles, abbeys and ruined churches, all quietly co-existing today with the 21st century agricultural busyness of some of the finest farmland in Ireland.
The Doorways of Ireland
FRANCES LINCOLN, 2008. ILLUSTRATED WITH THE AUTHOR'S PHOTOGRAPHS
FRANCES LINCOLN, 2008. ILLUSTRATED WITH THE AUTHOR'S PHOTOGRAPHS
Michael Fewer takes an imaginative look at how the idea of the entrance to a building has been dealt with by the builders, designers and craftsmen of Ireland from the earliest times to the present day. The doors he examines range from the humblest to the most impressive and from the architecturally significant to the whimsical, from the Seefin cairn at Kilbride, County Wicklow, dating from 3000 BC to the eighteenth century doors of Merrion Square, Dublin, and, coming right up-to-date, the doors of the National Gallery’s Millenium Wing and the Derry City Council offices.
The Wicklow Military Road: History and Topography
ASHFIELD PRESS, 2007. ILLUSTRATED WITH THE AUTHOR'S PHOTOGRAPHS
ASHFIELD PRESS, 2007. ILLUSTRATED WITH THE AUTHOR'S PHOTOGRAPHS
This publication deals at once with a landscape, the intervention in that landscape by man, and the stories that intervention tells. The landscape is one of the last remaining extensive high moorlands in Ireland, and the intervention is a road built for military purposes, and closely linked to an important historical event. Michael Fewer examines the history of the road, and the topography of the areas which it passes, using it to access and explore its natural and local history.
Day Tours from Dublin
GILL & MACMILLAN, 2006. ILLUSTRATED WITH THE AUTHOR'S DRAWINGS
GILL & MACMILLAN, 2006. ILLUSTRATED WITH THE AUTHOR'S DRAWINGS
Day Tours From Dublin is a series of magical mystery tours describing itineraries with something for everyone: while well-known sites are included, Michael also takes you to lots of little-known, out-of-the-way and often quirky places that new roads have brought nearer Dublin. No tour is complete without stops for refreshments; recommendations for places to eat and idyllic picnic spots are included.
Waterford Walks
BALLYLOUGH PRESS, 2005. ILLUSTRATED WITH THE AUTHOR'S DRAWINGS
BALLYLOUGH PRESS, 2005. ILLUSTRATED WITH THE AUTHOR'S DRAWINGS
Michael Fewer has selected a range of routes that draw deeply on the richness of the landscape and history of County Waterford, routes that take you through streets, over hills and along the river banks and sea coasts of one of Ireland’s most scenic counties. Walking with Michael Fewer not only brings you fresh air and exercise, but an exploration, a journey and a celebration of our landscape.
Walking Across Ireland: From Dublin Bay to Galway Bay
COLLINS PRESS, 2007. ILLUSTRATED WITH THE AUTHOR'S DRAWINGS
COLLINS PRESS, 2007. ILLUSTRATED WITH THE AUTHOR'S DRAWINGS
Walking 290 kilometres across Ireland at the beginning of the third millennium, Michael Fewer uncovers a hidden land: like a modern Praeger, he weaves between the natural world of plants and wildlife and the human one of grand buildings, little ruins, farms, pubs and cottages. Musings and information on history, architecture and folklore are laced with colourful local dialogue, the result of chance encounters. This is an eloquent elegy for a land undergoing great change.
The New Neighbourhood of Dublin
WITH MAURICE CRAIG AND JOSEPH HONE. FARMAR & FARMAR 2002
The New Neighbourhood of Dublin is a fascinating description of the buildings and places of the city and county of Dublin and how they have changed in fifty years, bringing together the previously unpublished Hone and Craig text with Michael Fewer’s parallel notes describing the subsequent changes.
A Walk in Ireland: An anthology of the pedestrian literature of Ireland 1783-1995
ATRIUM PRESS 2001
A Walk in Ireland is an engaging selection of accounts of pedestrian travel throughout Ireland during the past two hundred years. Through Michael Fewer’s selection of articles, excerpts, letters and journal entries we experience the beauty of high moors and mountains, see the conditions of the peasantry improve from poverty to wealth, mark the evolution of politics and society and, most of all, enjoy the pleasures of exploring Ireland on foot.
The Beara Way
ORDNANCE SURVERY IRELAND 2000
Illustrated with photographs by the author and others. A map guide to the Beara Way walking route.
The Western Way
ORDNANCE SURVEY IRELAND 1999
Illustrated with photographs by the author and others. A map guide to the Western Way walking route.
The Wicklow Way
ORDNANCE SURVEY IRELAND 1998
Illustrated with photographs by the author and others. A map guide to the Wicklow Way walking route.
By Swerve of Shore
GILL & MACMILLAN 1998. ILLUSTRATED WITH THE AUTHOR'S DRAWINGS.
Michael Fewer’s account of walking the coast of County Dublin from the border with county Meath in the north to the border with County Wicklow in the south. He found a coast rich in history, topographically diverse, with a mixture of urban and rural landscapes, and recounts meetings and conversations with local people, recording the constant visual surprises that enliven and shorten pedestrian journeys.
Irish Waterside Walks
GILL & MACMILLAN 1997
Michael Fewer has researched and gathered a wealth of walks by water in Ireland, and this book guides you along 58 of the best of these. Intended for families and casual strollers, the routes vary from half an hour to five hours duration. Along the way, the author describes local wildlife, history and architecture and recommends good spots for picnicking and swimming.
The Way-Marked Trails of Ireland
GILL & MACMILLAN 1996. ILLUSTRATED WITH THE AUTHOR'S MAPS AND DRAWINGS
The standard guide to the author’s favourite way-marked trails, with an informed but informal narrative laced with descriptions of landscapes and localities, wildlife and history. Advice on where to get refreshments, evening meals and accommodation is included.
Irish Long Distance Walks: A Guide to the Way-Marked Trails
GILL & MACMILLAN 1993. ILLUSTRATED WITH THE AUTHOR'S MAPS AND DRAWINGS
The first comprehensive guide, full of topographical and natural history, to over one thousand kilometres of Ireland’s way-marked trails, arranged, as the author says in his introduction, to suit ‘softies’ like himself, who enjoy the comfort of a bath or shower, a good meal and a comfortable bed at the end of the day.
By Cliff and Shore: Walking the Waterford Coast
ANNA LIVIA PRESS, 1992. ILLUSTRATED WITH THE AUTHOR'S DRAWINGS
Michael Fewer’s account of walking the 125 miles of the coastline of County Waterford from Youghal Bridge on the Blackwater river to Waterford Bridge on the Suir. It is full of historical and topographical detail, recorded with great insight and good humour.
The Wicklow Way - from Marlay to Glenmalure
GILL & MACMILLAN 1988. ILLUSTRATED WITH THE AUTHOR'S DRAWINGS
Michael Fewer’s first book is a walking guide intended for ordinary walkers and families who wished to enjoy to the full the flora, fauna and historical associations of the Wicklow Way, Ireland’s first Waymarked walking route. He includes alternative routes and circuits that allow walkers to complete loops rather than having to retrace their steps, similar to Failte Ireland’s Loop Walks of today.